Private Unmanned Space Capsule Set for Tuesday Launch

[Lighthawk]

A private unmanned space capsule designed to ferry cargo to the International Space Station is all set for a key demonstration flight tomorrow (Dec. 7). The Dragon space capsule built by the California company Space Explorations Technologies (SpaceX) is poised to launch from a seaside pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida during a nearly 3 1/2-hour launch window that opens tomorrow at about 9 a.m. The launch will test the spacecraft SpaceX plans to use to fulfill a $1.6 billion contract with NASA for 12 resupply flights after the agency's space shuttle fleet retires next year.

SpaceX is one of two companies with contracts for commercial cargo deliveries to the station. The other company is Virginia-based Orbital Sciences, which plans to deliver supplies to the station using its new Taurus 2 rocket and unmanned Cygnus space vehicles. The first test flights for those spacecraft are slated for next year.

Space Dragon Debuts

Dragon will launch into orbit atop SpaceX's two-stage Falcon 9 rocket.

For this maiden flight, the Dragon capsule is expected to make as many as four orbits around Earth, showing the ability to transmit telemetry data, receive commands and maneuver, SpaceX officials have said. The Dragon capsule should then re-enter the atmosphere and make a water landing in the Pacific Ocean, after which SpaceX personnel will recover it by ship.

The entire operation should take about four or five hours, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

The Dec. 7 flight will be Dragon's first demonstration under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, or COTS, which aims to advance the capabilities of U.S. commercial spaceflight.

"As we move forward with our first demo flight under the COTS program, we look forward to helping jumpstart America's space program and secure our leadership position in space," Musk wrote in an October mission status update.

If all goes well, several more test flights are on the docket for Dragon vehicles and Falcon 9 rockets after tomorrow's debut mission. SpaceX could start delivering cargo to the station sometime next year, company officials have said.For Dragon, the progress marks the culmination of a five-year journey, as SpaceX started developing the craft in 2005. Here's the skinny on the capsule, which could help spur a boom in private spaceflight:

Dragon: The Basics

The gumdrop-shaped Dragon capsule stands 9.5 feet (2.9 meters) tall and is about 11.8 feet (3.6 m) wide at its base. It weighs 9,260 pounds (4,200 kilograms).

The spacecraft is composed of three parts: A protective nose cone, a pressurized capsule for crew and/or cargo and an unpressurized trunk, which houses solar arrays and thermal radiators. The trunk can also hold cargo that doesn't need a pressurized environment.

Dragon can haul 13,228 pounds (6,000 kg) of payload up to Earth orbit and bring 6,614 pounds (3,000 kg) back down, according to SpaceX.

While the spacecraft will initially be used chiefly as an unmanned cargo vessel, SpaceX is developing a crewed version, which the company says could carry up to seven people on round trips to low-Earth orbit.

On its supply runs, Dragon will launch atop SpaceX's Falcon 9, a 180-foot-tall (55-m-tall) rocket that passed a big test of its own this summer. In June, a Falcon 9 carrying a Dragon mock-up made its maiden flight, reaching an orbit about 155 miles (250 kilometers) above Earth.

"The upcoming demonstration mission will launch from Cape Canaveral and should follow a flight plan nearly identical to the first Falcon 9 launch, but this time the Dragon spacecraft will separate from the second stage and will demonstrate operational communications, navigation, maneuvering and re-entry," Musk wrote. Eventually, Dragon capsules are expected to fly themselves to the space station, where astronauts aboard the orbiting lab will use the outpost's robotic arm to grapple the craft and attach it to a docking port. A similar process is used for Japanese cargo ships that visit the station.

For this test flight, however, the first Dragon capsule will stay well clear of the space station, and then test its re-entry capabilities and parachutes for a Pacific splashdown.

"Although it does not have wings like shuttle, the Dragon spacecraft is controlled throughout re-entry by the onboard Draco thrusters which enable the spacecraft to touchdown at a very precise location ?? ultimately within a few hundred yards of its target," Musk wrote in the recent update.

Tomorrow's demonstration flight will send the capsule toward splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast. But that's not how things will always go.

"While Dragon will initially make water landings, over the long term, Dragon will be landing on land," Musk wrote.

SpaceX began developing Dragon internally in 2005. In December 2008, NASA awarded the company a $1.6 billion dollar COTS contract to make a minimum of 12 supply flights to the space station using Dragon and the Falcon 9.

NASA also left the door open to add more missions, which could bring the value of the contract up to $3.1 billion, SpaceX officials have said.

Cygnus: Another Private Capsule

SpaceX isn't the only company NASA is counting on to resupply the space station. Orbital Sciences a $1.9 billion deal to make eight flights using the company's Cygnus capsule and Taurus 2 rocket, both of which are under development.

The first test flight of the Taurus 2 should come in 2011, according to company officials.

After that, Orbital plans to make a full demo run under its COTS contract, likely toward the end of 2011. During that second flight, a fully operational Cygnus capsule will dock with the station, Orbital Sciences officials have said.

"As it stands right now, we're about a year away," Barron Beneski, vice president of corporate communications for Orbital Sciences, told SPACE.com. "We have our nose to the grindstone, working hard to develop our system."

Next year will also be a busy one for SpaceX since the company's Dragon capsules will still have a few more hurdles left after tomorrow's test flight before they can begin hauling cargo to the International Space Station.

In 2011, Dragon capsules and Falcon 9 rockets are expected to make at least two more demonstration flights, according to SpaceX officials.

The first 2011 demo, which is expected to last five days, includes a space station flyby, during which a Dragon capsule should approach within 6 miles (10 km) of the station. The next demo should last about 3 days and will include an actual docking with the station.

In his update, Musk said he applauded last month's approval by the U.S. Congress of a new NASA authorization act that includes a larger role for commercial spaceflight efforts to provide transportation to low-Earth orbit.

"The bill sets NASA on an exciting course to focus on exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, while recognizing the valuable role American companies are ready to undertake in ending our reliance on Russia to carry our astronauts to the International Space Station," Musk wrote. "Investing in commercial crew transport will build on NASA's proud record of innovation and will create competition that will force companies to improve reliability, increase safety, and reduce costs."

Source

[Mikey]

Why am I not surprised that advancements like this followed on the heels of outsourcing?

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

May a flight of angels speed them on their way.

[Mikey]

May a flight of angels speed them on their way.

Hmmm... how much do angels get as subcontractors these days?

[SolkaTruesilver]

May a flight of angels speed them on their way.

Hmmm... how much do angels get as subcontractors these days?

With "Buy America" protectionnist measures, you'd be surprised.

[Tyyr]

SpaceX was founded in 2002, they've been working up to this for a long time, long before NASA was forced to outsource. All the outsourcing did was force NASA to give them a serious look. Frankly I hope they pull it off, this is not a mission type that NASA should overly concern itself with. Hauling cargo to LEO is certainly something you can contract out to the lowest bidder.

What will be interesting to see is if SpaceX and Elon can get their manned version of the Dragon off the ground. Anything to get us off relying on the Russians.

[Sionnach Glic]

I wish all these private companies the best of luck in getting space travel and exploration back up and running again, but personally I doubt they're going to get very far. Still, we can hope for the best.

[Tyyr]

I still think NASA should be in charge of the big exploration missions.

What this is, UPS to LEO, let a private company do it.

[SolkaTruesilver]

May a flight of angels speed them on their way.

Hmmm... how much do angels get as subcontractors these days?

With "Buy America" protectionnist measures, you'd be surprised.

Wait, I got a better one (sorry for my late-wit)

The U.S. have recently mixed their two most common idioms: "God Bless America" and "Buy American".

Now, it's gonna be "God Buy American".

[Mikey]

Holy hopping snot. If this wit is representative of the typical Canadian worker, then I hope to all that's unholy that we prevent as many Canadian goods from crossing the border as possible.

[Sonic Glitch]

Speaking of the Private Unmanned Space Capsule

[urlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11948329]SPLASHDOWN[/url]

The Falcon 9 rocket reached its intended 300 km-high orbit

A private US capsule that could soon be hauling cargo and even astronauts to the space station has splashed down after its maiden flight.

The Dragon ship launched from Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket at 1543GMT (1043 EST) on Wednesday.

The capsule separated about 10 minutes after launch, reaching its 300km-high orbit shortly after.

After completing several manoeuvres some 300km above Earth, the capsule splashed down in the Pacific.

Dragon and Falcon 9 are both products of California's SpaceX company.

The firm has a $1.6bn (£1bn) contract with the US space agency (Nasa) to provide 12 spacecraft with cargo capacity of at least 20 tonnes to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) through to 2016.

The initiative is part of a much wider American policy to place the carriage of freight and crew transport to the ISS in the hands of the private sector.

This was the first of three test outings intended to prove SpaceX's systems worked as designed. Dragon will not be allowed near the space station until it can be shown the capsule is safe.

Company and Nasa officials tried to play down expectations ahead of the mission, reminding the media that the complexity of space ventures often results in early mishaps as engineers get to grips with the new technologies.

"There's so much that can go wrong, and it all went right. We didn't even have to go to any backup systems at any point... I'm sort of in semi-shock," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said after the mission.

The vessel completed almost two orbits of the Earth while demonstrating its onboard systems.

A de-orbit burn brought Dragon back down through the atmosphere and a controlled splashdown via the assistance of three parachutes in ocean waters roughly 800km west of the coast of Mexico.
Chutes open The capsule hit the water three hours, 19 minutes and 52 seconds after the launch from Florida

US President Barack Obama hopes the private sector can help fill the gap left by the retirement next year of the space shuttle fleet.

He envisages commercial ships ferrying supplies and astronauts to low-Earth orbit destinations like the ISS, while Nasa concentrates on developing a much more capable rocket and spaceship to venture out into the Solar System.

Dragon's demonstration flight has been organised under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (Cots) programme, which sees Nasa seed SpaceX with funds to help it deliver a serviceable system.

The company hopes to take Dragon to the space station next year. It says the capsule could be converted to carry a crew within three years of being given the task.

Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden applauded SpaceX's efforts.

"While rocket launches from the Cape are considered a common occurrence, the historic significance of today's achievement by SpaceX should not be lost," he said.

"This is the first in a new generation of commercial launch systems that will help provide vital support to the International Space Station and may one day carry astronauts into orbit. This successful demonstration flight is an important milestone in meeting the objectives outlined by President Obama and Congress, and shows how government and industry can leverage expertise and resources to foster a new and vibrant space economy."

[Lighthawk]

Awesome. Good job guys.

[Tyyr]

Awesome, just awesome.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Woo-hoo!

[Teaos]

Excellent, I have always though space should be privatised, and then NASA should deliever grants and offer contracts for missions. Much like military programmes often work.