Airlock

Here's a side-by-side comparison of each barge landing so far.

Here guys:

Raptor components are undergoing testing at the NASA Stennis center. Page 3: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/septemberlagniappe2.pdf http://imgur.com/PbcJXaJ

New media of Crew Dragon. Shows us the interior design for the production model. I'd wager there will be more secured cargo bags and netting in the cabin during an actual flight.

Full audio of the teleconference available here Also here:

Here's the prelaunch briefing (transcript in spoilers below): What is it about this booster attempt that makes you more confident than before? Previous booster attempts made corrections that can help a lot, gave experience through trials that can fix things later. Two problems have been solved. Hard to say what odds there are, but feel a lot better about this time. Can you explain why you need the IDA docking adapters compared to the Shuttle adapters? APAS (shuttle) not designed for auto-docking. APAS could possibly work, but it is so old that it was really just simpler to come up with a new international docking adapter spec that will work for all countries and increase commonalities between countries (Mars, etc may require int'l cooperation). IPA is the first step towards space collaboration, rather than space race. Should increase space exploration further than ever before. Main difference is that it allows for automated docking if needed. When do you think you'll land the Falcon on land? It's not driven by schedule, but by performance. They need a lighter mission to do RTLS. It's a mission before the end of this year. Safety is another constraint, needs to be reliable. Once both safety and performance is ready, they'll go. Docking adapter: IDA is universal. How many other docking/berthing adapters are there on the station now? Russian colleagues have a number of different docking ports. They use probe-drogue like Apollo, small-diameter but it's lighter than any other system. They wanted to keep the androgynous design like APAS instead of probe-drogue which doesn't have the same flexibility in contingency situations. IDA permits for the most flexible style, so Russian design was out even though it's simpler and lighter. On the US orbital segment, they want full IDA eventually. Russia will continue to use probe-drogue. US has Common Berthing Mech, which has a very strong structure. That means a much larger hatch than other ports like IDA, and a strong hatch. So with this configuration they preserve Common Berthing Mechanism (2) and two International Docking Standards (2) as well as the Russian Orbital Segment with its four probe-drogue ports. If everything works out with landing what happens to the first stage? It'll be towed to harbor, not sure how long that will take because everything has to be safed. From JAX they'll bring it back to McGregor and refire. It depends on what they find, they'll first do an inspection of the vehicle to determine how reusable it truly is, and make modifications if needed. Status of the Merlin 1D+s? Tests are going well on the uprated engines, and so Flight 21 will have the upgrades most likely. One second window, what happens if you miss it? It's for rendezvous, so it has to have its velocity vector in the exact same plane. 7.8km/s velocity, so to move the inclination a bit uses a lot of propellent. So it needs to be short because Dragon can't use too much fuel. Missing by 10 seconds isn't that bad, 30 seconds would be worse, a minute would be bad. For Shuttle, 5 minute window, Soyuz, a 10 second window. Regarding barge weather: what can we expect Sunday? Isolated showers are possible, winds gusting ~20mph. 5-7ft seas, nothing is a constraint for landing. Maximum for ASDS is quite high. However, weather for launch is most important. What's next after this mission? Jason-3 @ Vandy, what happens after? Jason-3 first as you said, then SES-9 next, a GEO bird (standard launch profile). CRS-8 next, CRS-9 shortly after. Lots of launches later this year, will be very busy. Cost of IDA? Don't know the exact cost. The adapter wasn't as costly as a full system because it's just an adapter. Two cargo missions after losing ORB-3: how much does this impact the desire for a 6-month supply padding? SpaceX-7 will get close to the 6 months. 6 months isn't a requirement, just desirable. But by the end of the year, they want to be close to the 5-6 months that they prefer. Later on they'll get more. With ORB-3 and Progress anomaly, minimal research impact because of that long supply. Challenges and concerns about bring F9 stage back into ASDS, especially considering Carnival Fascination? Primary mission/secondary mission, again. I don't know much about it. Still, ASDS landing is quite critical in the long run. "I'm sure we'll do it in a way that won't collide with cruise ships!" Weather in Florida: this was selected for a few historical reasons, where would you move it if you could? Hey, this isn't that bad! It's warm, which is ideal. Lightning remains a constant concern and hurricanes can be an issue sometimes, but cold temperatures can shut out most areas from consideration. What is the max timeframe that you can determine when a launch will happen? What can go wrong? They feel good for forecasting 3 to 5 days. Any longer is almost impossible to determine, but they can use climatology to determine good times if it's a year out or so, but it's still quite variable. So 3-5 days for actual weather, anything further is climatology. What's the advantage/disadvantage of IDA vs docking? Also, you should be fine with ASDS as it's a tiny cruise ship? Berthing allows for very large objects can help a lot. Docking is complex because you have to go straight in, so you can't go too fast but you can't go slowly either. Though docking now is very reliable, berthing is very simple because you kill your velocity at 10 meters away and then use the arm. However, docking can be done in an automated fashion, berthing requires a human to control the arm. Docking helpful for Mars missions, whereas berthing currently requires humans. SpaceX: do you do internships? Will you have opportunities for younger students as well? Refer to website if you're interested. Also, NASA has lots too! Difficulties in installing IDA into Dragon? There were none. Regarding adapter, it plays right in to ComCrew for Dragon 2, and I've been pushing for those external cargo in the trunk. What's your anxiety level on each launch? I'm still excited about launches, review data very carefully. Overall blood pressure has gone down over time, blood pressure on this launch is especially healthy. I have no idea what the question was, and neither did the answerer. IDA is an adapter because it's APAS on one side and IDS on the other. The future systems will not adapt but just be a full system. Androgynous systems work for any two vehicles, so IDS and APAS have a huge advantage in that respect.

I've updated the OP with maps, the countdown, and a weather report. Also linked a new article from SpaceX's site. This too...

- - - Updated - - - You can hear the trunk impact at 1:05, and see it in the surf at 1:08.

More bad news: ISS Orbit Correction Failed – Russian Space Agency Source

Chris Hadfield provides live commentary during the pad abort test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oobLXhS--lE

Will the update include the new stock-alike textures mentioned earlier? I'm actually pretty interested to see them.

I heard "slightly below nominal" shortly after the SDs finished their burn. Also, "downrange distance" was cut off and then "hang-tight everyone!" Looks like a fun ride.

Capsules are built to naturally fly heatshield-first because of their low CoG. It needs the trunk and fins for aerodynamic stability, otherwise it would just flip inverted and pancake into the ground.

Static fire test complete!

New photos of the test article on spaceflightnow.com

Sounds awesome for landing reusable boosters!

Here it is

Briefing tomorrow.

Blue Origin conducted the first flight of their New Shepard suborbital VTVL today. It is intended to be completely reusable, using propulsive landing similar to SpaceX's Falcon 9R. They plan to use the vehicle for suborbital tourist flights in the near future, while simultaneously scaling their hardware into a fully reusable orbital launch system powered by their BE-4 Methalox engine. Today's launch went well, with separation occurring flawlessly at an altitude of 307,000 feet (93.57 kilometers). While the capsule safely returned to the desert under parachutes, the first stage ran into trouble (an issue ironically similar to a certain landing attempt earlier this year). The booster lost pressure in its hydraulic systems and was unable to land successfully. First Developmental Test Flight of New Shepard Orbital Spaceflight Vehicle

They seem to have shaved about 400MB of data off the Gamedata folder from my .90 install to 1.0. Must be the new texture format. That should definitely reduce the memory footprint.

Why do the modders need to go through Valve to sell their mods?