Posted on 05/06/2015 5:55:08 AM PDT by NonValueAdded
A commercial spaceship designed to ferry U.S. astronauts into orbit by 2017 is set for a major test Wednesday, when SpaceX plans to blast the capsule away from a launch mount at Cape Canaveral on a mile-high demo flight to simulate the crafts ability to protect occupants in the event of a catastrophic rocket mishap on the pad.
SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft will not travel far, but data from Wednesdays test should arm engineers with results to prove the capsules emergency safety system can save astronauts from an explosive launch failure.
The test is scheduled for 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) Wednesday from Cape Canaverals Complex 40 launch pad, the same facility used by SpaceX for operational flights of the Falcon 9 booster.
It is the most visible test to date for NASAs commercial crew program at Cape Canaveral, where SpaceX and Boeing plan to launch crews to the International Space Station.
(Excerpt) Read more at spaceflightnow.com ...
Godspeed, SpaceX
I live a couple of hours north, unfortunately not sure the weather is going to cooperate to see the launch.
It is just the capsule being launched so I think you’d have to be there to see it. SpaceFlightNow and SpaceX will have streaming video though.
Looked like it went very well. Detached from the booster, flipped and all three shoots deployed. Nice soft landing in the water.
Eight hotrod 3D-printed SuperDraco rocket thrusters mounted around the circumference of the capsule are set to fire at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) to push the 20-foot-tall spacecraft off SpaceXs launch pad at Cape Canaveral. Officials will watch for gusty winds that could delay the flight, but forecasters predicted Tuesday a 70 percent chance conditions will be acceptable Wednesday.3D printed engine chambers ... amazimg
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Burning a nearly two-ton supply of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, the SuperDraco thrusters will almost instantly ramp up to 120,000 pounds of thrust, propelling the Dragon spaceship to an altitude of 100 meters 328 feet in two seconds. By the time the SuperDracos finish firing, the capsule will be a third of a mile above the launch pad.Put another way, the capsule will go from 0 to nearly 100 mph in one second.
Rigger Motto: I WILL BE SURE ALWAYS.
Watched it .. man that would be one wild ride for the crew..but they’d be alive !!!!
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