How to grow manned "Dragon"
In the first unmanned test flight Crew Dragon 2 over the weekend, successfully completed two main tasks out of three: it started and docked with the ISS. It remains only landing on March 8 (16:45 Moscow time). A great moment to remember the history of the ship.
Crew Dragon fits in with ISS, shot from NASA broadcast
Start Crew Dragon, SpaceX photo
Crew Dragon started from the first attempt at 10:49 MSK on March 2. The first step worked for 2 minutes 36 seconds, separated and landed on the barge "Of course I still love you". The second stage was included at 02:48 and worked until 09:00. After another 2 minutes, at an altitude of slightly less than 200 km, the ship separated from the upper stage and set off for the ISS.
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Shortly after separation, the ship carried out two important operations — it opened the nose cone covering the docking station and turned on its engines for the first time. During the day, the “Dragon” raised its orbit with several maneuvers from 200 to 400 km and aimed at the meeting point with the International Space Station.
Crew Dragon flight path, shot from NASA broadcast
Then the ship entered the near zone of the ISS and made an autonomous docking with the Harmony module of the American segment of the ISS. Devices of the previous generation, freight Dragon, caught and docked with the station's manipulator.
Approach trajectory, shot from NASA broadcast
Docking moments
Broadcast recording
It's funny that SpaceX in this flight combined their traditions with the Russian ones. In addition to a mannequin in a spacesuit named Ripley (in honor of the heroine of the film “Alien”) a soft toy in the shape of the globe was placed on the ship - “gravity indicator”, similar to toys flying on “Soyuz”. Also, 181 kg of payload was brought to the station.
Astronaut E. McClain with the "indicator", Ripley in the background
Crew Dragon is another important operation - landing. At the press conference after the launch, Musk said that the new form of the ship with protrusions under the emergency rescue engines makes braking in the dense layers of the atmosphere less stable, therefore not all the risks are over. According to the plan, the ship will undock from the station on March 8 at 10:30 Moscow time and land in the Atlantic Ocean (also an innovation, the Dragon splashes down in the Pacific Ocean) at 16:45 Moscow time.
Despite the fact that according to Mask, at least one detail of the cargo Dragon remained in Crew Dragon, it was this ship that gave SpaceX the experience to create the next, manned version. In 2006, SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler won the first stage of the NASA tender for the creation of a cargo ship to supply the ISS. And since it was planned to be returned, the manned version was obvious, and the first picture of the manned Dragon dates back to 2006.
NASA image
Rocketplane Kistler dropped out of the competition a year later, but SpaceX made the ship Dragon, named after the song “Puff the Magic Dragon” and made its first flight in December 2010.
Dragon, NASA photo
And by the beginning of the 10th the main drama of the ship belongs - the choice of a landing system. In SpaceX's original views, the ship was supposed to land on engines, a video showing the rocket landing of both stages and the ship appeared in 2011. In addition to the convenience of accurate landing on earth, which simplifies the search and evacuation of astronauts, this solution was positioned as universal for the Earth and Mars.
The first round of the program to create commercial manned spacecraft took place in 2010 and the first model of the manned "Dragon", then DragonRider, was presented to the public in 2012. Externally, it differed from the cargo ship only by the projections with the engines of the rescue system.
On the left - the flying cargo Dragon, on the right - the mock-up of DragonRider, photo by Gene Blevins / LA Daily News
The second phase of the program began in 2014, and it was won by Boeing with SpaceX. In the same year, SpaceX showed a noticeably different layout - the body became more elongated, and supports appeared in the bottom part, as in the 2011 video. The first test unmanned flight was expected in 2016.
SpaceX Photos
In 2014, alarm bells began to ring for the idea of ​​a rocket landing - in an interview with Musk he said that the ship would have a set of parachutes, and the ship would check engines at a height of several kilometers, switching to a parachute landing in case of their malfunction. For several years, various news and rumors appeared, but in the end, in 2017, it was finally announced that Crew Dragon would land in the same way as the cargo version - parachutes on water. According to Mask, he is confident that a rocket landing is possible, but did not consider it necessary to spend resources on convincing NASA, and the concept of landing on Mars has changed.
In 2015, the emergency rescue system was successfully tested in a launch site crash scenario (Pad Abort Test). The test device was not yet the final version, but already close to it. And no trace of the landing pods on it was already visible.
Assembling the test apparatus, SpaceX photo
Tests
In 2018, the parachute system was changed, instead of three parachutes there were four. And finally, a flight copy of the vehicle was delivered to the assembly and test facility.
SpaceX Photos
Despite the novelty of the design, the origin of the device is quite recognizable. The overall layout coincides with the first "Dragon" - the ship consists of two compartments, the descent vehicle (SA) and the service module, the orientation engines are located on the SA. But, of course, there are differences. On the service module appeared stabilizers. Judging by the fact that the SAS in the tests led the SA along with the service module, they are needed mainly in case of an accident. The solar panels have moved to the surface of the service module, now there is no risk that they will not open (there was a problem with this in one of the first flights of the Dragon cargo). SAS Super Draco engines and additional portholes appeared on the descent vehicle. And the drop fairing closing the docking station has become opening. The brake engines also moved under it (on the Dragon cargo, all orientation engines are nearby).
Frame from broadcast
The cabin from the inside looks empty, but it is not surprising - when people fly, they will add rescue equipment and additional cargo. Well, let's not forget that Dragon has no domestic compartment - 9.3 m 3 of Crew Dragon is more than 8.5 m 3 of the total volume of the “Union”, but less than 14 m 3 of “Shenzhou”.
We wish SpaceX a successful completion of the mission, if everything goes according to plan, then the first manned flight can take place as early as July of this year.
Crew Dragon fits in with ISS, shot from NASA broadcast
Flight Chronology
Start Crew Dragon, SpaceX photo
Crew Dragon started from the first attempt at 10:49 MSK on March 2. The first step worked for 2 minutes 36 seconds, separated and landed on the barge "Of course I still love you". The second stage was included at 02:48 and worked until 09:00. After another 2 minutes, at an altitude of slightly less than 200 km, the ship separated from the upper stage and set off for the ISS.
')
Shortly after separation, the ship carried out two important operations — it opened the nose cone covering the docking station and turned on its engines for the first time. During the day, the “Dragon” raised its orbit with several maneuvers from 200 to 400 km and aimed at the meeting point with the International Space Station.
Crew Dragon flight path, shot from NASA broadcast
Then the ship entered the near zone of the ISS and made an autonomous docking with the Harmony module of the American segment of the ISS. Devices of the previous generation, freight Dragon, caught and docked with the station's manipulator.
Approach trajectory, shot from NASA broadcast
Docking moments
Broadcast recording
It's funny that SpaceX in this flight combined their traditions with the Russian ones. In addition to a mannequin in a spacesuit named Ripley (in honor of the heroine of the film “Alien”) a soft toy in the shape of the globe was placed on the ship - “gravity indicator”, similar to toys flying on “Soyuz”. Also, 181 kg of payload was brought to the station.
Astronaut E. McClain with the "indicator", Ripley in the background
Crew Dragon is another important operation - landing. At the press conference after the launch, Musk said that the new form of the ship with protrusions under the emergency rescue engines makes braking in the dense layers of the atmosphere less stable, therefore not all the risks are over. According to the plan, the ship will undock from the station on March 8 at 10:30 Moscow time and land in the Atlantic Ocean (also an innovation, the Dragon splashes down in the Pacific Ocean) at 16:45 Moscow time.
How to grow "Dragons"
Despite the fact that according to Mask, at least one detail of the cargo Dragon remained in Crew Dragon, it was this ship that gave SpaceX the experience to create the next, manned version. In 2006, SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler won the first stage of the NASA tender for the creation of a cargo ship to supply the ISS. And since it was planned to be returned, the manned version was obvious, and the first picture of the manned Dragon dates back to 2006.
NASA image
Rocketplane Kistler dropped out of the competition a year later, but SpaceX made the ship Dragon, named after the song “Puff the Magic Dragon” and made its first flight in December 2010.
Dragon, NASA photo
And by the beginning of the 10th the main drama of the ship belongs - the choice of a landing system. In SpaceX's original views, the ship was supposed to land on engines, a video showing the rocket landing of both stages and the ship appeared in 2011. In addition to the convenience of accurate landing on earth, which simplifies the search and evacuation of astronauts, this solution was positioned as universal for the Earth and Mars.
The first round of the program to create commercial manned spacecraft took place in 2010 and the first model of the manned "Dragon", then DragonRider, was presented to the public in 2012. Externally, it differed from the cargo ship only by the projections with the engines of the rescue system.
On the left - the flying cargo Dragon, on the right - the mock-up of DragonRider, photo by Gene Blevins / LA Daily News
The second phase of the program began in 2014, and it was won by Boeing with SpaceX. In the same year, SpaceX showed a noticeably different layout - the body became more elongated, and supports appeared in the bottom part, as in the 2011 video. The first test unmanned flight was expected in 2016.
SpaceX Photos
In 2014, alarm bells began to ring for the idea of ​​a rocket landing - in an interview with Musk he said that the ship would have a set of parachutes, and the ship would check engines at a height of several kilometers, switching to a parachute landing in case of their malfunction. For several years, various news and rumors appeared, but in the end, in 2017, it was finally announced that Crew Dragon would land in the same way as the cargo version - parachutes on water. According to Mask, he is confident that a rocket landing is possible, but did not consider it necessary to spend resources on convincing NASA, and the concept of landing on Mars has changed.
In 2015, the emergency rescue system was successfully tested in a launch site crash scenario (Pad Abort Test). The test device was not yet the final version, but already close to it. And no trace of the landing pods on it was already visible.
Assembling the test apparatus, SpaceX photo
Tests
In 2018, the parachute system was changed, instead of three parachutes there were four. And finally, a flight copy of the vehicle was delivered to the assembly and test facility.
SpaceX Photos
Despite the novelty of the design, the origin of the device is quite recognizable. The overall layout coincides with the first "Dragon" - the ship consists of two compartments, the descent vehicle (SA) and the service module, the orientation engines are located on the SA. But, of course, there are differences. On the service module appeared stabilizers. Judging by the fact that the SAS in the tests led the SA along with the service module, they are needed mainly in case of an accident. The solar panels have moved to the surface of the service module, now there is no risk that they will not open (there was a problem with this in one of the first flights of the Dragon cargo). SAS Super Draco engines and additional portholes appeared on the descent vehicle. And the drop fairing closing the docking station has become opening. The brake engines also moved under it (on the Dragon cargo, all orientation engines are nearby).
Frame from broadcast
The cabin from the inside looks empty, but it is not surprising - when people fly, they will add rescue equipment and additional cargo. Well, let's not forget that Dragon has no domestic compartment - 9.3 m 3 of Crew Dragon is more than 8.5 m 3 of the total volume of the “Union”, but less than 14 m 3 of “Shenzhou”.
We wish SpaceX a successful completion of the mission, if everything goes according to plan, then the first manned flight can take place as early as July of this year.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/442464/
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