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An electrical failure aboard the International Space Station (ISS) forced NASA to delay the launch of SpaceX's CRS-17 Cargo Dragon from May 1 to 3, giving the station's crew more time to settle the aircraft. problems that arise to us.
A new Falcon 9 Block 5 booster is in charge of launching the spaceship. He also performed a static firing test on the SpaceX LC-40 platform on April 27th. However, the Cargo Dragon capsule completed its first orbital replenishment mission (CRS-12) in September 2017 and has since been refurbished for a second launch. After CRS-17, there are three launches on the NASA SpaceX CRS1 contract by the beginning of 2020, after which Dragon 2 (ie Crew Dragon) should take over. However, a recent failure during a test with Crew Dragon has cast these plans in question.
17th Cargo Dragon mission
Known as the C113, the CRS-12 is the latest Dragon 1 manufactured by SpaceX, giving SpaceX a fleet of five aircraft-proven satellites to carry out the eight remaining ISS replenishment missions as part of its commercial replenishment contract (CRS1). CRS-17 is the latest installment of SpaceX's ISS replenishment saga and has a loading capacity of approximately 2500 kg (5500 lb).
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) observatory and the STP-H6 multi-experiment survey, two large pieces of equipment that will be delivered to the ISS in the unpressurized Dragon trunk, will also be on board. -you. After being moored at the ISS, the astronauts will unpack dozens of packages stored in the Cargo Dragon's cabin. Some time later, the station's Canadarm2 will be used to recover the OCO-3 and STP-H6 and install them each outside the Space Station, where they will hopefully live long, scientifically successful lives.
SpaceX and NASA have allocated a new Falcon 9 Block 5 booster – presumably B1056 – at the launch of CRS-17. In order to preserve the scene of the December 20th explosion, the Crew Dragon C201, the crew will attempt to land off the coast (32km) aboard the drone vessel Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). Originally scheduled for April 25, CRS-17 was delayed on May 26, 30, May 1 and 3, most of them having been requested by NASA for planning purposes from the ISS.
The latest delay – from May 1st to May 3rd (NET) – was caused by an unexpected power failure on board the ISS, reducing the redundancy of its Canadarm2 control systems (SSRMS) from two channels to one. In other words, Canadarm2 – used to "attack" and dock spacecraft such as Cargo Dragon and Cygnus – is nothing more than an electrical failure to render unusable. CRS-17 will remain grounded until two-string redundancy (ie, one fault) is returned to Canadarm2 and additional impacted systems.
If ISS astronauts and NASA ground control are able to repair electrical systems in time, the launch of CRS-17 is scheduled at 3:11 am (EDT) (07:11 UTC).
In the shadow of the dragon of the crew
A recent catastrophic failure of Crew Dragon (Dragon 2) raises serious questions about the SpaceX CRS2 follow-up contract, but the nominal plan provides for the removal of Dragon 1 after CRS-20 and the completion of all future cargo missions with the spacecraft Space Crew Dragon having proved itself. In the unlikely event that the failure of Crew Dragon C201 would delay SpaceX CRS2 planning for several months, there are contingency plans to continue flying the refurbished Dragon 1 spacecraft.
However, each Dragon 1 has been designed for up to three orbital missions, which means that SpaceX's current fleet of capsules can not support more than six additional replenishment missions before reaching the end of its life. life. SpaceX therefore has two potential buffer missions – CRS-21 and CRS-22 – that could theoretically explain up to a year of delays in Dragon 2. Beyond that, additional delays in Dragon 2 could create a void where NASA should provide the ISS without SpaceX.
In the best case, SpaceX and NASA will quickly discover an unequivocal culprit of the catastrophic C201 explosion, repair the technical and organizational failures that allowed it and quickly recover. In reality, it is likely that this failure will delay future Crew Dragon (and therefore Dragon 2) launches by at least 6 to 12 months. SpaceX will likely need to change the launch order of its capsules, reassigning the crew of Dragon from the DM-2 crew to the flight drop test (IFA) and pilot of the ############################################################################# US crew Crew Vehicle 1 (USCV-1) at the first crewed SpaceX Demonstration Mission (DM-2). After such a serious and potentially fatal failure, it is even possible that NASA requires an orbital launch not yet armed before allowing SpaceX to fly astronauts on Crew Dragon.
Since SpaceX's nominal CRS2 plan involved slightly modifying and reusing Dragon 2s after crew missions, the future (and timing) of the company's Cargo and Crew contracts is intimately linked. Hopefully, SpaceX and NASA will be able to solve the technical, organizational and logistical problems they face and ensure Dragon 2 a stable future. Cargo Dragon C201 issues are relegated to Dragon 2 and Dragon 2 only.
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