SpaceX Dragon 2 crew spacecraft (NASA orders ISS crew mission)

[Umfriend]

That's over 6G on average, wonder how the G-forces develop in the first 10 seconds. Will the pilots black-out? Have pressure-suits like fighter pilots?

[Dr Mordrid]

The abort burn only lasts 5-6 seconds so....

6 G's is nothing. A Soyuz crew endured 14 G in a launch pad abort.

Why the difference? Different abort protocols.

Russian aborts send a signal to shut down the engines of a failing booster then fire the spacecraft's escape system. There's always a risk that signal won't work, so Soyuz accelerates faster & longer to out-run the launcher if it's engines don't shut down.

US luncher abort protocol is to also send an engine shutdown signal, but in addition there's an explosive linear shaped charge that unzips the propellant tanks - which causes the conflagration you see with aborted US launches. To assure that the charge detonates it has dedicated systems, power & comms that allow a manual 'Big Red Button' abort if the automation fails. With crewed flights the shaped charge detonation is timed so it happens after the spacecraft bugs out. With nothing still potentially accelerating behind them the US crews abort can be at a lower G load.

For short durations like aborts where everything is handled by the avionics a short blackout can be tolerated, so no G-suits in most spacecraft. Air tight yes; pressure bladders in the trunk & lower extremities no.

[Dr Mordrid]

Vogue article on Musk has 2 new pix; him in a SpaceX spacesuit prototype and in Dragon 2 with its interior trimmed out. Both look a bit Trek-y. Their seat designer is from Formula One, and the material is likewise used in racing seats.

http://www.vogue.com/13349221/elon-m...-tesla-motors/

[Dr Mordrid]

Crew Dragon will fly on the new Falcon 9 Full Thrust vehicle, which has +30% more performance than Falcon 9 v1.1. F9 FT has its maiden flight in mid December, launching 11 ORBCOMM communications satellites.

Late in 2016 or early 2017 an unmanned robotic Crew Dragon will fly to ISS on a checkout mission. If that goes well a manned missio n should happen a few months later. Crew Dragon can fly manually or robotic, and has several landing modes for extra layers of safety.

Q2 2016 the Falcon Heavy (beast) flies from their recently completed KSC LC-39A facility. LC-39A is where Apollo 11 left for the Moon. Rumors are Falcon Heavy will deliver the early hardware for SpaceX's Mars infrastructure, from both LC-39A and their under construction Launch Site Texas facility at Boca China Beach near Brownsville, Texas.

Early Mars payloads are expected to include fuel and oxygen factory prototypes, a power generation system and speciali robots - some for constructing Mars Colonial Transporter landing pads. There may also be a commsat network around Mars with high data rate links back to Earth. NASA wants one anyhow, and SpaceX is developing such a constellation for Earth anyhow.

https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/667816542365552640

@NASA orders @SpaceX crew mission to @Space_Station. Read details at https://t.co/XGSEOSVuYZ https://t.co/N42GidqN68

NASA Orders SpaceX Crew Mission to International Space Station

NASA took a significant step Friday toward expanding research opportunities aboard the International Space Station with its first mission order from Hawthorne, California based-company SpaceX to launch astronauts from U.S. soil.

This is the second in a series of four guaranteed orders NASA will make under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts. The Boeing Company of Houston received its first crew mission order in May.

"It’s really exciting to see SpaceX and Boeing with hardware in flow for their first crew rotation missions," said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. "It is important to have at least two healthy and robust capabilities from U.S. companies to deliver crew and critical scientific experiments from American soil to the space station throughout its lifespan."

Determination of which company will fly its mission to the station first will be made at a later time. The contracts call for orders to take place prior to certification to support the lead time necessary for missions in late 2017, provided the contractors meet readiness conditions.

Commercial crew missions to the space station, on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, will restore America’s human spaceflight capabilities and increase the amount of time dedicated to scientific research aboard the orbiting laboratory.

SpaceX’s crew transportation system, including the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, has advanced through several development and certification phases. The company recently performed a critical design review, which demonstrated the transportation system has reached a sufficient level of design maturity to work toward fabrication, assembly, integration and test activities.

"The authority to proceed with Dragon's first operational crew mission is a significant milestone in the Commercial Crew Program and a great source of pride for the entire SpaceX team," said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX. “When Crew Dragon takes NASA astronauts to the space station in 2017, they will be riding in one of the safest, most reliable spacecraft ever flown. We're honored to be developing this capability for NASA and our country.”

Commercial crew launches will reduce the cost, per seat, of transporting NASA astronauts to the space station compared to what the agency must pay the Russian Federal Space Agency for the same service. If, however, NASA does not receive the full requested funding for CCtCap contracts in fiscal year 2016 and beyond, the agency will be forced to delay future milestones for both U.S. companies and continue its sole reliance on Russia to transport American astronauts to the space station.

Orders under the CCtCap contracts are made two to three years prior to actual mission dates in order to provide time for each company to manufacture and assemble the launch vehicle and spacecraft. Each company also must successfully complete a certification process before NASA will give the final approval for flight. Each contract includes a minimum of two and a maximum potential of six missions.

A standard commercial crew mission to the station will carry up to four NASA or NASA-sponsored crew members and about 220 pounds of pressurized cargo. The spacecraft will remain at the station for up to 210 days, available as an emergency lifeboat during that time.

“Commercial crew launches are really important for helping us meet the demand for research on the space station because it allows us to increase the crew to seven,” said Julie Robinson, International Space Station chief scientist. “Over the long term, it also sets the foundation for scientific access to future commercial research platforms in low- Earth orbit.”

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manages the CCtCap contracts and is working with each company to ensure commercial transportation system designs and post-certification missions will meet the agency’s safety requirements. Activities that follow the award of missions include a series of mission-related reviews and approvals leading to launch. The program also will be involved in all operational phases of missions to ensure crew safety.

For the latest on Commercial Crew progress, bookmark the program’s blog at:

http://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

[Dr Mordrid]

Astronauts Try Out Crew Dragon Display at SpaceX

Commercial crew astronauts Doug Hurley, Sunita “Suni” Williams and Bob Behnken had the opportunity to evaluate the displays in the Crew Dragon spacecraft at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California, headquarters.

Hurley, Williams and Behnken are three of four astronauts who were selected to be the first to train to fly to space aboard commercial spacecraft as part of the NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA will decide at a later date which astronauts will fly aboard which spacecraft – SpaceX Crew Dragon and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner. See more photos in Commercial Crew’s Flickr album*here.