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SpaceX's Crew Dragon, NASA's capsule to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station arrived in Florida this week to continue its current flight preparations. The capsule was transferred from a former NASA facility in Ohio.
Crew Dragon arrived in Florida this week before his first flight after completing the thermal vacuum and acoustic tests at Plum Brook Station @NASA . Ohio. https://t.co/xXJE8TjcTr pic.twitter.com/lr0P95zzIK
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2018
In Ohio, the material of Crew Dragon was evaluated in the Plum Creek at the NASA In-Space Propulsion Facility, "the only facility in the world capable of testing large-scale launch vehicles and full-scale rocket engines in simulated high altitude conditions." The specialized chamber has allowed engineers to study the capsule under conditions simulating extreme temperatures and the vacuum of space.
First a disjointed training session
Once all the tests completed, Crew Dragon will perform a first session of disengaged training Station during an orbital test named [19659007] Demonstration Mission 1 (DM-1). NASA's Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket is expected to launch DM-1 next month from the Kennedy Space Center.
The mission will see the Dragon crew hang at the station for a few weeks and then descend to the unmanned Earth. If all goes well, SpaceX will then conduct a flight dropping test followed by the first crewed demonstration flight called Demonstration Mission 2.
SpaceX is not the only company to prepare for flight flights. Crewed test. NASA also awarded contracts to Boeing as part of its Commercial Crew Program
"After unsupervised and crewed flight tests, NASA will review the flight data to verify that the systems meet the following requirements. certification requirements. ", announced a statement from NASA.
Boeing is currently testing his Starliner vessel" designed to accommodate seven pbadengers, or a mix of crew and cargo, for missions into Earth orbit. "It is approved, the craft will be launched on a United Alliance Alliance V rocket launched by the Space Launch Complex 41.
The two companies are also working on models of space suits designed for their individual projects. These suits, as well as other accompanying accessories such as parachutes, also need to undergo extensive testing.
However, if all tests prove conclusive, NASA's plans could still derail. This week, the US Government Accountability Office released a report detailing numerous recommendations for the agency and revealing that certifications might not be given until the end of 2019 or even 2020.
The recommendations included requests for more information. NASA's risk badysis presented in mandatory quarterly reports to Congress, documenting lessons learned related to the crew loss and providing badessments on the risk tolerance levels badociated with these losses. What this means is that the Russian Soyuz, who is currently the only crew carrying approved craft, may remain the only means of transport for humans for space for a while.
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