34
votes
Accepted
Would this chair support astronaut during launch in Crew Dragon
1.) Chairs needed to be custom molded / adjusted for the astronauts. There's stories of people sitting down in bathtubs of foam to create the perfect shape.
That is an extra comfort of the Soyuz ...
- 54.4k
18
votes
Accepted
What standard was used by NASA to certify the Dragon capsule controls as safe for crewed flight?
As I am not privy to the contractual interactions between NASA and SpaceX, I cannot say with an absolute certainty that NASA and SpaceX had astronauts, pilots, etc. evaluate the vehicle beforehand ...
- 72.5k
17
votes
Accepted
Why is Dragon the only spacecraft that is currently in use to not need a fairing for launch?
Dragon is not the first manned spacecraft to launch without a fairing
Mercury had a Launch Escape Tower bolted to the top.
Gemini had ejection seats so no tower was needed
Starting with Apollo, a ...
- 3,797
15
votes
Accepted
Why hasn't Dragon been reused before CRS-11?
The NASA contract for the CRS missions specified a new Dragon for each flight.
That would explain why no Dragon has been reused on an ISS logistics mission.
But that does not answer why SpaceX has ...
- 79.2k
12
votes
Reason for different "cone angles" of different space capsules?
As usual in this sort of thing, there's no single optimal answer because the capsule has to do a few different things, so the shape has to balance different requirements.
A narrow cone angle gives ...
- 166k
12
votes
Accepted
Will the 2018 Mars Dragon Lander be the largest lander on Mars to date?
Yes, by quite a bit. Right now the heaviest object soft landed on Mars is Curiosity, as you noted. The mass of it is 900 kg. The Red Dragon is 6400 kg, plus payload of up to 2000 kg (Maybe more for ...
- 121k
12
votes
Accepted
Could Dragon 1.0 be used as an emergency Earth return vehicle
It's better than nothing, of course. I don't think it has carbon scrubbers but other than that it's climate controlled and pressurized (Elon: "If someone were to stowaway on the unmanned version of ...
- 947
11
votes
Accepted
Is that Dragon's cargo exposed to space environment in this picture?
Yes, that section is usually called trunk and it may contain unpressurized cargo - up to 14 m3 (compared to 10 m3 of pressurized payload) (source)
You can see it being loaded with BEAM
(Twitter ...
- 5,118
10
votes
Accepted
What payload was expected for the 2018 Mars Dragon flight ("Red Dragon")
Aviation Week seems to be the best source right now. A few interesting bits:
NASA is spending up to $30 million in support, mostly to help gain information for EDL on Mars.
A photo might be taken ...
- 121k
9
votes
Reason for different "cone angles" of different space capsules?
This is such an expansive question that it is difficult to answer without writing an entire essay. The answer comes down to the systems engineering process and the mission requirements. As in all ...
- 91
9
votes
Accepted
Why is the Dragon small compared with the Falcon 9 LEO payload
First of all, the difference in capacity is actually greater than you included. Dragon launches without a fairing, thus there is an increased capacity as a result of launching without the fairing. The ...
- 121k
9
votes
Accepted
When will they be landing Dragon retropropulsively?
SpaceX had a permit/environmental assessment for their Dragonfly test vehicle/series of tests. It included the full gamut of ground level tests (at least one completed, hover test on a crane (video) ...
- 79.2k
9
votes
Accepted
Does Dragon have any timeframes during launch where there is not a planned survivable abort mode?
No. One of NASA's requirements for Crew Dragon and Starliner is that they are able to provide a full envelope abort window for the launch.
5.6.1.2 The CCTS shall provide abort capability from the ...
- 3,991
8
votes
How does the landing accuracy of Dragon (under parachutes) compare to Soyuz?
No values for Soyuz or Dragon on wiki splashdown page, but the lake listed for the one Soyuz water landing seems to be like 20x40km. NASA shows the Soyuz landing zone as 25km wide.
There is a thread ...
- 5,118
8
votes
Why does SpaceX not label the Dragon capsules externally?
The dragon capsule has limited painting on it because it has to stay in space for long periods of time and the addition of logos would affect the thermal performance of the exterior at that spot, ...
- 557
8
votes
Accepted
What Dragon was used in May 2015 Pad Abort test?
The best I've been able to come up with is interior shots from the unveiling and of the test article (complete with test dummy), but I'd say the visual difference is a pretty compelling argument that ...
- 7,216
8
votes
Can Dragon, or Dragon V2 be used to boost the ISS orbit?
In addition to Geoff's answer:
There was no requirement for the CRS spacecraft to provide ISS reboost. The two reboost methods available now (Progress, and the ISS' own engines on Zvezda) were seen ...
- 124k
8
votes
Do astronauts on the ISS ever secure unpressurized cargo with an EVA to then be brought inside through an airlock?
The Robotic External Leak Locators (RELL), which are mounted to the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM) and then moved by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, are stored inside. So if ...
- 177k
7
votes
Reason for different "cone angles" of different space capsules?
Hicks' text on reentry provides a really good look at the derivations of the reentry problem, and touches on the impacts of top-level design choices. For example, although dependent on the actual ...
- 821
7
votes
Accepted
How much of SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon capsule are 3D printed?
Additive manufacturing has a high payoff for complex parts that are hard or impossible to machine using traditional methods, however, the process often requires significant trial and error to get ...
- 557
7
votes
How much of Dragon might have survived the explosion of CRS-7 and for how long?
This was too long to post as a comment:
The investigation also revealed that if the Dragon had deployed its parachutes before falling into the ocean, the spacecraft would have survived. The ...
- 7,501
7
votes
Accepted
What improvements have SpaceX made to their proprietary Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA-X) heat shield?
SpaceX made improvements in several areas:
Production cost. PICA-X is 10 times less expensive than the original.
Resilience. As you noted, PICA is structurally weak. Reportedly, PICA-X is better ...
- 124k
7
votes
Accepted
Is the Dragon Mono-Stable?
From this answer to this question, we can see that there are two stability modes used. The capsule by itself is mono-stable, with the heat shield pointing towards the ground. The second mode is with ...
- 121k
7
votes
What payload was expected for the 2018 Mars Dragon flight ("Red Dragon")
In 2018 Red Dragon flight primary mission would be to prove a soft landing for a human rated vehicle, but this mission is also an opportunity to conclude even some others objectives. SpaceX ...
- 2,145
7
votes
Accepted
How does SpaceX's Dragon get to the ISS?
I assume that the Falcon second stage gets into something fairly close to the rendezvous orbit, but Dragon has just about the same maneuvering capability as Soyuz does.
I’ve heard the Soyuz ...
- 166k
7
votes
What are these cartridges with holes on the Dragon trunk?
What are they?
Interstage Umbilical Guillotines
I believe they are housings for pyrotechnic separation connections between the falcon 9 second stage and the dragon trunk. I found this NASA document ...
- 2,438
7
votes
Accepted
How could SpaceX’s crew Dragon land with abort thrusters in case of emergencies?
PearsonArtPhoto answers why it isn't done - generally NASA's very conservative approach to spacecraft safety, and hurdles it would set to get it implemented.
But assuming a miraculous change in NASA ...
- 54.4k
7
votes
Dragon re-entry flight profile?
In lieu of authoritative data there is always homebrew simulation.
The necessary details about Crew Dragon & its entry, short of aerodynamics, are relatively easy to find:
Parameter
Value
...
- 9,605
6
votes
What payload was expected for the 2018 Mars Dragon flight ("Red Dragon")
The article you linked makes it pretty clear that the goal is to test powered landing of Dragon spacecraft. Hence, I expect little to no payload at all. Of course there might be some token experiment, ...
- 2,443
6
votes
Reason for different "cone angles" of different space capsules?
The target lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) also plays an important role. A high L/D provides greater aerodynamic control authority during hypersonic entry, providing engineers with greater flexibility in ...
- 61
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible