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SpaceX to reveal their manned DragonV2 capsule tonight

Streetwind

By Streetwind
in Science & Spaceflight

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magnemoe

magnemoe

Posted
Posted
So that was/is awesome. That flipdown pilot's console, straight out of Star Trek

However was it just one joystick, the small one one in center or is they at pilot, copilot seats too.

Mostly thinking manual override / abort during docking.

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PTNLemay

PTNLemay

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Posted (edited)
So that was/is awesome. That flipdown pilot's console, straight out of Star Trek

The whole thing looks like some sort of shuttle from the new Star Trek. I really like it. The first one was nice for it's specs and it's capabilities, but it had a distinctly... barrel, or bucket shape. It was a big cylinder.

But this... this is sexy. Oh and engadget posted an article about (with a picture slideshow).

http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/29/space-x-dragon-v2/

http://www.engadget.com/gallery/spacex-dragon-v2/2652987

EDIT:

Is there a video up on YouTube or something? I think I missed the live-stream.

Edited by PTNLemay
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Camacha

Camacha

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Posted (edited)
I wouldn't ride a rocket with touchscreen controls.

How is it different from a rocket or spaceship with normal monitors? If the technology craps out, you're boned. You just need to make sure the ultracritical switches are physical and close by.

Well diaper's it is then, ill stick with the soyuz, has a toilet.

I will gladly make a mess out of my suit, I will simply pick the ship that is most likely to get me home alive and well. All other things are basically luxeries.

Edited by Camacha
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jfull

jfull

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The capsule seems to lack the simple and practical design of the original dragon... I do wonder if they might have traded some of the function for form with this one.

The interior also seems sparse and empty. One would expect to see equipment like life support (and the manual controls for it) intruding into that space.

However, the design is pretty inspiring and the powered precision landing sounds quite useful (no more having to get a boat out into the ocean to retrieve it).

I remain optimistic.

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OrbitusII

OrbitusII

Posted
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The capsule seems to lack the simple and practical design of the original dragon... I do wonder if they might have traded some of the function for form with this one.

The interior also seems sparse and empty. One would expect to see equipment like life support (and the manual controls for it) intruding into that space.

However, the design is pretty inspiring and the powered precision landing sounds quite useful (no more having to get a boat out into the ocean to retrieve it).

I remain optimistic.

This is just the presentation prototype. I was surprised by how plain it seemed too, but this isn't the exact capsule that will be used. There's going to be more stuff, this is just the full-size mockup that they used to reveal it.

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Nibb31

Nibb31

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Most of it is as expected. I was surprised by the new trunk. It has fins to stabilise the vehicle during an abort, which makes it a bit like the Soyuz fairing. The stuck-on solar panels seem a bit suboptimal to me. They must be much cheaper than the mechanical unfolding ones for Dragon V1, but they also expose much less surface to the sun. Also, while it is docked at the ISS, most of it will be in the shade most of the time. I guess it's ok for trickle charging.

I was also surprised that the NDS docking port seems to be a bit off-center. Also, the opening nose cone doesn't seem to open up more than 90°, which seems a bit tight clearance with the PMA and you couldn't dock two Dragons head-to-head. I expected the nose cone to have a full 180° hinge to fully clear the NDS.

I would expect the final interior to have some sort of padding material. Even the cargo version goes up with insulation/padding blankets on the walls. You wouldn't want to bang your head in zero-g against that ribbed metal, and some folks first experience of floating in zero-g will be inside the Dragon.

Edited by Nibb31
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sojourner

sojourner

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Wasn't the original design supposed to powered land and carry people?
eventually
Why the new design?
It evolved as they learned things, hence the v2

Also, the youtube comments are OMG POWERED LANDING but that was in the dragon already?

Not in any of the ones flown, it was a planned upgrade. Which we just saw revealed today.
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Nibb31

Nibb31

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Wasn't the original design supposed to powered land and carry people? Why the new design?

Also, the youtube comments are OMG POWERED LANDING but that was in the dragon already?

No it wasn't. The V1 splashed down and needed to be recovered by a salvage ship.

The V1 didn't have the SuperDracos and expanded tanks for launch abort and landing. It didn't have landing legs. It had parachute mounting points and a CBM where the NDS had to go. It also had a compartment for the RMS grappling fixture which is not needed on the V2.

Add all of those things for manned vehicle, and you have to redesign the entire spacecraft. Which is what they did. Hence the V2.

Edited by Nibb31
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Streetwind

Streetwind

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Yeah, they originally intended to bolt SuperDraco modules to the outside of the Dragon to give it landing capabilities. But well, that was from years ago. SpaceX has had time to refine that concept significantly. Not to mention that this is their piece de resistance - manned spaceflight is the crowning achievement of any rocket manufacturer, and everyone will be looking at it. For a private company relying on public relations and advertising, it just won't do to have a solution that looks cobbled together. Just think of how much more confidence-inspiring such a sleek, styled-through capsule is - especially if they succeed in combining form and function in favorable ways.

That said, I'm fairly sure the interior is largely a presentation mock-up at this point. The reveal came more or less out of the blue, shortly after the disagreements with the Russian government. I'd bet my wallet on the fact that Elon Musk sensed the opportunity and pulled the presentation forward at least half a year or so. Even just a few weeks before, there were still only low-key news about wind tunnel testing, design process reviews and other such things that didn't suggest the company was ramping up for a reveal so soon.

I still haven't seen the video, due to the bad timing I won't be able to do so until I get home from work today, almost a full day after the event. But the screenshots do look very nice. I like it. Let's see how long it will take LazTek to pick it up :)

So does someone know when we will see the pad/flight abort tests?

While that won't happen anytime soon, you could take a look at the recent test firing of the SuperDraco thruster:

It's what I assume to be one in a series of qualification tests, which were successfully completed just this month.

You can see it being throttled up/down at increasing speeds, all the way to rapid pulsing just before the end of the test. Wikipedia says: "(...) the engine has a transient from ignition to full thrust of 100 ms." That's pretty darn impressive for something 3D-printed with 73 kN of thrust.

by watching the video, - musk said that the superdracos are 3d printed - that's maybe even more interesting to see how reliable they are than the propulsive landing :)

SpaceX estimates that a DragonV2 can fly 10 times without refurbishing, after which the heatshield needs to be swapped... and then it can fly another 10 times before the next service. Unless the thrusters are hot-swappable on the spot while the capsule refuels, that suggests a fairly high reliability target for them.

Edited by Streetwind
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Nibb31

Nibb31

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Well, according to this tweet from Elon Musk this was actual hardware, not a mockup: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/461283368693669888

I think if this is flight hardware, then it's for the Dragonfly atmospheric test campaign, i.e. testing aborts and propulsive landing. It doesn't look spaceworthy to me, especially the closeup pictures of the heatshield and the RCS Draco thruster ports.

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CaptRobau

CaptRobau

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Love the new look. Looks really sexy and properly 21st century. Since manned space travel is very much about getting public opinion on our side, this is not a bad thing. Can't wait the fly the LazTek version.

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PTNLemay

PTNLemay

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Is the new nose-cap an aerodynamic thing? Or did they just add it to make it look more smooth and streamlined.

Ty6JKbY.png

Because, while I do like the new streamlined look, I have to say the nose is a bit too... big. It looks rather fragile sticking out to the side like that. The first Dragon (for all of it's bucket-like shape) did have a kind of nice rugged functionality too it, including a mostly exposed docking port on the nose because really in space there isn't much to run into so you don't really need to cover it.

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CaptRobau

CaptRobau

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Its aerodynamic during the launch sequence. By making it a hinged cover, I think they just want to make as much of the craft reusable (otherwise you'd have to decouple the nose cone and leave it in space) and it might also help keep the craft more stable during reentry and landing.

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