News Here be Dragons: SpaceX reveals manned Dragon design

[Cosmic Penguin]

Well.....maybe I'm the only one who is feeling that the reaction before the public revealing event is a bit, um, hyperbole?

Anyway we need a central thread to cover this (not in the least because add-on developers for a next generation SpaceX add-on needs to take notes!) so.....it's here! :tiphat:

 

[Quick_Nick]

Webcast to start now.

spacex.com/webcast

 

[Unstung]

It's 7:05 PM, 5 minutes after the event is supposed to start. I think the unveil has been scrubbed.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

It's 7:05 PM, 5 minutes after the event is supposed to start. I think the unveil has been scrubbed.
Dragon V2 Unveil

Nah......

Jeff Foust @jeff_foust · 6m

Expect the #DragonV2 event to last about 45 minutes.

Jeff Foust @jeff_foust · 8m

The #DragonV2 event is going to start a little late, we’re told.

 

[Unstung]

Nah......

That was supposed to be a joke... aw, you took it seriously.

"A little late" is vague; it's been 13 minutes so far.

 

[Zeehond]

Bit strange to announce a live event and then be at least 15 minutes late. :hmm:

Dragon behind curtain:

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/472197849585688576/photo/1

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

That was supposed to be a joke... aw, you took it seriously.

"A little late" is vague; it's been 13 minutes so far.

Well....maybe there's a helium leak and Elon Musk will come out speaking like Donald Duck inside the Dragon. :rofl:

Anyway....

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust
What’s behind the curtain… #DragonV2 pic.twitter.com/Od04xsqTCr

 

[Pipcard]

That silhouette...

 

[Zeehond]

That silhouette...

I bet it is just like the Dragon cargo, but with seats and LAS thrusters. Pretty boring, in other words.

 

[Unstung]

Twenty minutes in and all we get is a silhouette. SpaceX deserves an award for delaying everything.

IT'S STARTING, 21 MINUTES LATE. WOOHOO.

Huh, the design is quite different.

 

[Pipcard]

And here it is!

---------- Post added at 07:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:26 PM ----------

Oval windows remind me of Kankoh-maru

 

[ISProgram]

It's a mockup...he said actual flight hardware in the tweet...

But...dat Dragon 2! A few people on NSF were surprisingly dead-on about its design

 

[Pipcard]

The interior!

from TV Tropes

...consider that the more 'advanced' something is, the fewer buttons it might have.

 

[John_L]

Looked pretty amazing to me. Can't wait to see it in action.

 

[Zeehond]

Why did the trunk have fins? More solar array space?

 

[John_L]

It's a mockup...he said actual flight hardware in the tweet...

But...dat Dragon 2! A few people on NSF were surprisingly dead-on about its design

What made you think it's a mock-up?

 

[Arrowstar]

The interior!

Looks like he borrowed a bit from the Model S, huh?

 

[Donamy]

Nothing about when it would fly.

 

[ISProgram]

What made you think it's a mock-up?

Completely reasonable question. I assume it is because it looks like it is. It just looks a lot like a mockup. I expected it to be in a clean room or just a pressure vessel, I was definitely surprised...

In any case, I have now seen flight hardware...

 

[Unstung]

Nothing about when it would fly.

The first Commercial Crew missions begin in 2017, and the first space test flights should be in 2016.