dragon successfully launches
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The Dragon spacecraft has successfully reached the International Space Station, delivering nearly 5,000 pounds of cargo to the orbiting lab. This is SpaceX’s fourth official resupply mission for NASA and fifth trip to station overall.The CRS-4 mission began early in the morning on Sunday, September 21, when Dragon and the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. at 1:52am EDT.The picture-perfect launch was the fourteenth successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket. At liftoff, Falcon 9’s nine Merlin engines put out 1.3 million pounds of thrust, rising to 1.5 million pounds as the vehicle climbed out of Earth’s atmosphere.Dragon orbited the Earth for approximately two days. Dragon caught up to the space station and was grappled by the station’s robotic arm at 6:52am EDT on Tuesday, September 23. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst used the ISS Canadarm 2 to capture Dragon, and berth the vehicle to the Earth-facing Harmony node by 9:21am EDT.On Tuesday morning, ISS Astronauts opened Dragon’s hatch, beginning a four week process of unloading science experiments, crew supplies, and other gear and repacking Dragon with Earth-bound cargo.Experiments include the ISS Rapid Scatterometer, which will explore how winds over the ocean affect weather patterns, and Rodent Research-1, an experiment to observe the effects of spaceflight on mice –also SpaceX’s first live mammals! Read more about the research delivered by Dragon here.Dragon is currently planned to return to Earth in mid-October. Stay updated on the CRS-4 mission at: www.spacex.com/webcast.
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A failed Launch
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A SpaceX rocket detonated automatically when a problem was detected during a test flightA SpaceX rocket exploded over McGregor, Texas during a test flight Friday, though no one was injured in the incident. A problem was detected during a test of a three-engine version of SpaceX's F9R vehicle, the company said, and the flight's termination system then automatically self-destructed, bringing the mission to a sudden end. "Today's test was particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test," SpaceX said in a statement. SpaceX is a space transport company founded by PayPal founder and Tesla executive Elon Musk. The company has been working closely with NASA, and its Dragon capsule has been used to send unmanned resupply missions to the International Space Station. SpaceX's F9R rocket is reusable, and could make spaceflight 100 times cheaper, Musk has said, NBC reports. Musk said in a Twitter post that there were no "near injuries" in the explosion. Three engine F9R Dev1 vehicle auto-terminated during test flight. No injuries or near injuries. Rockets are tricky …-- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2014 ~~~~~~~~ By Sam Frizell |
Dragon Docs with the ISS
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At 10:06am Eastern time, the SpaceX Dragon successfully berthed with the International Space Station, marking the fourth time that one of the company's Dragon spacecraft has made the trip successfully.
The spacecraft made a series of several engine burns in the wee hours of the morning to make its approach. At around 7:14am EST, the space station's robotic arm grappled onto the Dragon and brought it close to the station's Harmony module. The arm was controlled by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA's Rick Mastracchio. The Dragon craft is loaded with 5000 pounds of cargo for the space station. In addition to supplies for the astronauts, the spacecraft is also loaded with a number of scientific experiments, including a space garden and a smartphone powered satellite. (You can read more about the scientific experiments on board Dragon here.) The docking wasn't the only successful part of SpaceX's launch. It was also making its first test of its Falcon 9's reusable first stage -- a step towards the company's goal of a reusable rocket. According to SpaceX, the first stage of the rocket did successfully make the engine burns that allowed it to land safely in the Atlantic Ocean for recovery. That's a big win for the company, since it gave this part of the mission a 30-40% chance of success. And that part of the flight, believe it or not, wasn't the only success that SpaceX announced for its reusable rocket program this week. Earlier this week, the company tested its reusable Falcon 9 rocket on the ground in New Mexico. That flight had a successful lift off, the rocket then hovered for a few seconds at an altitude of 250m, then safely landed back on the ground. You can watch a video of the reusable rocket launch below: And here's a video of the Dragon launching to the International Space Station: Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article indicated that the spacecraft had 5000 tons of cargo. It actually has 5000 pounds. PHOTO (COLOR): The SpaceX Dragon docked to the ISS. (Credit: NASA TV) PHOTO (COLOR): The Dragon spacecraft grappled to the station's robotic arm. (Credit: NASA TV) PHOTO (COLOR): The SpaceX Falcon 9 lifting off on Friday, April 18. (Credit: SpaceX) ~~~~~~~~ By Alex Knapp, Forbes Staff |
Boeing and SpaceX Win Major NASA Space Taxi Contract
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NASA awarded Tuesday aeronautical firms Boeing and SpaceX with contracts totaling $6.8 billion to launch astronauts into low Earth orbit under its Commercial Crew Program. Proposals by Boeing and NASA were selected by NASA to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), with the goal of certifying crew transportation capability by 2017, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a news conference. Boeing was awarded a $4.2 billion contract, while SpaceX was awarded a $2.6 billion contract, said Kathryn Lueders, Program Manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “These contracts highlight what commercial companies can accomplish and we are counting on them to deliver our most precious cargo: the crew who will perform vital science research on the ISS,” Lueders said. “Two contracts give us the necessary mechanisms to assure we’re on the right track.” The contracts are subject to the completion of safety certifications and development efforts for Boeing’s CST-100 capsule and SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, according to Lueders. Specifically, both Boeing and SpaceX will conduct five certification milestones: a baseline review, a design review, a flight test readiness review, an operational readiness review, and certification review. Once NASA approves that Boeing’s and SpaceX’s systems meet its requirements, the systems will be certified for two to six human missions to deliver cargo and a crew of up to four to the ISS. The missions will enable NASA to nearly double today’s scientific research potential, Lueders said. The capsules will also serve as a “life boat,” capable of holding crew members safe up to 210 days in the event of an emergency. Bolden emphasized that the contracts are intended to end by 2017 America’s sole reliance on Russia, whose government charges the U.S. $71 million a seat for rides to the ISS. NASA had previously been able to transport crew to the ISS with its Space Shuttle, but retired the vehicle in 2011. Its replacement craft, the Orion, isn’t set for manned missions until after 2020. A third contender in the space race, Sierra Nevada, did not secure a piece of the deal with its winged spacecraft, the Dream Chaser. Boeing, with its decades of experience supplying parts and expertise to NASA, was widely considered a favorite among the three companies vying for the NASA contract. SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk had previously criticized Boeing for being too close to NASA. Sept. 16, 2014 |
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to Receive Aero Club of Southern California’s 2014 Howard Hughes Memorial AwardEBSCOHOST
09/25/2014 Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and chief product architect of Tesla Motors and chairman of SolarCity, is the 36th recipient of the Aero Club of Southern California's Howard Hughes Memorial Award (Photo: Business Wire)
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Elon Musk, Chief Executive and Chief Technology Officer of SpaceX , the Hawthorne-based company which makes and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, has been selected to receive the 2014 Howard Hughes Memorial Award by the Aero Club of Southern California.
Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and chief product architect of Tesla Motors and chairman of SolarCity, is the 36th recipient of the Aero Club of Southern California's Howard Hughes Memorial Award (Photo: Business Wire) Established in 1978 by the Hughes family, the Award is presented annually to an aerospace leader whose accomplishments have contributed significantly to the advancement of aviation or space technology. Musk will receive his Award at a banquet at the Jonathan Club, Los Angeles, on February 12, 2015. Previous recipients, in chronological order, are Jack Northrop, Jimmy Doolittle, Pat Hyland, Bob Six, Kelly Johnson, Chuck Yeager, Ed Heinemann, Barry Goldwater Sr., Pete Conrad, Allen Paulson, Si Ramo, Jack Real, Ben Rich, Clifton Moore, Lee Atwood, Harry Wetzel, Bobbi Trout, Tom Jones, Allen Puckett, Paul B. MacCready, John Brizendine, Willis Hawkins, Sam Iacobellis, Kent Kresa, Neil Armstrong, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan, Eileen Collins, James Albaugh, Ron Sugar, Bob Hoover, Fred Smith, Clay Lacy, Steven Udvar-Hazy and Edward C. Stone. After co-founding internet firms ZIp2 and PayPal, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies, better known as SpaceX, in 2002 to develop and manufacture space launch vehicles. The company’s first vehicles were the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets and the Dragon spacecraft. In 2008 SpaceX received a $1.6 billion contract from NASA to replace cargo flights of the Space Shuttles and astronaut transport by Russia’s Soyuz with 12 flights to the International Space Station. On May 25, 2012 SpaceX docked a Dragon with the ISS, making history as the first commercial company to launch and dock a vehicle to the ISS. Musk is also CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors, a world leader in electric automobiles. The Aero Club is a 501 (3) (c) tax-exempt charity, with proceeds going toward the Club’s scholarship programs. To order tables, tickets or advertisements in the souvenir program, please go to www.aeroclubsocal.org. |
Commercial Contenders.8/6/2012
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NASA Keeps Its Commercial-Crew Options Open
NASA selects two routes to orbit and a backup, for station crews NASA is keeping its technical bases covered in the selection of Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada for serious government money to help develop a commercial alternative to Russia's Soyuz for launching astronauts. Chosen to negotiate Space Act agreements for the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) seed-money effort, the three companies are taking widely different approaches to transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. And the division of more than $1.1 billion in federal funds over the next two years is part of a "two-and-a-half" formula worked out with lawmakers worried about wasting money by stretching development competition for too long. And this funding mechanism will probably keep all three in the running long enough to bid on the next round. That will be for traditional federal acquisition contracts aimed at initial crew transport operations in 2017, with demonstration flights "by the middle of the decade." Under the Space Act agreements, the companies will add their own funds to the government money. Boeing has the simplest vehicle--a battery-powered capsule dubbed CST-100 that would be launched on an Atlas V and return to Earth on dry land under parachutes and cushioned by airbags on touchdown. It will receive $460 million over the base period of the Space Act agreement. SpaceX has already sent its Dragon cargo-carrier to the ISS on its Falcon 9 launch vehicle (AW&ST June 4, p. 36). It will use its $440 million in CCiCap funds to human-rate the capsule, which parachutes to a water landing. Sierra Nevada has the most ambitious technology, a lifting-body spaceplane that takes off on an Atlas V and glides back to a runway landing. But under the "two-and-a-half" deal brokered by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the appropriations panel that funds NASA, the "Dream Chaser" craft will receive only $212.5 million for additional development. Still, that is almost twice what NASA already has put toward the highly reusable concept, and like the other two winners the company has commercial plans that go beyond trips to the ISS (AW&ST July 2, p. 37). "We're counting on the creativity of industry to provide the next generation of transportation to low Earth orbit and expand human presence, making space accessible and open for business," says William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human operations and exploration, who selected the three companies. Competition is a key part of the NASA strategy for commercial crew transport, driving the hope that competing vehicles will hold crew transportation costs low enough to free government funds for deep-space exploration with the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle and heavy-lift Space Launch System NASA is developing in-house. But it remains to be seen whether Congress will back the commercial crew development effort with enough money to begin flying crews in 2017. Lawmakers are set to trim the agency's $830 million request for the effort in fiscal 2013, and Gerstenmaier says that money must be recouped in fiscal 2014 if the schedule is to be met (AW&ST June 25, p. 35). The three CCiCap companies have received Space Act funding under two previous rounds of competition, as have others that did not receive CCiCap monies. Among the serious contenders who did not make the latest cut were the Blue Origin startup endowed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the ATK/Astrium joint venture that has received technical help but no funding for its Liberty Launch Vehicle concept, and Houston-based Excalibur Almaz, which is receiving some technical help from NASA for its plan to recycle Russianmilitary-space hardware into crew transport vehicles and space habitats. As it happened, all three CCiCap winners presented status reports at the AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference in Atlanta last week. Boeing, which completed hot-fire and cold-flow tests of the orbital maneuvering and attitude control system for the CST-100 capsule in July, has a program planning milestone set for September, according to Boeing Space Explorations, Commercial Programs Vice President John Mulholland. Designed for as many as 10 flights into orbit, the CST-100 will be configured with a replaceable service module. The capsule, which houses the crew with a pressurized structure built by Spincraft, will return for a dry landing at Edwards AFB, Calif., or possibly White Sands, N.M. "Because of the relatively limited cross-range capability of the CST-100, we're also looking for a third landing site in CONUS, [the contiguous U.S.]" Mulholland says. With Boeing and Sierra Nevada planning at least their early flights on the Atlas V, human-rating that launch vehicle is an important part of both companies' integrated launch system plans. ULA Business Development Vice President George Sowers says the bulk of items have now been completed in the design equivalency review (DER) assessment of NASA's human-rating requirements for the Atlas. Of the total assessed to date, "80% are dispositioned already, and we're still three to four years away from launching a human. We're still looking at around 20%, or 26 specific items, though most of them require integration of the spacecraft from this point," he adds. Sierra Nevada continues to ramp-up testing of the hybrid motors that it plans to use to power the Dream Chaser. Two of the rockets, each powered by a combination of nitrous oxide (N2O) and a form of synthetic rubber known as hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), will power the HL-20 lifting body-derived vehicle. Based on the SS1 motors developed for the SpaceShipOne, the Dream Chaser engines will be configured with nozzles with an expansion ratio of 10:1. The vehicle will also have 27 Aerojet-developed reaction control thrusters, each rated at 75 lb. Fueled by ethanol, the thrusters share the N2O as a common oxidizer, saving around 12% in terms of required oxidizer load, according to Lisa Matthews, propulsion business development director for Sierra Nevada Space Systems Group. The company recently completed "three hot-fires on one day, including one vacuum test, as well as an N20/ethanol test," she adds. The same fuels are used for the RM2 motor in development for the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo. "We're seeing very good performance, and we have a rocket that is flight-capable. It will be ready for flight by the end of the year," Matthews says. SpaceX is also in the midst of testing the liquid fueled Super Draco rockets that will power its launch abort system. Adam Harris of SpaceX Government Sales says the escape system, which will also be used for other purposes in the flight if not needed for launch abort, will be attached to the side of the Dragon capsule. Consisting of eight rockets with a combined thrust of around 15,000 lb., the launch abort system "can be used for escape all the way to orbit. It also gives us the benefit of using propulsion on way down if the escape system was not needed. Using it we can stabilize the descent on the way down and we hope to get to the point where we can use it to land on land," he says. SpaceX is adding an escape system to human-rate its Dragon cargo capsule, the first commercial craft to reach the ISS. Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser resusable space plane will launch on an Atlas and land on a runway. Boeing's battery-powered CST-100 capsule approaches the ISS in this artist's concept. ~~~~~~~~ By Frank Morring Jr., Washington and Guy Norris, Atlanta |