posted 08-18-2011 05:30 PM               

Editor's note: In an effort to keep the topic SpaceX Dragon: First flight to the space station focused on status updates, reader's feedback and opinions are directed to this thread.

Please use this topic to discuss SpaceX's first mission designed to demonstrate that a privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

posted 09-09-2011 07:10 PM               

"I'd call it an oxidizer-rich shutdown," former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox, SpaceX's vice president of astronaut safety and mission assurance, told Space News in a Sept. 9 interview. "So because of that, when you get that mixture change happening, the temperatures can go up higher than you want inside the gas generator."

Bowersox added that "those temperatures could have damaged the turbines in the turbopump." That presents an obstacle for SpaceX, which eventually intends to reuse the nine Merlin engines that power the Falcon 9...

SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham said that the anomaly poses no threat to the company's upcoming COTS demonstration, a flight to the international space station (ISS) targeted for late November.

posted 01-20-2012 06:41 PM               

NASA sources said the company ran into problems with the planned rendezvous profile needed to guide the Dragon capsule to the space station. NASA dispatched a veteran flight director and trajectory analysts to Hawthorne to help SpaceX get to the bottom of the issue. Sources also said SpaceX engineers had encountered an electromagnetic interference issue with one or more components in the Dragon capsule.

posted 02-10-2012 10:18 AM               

"SpaceX is continuing to work with NASA to set a new target date for launch, expected to be late April," the company said in a brief statement. "The primary driver for the schedule continues to be the need to conduct extensive software testing. This is a challenging mission, and we intend to take every necessary precaution in order to improve the likelihood of success."

Late last month, the company announced that launch of SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket, originally targeted for Feb. 7, would be delayed to at least the end of March, primarily because of unspecified software testing.

The latest "no-earlier-than" planning date is little more than a placeholder on the Air Force Eastern Range, which orchestrates all launchings from the East Coast. Because of potential conflicts with Russian Progress supply ship dockings and departures and a variety of other factors, sources say, the SpaceX flight could slip into May even if the spacecraft is ready in April.

posted 03-14-2012 08:07 AM               

A formal date will be set at a flight readiness review, scheduled for April 16.

Shotwell said the Falcon-Dragon will have "almost an instantaneous window," and due to the orbital mechanics needed to rendezvous with the station, "we only have the [launch] opportunity every three days."

posted 04-02-2012 03:48 PM               

NASA, SpaceX Announce NASA Social for Falcon 9 Launch Attempt

NASA and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will invite 50 of their social media followers to a two-day NASA Social April 29-30 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The event is expected to culminate in the launch of SpaceX's second Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration flight. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is targeted to lift off at 12:22 p.m. EDT on April 30, in an attempt to become the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Registration opens at noon EDT Thursday, April 5, and closes at noon Friday, April 6. Fifty participants will be selected from online registrations.

A NASA Social is an event for people who use NASA's social media accounts. For this event, fans and followers on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ are eligible to register. Participants will have unique in-person experiences with SpaceX and NASA, which they are encouraged to share with others through their favorite social network. Guests will view the launch, tour NASA facilities at Kennedy, speak with representatives from both organizations, view the SpaceX launch pad, meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media, and meet members of SpaceX and NASA's social media teams.

SpaceX will launch its Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 launch vehicle to test and prove its systems for a rendezvous with the space station. The flight's objectives include a fly-under of the station to validate operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous, berthing to the station and returning the Dragon spacecraft to Earth.

Because portions of this event may take place in restricted areas, registration is limited to U.S. citizens.

posted 05-01-2012 10:21 PM               

Multiple NASA sources said the current May 7 target had been ruled out, although there was confusion in some quarters as to whether there might be a slim chance of keeping on schedule if additional analyses could be completed in time.

That did not appear likely, but NASA had no official comment on the launch date discussions because the SpaceX flight is being billed as a commercial operation and "it's up to SpaceX to make any announcements," one official said. Kirstin Brost Grantham, a SpaceX spokeswoman, had no immediate comment.

Because of test requirements and the nature of the space station's orbit, SpaceX cannot attempt back-to-back launch attempts on successive days. For this demonstration flight, attempts can only be made every third day.

For a launch on May 7, SpaceX would have a backup opportunity on May 10. After that, the company would have to stand down until May 19 or even later to make way for launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three fresh station crew members. The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is scheduled for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:01 p.m. EDT (GMT-4) on May 14 with docking expected two days later.

Multiple sources said May 7 was no longer a viable launch target for SpaceX but that the company was still holding out hope for May 10. A final decision was expected by the end of the week, if not sooner.

NASA space station managers would prefer to delay the flight until after the Soyuz docking because there would be no backup opportunity if the weather or a technical problem prevented takeoff May 10 and because SpaceX would not have a second chance to dock with the station if something went awry during the rendezvous.

posted 05-19-2012 06:04 AM               

Teams will get their first visual inspection of the engine this afternoon.

posted 05-19-2012 06:39 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
...not a sensor glitch, but something misconfigured or wrong with engine no. 5.

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Also, it is a credit to the design that an engine can be swapped out so quickly.

quote:

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Originally posted by issman1:
It was slightly amusing how George Diller announced a "lift off" then a "cut off".

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posted 05-19-2012 02:46 PM               

I hope that some entity like ATK, Boeing or Orbital Sciences will act like von Braun and eventually step forward to take over the program.

If this bird doesn't fly soon, there probably will be a Congressional investigation as to why SpaceX has received approximately $344 million dollars in tax payer funding. If I were their VC, I would be starting to ask questions too.

posted 05-19-2012 02:55 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Larry McGlynn:
This is the fifth or sixth scrub since Nov 2011.

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Launch delays are normal for any rocket. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle all had more launch delays than one probably could count, as has EELV flights (Atlas V and Delta IV), which will fly their 50th mission next month.

That underscores that spaceflight — regardless who owns or operates the rocket — is complicated.

But this, SpaceX's COTS-2 mission, is a test flight.

posted 05-19-2012 04:16 PM               

Engine pressure anomaly traced to turbopump valve. Replacing on engine 5 and verifying no common mode.

posted 05-19-2012 05:14 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
I think you may be conflating scrubs and delays. Today was the first scrub for the COTS 2 mission — to scrub you need to be into the countdown.

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"Space is really hard." At least that is what Mike Griffin said a couple of weeks ago at the HBS Space Business Conference. It is hard and it isn't a money maker either, so says the people in attendance at the conference. I will clarify that by saying they don't think launching to the ISS is a money maker.

The trouble is that COTS is really just the taxpayer paying with a little help from VC or angel investor money.

I would define a scrub as a missed launch date. That is what Boeing, OS, ATK, Virgin, Arianne and a few others described it as during the conference that day.

Frankly, I would love to see Dragon go. Prior experience shows us that Falcon was shut down after five launches. The Falcon launch costs increased beyond Musk's original estimate by 100%. That was described to us by the former funds development manager at SpaceX.

Like I said, I hope that Boeing will finish their crew vehicle and use ATK's Liberty System to get US humans back in space from KSC.

Yes, space is hard, but Elon doesn't seem to be saying that yet. Too much hype and not enough action for $344 Million in cash and $1.6B in contracts. It's time to light the candle either successfully or with a final big bang and leave it for the pros.

Also, do you realize that the US has not launched a commercial satellite in over two and half years. That is because Russia, China, India and the ESA are government entities that can cut the costs below US commercial launch attempts. Also, they can wait out any COTS program operation and undercut the pricing until the operator goes out of business. Yes, Space Business is hard too.

I wish Elon luck but I would not bank my entire space program on a "disruptive billionaire entrepreneur" as he was described as at Harvard two weeks ago.

posted 05-19-2012 05:16 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Larry McGlynn:
I am beginning to view this as a sixty year step backward. It's the Vanguard Project all over again. This is the fifth or sixth scrub since Nov 2011. An entire ISS station crew has transited the station.

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Wow, seriously? Leaving aside Robert's appropriate differentiation between "scrub" and "delay," let's keep in mind that a) the ISS crews to which you refer went up and down born by hardware not fundamentally different from what SpaceX has built, and b) when, exactly, would you expect ATK, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, etc. to have anything on the pad, and c) how many more billions of taxpayer dollars (that's SpaceX millions, but with a "b" in front) would it take to make it happen? And what odds would you lay on its survival in this economic climate?

posted 05-19-2012 05:33 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Larry McGlynn:
I would define a scrub as a missed launch date. That is what Boeing, OS, ATK, Virgin, Ariane and a few others described it as during the conference that day.

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But semantics aside, I think what SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said in response to a reporter's question about Mike Griffin is point-on with regards to those looking to criticize SpaceX:

You know, it is really easy to criticize and it is very difficult to solve a problem and actually do something. So, I tend to focus on the business and getting our jobs done and not focus on those who want to criticize me or my company.

This is not a failure. It would be a failure if we were to have lifted off with an engine trending in this direction.

posted 05-19-2012 05:56 PM               

I actually made another comment, but it was edited without being advised of the editing.

posted 05-19-2012 08:23 PM              

To answer my own question, there's this (from 2007, so incomplete):

A 2007 analysis of shuttle launch delays by the Associated Press found that the NASA spacecraft launched about 40 percent of the time. The AP analysis found that of the 118 shuttle flights that had flown at the time, 47 lifted off on time. More than half of the delays were caused by technical malfunctions, while foul weather made up about a third of the delays.

And

For every one-day scrub when a shuttle mission is called off after its external tank has been loaded with fuel, NASA spends about $1.3 million, said NASA spokeswoman Candrea Thomas. Paying for the wasted liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants costs about $500,000, and $700,000 goes toward paying personnel, she said.

posted 05-20-2012 11:56 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by arjuna:
How many times did the Shuttle have launch delays?

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posted 05-20-2012 03:20 PM               

Also, as others have stated, the scrub is no big deal... it is to be expected with all vehicles from time to time, and frequently with new vehicles no matter who designs and/or builds them.

I will add that the launch and mission, when it is successful (and it will be... lots of government help and too many with vested interest in making it successful), it will not be a big deal. The "commercial" space business have been started by NASA many times in the past (Orbital Sciences, anyone).

What will matter is not this launch, but whether SpaceX can make money at their contracted rate and whether it makes any real difference in the future, say five to ten years out.

posted 05-20-2012 04:35 PM              

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim Behling:
Shuttle comparison is not valid. Falcon's "peers" are Delta and Atlas and not shuttle.

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Rather, I was making a point about people's response to a technology learning curve. It's to be expected that new vehicles face more scrubs as its operators find out what they didn't know about how to operate the vehicle safely.

posted 05-20-2012 07:42 PM               

When SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 rocket it will secretly be carrying celebrities. Actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on the original "Star Trek" series, died in 2005. His ashes will be on board this mission -- as will those of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper and 306 other people. If you have the money, Celestis, a space services company, will send your loved one's ashes up to orbit Earth.