NASA and the Private Sector - Page 22

On May 24 2012 10:36 Epocalypse wrote:


That must be sarcasm. But you should try to avoid it as it is not always clear.

NASA had a 16-19 billion dollar a year budget. SpaceX total cost for launching their first rocket into space was 300 million. You do the math. Oh and NASA hasn't launched anything since which date? I'll let you look that up since you are so keen on facts. How much more productive is SpaceX as compared to NASA.

Watch the video above.

"Today, Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft completed key on-orbit tests as part of a historic attempt to be the first commercial company in history to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station.

In the days since SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the vehicle has steadily completed one task after another as it prepares to berth with the International Space Station. Only minutes after the spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage, its solar arrays successfully deployed, providing power to the spacecraft. The door that had been covering sensors needed for proximity operations opened successfully.

On May 25 2012 00:20 aksfjh wrote:
When is it supposed to dock with the ISS?

FRIDAY MORNING - Final Approach, Dragon Grapple

Around 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern NASA will decide if Dragon is GO to move into the approach ellipsoid 1.4 kilometers around the space station. If Dragon is GO, after approximately one hour Dragon will move to a location 250 meters directly below the station. Dragon will then perform a series of maneuvers to show systems are operating as expected. If NASA is satisfied with the results of these many tests, Dragon will be allowed to perform the final approach to the space station.

Sometime around 6:00 AM Pacific/9:00 AM Eastern, astronauts on the space station will grapple Dragon with the space station’s robotic arm and the spacecraft will attach to the station.


SATURDAY MORNING - Hatch Opening

If all goes well, at approximately 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern, the crew will start procedures to open Dragon’s hatch. It will take around 2 hours to complete all operations leading to the hatch opening. Once the hatch is opened, astronauts will enter Dragon for the first time
in space.

All dates and times are approximate and could easily change.

This is SpaceX’s second demonstration flight under a 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station. Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed; by their very nature, they carry a significant risk. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.

View of the Dragon spacecraft as taken by a camera on the International Space Station.

Image of the International Space Station taken by the Dragon spacecraft’s thermal imager.

CSMIndeed, some hardware is working better than expected. For instance, the SpaceX team initially estimated that Dragon would have to close to within 14 to 17 miles of the station before it could establish a reliable communications link between the two craft. It's the link that station crew members use to send commands to Dragon and the link that Dragon uses to receive data the station sends on its position. The two craft established a communications link while Dragon was more than 56 miles away.

Several firms think they can make money in space and are close enough to Musk's company to practically surf in his spaceship's rocket-fueled wake. There are now more companies looking to make money in orbit — at least eight — than major U.S. airlines still flying.

Private space companies have talked for years about ferrying goods and astronauts for NASA, but this is the first time one is actually in orbit and about to make a delivery for the space agency.

"Dragon is not the only entrant in commercial cargo," said Jeff Greason, president of XCOR Aerospace, which specializes in the also busy suborbital marketplace. "They have competitors nipping at their heels."

Still, Dragon's launch is "the spark that will ignite a flourishing commercial spaceflight marketplace," said Michael Lopez-Alegria, the president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and a former astronaut.

Hiring Musk's SpaceX and other private companies is a key part of NASA's plan to shift focus. Instead of routine flights to the space station with the now retired space shuttles, NASA is aiming further out to places like asteroids and Mars. After this test flight, SpaceX has a contract with NASA for a dozen delivery runs.

The idea is to "let private industry do what it does best and let NASA tackle the challenging task of pushing the boundary further," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said last week.

On May 25 2012 23:44 Diomedes7 wrote:
Virgin Galactic is also competing with NASA, and they do it at 1/10000 of NASA's budget with a much higher sucess rate. It's about $200,000 currently, but in the future they expect the price to decrease to about the cost of a commercial airline. I believe Tom Hanks used this service.

As of 11:02 Central time, the Dragon spacecraft is now part of the International Space Station. First US spacecraft to visit since Atlantis.

On May 26 2012 01:18 Galaxy613 wrote:
I'm so glad it has successfully docked! Right now they are making sure there's no leak in between the station and the module before they open the hatch..

Man it would've sucked if they got all that way but couldn't dock. xD