SpaceX F9 - Comm Crew DM-1 - LC-39A

[Grendal]

Here's a big one!
Launch Date: March 1st or 2nd based on Time Zone
Launch Window: Saturday, March 2 - 2:48 AM EST, 748 AM UTC
Friday, March 1: 11:48 PM PDT
Launch site: LC-39A, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Booster Recovery: ASDS (due to shallow launch angle)
Booster Type: B1051.1 - New
Mass: D2: 26,450 lbs.
Orbit: LEO - ISS
Dragon Return - March 8th

Demonstration mission to ISS for NASA with an uncrewed Dragon 2 capsule.
SpX-DM1 - Wikipedia
Dragon 2 - Wikipedia

First launch and use of the new Dragon 2 capsule. This capsule will also be used for the In Flight Abort launch.

 

[RubberToe]

Here's a big one!
Launch Date: January 8
Launch Window: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Booster Recovery: RTLS
Booster Type: B1051.1 - New
Mass: D2: 6350 kg
Orbit: LEO - ISS
Dragon Return - Likely January 10th

Demonstration mission to ISS for NASA with an uncrewed Dragon 2 capsule.
SpX-DM1 - Wikipedia
Dragon 2 - Wikipedia

First launch and use of the new Dragon 2 capsule. It is expected that this capsule will also be used for the In Flight Abort launch.

Grendal,
The linked Wikipedia article says the Dragon will remain docked to the ISS for several weeks. You are showing a January 10 return?

RT

 

[Grendal]

Grendal,
The linked Wikipedia article says the Dragon will remain docked to the ISS for several weeks. You are showing a January 10 return?

RT

The rumor is that this Dragon is going to do a "quick return" which can be six hours to two days. The rumor mill says that it is likely to be a two day quick return. I expect the wiki is going by old information that said the Dragon would hang around the ISS for a bunch of tests. I think NASA wants to simulate an emergency "quick return" situation in light of the Soyuz booster failure. Of course this is all rumor. We'll see what actually happens.

 

[Grendal]

Official slip from NASA - Now January 17th. First post updated.

 

[Grendal]

Be a part of this launch if you do social media.
Experience Launch of the First Commercial Crew Demo Flight by SpaceX

 

[ecarfan]

SpaceX just posted photos of Crew Dragon, attached to its “trunk”, in the LC-39A hangar! (My guess at the location). See NASA Crew Demo-1

Looks really cool, especially the solar panel “skin” on the trunk section.

 

[miimura]

SpaceX just posted photos of Crew Dragon, attached to its “trunk”, in the LC-39A hangar! See NASA Crew Demo-1

Looks really cool, especially the solar panel “skin” on the trunk section.

Is the large gray cone inside the interstage on the adjacent booster new and for the DM-1 mission? With all the recent pictures of the inside of the interstage due to the missed landing at LZ-1, this looks new to me.

 

[bxr140]

Is the large gray cone inside the interstage on the adjacent booster new and for the DM-1 mission?

Second stage nozzle. Could be slightly bigger, could be perspective. My money is on perspective. Elon wouldn’t be able to resist tweeting about a bigger bell.

 

[Grendal]

You can see this is the right size from the livestreams. The separation is shown at MECO and this looks exactly right. This does clearly show the difference in the vacuum engine bell for the upper stage Merlin and the sea level Merlin engines which are tiny compared to this.

The picture I posted in the GPS III thread shows the B1048 booster as well as this booster B1051, second stage for DM-1, and the capsule and trunk mated together here.

 

[miimura]

Wow, I'm such a space newbie that it didn't occur to me that it was the second stage sitting there coaxial to, but not mated to the first stage. Even more so that I forgot about the second stage completely and thought the bell was the pusher for the trunk to separate from the first stage.... dork... So many pieces missing in my brain when I looked at that picture.

 

[e-FTW]

Wow, yeah that picture brings home how the second stage vacuum Merlin engine bell covers pretty pretty much the same area as the 9 (nine! IX!) first stage Merlins.

 

[e-FTW]

Looks really cool, especially the solar panel “skin” on the trunk section.

Yes! It looks so bad ass! I guess the cells are efficient enough that even though only part of them are facing the sun at one time, it still provides enough power. The simplification sounds like a fantastic advantage.

Danny Silva on Twitter

 

[ecarfan]

Yes! It looks so bad ass! I guess the cells are efficient enough that even though only part of them are facing the sun at one time, it still provides enough power. The simplification sounds like a fantastic advantage.

Danny Silva on Twitter

I want those solar cells on the roof of my 17 ft travel trailer instead of the low cost Chinese-made flexible panels (but with Sunpower cells) that I have now.

 

[ecarfan]

Anyone have informed speculation as to whether or not the Federal government partial shutdown will delay the DM1 mission? It appears that almost all NASA employees are being sent home.

The NYT reports this: “An estimated 96 percent of staff members at the space agency would be furloughed, according to the agency’s 2018 shutdown plan. In a statement, a NASA spokeswoman, Megan Powers, said: “In previous shutdowns, we have maintained personnel to support the International Space Station and its crew, and currently operating space missions, such as satellites, landers, rovers, to ensure they’re safe and secure.”

 

[Grendal]

Anyone have informed speculation as to whether or not the Federal government partial shutdown will delay the DM1 mission? It appears that almost all NASA employees are being sent home.

The NYT reports this: “An estimated 96 percent of staff members at the space agency would be furloughed, according to the agency’s 2018 shutdown plan. In a statement, a NASA spokeswoman, Megan Powers, said: “In previous shutdowns, we have maintained personnel to support the International Space Station and its crew, and currently operating space missions, such as satellites, landers, rovers, to ensure they’re safe and secure.”

In this case I'd say it's possible. It really comes down to how long it will stay shut down. It's not stopping the launch tomorrow.

 

[bxr140]

Yes! It looks so bad ass! I guess the cells are efficient enough that even though only part of them are facing the sun at one time, it still provides enough power. The simplification sounds like a fantastic advantage.

Body mount solar cells are a pretty much where it all started in orbital [solar] power generation. Body mount is much less complicated, much more reliable, and significantly cheaper than a deployed solution. When you don't actually need a lot of power--like a crew capsule in LEO--body mount makes perfect sense.

 

[e-FTW]

Bump, just because I can't wait! Come on, you can still launch shutdown or not, right?


For completeness sake, this launch is delayed to NET February: SpaceX Demo-1 Launch Update – Commercial Crew Program

NASA and SpaceX are continuing to work on the activities leading toward the Demo-1, uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station. NASA and SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than February for the launch of Demo-1 to complete hardware testing and joint reviews. NASA and SpaceX will confirm a new target date after coordination with the Eastern Range and the International Space Station Program.

 

[e-FTW]

NET 2/9 Approx. 1600 GMT (11 a.m. EST) per Spaceflightnow: Launch Schedule – Spaceflight Now
From their change log:

Adding date and approximate time for Falcon 9/Crew Dragon Demo 1

Other outlets are reporting that furloughed NASA employees are “protecting” missions.

 

[Grendal]

Yeah. They had a semi-official launch date and now it keeps getting pushed back more and more while Federal employees aren't paid. An article said it had nothing to do with the shutdown. Yeah right.

 

[Grendal]

The DM-1 stack is vertical on pad LC-39A today and the static fire for the booster will be NET Wednesday. Here's an article about what is happening.
SpaceX readying Falcon 9 for static fire ahead of Crew Dragon debut – NASASpaceFlight.com