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The first SpaceX Crew Dragon that will fly the first demonstration mission (DM-1) as part of NASA's commercial crew program arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Station, in Florida, for the final launch. With internal work to launch the August 31, 2018 preparation date, it is likely that the rotation of the International Space Station crew and the pbadenger car program over the next few months will be the main driver of the launch. of the Florida Spaceport flight. 19659002] The crew dragon gets ready for DM-1:
The arrival of the crew dragon for DM-1 marks an important and important step in the preparations for SpaceX for what seems be the first flight of the commercial crew program of NASA. In addition, it is a crucial step in the return of the ability to launch astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a craft other than the venerable and extremely reliable vehicle. Russian Soyuz crew
. was lost on July 20, 2011 with the landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and withdrawal of NASA's shuttle fleet.
With this retreat, the Russian Soyuz became the only vehicle capa Astronauts from NASA, ESA, CSA and JAXA were sent to the US. USOS (United States Operating Segment) – of which Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency are part of the Station
. No incidents occurred at that time, as such an event would have eliminated the world's ability to reach its international orbital laboratory.
Nevertheless, this gap in American human launch capability is not the only period of life of the Station. Following the 2003 loss of Shuttle Columbia and the STS-107 crew, the Soyuz took the crewed service to the station until the shuttle fleet returns to flight (STS-114) and begins to fly. carrying crew members to the outpost (STS-121) respectively in 2005 and 2006.
Now, the United States is about to be able to again launch humans in the # Space – and preparations are underway on the launch site. The SpaceX team The Dragon DM-1 mission, the launch of Commercial Crew program launches is tangible
Crew Dragon arrived in Florida this week before its first flight after completing the thermal vacuum and acoustic tests at @NASA 's Prune Brook Station in Ohio. https://t.co/xXJE8TjcTr pic.twitter.com/lr0P95zzIK
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2018
After completing the badembly at SpaceX headquarters at Hawthorne, Calif., The Crew Dragon who will perform the DM-1 mission was taken to NASA's Plum Brook Station in Ohio – part of NASA's Glenn Research Center – for the vacuum chamber and the acoustic tests. Florida, Thursday, it seems that everything went well with these tests – without major problems that would hinder further processing and delivery to the launch site discovered during the critical tests that ensured the dragon 's death. crew could function properly in the vacuum, thermal and acoustic conditions that he will encounter during launch and low Earth orbit
With the first crew dragon now safe in Cape Town, the next big visual step will be the delivery of the Falcon 9 Block 5 booster which will be
This core of Falcon 9 is B1051 as confirmed by NASA documentation and public conversations of NASA in the last few months
First Block 5 on the bench McGregor Trial Monday – via Gary Blair for NSF / L2 [19659018] Based on basic observations / observations and launching campaigns, it is believed that the B1051 core completes the construction at Haw thorne now and will ship to McGregor, Texas, for acceptance shooting in the coming weeks.
the B1047 and B1048 cores preparing for their July roles in the Telstar 19V and Iridium NEXT-7 launches, respectively, the B1049 core was the last core detected at the installation of 39 McGregor's essay. This probably indicates – as kernels are generally coming off the badembly line and heading to Texas in numerical order, this B1050 core will soon be out of Hawthorne and on the bench at McGregor soon.
Core B1051 was chosen as the booster for the DM-1 flight took place several months ago, and its treatment schedule was aligned with a preparation date for the launch of NET (No Earlier Than) on August 31, 2018.
Of note during a press briefing prior to the launch of SpaceX's CRS -15 Dragon Supply Mission to the International Space Station in late June, Kirk Shireman, program director of the International Space Station, and Jessica Jensen, SpaceX's Dragon Mission Manager, have stated and reiterated that the DM-1 flight.
However, Mr. Shireman raised an interesting point during this briefing: NASA was now reviewing the rotation schedules of the visiting vehicles and crews aboard the International Space Station to find out exactly when the next demo flight could enter the general program.
The dragon heads of the crew ride on the Falcon 9 – via Nathan Koga for NSF / L2
To this end, it seems possible that SpaceX could be internally ready to launch the DM-1 mission by or very close to his internal work to date from August 31 but eventually has to delay the flight because the International Space Station itself is not able to receive the crew Dragon because of the current schedule of visitor vehicles in September and October
. Next to the station is the planned launch on September 10 of the Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency's (JAXA) unmanned refueling vehicle HTV-7.
The HTV is moored by Canadarm2 to the nadir port of Node-2 "Harmony". A few steps from where the HTV will be moored at the station is the location of the docking port Dragon-DM – Pressurized Coupling Adapter-2 (PMA-2) ) on the front end of node-2 "Harmony".
HTV-7 must remain at the station for 59 days based on NASA's most recent documentation.
The main potential complication between HTV-7 and DM-1 is the time spent by the crew on docking vehicles such as the HTV – periods that take up much of the time for US crews to unload the fuel.
Canadarm2 reaches and catches the supply vehicle arriving on HTV-7 in December 2016. (Credit: NASA)
This is a complication of the DM-1 non-convertible. Dragon flight because SpaceX said that the DM-1 vehicle will bring supplies to the International Space Station, which will force the Station's team to unload the craft and fill it with any equipment requiring a back to Earth in a capsule. who can safely return to the earth 's atmosphere, splash in the ocean, and be recovered.
The next rotation period for Soyuz crews from early to mid-October will be more complicated for crews. Station staff will be temporarily reduced to three, which will limit the ability of the remaining crews to work with them. HTV-7 and support the DM-1 mission in this timeframe
Beyond the departure of HTV-7 and the crew rotation of October, the next Progress supply vehicle from Roscosmos should be launched October 31 (UTC). NET November 17 by the 10th mission of Northrop Grumman's Cygnus Supply Spacecraft. The SpaceX CRS-16 refueling mission will then follow the NET 29 November.
There is also a Soyuz crew rotation scheduled for November for the International Space Station – during which the Station crew will be temporarily reduced to three people of six.
In summary, these are complications. But they are not, in themselves, absolute obstacles to launch the SpaceX DM-1 flight in September or October.
A crew dragon approaches the International Space Station to dock at PMA-2 at the forward end of Knot 2. Harmony. (Credit: Nathan Koga for NSF / L2)
Potentially donning the 14-day Dragon's undisputed DM-1 flight at the station between all these events could be a little tricky.
But Kirk Shireman, director of the ISS program, is what is currently being discussed between the ISS program, the commercial crew program, and SpaceX as the three programs are working to Determine an exact target release date for the DM-1 mission.
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