tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post7043372120340629099..comments2023-10-23T12:57:43.485-07:00Comments on Planet Plots: Cargo Dragon for crew? ken_anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07612961297952294600noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post-43107410483158029182014-04-17T11:29:05.823-07:002014-04-17T11:29:05.823-07:00Just two flight tests and the abort system will be...Just two flight tests and the abort system will be operational. A small price to pay I guess (from a billionaires perspective... I think a nickel is real money.)ken_anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612961297952294600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post-71655487804433605942014-04-17T05:26:08.952-07:002014-04-17T05:26:08.952-07:00According to Astronautix.com, they did several Mer...According to <a href="http://www.astronautix.com/craft/mertower.htm" rel="nofollow">Astronautix.com</a>, they did several Mercury launch escape system tests including some Little Joe flights. Not all of them were successful.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.astronautix.com/fam/litjoeii.htm" rel="nofollow">Little Joe II</a> used for Apollo tests wasn't very successful. Perhaps that's why NASA wants SpaceX to waste an entire Falcon 9 - it's cheaper than trying to develop a dedicated test vehicle. Even carrying a fully fueled second stage is no big deal. How much would it cost to send up a dummy second stage properly ballasted to simulate the real thing?Larry Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07005320430740976182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post-50838072914162112452014-04-17T03:19:37.085-07:002014-04-17T03:19:37.085-07:00Ah the coffee issue rears its ugly head again. Dam...Ah the coffee issue rears its ugly head again. Damned it! It's a nasty plot by the tea drinkers I say.<br /><br />Note that certification flight are a perfect example of rules for thee but not for me.<br /><br />Anywhere you look, you will find a nanny.ken_anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612961297952294600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post-37514181564131672222014-04-16T01:58:21.837-07:002014-04-16T01:58:21.837-07:00Those seats would never be approved by NASA, becau...Those seats would never be approved by NASA, because they're blue. No spacecraft has ever flown with blue seats, so there would need to be extensive testing, including a few unmanned certification flights. :)<br /><br />Of course, if we';re not following NASA rules and just want to get crew to ISS, three of those seats could be put in a cargo Dragon (adapting a cargo dragon for a crew of three is far easier than for a crew of seven). Then, add a few lithium hydroxide canisters plus some O2 bottles, plus rig some zip lines from the strongback for emergency egress, and you've got a bare-bones ability to send crew to ISS. Time? The Dragon scheduled to go up Friday would not need a launch delay. <br /><br />To do it better would entail an off-the-shelf simple life support (the hard parts, thermal and pressurization, are already there, so all you really need are lithium hydroxide for CO2 scrubbing and an O2 source). Plus, some software changes to allow crew laptops to use the existing interface ports in Dragon to access flight control. Oh, and a controller... a computer joystick would work just fine.<br /><br />Launch abort? Cargo Dragon already has the ability, with a few minor software changes, to abort once past significant air resistance; shut down the F9 engines and pull away using the existing Draco thrusters. Also, Dragon, unlike Shuttle, has no black zones on the ascent profile, so may well survive a LV breakup. So, it's already a lot more capable than Shuttle regarding abort scenarios. <br /><br />There's only one major technical issue, but it';s a big one, as it would make surviving the six hour trip to ISS impossible; cargo Dragon has no means of heating water, and thus, no way to make coffee. Fixing that issue might take a while... <br /><br />C Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09526212511734492238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post-20867740764419889362014-04-15T09:53:44.326-07:002014-04-15T09:53:44.326-07:00There you have it... a few weeks. I guess I gave m...There you have it... a few weeks. I guess I gave myself plenty of margin when I said by the end of this year?<br /><br />They already have <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/94217/spacexs-dragon-now-with-seating-for-seven/" rel="nofollow">seating for seven</a>.ken_anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612961297952294600noreply@blogger.com