Dragon C2+ launch (SPLASHDOWN!!)

[Dr Mordrid]

2 large pics of the Falcon 9 / Dragon C2/C3 rollout before the wet dressed rehearsal. Note the plastic cover over Dragon, the solar panel outriggers, and the new white room on the transporter / erector.

The final pre-launch clearance evaluation by NASA will take place April 16th, and if everything is good then launch is still set for April 30th. A 10 second hot-fire test of the 9 Merlin engines is to take place a few days before launch.

In other SpaceX news -

The first stage of CRS-1, the first full load ISS resupply mission, is being prepped at the McGregor, Texas test facility for a tentative August 2012 launch - if Dragon C2/C3 goes as expected.

[Dr Mordrid]

Wired has a good synopsos of what the Dragon C+ mission tests will be like (NASA changed the mission name from C2/C3 to C+)

Wired....

SpaceX and NASA are moving ahead with the scheduled April 30 launch date of the Dragon spacecraft and its historic docking with the International Space Station after the flight readiness review was approved at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The comprehensive evaluation of the SpaceX mission is one of the last major steps before the company becomes the first commercial carrier to deliver payloads to the ISS. Although SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk was careful to remind everybody that the flight is a test and success is far from guaranteed.
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(EDIT: talking head stuff)
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The mission will take roughly four days until the Dragon will dock with the space station in orbit and combines two separate tests into a single flight. The capsule will then remain attached to the station for 18 days. The first demonstration test will be a flight around the space station to test and verify maneuverability, navigation and communication capabilities.

On flight day three, the Dragon spacecraft will begin a series of maneuvers that will take it on a lap around the ISS beginning with a relatively close 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) pass underneath the station. During this close pass the Dragon and the ISS will communicate with each other for the first time. “An absolute requirement for proximity operations,” according to NASA flight director Holly Ridings.

The crew on board the space station will send a test command to Dragon to confirm those on the ISS have the ability to control the capsule when necessary. The communication tests are to make sure the crew would be able to command the Dragon to hold or abort if needed when it is in close proximity to the station.

After the 2.5 km pass, the Dragon will move out to 200 km as it continues the lap. It will then again maneuver closer as it passes over the top of the station, this time getting as close as 7 km. The entire lap should take a full day, 22-24 hours according to Ridings.

On flight day four, the Dragon will once again be guided to 2.5 km underneath the station as preparations are made for the final tests before finally docking with the ISS. Once inside this 2.5 km zone, Ridings says the NASA team in Houston has final authority over the mission due to the proximity to the station and the safety of the crew on board.

The next parking spot will be at 1.4 km as the Dragon prepares for the approach initiation. Once everybody agrees for a go, the Dragon will maneuver to a point just 250 meters (820 feet) from the station, which will serve as its hold point for the final tests in very close proximity to the station. According to NASA, the hold point is outside the critical KOS, the acronym-happy agency’s simply named “Keep Out Sphere.”

The next demonstration objectives include interaction with the crew on orbit. From the 250 m hold point, the Dragon team at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California headquarters will issue a command to slowly begin approaching the station, after which the ISS crew will issue a retreat command as the first test. The demonstration will be repeated, this time with the ISS crew issuing a hold command at 220 m.

“That will be the last of our go/no go objectives in terms of the demonstration objective,” according to Ridings.

After these demonstrations are complete and everybody at NASA and SpaceX are satisfied, the Dragon will then make the final maneuvers towards the station. With all the functionality of the Dragon checked out, the spacecraft will be commanded by the SpaceX team to cross the KOS boundary for the first time.

The Dragon will then stop at 30 m, where the go/no-go decision will be made by everybody on the ground as well as the crew on the station to make the final approach. Though the Dragon is an automated spacecraft and is capable of performing the entire mission autonomously, Ridings emphasized that the station crew will be heavily involved and is there as a safety net, especially on the first flight.

After maneuvering to just 10 m from the station, the Dragon will park in its final hold position, known as the capture point. Once a final decision is made for capture, the station crew takes over the final steps using the robotic arm to reach out and grab the Dragon and move into its berthing spot on the station.

The final step of the mission from the 2.5 km point to docking is expected to take around seven to eight hours. On the following day, the station crew begins the laborious cargo transfer as 521 kilograms (1,146 pounds) are offloaded from the Dragon, and 660 kilograms (1,452 pounds) of cargo from the station are placed into the capsule to be returned to earth. Thankfully, it’s mostly the motions that are laborious and not heavy lifting.

Representatives from the NASA side of the review meeting also reminded reporters of the test nature of the mission. But all sounded confident based on the preparation, simulations and tests that have been completed. NASA space station program manager Mike Sufferdini told reporters there are still some verifications that need to be done, but everything is looking good.

Sufferdini said the past few years has been a positive learning experience for both organizations and he’s excited to see a new vehicle arrive at the station. One of the differences during the flight readiness review he pointed to compared to past NASA missions is the bottom line. “There were no requirements for mission success,” he said. The simple comment in many ways marks NASA’s transition from shouldering the responsibility to deliver payloads to orbit, to a consumer of space delivery services. This point is driven home as today marks the last flight of the space shuttle discovery as it was flown to Washington, D.C., where it will be handed over to the Smithsonian.

SpaceX has one more launch simulation to complete before the launch. Sufferdini said there are some verifications that still need to be completed, but nothing that indicates there should be any issues.
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[Dr Mordrid]

Dragon C2+ launch delayed to May 7 for extra software testing. Abundance of caution because of the importance of the flight, and perhaps looking in the rear view mirror at Phobos-Grunt.

SpaceX Dragon Demonstration Flight Coverage on NASA Television (all times Eastern)

Watch NASA TV

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

May 6, Sunday

1:00 p.m. – SpaceX/Falcon 9 Dragon Pre-Launch Briefing – KSC (All Channels)

May 7, Monday

8 a.m. – SpaceX/Falcon 9 Dragon Launch Coverage Begins – KSC (Launch scheduled at 9:38 a.m. EDT; All Channels)

11 a.m. – SpaceX/Falcon 9 Dragon Post-Launch Briefing – KSC (All Channels)

May 8, Tuesday

11 a.m. – ISS Update – JSC (All Channels)

May 9, Wednesday

11 a.m. – ISS Update – JSC (All Channels)

May 10, Thursday

2:30 a.m. – SpaceX/Dragon ISS Fly-Under Demonstration Test Coverage – JSC (All Channels)

10 a.m. – SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing – JSC and Hawthorne, CA (All Channels; time subject to change)

11 a.m. – ISS Update – JSC (All Channels)

May 11, Friday

2 a.m. – SpaceX/Dragon ISS Grapple and Berthing Coverage – JSC (All Channels; grapple scheduled at 8:30 a.m. EDT, berthing no earlier than 12 p.m. EDT; times subject to change)

1 p.m. – SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing – JSC and Hawthorne, CA (All Channels; time subject to change)

May 12, Saturday

TBD – ISS Expedition 31 Crew SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening and Ceremony – JSC (All Channels)

May 14, Monday

TBD – ISS Expedition 31 SpaceX/Dragon In-Flight Event – JSC (All Channels)

[Dr Mordrid]

Hotfire webcast at http://www.spacex.com Monday, April 30 with coverage starting at 2:30 PM ET and the hotfire at 3:00 PM ET. Only 2 seconds this time - flight 1 was 10 sec and flight 2 was 4 sec. Seems they're gaining confidence in the system.

http://spaceref.biz/2012/04/spacex-to-webcast-static-fire.html

[Dr Mordrid]

The Falcon 9's engine hot-fire test webcast here: http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php

Coverage starts today, April 30, 2012, at2:30 PM ET / 11:30 AM PT

Falcon 9 / Dragon has been rolled out and is on the pad.

[Dr Mordrid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35igaHaoGhU

NBC Cosmic Log....

SpaceX fires Falcon's rocket engines

SpaceX conducted a successful test firing of a Falcon 9 rocket's engines on its Cape Canaveral launch pad, one week before its precedent-setting launch to the International Space Station. But it took more than one try.

The initial countdown was halted just 47 seconds before the nine engines were scheduled to start up. SpaceX fixed what it called a "limit that was improperly set" on the flight computer and quickly set up another countdown. The second countdown proceeded smoothly, and the rocket's nine engines fizzed to life for two seconds as expected, at 4:15 p.m. ET today.

"Woohoo, rocket hold-down firing completed and all looks good!!" SpaceX's millionaire founder, Elon Musk, reported in a Twitter update. Meanwhile, company spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham said "engineers will now review data as we continue preparations for the upcoming launch."

This was a full dress rehearsal for SpaceX's second official demonstration flight for NASA. The first demo flight, back in December 2010, sent a gumdrop-shaped Dragon space capsule into orbit for the first time. The second flight, scheduled to lift off as early as May 7, could see the Dragon go all the way to the space station.
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[Dr Mordrid]

On the pad before the tests -1984x3000

Just think - the Block II Falcon 9 is going to be 49 feet taller (227 ft vs. 178 ft) with its satellite fairing.

[Dr Mordrid]

Another launch delay due to NASA & SpaceX having issues understanding each others software sources etc., and know we know why. The story goes that SpaceX is using C++ for programming in Linux, but NASA's Mission Control Center programmers (legacy - as in greybeards) are still using vintage C and FORTRAN in more than one OS. /sigh

Nice pic taken during the hot-fire attached.

Finally things have been resolved and we have a new launch date -

May 19 at 4:55 AM EDT. Night launch!

If this 'instant launch window' is missed the next possible target date is May 22.

New NASA TV schedule -

May 18, Friday
1 p.m. - SpaceX/Falcon 9 Dragon Pre-Launch Briefing - KSC (All Channels)

May 19, Saturday
3:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Falcon 9 Dragon Launch Coverage Begins (Launch scheduled at 4:55 a.m. EDT) - KSC (All Channels)

7:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Falcon 9 Dragon Post-Launch News Conference - KSC (All Channels)

May 21, Monday
2:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Fly-Under of the ISS Coverage - JSC (All Channels)

10 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing - JSC (All Channels)

May 22, Tuesday
2 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon ISS Grapple and Berthing Coverage - JSC (All Channels)

1 p.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing (Time subject to change) - JSC (All Channels)

May 23, Wednesday
7:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Coverage - JSC (All Channels)

TBD - ISS Expedition 31 Post-SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Crew News Conference - JSC (All Channels)

[Dr Mordrid]

On Tuesday NASA's space station management team approved SpaceX's first commercial flight to the ISS on Saturday May 19, signing off software updates to the Dragon spacecrafts flight computer. Launch from SpaceX"'s Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral is set for 4:55 AM EDT (0855 GMT).

Up is a GO

[Dr Mordrid]

http://portsmouth-nh...eave-portsmouth

NASA Ships Leave Portsmouth

Liberty Star and Freedom Star are preparing for Saturday's SpaceX launch.

The two NASA ships that have been docked at the New Hampshire State Pier left port this morning, heading to their mission support locations for Saturday's scheduled SpaceX launch.

NASA spokeswoman Katherine Barnstorff said the "Liberty Star" and "Freedom Star" left port around 8 a.m. The two ships had been docked in Portsmouth since last month in preparation for their mission involving the SpaceX launch. The launch was originally scheduled to take place on April 30, but got delayed due to weather.

According to NASA's website, this mission is "a demonstration flight by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, as part of its contract with NASA to have private companies launch cargo safely to the International Space Station."

Saturday's SpaceX launch is scheduled for 4:55 a.m. The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule will occur from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

During the flight, SpaceX's Dragon capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including the capability to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station, according to a NASA press release.

The primary objectives of the flight include a fly-by of the space station at a distance of 1.5 miles to validate the operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous and approach. The spacecraft also will demonstrate the ability to abort the rendezvous. Once these capabilities are successfully proven, the Dragon will be cleared to berth with the space station.

[Dr Mordrid]

Roll-out for the launch -

Secret cargo: the ashes of Mercury astronaut L. Gordon Cooper (Faith 7) and Star Trek's James Doohan (Scotty)

[Dr Mordrid]

Launch abort at the last second.

The flight computer picked up a slight overpressure in Engine 5 after ignition, so it shut the launch down before release just to be safe.

This was an instantaneous launch window, so they can't just reset with a wider pressure allowance and still go so it's scrubbed for today.

Next launch opportunity is May 22 at 07:44:34 UTC (3:44:34 am EDT)

EDIT: it's now confirmed that it was an overly conservative pressure sensor limit setting.

Musk tweeted "Launch aborted: slightly high combustion chamber pressure on engine 5. Will adjust limits for countdown in a few days."

[Dr Mordrid]

Just gof this in my email -

During rigorous inspections of the engine, SpaceX engineers discovered a faulty check valve on the Merlin engine. We are now in the process of replacing the failed valve. Those repairs should be complete tonight. We will continue to review data on Sunday. If things look good, we will be ready to attempt to launch on Tuesday, May 22nd at 3:44 AM Eastern.

A subsequent tweet revealed it was a turbopump fuel check valve, which could have caused a catastrophic failure by causing the engine to run lean and hot - possibly burning through the thrust chamber. Not good.

Sounds like their hypersensitive flight computer and sensor array wins again.

[Dr Mordrid]

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20120521/SPACE/305210004/SpaceX-set-second-shot-launch?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CSpace%20News&nclick_check=1

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SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Grantham said a valve on a nitrogen gas line used to purge the Merlin engine before ignition remained stuck open.

Tests performed Sunday appeared to show the new valve working properly and no evidence of similar problems on the eight surrounding engines.

“Things are looking good,” Grantham said Sunday after the repair work was complete.

The countdown is expected to pick up after 8 p.m. today, with loading of liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellant starting around midnight.
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[Dr Mordrid]

PERFECT LAUNCH!!

Falcon 9 is now 3 for 3, Dragon is in orbit, her solar wings deployed, and the trajectory is nominal.

Pics -

Strong-back in launch position

LIFTOFF!

Realtime satellite tracking of Dragon and ISS

http://www.n2yo.com/?s=25544|77777

Solar Wing deployment