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3 hours ago, YNM said:

SpX would have to calculate their own trajectory.

I was asking since they always have an instantaneous launch window anyway... why not work out some faster rendezvous method ?

Because that requires more fuel. The instant window is because they need to match inclination at launch. Enough phasing orbits takes care of the rendevus, but those take time.

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20 minutes ago, Xd the great said:

Why did the dragon 2 dock so unstably? Especially at the last moments?

This is a guess, but if you've ever used a docking alignment mod, it's making a higher amount of tweaking during the final meters to docking, correcting micro-errors that likely won't matter. So, hey, a computer is trying to make a perfect approach and so it's making a bit of natural over-corrections.

3 hours ago, Cheif Operations Director said:

What time is the docking

It's been pushed up to 7:50 AM Eastern time. Crew and ground controllers are stoked and eager to get on with hatch opening 40 minutes earlier.

 

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3 minutes ago, MinimumSky5 said:

I  still think that the most impressive part of this is the interior of Dragon 2.

It doesn't look like a spacecraft, it looks like an airliner. 

Spaceliner is definitely the look they're going for.

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5 hours ago, Xd the great said:

Anyone know where the toilet is on the Dragon 2?

For Ripley?

57 minutes ago, NSEP said:

I wonder what Oleg Kononenko is doing right now...

Holding the fire extinguisher.
Why, do you think, he was testing it a day ago?

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11 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

Holding the fire extinguisher.
Why, do you think, he was testing it a day ago?

It is called a cold CO2 gaseous thruster.

28 minutes ago, MinimumSky5 said:

I  still think that the most impressive part of this is the interior of Dragon 2.

It doesn't look like a spacecraft, it looks like an airliner. 

No airliners look so cool, at least not for economic class...

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1 hour ago, Rakaydos said:

Because that requires more fuel.

If the US can reliable supply the ISS again, they can start lowering the average orbit, as they did during the Shuttle era.

Then... faster rendezvous ?

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1 minute ago, YNM said:

If the US can reliable supply the ISS again, they can start lowering the average orbit, as they did during the Shuttle era.

Then... faster rendezvous ?

There is no American propellant resupply capability in sight.

For reasons beyond me.

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45 minutes ago, DDE said:

There is no American propellant resupply capability in sight.

You don't need to - when Shuttle flew it was sometimes the Shuttle that boosted the orbit.

Is Dragon 2 developed with this capability ? I'm kinda assuming the answer is "no", unless every blue moon when they expend the first stage that's used for the launch...

Edited by YNM
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8 minutes ago, YNM said:

You don't need to - when Shuttle flew it was sometimes the Shuttle that boosted the orbit.

Is Dragon 2 developed with this capability ? I'm kinda assuming the answer is "no", unless every blue moon when they expend the first stage that's used for the launch...

Dragon 2 has plenty of fuel as its uses the fuel both for orbital operations and the abort system and you know how much you need to land. 
However this require that the docking port is at center of mass, shuttle had more margin here as it was so large with spread out rcs

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7 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

However this require that the docking port is at center of mass, shuttle had more margin here as it was so large with spread out rcs

Yeah... Shuttle is 1/4 the mass of ISS, and is nearly as large (in dimension) as the ISS. Dragon is a small rocket car compared to Shuttle's flying bus.

Edited by YNM
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1 hour ago, DDE said:

There is no American propellant resupply capability in sight.

For reasons beyond me.

It's because the Russian segment, through the Zvesda module, has always been the central module used for station orientation. It was built for an planned Mir successor with the same purpose.

rFc5ZrV.jpg

This was beneficial as the then-Soviet space stations had mastered the ability to use their Progress resupply spacecraft to provide resupply of propellants and other items to Mir and prior stations they had built over the years. The Russian/Soviet space agency have built 10 stations over the years while the US had made only one (Skylab) prior to the ISS assembly.

Zvesda was the second Russian module in ISS assembly and third overall to be added. It was critical for the station, then and now. There was no backup to it from Russia. if it had been lost on launch, NASA would've dusted off some older module technology for use as an interim control module for a time while starting work on a more permanent stationkeeping module.

Zvesda's propellants for stationkeeping or changes to altitude are also supplied through Progress spacecraft, which can also do station reboosting. The US Cygnus resupply spacecraft recently made tests in reboosting the ISS as an alternative for later flights.

The Space Shuttle was never equipped to refuel any spacecraft or the station. Neither will either Commercial Crew spacecraft provide such ability.

While Shuttles could use their Orbital Manuevering System engines to add a little reboost ability, Commercial Crew spacecraft won't have this ability.

 

Edited by OrbitsR4Sissies
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19 minutes ago, YNM said:

Is Dragon 2 developed with this capability ? I'm kinda assuming the answer is "no", unless every blue moon when they expend the first stage that's used for the launch...

As I understand they once tested Cygnus in this role. But it never became standard.

1 minute ago, OrbitsR4Sissies said:

Zvesda was the second Russian module in ISS assembly and third overall to be added. It was critical for the station, then and now.

Not entirely. While it’s a fully functional Salyut, Zarya’s control suite inherited from the TKS FGB was enough for autonomous flight.

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7 minutes ago, OrbitsR4Sissies said:

It's because the Russian segment, through the Zvesda module, has always been the central module used for station orientation.

Space Station Freedom would've seen a dedicated propulsion module on the truss structure (of all places), but Mir-2 is a good thing to tuck on.

7 minutes ago, DDE said:

they once tested Cygnus in this role.

Cygnus uses the CBM, not the IDSS. The CBMs are much more centrally located I think..

Edited by YNM
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Go buy your Celestial Earth buddy while you can. That store's website is going to pleasantly succumb to the Shopper's Kraken with all these Crew Dragon internal shots of it looking surprised as it floats gently on its leach inside DM-1.

They couldn't get better publicity on this adorable thing.

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30 minutes ago, OrbitsR4Sissies said:

Go buy your Celestial Earth buddy while you can. That store's website is going to pleasantly succumb to the Shopper's Kraken with all these Crew Dragon internal shots of it looking surprised as it floats gently on its leach inside DM-1.

They couldn't get better publicity on this adorable thing.

An update: The makers of this weren't told of the launch, wondered why they site and orders increased dramatically, and have happily announced that they are temporarily sold out.

Their press update:

Quote

 

Celestial Buddies Earth En Route to
International Space Station!

Current Supply of Earth Sells Out!

At 2:49 AM EST on Saturday, March 2, 2019, SpaceX launched its Dragon Crew Rocket toward the International Space Station. On board were “Ripley” an anthropomorphic test device (a/k/a test dummy) named for Sigourney Weaver’s character in the movie Alien, and Celestial Buddies’ own Earth, which SpaceX founder Elon Musk dubbed a “super high tech zero-g indicator.”

We at Celestial Buddies had no advance information about Earth’s participation in the launch, although a sudden flurry of orders for Earth in the 48 hours prior to lift off had made us wonder if something was afoot.  By the time the rocket left Cape Kennedy, however, our entire inventory of Earth had been completely sold out, with scores of orders still unfilled.

We apologize for our current lack of Earths . . .we have never had a product on backorder before . . .but we have never had one of our products launched into space before, and we were taken totally by surprise.  Thus, our reorder will not be in our warehouse until the end of April.

For those who have already placed orders for Earth, I will be sending individual emails suggesting alternatives.  For those who are now just looking, may I suggest Our Precious Planet, a larger, more detailed version of Earth that also serves as a gentle introduction to global warming and climate change:

 . . . or any of the other denizens of our miniature stuffed solar system!


Thank you for your understanding.

Jessie and Jon

 

 

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2 hours ago, YNM said:

If the US can reliable supply the ISS again, they can start lowering the average orbit, as they did during the Shuttle era.

Then... faster rendezvous ?

We KSP players are spoiled by an equatorial launch site, making inclination not an issue. IRL, Inclination is THE issue.

because of inclination, we cant pick our launch time to be when the station is in the right place for a fast rendevus. The station's altitude doesnt matter, only where it is in it's orbit when the mission launches.

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7 minutes ago, Rakaydos said:

We KSP players are spoiled by an equatorial launch site, making inclination not an issue. IRL, Inclination is THE issue.

That statement is personally offensive to all dedicated players of RSS ;)

Spoiler

Though I don’t play RSS. I tried it once, and I got set off after an hour or so by...you guessed it, the difficulty of constantly matching up inclinations! Though I do know of a mod which will set the launch site to a location in Brazil, on the equator, thus offsetting the problem of inclination by a part.

 

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