Tag Archives: Dragon

BFR vs BFR
Everyday Astronaut does an excellent job explaining the differences between last year’s BFR* concept and this year’s new design.
* BFR = Big Falcon Rocket (yeah, totally)

Mars 2022
… and commercial travel to anywhere on Earth in less than an hour
Elon Musk updates the plan for getting to Mars by revolutionizing space travel (and Earth travel). This talk concluded at 12:30 CDL Friday.
It’s all about reusability!
CRS-11 Falcon 9 Landing
Yet another Falcon 9 landing (from yesterday June 3rd) at LZ-1. Note the arrival of the sonic boom just before landing. Starting to get routine (as it should). This was also the first re-use of a Dragon capsule (Woo Hoo).
For more info on LZ-1 see:
- https://contrafactual.com/2017/02/19/second-time-is-the-charm/
- https://contrafactual.com/2015/03/22/landing-complex-1/
For more on the CRS-11 mission see:
- https://contrafactual.com/2017/06/01/crs-11-iss-resupply/
- http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/crs11finalpresskit.pdf
Feels like the 60s again.
CRS-11 ISS Resupply
SCRUBBED DUE TO WEATHER
From http://www.spacex.com/webcast
New milestones for SpaceX
- First reflight of a Dragon capsule
- Another re-landing of Falcon 9 booster at Landing Zone 1
- 100th Launch from LC-39A
Click to access crs11finalpresskit.pdf
Launch windows:
Primary Thursday June 1 at 5:55pm EDT (21:55 UTC)- Backup Saturday June 3 at 5:07pm EDT (21:07 UTC)

Second time is the charm
SpaceX successfully launches CRS-10 from LC-39A | Falcon 9 first stage lands at LZ-1
Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Airforce Station
Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A, the southern most of the two most northerly pads) with SpaceX modifications
Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1 formerly LC-13 midway down ICBM road )
LC-39A launch
Aerial view of LZ-1 landing
Full coverage with some SpaceX provided historical clips
Links
- http://www.spacex.com/
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center_Launch_Complex_39
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Launch_Complex_13
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Zone_1
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex (very cool photos)
Aerial snapshots from Apple Maps (TOMTOM)
Welcome to the Future – the revolution will be Tweeted

If at first you don’t succeed …
Commercial Crew Update
Originally published on Jan 16, 2017 | NASA Commentator Kyle Herring talks with Kathy Lueders, the manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, about the status of efforts to develop commercial space vehicles to deliver human crew members to the International Space Station. NASA is working with Boeing and SpaceX as those companies work through milestones to get their vehicles, Boeing’s CST-100 and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, ready for their first crewed flights to the station, while the space station program is reconfiguring the station and preparing for spacewalks to install the new International Docking Adapters to which the new commercial spacecraft will dock.
Although YouTube states that the above video was published this month, I suspect that it was actually recorded two years ago in mid-June 2015. Reason being that reference was made in the video (@6:20) of the upcoming launch of the International Docking Adapter (IDA-1). However IDA-1 was lost during the launch failure of SpX CRS-7 on June 28, 2015. (Reference https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Docking_Adapter)
Additionally the Crew Dragon Pad Abort occurred in May of 2015.
SpaceX Dragon on Mars
Elon Musk | 60 Minutes
2012 CBS News
This was recorded before the first ISS re-supply mission.
ABORT ABORT ABORT
Mercury
Apollo
Orion
Crew Dragon
Sigh …
Will the 3rd time be the charm?
THE WHY AND HOW OF LANDING ROCKETS (SpaceX)
http://www.spacex.com/news/2015/06/24/why-and-how-landing-rockets
Even given everything we’ve learned, the odds of succeeding on our third attempt to land on a drone ship (a new one named “Of Course I Still Love You”) are uncertain, but tune in here this Sunday as we try to get one step closer toward a fully and rapidly reusable rocket.
Stay tuned …
SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch Pad Abort Test
The Near Future of Space Travel
An Essay
This week saw the crash and burn of two commercial space ships; one manned, the other unmanned. Regardless of how commonplace spaceflight seems to have become it is still dangerous business. As Elon Musk quipped when a SpaceX test vehicle self-destructed (as intended) when something went haywire over the McGregor Texas test site, “Rockets are tricky“.
SpaceX Commercial Crew
This video predates Dragon V2, but the basic concepts remain the same.
Crew capability was the very reason SpaceX was founded, so we will do whatever it takes to make this happen. – Elon Musk
Related:
Mars or bust
The Register is reporting that Elon Musk expects to have space-farers on Mars within the next twelve years. Only when the “interplanetary mission gets underway” does he expect to “float [SpaceX] on Earth-bound stock exchanges.”
Read the full story at The Register.
Previously posted videos
In case you missed them … or just want to watch them again.
I feel like a kid again.
Elon Musk is my hero.
SuperDraco
Dragon V2 Unveil
This gives me goosebumps – guess I’m still just a starry-eyed kid from the 60s.
Elon Musk will be known as the “Father of Modern Commercial Space Flight”.
Stay tuned … The future will be televised on the web.