It’s been clear that they have been leaning this way ever since the May ASAP meeting, but it’s good to see this official.
The timeline they give is interesting: “the Falcon 9 composite overwrap pressure vessels, known as COPVs, will be loaded with helium and verified to be in a stable configuration prior to astronaut arrival at the launch pad. The astronauts then will board the spacecraft about two hours before launch, when the launch system is in a quiescent state. After the ground crews depart the launch pad, the launch escape systems will be activated approximately 38 minutes before liftoff, just before fueling begins. SpaceX launch controllers then will begin loading rocket grade kerosene and densified liquid oxygen approximately 35 minutes before launch.”
I don’t believe we have heard of the Helium preloading before. Given that the COPVs are immersed in LOX in order increase their capacity, and this preloading is done a couple of hours prior to fueling, I assume that it provides only the 20% or so ambient temp helium needed to bring the COPVs up to pressure, and the remainder of the Helium is loaded as the COPVs are chilled during fueling.
It is a more slick, futuristic(?), enclosed design than we’ve see elsewhere. Clearly, as with their spacesuits, they were engineering for both form and function.
I’m sure it was designed to do so, but it will be interesting how the crew access arm, being more enclosed, holds up to launch overpressure.
My experience with the old one was that it wasn’t built for looks, but for purpose. The room, such that it was, was to provide a little shelter from Florida weather. It became iconic because of its purpose.
I was struck by Chris Ferguson’s comment, as quoted in Florida today on Boeing’s crew access arm being installed at LC-41:
““In a matter of about 18 months or so, we’re going to be launching humans on an Atlas from this historic launch pad,” said Chris Ferguson, the deputy manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program who commanded NASA’s final shuttle mission five years ago.
18 months? I thought Boeing’s timeline was “mid-2019.” 18 months from now would be….early 2020. Was this a slip, or a slip-up?
“Five years ago…”?
Touche’.
At any rate, barring a RUD, I increasingly have few doubts that SpaceX is going to win the race for the ISS flag. Shotwell is being unusually confident in her language in launch scheduling for Crew Dragon – I suspect *their* dates won’t slide more than 6-8 weeks to the right.
From what I’ve read, much of the recent slippage (if not all) of the DM-1 unmanned test flight has nothing to do with SpaceX and everything to do with the rotation schedule at the ISS. You can’t just launch to the ISS any time you want. There are only so many docking ports and berthing adapters at the ISS. There are also other constraints that make scheduling crew rotations, resupply missions, and now test flights a challenging exercise.
Oh, I agree – that’s really the reason they aren’t flying the mission this month, and are doing it in November instead.
It’s quite clear their hardware (launchers, capsules, and launch pad) is where it needs to be for the next three flights (DM-1, the in-flight abort test, DM-2), whereas this does not seem to be the case with Boeing, even before their unfortunate hiccup with the abort engine valves. So perhaps Chris Ferguson’s slip should be taken at face value, after all.
Of course, something bad could happen unexpectedly on DM-1, and set them back. But right now, they finally seem to be where they need to be to keep reasonably close to schedule now.
LC-14 heard Ferguson’s remarks and was unimpressed.
It’s been clear that they have been leaning this way ever since the May ASAP meeting, but it’s good to see this official.
The timeline they give is interesting: “the Falcon 9 composite overwrap pressure vessels, known as COPVs, will be loaded with helium and verified to be in a stable configuration prior to astronaut arrival at the launch pad. The astronauts then will board the spacecraft about two hours before launch, when the launch system is in a quiescent state. After the ground crews depart the launch pad, the launch escape systems will be activated approximately 38 minutes before liftoff, just before fueling begins. SpaceX launch controllers then will begin loading rocket grade kerosene and densified liquid oxygen approximately 35 minutes before launch.”
I don’t believe we have heard of the Helium preloading before. Given that the COPVs are immersed in LOX in order increase their capacity, and this preloading is done a couple of hours prior to fueling, I assume that it provides only the 20% or so ambient temp helium needed to bring the COPVs up to pressure, and the remainder of the Helium is loaded as the COPVs are chilled during fueling.
In other SpaceX news, they have finally started installation of their Crew Access Arm on LC-39A.
It is a more slick, futuristic(?), enclosed design than we’ve see elsewhere. Clearly, as with their spacesuits, they were engineering for both form and function.
I’m sure it was designed to do so, but it will be interesting how the crew access arm, being more enclosed, holds up to launch overpressure.
My experience with the old one was that it wasn’t built for looks, but for purpose. The room, such that it was, was to provide a little shelter from Florida weather. It became iconic because of its purpose.
I was struck by Chris Ferguson’s comment, as quoted in Florida today on Boeing’s crew access arm being installed at LC-41:
““In a matter of about 18 months or so, we’re going to be launching humans on an Atlas from this historic launch pad,” said Chris Ferguson, the deputy manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program who commanded NASA’s final shuttle mission five years ago.
18 months? I thought Boeing’s timeline was “mid-2019.” 18 months from now would be….early 2020. Was this a slip, or a slip-up?
“Five years ago…”?
Touche’.
At any rate, barring a RUD, I increasingly have few doubts that SpaceX is going to win the race for the ISS flag. Shotwell is being unusually confident in her language in launch scheduling for Crew Dragon – I suspect *their* dates won’t slide more than 6-8 weeks to the right.
From what I’ve read, much of the recent slippage (if not all) of the DM-1 unmanned test flight has nothing to do with SpaceX and everything to do with the rotation schedule at the ISS. You can’t just launch to the ISS any time you want. There are only so many docking ports and berthing adapters at the ISS. There are also other constraints that make scheduling crew rotations, resupply missions, and now test flights a challenging exercise.
Oh, I agree – that’s really the reason they aren’t flying the mission this month, and are doing it in November instead.
It’s quite clear their hardware (launchers, capsules, and launch pad) is where it needs to be for the next three flights (DM-1, the in-flight abort test, DM-2), whereas this does not seem to be the case with Boeing, even before their unfortunate hiccup with the abort engine valves. So perhaps Chris Ferguson’s slip should be taken at face value, after all.
Of course, something bad could happen unexpectedly on DM-1, and set them back. But right now, they finally seem to be where they need to be to keep reasonably close to schedule now.
LC-14 heard Ferguson’s remarks and was unimpressed.