SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon cleared to hoist real live American astronauts into space SpaceX has been given final approval to get into the space taxi business after NASA signed off on "Launch America", which will see the company's Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule used to transport a pair of American astronauts into space. SpaceX, the Falcon 9 and the Dragon capsule have of course been to the ISS before, on several …
Are the SpaceX engineers confident enough about say 10 launches to the ISS per year or is it just for this one launch ? I find that a regular cadence on projects tend to sharpen or weaken the minds depending on the company culture. A lot of the stuff that happens is mostly robotic or autonomous to the point that we can trust the computer and its redundancies to take care of eventualities most humans won't even come close to reacting to things.
10 flights per year exceeds the design goals of the ISS. The station is designed to support up to 7 people for ~6 months (I think the limit is 13 for a few days), with the idea of rotating about half the crew every 3. So the requirements of the ISS can be met with 4 flights per year, each with 3 or 4 crew members (Soyuz carries three). Of course, the shuttle flights had flight crew that returned with the craft after a week or so, so shuttle manifests with 7 or so people weren't uncommon (which is presumably why Crew Dragon can carry 7).
Simultaneous, Boeing has a manned vehicle that they are debugging. And Jeff Bezos is trying to figure out how to deliver packages to space with Blue Horizons, too.
I believe SpaceX has 5 trips scheduled over the next 18 months or so, and the Russians are still in the business. So for a while, we'll have (hopefully) significant excess manned capacity to the ISS, effectively using manned vehicles in place of robotic craft.
But that's the point: the ISS is just a convenient test destination. Ultimately, for SpaceX, this is just a stepping stone to crewed BFRs on their way to Mars.
> Simultaneous, Boeing has a manned vehicle that they are debugging. And Jeff Bezos is trying to figure out how to deliver packages to space with Blue Horizons, too.
Boeing has a bonfire-waiting-to-happen that isn't going anywhere soon. Bezos has a lot of buildings and an engine that works on Earth but zero actual space experience.
"Of course, the shuttle flights had flight crew that returned with the craft after a week or so, so shuttle manifests with 7 or so people weren't uncommon"
Also people could live on the Shuttle - was very much like having a caravan parked at the side of your house. Not sure the Dragon has as much capacity.
"people could live on the Shuttle - was very much like having a caravan parked at the side of your house. Not sure the Dragon has as much capacity."
It doesn't from the drawings I've seen. Apollo was "liveable" for 3 people for a week or so. Dragon would probably be similarly "liveable" for 7 for a week or so, but not like the Shuttle, which had actual sleeping areas, etc. - yeah, like a Winnebago in Space [sorta reminds me of a movie, what was it...]
One of the smartest things that could be done within the next year is to re-use some of those human launch boosters to put a 2nd station into orbit, one designed to be a fueling station and depot between Earth-launched vehicles and a pure space "moon shuttle" vehicle (designed to make the lunar run in a day or two, then rinse/repeat and do it again, staying in space). ideally we will want this eventually, but why not start something NOW ? An ISS2 maybe but specifically designed for the refuel+resupply and passenger/crew exchanges.
And yeah, let the Russian and EU and other space agencies contribute, too, maybe use it for their own exploration - way better than ground-launching a satellite to Mars, put the booster minus fuel into orbit, put the fuel into orbit on subsequent (or simultaneous flights), fuel up in space, send the thing to Mars, and have the Mars booster thingy COME BACK TO EARTH ORBIT to be re-used...
The 'Lunar Gateway' is NASA's idea of where it's second space station should be (ie, near the Moon). It is otherwise, basically what you propose as an ISS2. It's international too, ESA and JAXA are interested in adding modules, and Canada are supplying a robotic arm (that seems to be the default Canadian space contribution. Maybe maple syrup works as a lubricant in vacuum?)
I suppose that once you're launching supplies up to LEO, you might as well add a taxi stage to take them all the way out to the Moon, rather than docking with a station and then handing them over to a dedicated taxi. Plus that might lead to a use for the SLS, which means it would go down well in the government...
It could be Battle Beyond the Stars?
What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off; ending up in some retirement village hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time? Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?
Maybe that's why one of the astronauts, Bob Behnken, looks like he's bricking it pre-launch?
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/65F7/production/_112430162_49927475262_d1079989f9_k-.jpg
in theory all you need for a space suit is a balloon-like suit that you can crawl into and cinch up various parts to fit. I figured something *like* that would make a great emergency suit some day... though not exactly well fitting and pretty, it would keep your eyes in your skull and give you enough O2 to breathe for quite a while, I'd bet.
But yeah a retro 70's sci-fi look sounds pretty good, too. Best (looking) Hollywood space suit design might go to "The Martian". I have to wonder if that is protective enough, though...
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