SpaceX set to Launch Critical Dragon Demonstration Mission Tonight:
It's finally go time. For the first time since 2011 and the space shuttle's retirement, a rocket and spacecraft stand on a launch pad in Florida capable of blasting humans into space. Launch time is set for 2:49am ET (07:49 UTC) Saturday from Kennedy Space Center. NASA and SpaceX have worked toward this goal for nine years. It hasn't always been easy, but now here we are.
This particular Dragon won't carry humans, just a single mannequin named Ripley as an homage to Sigourney Weaver's iconic character in the movie Alien. Ripley will wear a flight suit and be well instrumented in order to determine conditions inside the spacecraft. "The idea is to get an idea of how humans would feel in her place basically," Hans Koenigsmann, the vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX, said at a news briefing Thursday.
[...] This uncrewed flight must go off smoothly before NASA and SpaceX can proceed to crewed missions and end the space agency's dependence on Russian transportation to the station. So much must go right from start to finish. It will begin about an hour before Saturday morning's launch, when NASA will be closely watching the load-and-go fueling operations of the Falcon 9 rocket, which will occur with astronauts on board during crewed flights.
NASA engineers also want to see how Dragon performs in orbit, how smoothly it docks with the space station, and the condition of the vehicle's interior once the hatch opens. (Hopefully there will be no free freon.) Then, perhaps the most critical phase of the mission will come during the return to Earth, when Dragon re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands in the Atlantic Ocean, under parachutes. This is presently expected to occur on Friday, March 8, at around 8:45am ET.
There are some great pics in the story, well worth loading and reading all the way through.
This is a new booster (per NASA's specification) which is scheduled for a landing attempt on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You.
The launch is being live-streamed on YouTube. Video usually starts 15-20 minutes before launch.
Related Stories
Crew Dragon successfully conducts debut docking with the ISS
Following a successful launch early Saturday morning, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft has successfully conducted a rendezvous and docking to the International Space Station for the first time. Docking was ahead of schedule at 5:51 AM EST (10:51 UTC) on Sunday, March 3.
[...] Dragon 2 was the first SpaceX vehicle to attempt an autonomous docking in orbit. Dragon 1, which has been flying cargo resupply missions to the ISS since 2012, only maneuvered close enough to be grappled by the station's robotic arm, which then moved the spacecraft into position to be berthed. Dragon 2, on the other hand, will not utilize the robotic arm, but rather use the onboard Draco thrusters to dock with the station. During a crewed mission, astronauts aboard the spacecraft will have the capability to intervene and fly the vehicle manually, if needed.
Crew Dragon docked to the forward port of the space station's Harmony module, which has been fitted with an International Docking Adaptor (IDA). The IDA was launched aboard Dragon 1 on the SpaceX CRS-9 mission. Crew currently aboard the ISS completed a checkout of the docking port in advance of Saturday's launch, and verified the docking system was "go" for docking.
[...] A single action item concerning Dragon's approach to the station was identified during the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) conducted before launch. A concern over Dragon's docking abort procedures was raised by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, one of NASA's international partners in the ISS program. While a scenario in which this issue would arise is unlikely, NASA and Roscosmos agreed to additional procedures to follow should Dragon encounter a problem during the rendezvous. No issues were suffered during the test objectives.
Previously: SpaceX Conducts Static Fire Test, Unmanned Crew Dragon Test Expected No Earlier Than February 23
SpaceX, Boeing (and NASA) Push Back 1st Test Launches of Private Spaceships
SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Gets NASA Thumbs-Up for March Test Flight
SpaceX Set to Launch Critical Dragon Demonstration Mission Tonight (Mar. 2 @ 07:49 UTC; 2:49 AM EST)
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:22AM (1 child)
Why couldn't they use a chimpanzee or Muslim?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:29AM
Duh, they want to see how humans will feel and they don't want to worry about the spaceship being blown up by a jihadi.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:28AM
This time, sending her up alone, locked in a seat with nothing but telemetry to keep her company? I can't imagine she'd be too happy with that [youtube.com].
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:37AM
What is this womannequin, a sex robot? SpaceXXX is so wrong. Somebody please tell Hans Koenigswomann that we need to keep those here on Earth, closer to Hell.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @01:09AM (1 child)
The rocket travels backwards uphill to the pad, with the nose down, on both rail and tires. Leading the way and holding the end with the engines there are two train-like parts on separate parallel train tracks. Trailing behind and supporting the non-engine end is a portion with tires. I wonder if both parts have drive traction.
Pretty much every rocket seems to have a unique crazy transport. Some of the ULA ones actually move the assembly building instead of the rocket. There is of course that huge NASA crawler which no other nation has decided to duplicate. I think I'd run a canal through the flame trench, allowing a barge. Somebody should try an air-cushioned vehicle running in a guideway with a cogwheel drive.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday March 02 2019, @01:23AM
Falcon 9 can be transported using the public highways [teslarati.com]. That will be impossible for Starship (BFR). It could only be moved around using a barge, unless they try to fly it from California and land it in Texas, which is unlikely.
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