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SpaceX and NASA participate in an exceptional media blitz on the eve of Crew Dragon's orbital launch, sharing dozens of detailed photos and videos documenting the many years of advanced spacecraft development and its brief final journey to Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A). .
Scheduled for its first launch at 2:48 EST (7:48 UTC) on March 2, CEO Elon Musk has already unveiled an important part of a spectacular and animated webcast that SpaceX has prepared for the launch, which is undoubtedly the most important The company will have taken the fundamental objective of "making humanity a multiplanetary species". A test dummy, Starwoman, is called Ripley, a close relative of the Starman character orbiting the sun in space.
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 made their way to the launch pad before the first test flight of the spacecraft. Takeoff scheduled for 2:49 am EST March 2 pic.twitter.com/Dud93ZrkgH
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 28, 2019
After the February 21 launch of PSN-6 commsat SpaceX's SpaceX and Spaceflight's GTO-1 carpool ride, the contrast with the media presence behind the launch of Crew Dragon is striking. Regular SpaceX launches have become a routine distribution of official behind-the-scenes photos: a photo of Falcon 9 vertically on the platform after the rocket, a lively webcast with excellent live views of the mission, launch photos taken high quality by SpaceX or by contract photographers, and – less frequently – by one or two rare photos of the booster's landing. The NASA-led launches are a completely different story, followed by the US Air Force's missions to a distant second place.
SpaceX and @NASA thousands of hours of testing, analysis and reviews for Crew Dragon's first test flight to @space station pic.twitter.com/JvJqeoLKVy
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 28, 2019
Especially considering that NASA has funded between 99% and 100% of the costly development of Crew Dragon, SpaceX customers can generally reserve the right to request special views and even publish their own photos in contracts. launch or program. As a federal civilian agency, NASA is largely forced to share photos, as it generally complies with arms trafficking regulations, such as US ITAR. For a number of reasons, SpaceX has become significantly less inclined to share photos of milestones and more routine operations, regardless of whether or not a given topic is likely to cause ITAR's anger.
Although society still shares much more than it technically owes (ie. nothing), competitors like ULA tend to share a lot more, even for extremely conscientious launches of the National Recognition Office. Whatever the reasons for which the company has all the rights, the floodgates were opened during the two months that preceded the inaugural launch of Crew Dragon.
Ripley pic.twitter.com/Z9Ztram8Ai
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2019
Together, NASA and SpaceX shared dozens of high-quality photos of Falcon 9, Crew Dragon and the behind-the-scenes work required for each launch (including this one) to take place. SpaceX also provided numerous insights into these processes, including the deployment of the rocket on the Pad 39A and a brief 60-second preview containing excerpts from most of Crew Dragon's development work in progress for over 5 years.
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 B1051 stand upright on plate 39A during the preparations for the static fire test at the end of January. (SpaceX)
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 B1051 stand upright on plate 39A during the preparations for the static fire test at the end of January. (SpaceX)
The Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon arrived at Pad 39A on February 28, about 60 hours before launch. (NASA)
The Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon arrived at Pad 39A on February 28, about 60 hours before launch. (NASA)
A few hours later, the Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon are lifted upright on the SpaceX Transporter / Erector (T / E). (NASA)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is seen after being raised upright on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission on February 28 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially designed and commercially-operated US spaceship and spacecraft designed for humans as part of NASA's Crew Commercial program. The mission, scheduled for launch on March 2 at 2:49 am, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo credit: (NASA / Joel Kowsky)
A glimpse of the inside of Crew Dragon. (SpaceX)
Starwoman – nicknamed Ripley – will participate in the first launch of Crew Dragon. (SpaceX)
Forward and up
In simple terms, this mission is perhaps the most important launch since SpaceX went from Falcon 1 to Falcon 9 almost nine years ago. Founded by Elon Musk for the sole purpose of creating cost-effective and reusable rockets that could allow or at least motivate humans to reach a Mars day, the pursuit of the human spaceship has been a priority for Musk and SpaceX since the 2002 formation of the society. If Crew Dragon's orbital debut succeeds, SpaceX will have taken a decisive step toward these ambitious aspirations, largely thanks to the funding and expertise provided to the company through NASA's Commercial Crew Program. .
While SpaceX is technically owner and operator, Crew Dragon is a vehicle fundamentally owned by NASA with respect to the fundamental capabilities and limitations inherent in its design. However, the countless hundreds of hours of experience gained from the development of Crew Dragon will directly feed Starship, a spacecraft that will almost belong to SpaceX and SpaceX, from a blank sheet of paper until Mars (if fate permitting).
Test of the DM-1 Crew Dragon inside SpaceX's anechoic chamber, May 2018 (SpaceX)
SpaceX's Dragon Mission-1 demo was seen preparing for vacuum testing at a NASA facility, June 2018 (SpaceX).
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the company's non-equipped flight test, called Demonstration Mission 1, arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. The spacecraft recently underwent a thermal and acoustic vacuum test at NASA. Plum Brook Station in Ohio. The Demonstration Mission 1 flight test is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Transport Capability Contract, which aims to restore US manned space launch capabilities to the United States.
"data-medium-file =" https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/DM-1-Crew-Dragon-in-Florida-July-2018-SpaceX-300×300.jpg " data-large-file = "https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/DM-1-Crew-Dragon-in-Florida-July-2018-SpaceX-1024×1024.jpg" src = "https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/DM-1-Crew-Dragon-in-Florida-July-2018-SpaceX-329×329.jpg" width = "329" height = "329" align = "left" title = "DM-1 Dragon Crew Florida, July 2018 (SpaceX)" />
The first capsule Crew Dragon, already in space, is already in Florida and is preparing for its launch in November 2018. The same capsule will be renovated and remelted just three months after healing. (SpaceX)
The first complete Dragon Crew will probably be a few days away from Pad 39A, at the top of Falcon 9. (SpaceX)
An impressive view of Crew Dragon (DM-1), the Falcon 9 B1051 and its upper floor. (SpaceX)
DM-1 and Falcon 9 were greeted by an extraordinary dawn – though slightly bittersweet – on their very first trip to Pad 39A. (SpaceX)
Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon vertical pad 39A. (SpaceX)
Crew Dragon presents its conform (ie curved) solar panels while connected to SpaceX's elegant Crew Access Arm. (SpaceX)
The Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon are raised vertically at the level of the water table 39A before the static fire tests at the end of January. (SpaceX)
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 B1051 stand upright on plate 39A during the preparations for the static fire test at the end of January. (SpaceX)
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 are ready for the orbital launch of the satellite, NET, on March 2nd. (SpaceX)
On January 24th, SpaceX managed the static fire of the first Falcon 9 designed for human flight. DM-1 is now NET in March 2019. (SpaceX)
The Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon arrived at Pad 39A on February 28, about 60 hours before launch. (NASA)
The Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon arrived at Pad 39A on February 28, about 60 hours before launch. (NASA)
On February 28, the first flightable Crew Dragon spacecraft was deployed on Pad 39A at the top of Falcon 9 B1051, ready for its inaugural low Earth orbit voyage. (SpaceX)
The Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon arrived at Pad 39A on February 28, about 60 hours before launch. (NASA)
The Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon arrived at Pad 39A on February 28, about 60 hours before launch. (NASA)
A few hours later, the Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon are lifted upright on the SpaceX Transporter / Erector (T / E). (NASA)
A few hours later, the Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon are lifted upright on the SpaceX Transporter / Erector (T / E). (NASA)
A few hours later, the Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon are lifted upright on the SpaceX Transporter / Erector (T / E). (NASA)
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