posted 03-27-2020 05:10 PM               

Please use this topic to discuss SpaceX's Dragon XL lunar cargo spacecraft and its missions to NASA's Gateway in lunar orbit.

posted 03-27-2020 05:25 PM               

SpaceX will launch a variant of Dragon, optimized to carry more than 5 metric tons of cargo to Gateway in lunar orbit.

posted 03-29-2020 02:38 AM               

The Apollo CSM/LM combination was 30 metric tonnes, and Falcon Heavy can only boost 5 tonnes up there? I thought the lifting capacity of the Falcon Heavy was much better than that?

Saturn V could lift 118 tonnes to LEO, vs. Falcon Heavy 64 tonnes (just quick figures from the internet, feel free to correct). Since Falcon Heavy can lift about half what Saturn V could to LEO, shouldn't the same be true for the moon? Shouldn't Falcon Heavy be able to lift therefore about 15 tonnes to lunar orbit?

posted 03-29-2020 07:02 AM               

Additionally, does this story found in SpaceNews have any impact?

A revised plan for returning astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2024 will no longer rely on the use of a lunar Gateway, although NASA’s human spaceflight head says the agency is still committed to eventually developing it.

posted 03-29-2020 10:12 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Aeropix:
Not much mass?

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Companies had to propose spacecraft capable of carrying at least 3,400 kilograms of pressurized cargo and 1,000 kilograms of unpressurized cargo to the Gateway, and be able to dispose of at least as much cargo from the Gateway.

quote:

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Originally posted by oly:
...does this story found in SpaceNews have any impact?

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How many missions SpaceX will fly, and when, were not disclosed, but a shift in NASA's lunar exploration strategy could mean fewer opportunities in the near term...

[Doug Loverro, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations] emphasized that the Gateway remained important for NASA's long-term "sustainable" lunar exploration plans, which will also feature contributions from international partners.

posted 03-30-2020 11:32 AM               

We're going to put payloads on the inside, and we've got quite a bit of power allocated from the Dragon XL for that. We've got upmass allocated for payloads inside and then we can also fly payloads on the outside with power and tied into their communication systems so we can get some research back done, real time on the way to the Moon, and while attached at the Moon.

And then quite honestly, we don't need the logistics mission up there for six months or a year just to support a lunar mission. But we wanted to take advantage of the extra volume, the extra research accommodations, where we could keep it attached, and we could run science. Dragon also has got the automated rendezvous and docking system that they will be using on their CRS-2 vehicles, very similar to their Crew Dragon.

And so, the docking system, you can come and go. We were planning to do that remotely without crew in there. And so, we think we're set up for a really good platform to conduct research for the long haul.