Launch News SpaceX Falcon 9 F3 COTS2+ Updates

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It can still launch in this year -

Universe Today: SpaceX: Next Dragon to Launch No-Earlier-Than Dec. 19​

 

[markl316]

It can still launch in this year -

Universe Today: SpaceX: Next Dragon to Launch No-Earlier-Than Dec. 19​

That would be awesome. I hope it does.

 

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Aviation Week: SpaceX Hints At New Slip In NASA Cargo Demo:

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Although lately targeted toward Nov. 30, and more recently Dec. 19, the demonstration docking with the International Space Station could be in danger of sliding into early 2012.

Referring briefly to the issue at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2011 conference, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell says “we’re still targeting before the end of the year,” but acknowledges the date appears to be moving to the right.

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[RisingFury]

SpaceX has NEVER been on time and I'd be very surprised if they manage to fly this year. But as long as they take their time and have a safe flight, that's good.

---------- Post added 6th Oct 2011 at 06:51 ---------- Previous post was 5th Oct 2011 at 19:12 ----------

According to this August 2011 PDF:

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/580957main_August 2011_CSD 60 Day Report_508.pdf

At this point, NASA has not identified anything that would preclude combining the C2 and C3 mission objectives and is proceeding with mission planning. However, SpaceX wants to deploy two commercial satellites (Orbcomm) from the F9 second stage. The addition of Orbcomm's payloads to the combined mission is under review. If the risks associated with the Dragon Capsule being readied for the C2 mission secondary payloads are determined to be acceptable, NASA will give formal approval to the combined
mission execution.

If they have the capability to bring a satellite and Dragon to orbit in one flight, than this gives merit to the powered return of both stages in cases where only Dragon would fly...

 

[T.Neo]

If they have the capability to bring a satellite and Dragon to orbit in one flight, than this gives merit to the powered return of both stages in cases where only Dragon would fly...

Dragon doesn't take up all of F9's payload capacity... but a fully loaded Dragon (with payload) would. If you lessen F9's upmass capability, you lessen Dragon's payload capability, and you lessen the usefulness of the whole system.

 

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Universe Today: Lost in Translation: Cyrillic, Semantics and SpaceX:

Matters of space flight are no different than other international issues. What is said (or not said as the case may be) can suffer from being “lost in translation.” Such was the case recently when the media (this website included) reported on a Ria Novosti article that claimed that members within the Russian Space Agency had stated opposition to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) docking their next Dragon spacecraft with the International Space Station.

“This was never a SpaceX issue,” said NASA Spokesman Rob Navias during a recent interview. “This was an International Space Program issue – which has final approving authority for any spacecraft set to dock with the International Space Station – be it the HTV, ATV or even Soyuz, they all have to go through the exact same process.”

Navias stated emphatically that the Russian Space Agency never stated that they would not allow SpaceX to dock with the ISS – only that they wanted to ensure that the NewSpace firm followed the same procedure required of all other participants on the station (both a Stage Readiness Review as well as a Flight Readiness Review).

“This is basically an issue of semantics, of interpretation,” Navias said. “The Russian media wrote this article and when it was translated – it appeared as if that Russia was saying something – which they simply weren’t.”

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Parabolic Arc: ISS Cargo Delivery Flight Schedules Slide to the Right:

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SpaceX is working through two issues: an August failure of a Soyuz rocket that has pushed the arrival of a crew trained to berth the Dragon capsule to ISS until the end of December; and obtaining approval to combine two Dragon demo flights into one. NASA has tentatively approved the plan to fly Dragon directly to the space station on its next flight; the international partners have not given their assent yet.

Although SpaceX would like to fly as early as Dec. 19, the NASA manifest shows the flight taking place in December after a Russian Progress freighter docks in the station in late January.

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I think the emphasized by me text in quote should read: "the NASA manifest shows the flight taking place in January after a Russian Progress freighter docks in the station in late December".

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

I think the emphasized by me text in quote should read: "the NASA manifest shows the flight taking place in January after a Russian Progress freighter docks in the station in late December".

No, I think it should read: "the NASA manifest shows the flight taking place in January after a Russian Progress freighter docks in the station in late January" - the Progress in question is M-14M/46P.

 

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Aviation Week: SpaceX ISS Berthing Decision Coming Soon:

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Engineers at Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) are “very close” to finishing their analysis of the orbital and radio-interference implications of their company’s plans to piggyback two Orbcomm data-relay satellites on the upcoming Falcon 9/Dragon mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA has questions about potential danger to the ISS from the satellites and their signals, and wants more data on the piggyback plan before it clears the first SpaceX mission to deliver cargo. If the agency approves the plan, SpaceX will be allowed to try to move a Dragon cargo vehicle within reach of the station’s robotic arm so the crew can grapple it and berth it to a hatch.

According to NASA’s Alan J. Lindenmoyer, who manages the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program that has partially funded development of Falcon 9 and the Dragon, the issue is how much of a risk there is that one or both of the satellites, or the Falcon 9’s second stage, will hit the space station.

“These will be injected in the same orbit as the space station, and that requires a look at potential hazards and concerns for us,” he told a session of the 62nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC). "So there is a possibility of collision."

Lindenmoyer says there are also concerns that the secondary satellites might damage the Dragon itself, which will be carrying some station supplies and must perform an uneventful rendezvous and docking to clear its final COTS milestone and begin regular station resupply missions. Radio-frequency interference between the satellites and the station also is under study, he says.

"SpaceX is doing a number of detailed studies and evaluations of the trajectories to prove to us that there will be no risk of collision within the first 72 hr. of flight, because that’s a critical period when we're not set up to do tracking and avoidance maneuvers if needed," he says. “Those studies are finishing up now....This is the thing that is holding up our official decision [about] whether we will be able to allow an attempted berthing to the ISS. I expect that to wrap up in the next couple of weeks, and hopefully that will be a favorable outcome."

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Florida Today - The Flame Trench: Next Dragon en route to Cape Canaveral:

A capsule that could become the first commercial vehicle to reach the International Space Station is expected to arrive on the Space Coast this weekend, as early as Saturday.

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is completing a cross-country trip from Hawthorne, Calif., bound for Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

It will be prepared for a possible January launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket in a second demonstration mission for NASA aimed at proving the vehicles' readiness to deliver cargo to the station.

The Dragon is an upgraded version of the spacecraft that successfully orbited the planet and returned to Earth during a first demonstration flight last December.

This one includes solar arrays and more complex guidance and communications systems needed to approach and potentially dock with the station.

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Dragon arrived at CCAFS

The Dragon has arrived at CCAFS (Oct. 23):

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[mojoey]

i hope they make it, I still am a bit anxious about them docking to the ISS on their second flight, if something does go wrong, you dont have anything to repair it at the moment...

 

[N_Molson]

you dont have anything to repair it at the moment...

The ISS. It has robotic arms.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

The ISS. It has robotic arms.

Let me clarify: The Dragon will "park" within reach if the ISS RMS, which will grapple the Dragon, then berth it at the station. I don't know which CBM they'll be docking it to, though.

 

[mojoey]

most likely in the US section of the ISS, near node 1 i believe

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Let me clarify: The Dragon will "park" within reach if the ISS RMS, which will grapple the Dragon, then berth it at the station. I don't know which CBM they'll be docking it to, though.

That's correct. They'll be berthing Dragon to the Node 2 Nadir CBM.

 

[mojoey]

i thought it would be docking in the US module CBM's:shrug:

 

[Zatnikitelman]

Actually, I'd say it'll dock to Harmony, Node 2. In addition to where it's shown as docking in the various drawings and diagrams, it's also one of the less cluttered nodes from what I can tell with one of the few free CBMs.
Also, the CBMs are only on the "U.S. side." The U.S.-owned nodes connect to the European and Japan modules via CBM as well as the two Japanese modules to each other.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

i thought it would be docking in the US module CBM's:shrug:

Yes - Node 2 is a US module (although it was built in Italy).

 

[orb]

Universe Today: Here There Be Dragons: SpaceX’s Spacecraft Arrives at Launch Complex 40