Today’s article will focus on news related to the Dragon spacecraft. First, we will introduce the rescue system that was installed and tested on the new tower on the SLC-40 ramp. Next, we look at the parachute problem that occurred on the recent CRS-29 mission. Then there’s the little trouble the Crew Dragon from the Crew-7 mission is having in orbit. NASA, along with SpaceX, also plans to increase the certification of the Crew Dragon spacecraft for the number of authorized uses. Finally, we will introduce SpaceX’s new research program that will use Dragon ships.
Falcon 9 on ramp SLC-40 prior to Starlink mission 6-27. To the left is the new tower with the boarding arm for Dragon ship missions. (Photo: SpaceX)
It was November 2023 when we last reported that SpaceX was still working on a plan that would allow the second-generation Dragon spacecraft to launch from Florida’s SLC-40 pad. The goal of this activity is to relieve the overloaded LC-39A ramp at the Kennedy Space Center, which is still the only ramp outside of Russian territory from which manned spacecraft launch to the ISS station. Therefore, last fall, a new service tower was built on the SLC-40 ramp, which was subsequently equipped with an access arm that will allow astronauts to board the Crew Dragon ships. At first glance, the tower looked finished and ready to serve the first launch, but the opposite was true. There was a lack of a rescue system that would allow the crew and various workers to leave the ramp area as quickly as possible in the event of problems with the launch vehicle or the Dragon.
Today, however, we clearly can declarethat the launch ramp is already a rescue system equipped, which was successfully tested on February 26, as shown in the video above. This test is part of the certification process, which should culminate in astronauts being able to travel into space from this launch pad in the future. And how does the new rescue system work? Unlike the ropeway method with rescue baskets used on the LC-39A, a new innovative slide is built on the ramp of the SLC-40. A tube is used for rescue, which is normally placed in a folded state in a storage container. In the event of an emergency, it will deploy and astronauts and service personnel will jump into the tube and slide to safety, far from the source of the problems. The launch pad SLC-40 should already see the first launch of the second-generation Dragon ship at the end of March as part of the CRS-30 supply mission. However, we will have to wait for a piloted launch until the fall of this year, when, according to current plans, the Crew-9 mission will take place, which could be the first to use the SLC-40 ramp.
NASA astronauts during an LC-39A ramp emergency exit exercise using rescue baskets (Photo: NASA)
The beginning of this year also brought a solution problem, which SpaceX has been working with NASA on since the cargo Dragon landed during the return from the CRS-29 mission. The landing itself took place in December last year, and while it was successful, a flight inspection of the parachute system found that the straps, called energy modulators, were not working as designed. Essentially, while the parachute is folded in the spacecraft, these straps are sewn together. But when the parachute is pulled out of the ship’s bowels during Dragon’s reentry from orbit, the stitches are torn and the forces acting on the main straps are actually regulated. But the stitches did not tear properly. The cause turned out to be very simple, as it was found that they were installed twisted. In addition, all the circumstances indicate that it is a correct conclusion, because it is flighty inspection modified parachutes after the Ax-3 mission showed that everything was already working properly.
Crew Dragon Endeavor after returning from orbit during the Crew-4 mission (Photo: NASA)
However, this was not the only problem that needed to be solved before the launch of the recent Crew-8 mission. IN articleswhich they commented preparedness of the Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft and the Falcon 9 launch vehicle prior to the launch of the Crew-8 mission, there were two other issues that had to be resolved before the crew set out on their journey. The first was caused by an unexpected change in the surface color of the Crew Dragon Endeavour, which is currently docked at the ISS since it brought the Crew-7 crew there. This issue needed to be analyzed as it could potentially cause the Dragon’s thermal characteristics to change on reentry. But apparently the change in color was caused tape remnants on the surface of the ship. The second problem was related to the composite cover panels on the Crew-8 mission ship that may not have been attached or tightened properly. So the technicians had to check these panels again with a special tool before starting. However, Steve Stich, NASA’s manned flight program manager, unequivocally stated that both issues were not major issues and correctly assumed that everything would be resolved and closed within a day or two. The Crew-8 mission successfully launched on March 4, and the departure of the crew of the previous Crew-7 mission from the ISS is scheduled for March 11.
Color changes on the surface of Crew Dragon during its stay in orbit during the Crew-5 mission (Photo: NASA)
The aforementioned Crew Dragon Endeavour, which carried the Crew-8 crew into orbit on Monday, has already completed five launches, making it the first SpaceX ship to achieve maximum number of missions, for which it is certified. Of course, this does not mean that after landing the ship will be decommissioned and sent to a museum. SpaceX has been working with NASA for some time to expand certification up to 15 missions. As usual, NASA is somewhat cautious in this regard, so it performs the certification gradually and for each on-board component separately. Some components have already received permission to expand the flight envelope, for others this process is ongoing. NASA, however, will probably not immediately agree to a fifteen-fold use and will raise the limit gradually, for now allegedly to seven or ten launches, and then it will be seen what happens next. The same flight restrictions will of course also apply to the cargo version of the Dragon 2 ship.
Falcon 9 on the ramp before the Crew-8 mission (Photo: SpaceX)
So does SpaceX is finishing the fifth and final Crew Dragon ship he plans to build. It will have the serial number C213 and should be completed in the fall of this year. So far, it is tentatively planned that it could be deployed for the first time in 2025 during the Crew-10 mission. And what will happen after that? Thanks to the expanding certification, the existing Dragons should fly until the time when the piloted version of the Starship is capable of operational deployment. The latter is then gradually to completely replace both the Dragon ships and the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
Crew Dragon spacecraft from production to being fished out of the ocean (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX further announced in mid-January new program, within which it started accepting proposals for new and interesting scientific experiments in the field of human health. But the goal of the program is not for scientists themselves to fly directly into space, although there are of course no limits to money and initiative. Selected study groups would gain access to Dragon ship crews as part of the program, with whom they would then work. The obtained results will then become the property of both the scientific teams themselves and the SpaceX company, and both parties could use them as they please. In essence, this program is a kind of successor to the DragonLab project, in which the Dragon ship was supposed to be used as an orbital station. However, there were not enough customers then and the program fell asleep for many years. No major details about this new program are known yet, but I personally believe that these investigations will not take place as part of the crew exchange on the ISS station. Rather, it should be the flights of paid private and commercial customers that SpaceX manages, such as Jared Isaacman’s Polaris program.
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2024-03-09 16:03:41
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