Initial Launch Vehicle Could Be On A Launch Pad In "Months"

SpaceX reports that only a few months remain before the first Falcon 9 Launch vehicle is assembled on a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, and that the initial flight of the Dragon spacecraft qualification unit could come from one to three months after that. The flight will give SpaceX data on aerodynamics and performance for the Falcon 9 configuration that will fly on the following COTS and CRS missions for NASA. The second Falcon 9 flight will be the first flight of Dragon under the NASA COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services) program, and will demonstrate Dragon's orbital maneuvering, communication and reentry capabilities.

Falcon 9 First Stage

Though it will initially be used to transport cargo, the Dragon spacecraft was designed from the beginning to transport crew. Almost all the necessary launch vehicle and spacecraft systems employed in the cargo version of Dragon will also be employed in the crew version of Dragon. As such, Dragon's first cargo missions will provide valuable flight data that will be used in preparation for future crewed flight. This allows for a very aggressive development timeline-approximately three years from the time funding is provided to go from cargo to crew. The three year timeframe is driven by development of the launch escape system. This includes 18 months to complete development and qualification of the escape engine, in parallel with structures design, guidance, navigation & control, and supporting subsystems.

Another 12 months will be required to perform various pad and flight abort tests, which are slated to take place at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility (Virginia). Under this timeline, the first crew launch would take place 30 months from the receipt of funding, leaving six months of schedule margin to allow for the unexpected.

Dragon COTS Module

In another development, with the help of NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office, the DragonEye Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor has already undergone flight system trials in preparation for guiding the Dragon spacecraft as it approaches the International Space Station (ISS).

DragonEye launched aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on July 15th, and tested successfully in proximity of the ISS. DragonEye provides three-dimensional images based on the amount of time it takes for a single laser pulse from the sensor to the reach a target and bounce back, providing range and bearing information from the Dragon spacecraft to the ISS.

DragonEye Docing Simulation

SpaceX has also recently completed the parachute load test which was the last part of the Dragon primary structure qualification. Dragon withstood both nominal and off-nominal vertical parachute loads up to 48,000 lbf applied to the main and drogue fittings. The spacecraft is being shipped back to California from the Texas test site where it will continue preparations for its first flight.

FMI: www.spacex.com