Jan 19, 2020 04:54 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 20, 2020 01:20 AM by Yazata.)
In-Flight Abort Test just went perfectly, as far as I can see.
The Falcon 9 launched, ascended to 'max-q'. The Crew Dragon initiated the abort. The capsule separated successfully, jettisoned its 'trunk' module, oriented itself for entry, and then when it was lower, released two drogue parachutes, then four main parachutes (the new mk.3's). All of them opened sucessfully, and the Crew Dragon splashed down in slightly rough water with whitecaps, where the recovery ship and four fast-boats took over.
Poor valiant B 1046 exploded into a ball of flame after the Crew Dragon was safely away. (Due to aerodynamic forces or a destruct command?) That was all expected.
Replay of the live-feed is here:
https://www.spacex.com/webcast
Apparently Tim Dodd has his own stream that showed some large object (not the Crew Dragon which landed successfully) hitting the ocean at terminal velocity and exploding. Speculation is that was the second stage, which would have been full of fuel and was never lit, that came away from the first stage (which exploded at high altitude) and survived intact till it hit the water.
Photo of that is here:
https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/stat...1271137281
So despite this launch not being intended to reach orbit, it proved to be one of the more eventful SpaceX launches in memory.
Seems to have achieved all the required mission goals.
Jim Bridenstine likes it:
https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/statu...4226711553
Short video clip of the Crew Dragon separating and then B 1046 exploding. With something coming out of the explosion trailing vapor, presumably that second stage.
https://twitter.com/CasselmanJasper/stat...7240046593
Truly extraordinary telescope shot of the precise moment of the abort. You can see the Falcon booster still firing (I believe that it had already begun throttling down at that point) and the smaller SuperDraco engines on the Crew Dragon firing:
https://twitter.com/turndownformars/stat...0736600066
Next up: Post-flight press conference that will be streamed here:
https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive
The first question asked was when the manned DM-2 will go. Elon said that they should have the Crew Dragon at the Cape by the end of this month. But he anticipates it actually flying in the second quarter of 2020. In the April- June timeframe, in other words.
My guess is closer to the June end. They are going to slowly and laboriously go through all their checks and double-checks, but there aren't any more big hurdles in their way. Next time, real people are going to be risking their lives on these things.
Somebody asked what the mystery object was that blew up on hitting the water. I don't think that Elon had seen it. He speculated that it was the Falcon 9 thrust structure and engines, which he expected to fall in one piece (and immediately sink to the ocean floor). But given the big fireball when it hit, it seemed to have been full of fuel. (I'm still going with the second stage theory.)
Elon says that even if the booster explodes without the abort happening, the Crew Dragon is robust enough to survive. Part of that is because booster explosions are really more along the lines of big fireballs when the fuel ignites and the vehicle fragments. They aren't high-explosive explosions that produce blast pressure-waves. Of course they don't want to ever see that happening, which is why they have the in-flight abort capability to separate the capsule from a failing booster.
It wasn't even that rough a ride. The abort was about 3.5 g's, and the entry about 2.3:
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/12...2948719616
The Falcon 9 launched, ascended to 'max-q'. The Crew Dragon initiated the abort. The capsule separated successfully, jettisoned its 'trunk' module, oriented itself for entry, and then when it was lower, released two drogue parachutes, then four main parachutes (the new mk.3's). All of them opened sucessfully, and the Crew Dragon splashed down in slightly rough water with whitecaps, where the recovery ship and four fast-boats took over.
Poor valiant B 1046 exploded into a ball of flame after the Crew Dragon was safely away. (Due to aerodynamic forces or a destruct command?) That was all expected.
Replay of the live-feed is here:
https://www.spacex.com/webcast
Apparently Tim Dodd has his own stream that showed some large object (not the Crew Dragon which landed successfully) hitting the ocean at terminal velocity and exploding. Speculation is that was the second stage, which would have been full of fuel and was never lit, that came away from the first stage (which exploded at high altitude) and survived intact till it hit the water.
Photo of that is here:
https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/stat...1271137281
So despite this launch not being intended to reach orbit, it proved to be one of the more eventful SpaceX launches in memory.
Seems to have achieved all the required mission goals.
Jim Bridenstine likes it:
https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/statu...4226711553
Short video clip of the Crew Dragon separating and then B 1046 exploding. With something coming out of the explosion trailing vapor, presumably that second stage.
https://twitter.com/CasselmanJasper/stat...7240046593
Truly extraordinary telescope shot of the precise moment of the abort. You can see the Falcon booster still firing (I believe that it had already begun throttling down at that point) and the smaller SuperDraco engines on the Crew Dragon firing:
https://twitter.com/turndownformars/stat...0736600066
Next up: Post-flight press conference that will be streamed here:
https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive
The first question asked was when the manned DM-2 will go. Elon said that they should have the Crew Dragon at the Cape by the end of this month. But he anticipates it actually flying in the second quarter of 2020. In the April- June timeframe, in other words.
My guess is closer to the June end. They are going to slowly and laboriously go through all their checks and double-checks, but there aren't any more big hurdles in their way. Next time, real people are going to be risking their lives on these things.
Somebody asked what the mystery object was that blew up on hitting the water. I don't think that Elon had seen it. He speculated that it was the Falcon 9 thrust structure and engines, which he expected to fall in one piece (and immediately sink to the ocean floor). But given the big fireball when it hit, it seemed to have been full of fuel. (I'm still going with the second stage theory.)
Elon says that even if the booster explodes without the abort happening, the Crew Dragon is robust enough to survive. Part of that is because booster explosions are really more along the lines of big fireballs when the fuel ignites and the vehicle fragments. They aren't high-explosive explosions that produce blast pressure-waves. Of course they don't want to ever see that happening, which is why they have the in-flight abort capability to separate the capsule from a failing booster.
It wasn't even that rough a ride. The abort was about 3.5 g's, and the entry about 2.3:
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/12...2948719616
![[Image: EQl9g-WUYAAzCDE?format=jpg&name=small]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQl9g-WUYAAzCDE?format=jpg&name=small)