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SpaceX's Crew Dragon Capsule Returns To Earth After Historic Test Flight (nbcnews.com)
SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule returned safely to Earth early Friday, wrapping up its inaugural mission to the International Space Station and signaling that the U.S. may soon be able to ferry astronauts to and from space without relying on Russian spacecraft. From a report: The uncrewed capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, off the east coast of Florida, at 8:45 a.m. ET after spending almost a week at the space station. The spacecraft undocked from the orbiting outpost Friday at 2:32 a.m. ET to begin its descent. "This is an amazing achievement in American history," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said from the space agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "These are all capabilities that are leading to a day where we are launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil." The Crew Dragon capsule was lofted into orbit March 2 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The flight was a crucial test of the new spacecraft, a seven-passenger vehicle that SpaceX has been developing for the past five years.
When astronauts are transported to the launch pad to load into the Dragon 2 capsule, is it true that SpaceX has selected Tesla to provide the transport vehicle? (Model X)
(that is a serious question. any real information would be interesting.)
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
The Zero-G indicator inside the Dragon 2 capsule looks like a stuffed furry plush toy.
Couldn't they have at least selected a different toy: the stuffed plush Alien Face Grabber? That would have been much better to be in the capsule with "Ripley" on this demo flight.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
I haven't heard that, but I would find it highly unlikely as I believe the crew will be in their pressure suits which would be very tight/awkward in anything less than a van.
Also, if there are up to seven astronauts going on the flight, that would mean up to four Model X's to transport the astronauts (four if an astronaut can't sit shotgun).
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
Nothing more to say, it looks like it was done flawlessly.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
What private company has done this before?
This is a first.
Cargo Dragon berths, which means the Canadarm catches it and it is bolted to a berthing port. Berthing ports have a larger opening than the International Docking Adapter, and you can get larger diameter cargo through the door. Crew vehicles dock so that a crew can abandon the ISS or board the uninhabited ISS - nobody would be on board to operate the arm and bolt the vehicle to the berthing port.
A berthing port can have an IDA attached to it, and then becomes a docking port.
Crew Dragon docks autonomously without needing assistance from the ISS or the crew on board the Dragon.
Bruce Perens.
They were planning three modes of operation: parachute splashdown, parachutes plus thruster assist, and full thruster landings. They decided to focus on the first two, at NASA's request.
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
Not to mention Dragon2 is reusable
Not for crewed flights it isn't. Boeing's Starliner will be re-used for crewed flights, but Dragon2 will not. Used capsules will be repurposed for unmanned cargo flights only.
This is because dry landings are a requirement for re-use, and SpaceX decided to discontinue propulsive landing development in favour of parachutes and water landings. They did this because they wanted to spend the resources on Starship instead.
William Proxmire's grave is in Lake Forest Cemetery Lake Forest, Lake County, Illinois, USA. Piss on it for me, please.
Yes, cowardly, craven American politicians including Mr. Proxmire cancelled the last three Apollo missions when we already had the spacecraft for Apollo 18 sitting around, essentially ended manned space exploration for three generations (earth orbit is not exploration), and as far as I can tell achieved no real purpose with the money "saved", other than fighting stupid wars that cost much more than any space program. The Saturn V at the Saturn V Center in Florida is mostly the vehicle that should have flown as Apollo 18. There are also some pieces from Skylab missions, made to look like the Apollo versions.
Bruce Perens.