Dawn of a new era in spaceflight? SpaceX to test revolutionary Crew Dragon that will start taking astronauts to the ISS in 2017


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Within two years Nasa hopes that several private space companies will begin taking astronauts into orbit, reducing its reliance on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

And in the first milestone towards that goal, SpaceX will attempt a groundbreaking test of its new spacecraft tomorrow that will one day take astronauts into orbit - and possibly beyond.

Their Crew Dragon vehicle will demonstrate how it would detach from a rocket and carry astronauts to safety if there was an emergency on the launch pad.  

SpaceX is preparing to launch its Crew Dragon spacecraft (shown) for the first time tomorrow. This will not be a proper 'operational' launch, though, but will be a 'pad abort test' from a launch pad in Florida - a vital test to prove the spacecraft can safely carry astronauts

SpaceX is preparing to launch its Crew Dragon spacecraft (shown) for the first time tomorrow. This will not be a proper 'operational' launch, though, but will be a 'pad abort test' from a launch pad in Florida - a vital test to prove the spacecraft can safely carry astronauts

The test on Wednesday is called a 'pad abort test', and will be taking place from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

It involves the manned vehicle launching to safety from a simulated emergency on the launch pad.

For example, if the rocket carrying the spacecraft was in danger of exploding for some unknown reason, Dragon would have to launch its crew to safety.

For a spacecraft to be deemed safe for humans to travel in, it must be able to pass this milestone.

Previous manned rockets used a 'rocket tower' - essentially a long spike - on the top to carry a spacecraft to safety in an emergency.

TIMELINE FOR THE LAUNCH 

0 seconds: The eight SuperDraco engines ignite simultaneously and propel the spacecraft off the pad.

0.5 seconds: After half a second, the Crew Dragon will pitch towards the ocean and continue to fire its engines. It reaches 100mph (160km/h) in just one second.

5 seconds: The engines cut off and the dragon coasts for 15 seconds to its highest point, 5,000ft (1,500 metres) above the launch pad.

21 seconds: The 'trunk' (cargo section at the bottom) of the spacecraft is jettisoned, and the vehicle begins a slow rotation to point its heat shield – its base – towards the ground again.

25 seconds: Small 'drogue' parachutes are deployed to stabilise the vehicle.

35 seconds: Three main parachutes deploy to slow the spacecraft for splashdown.

107 seconds: Dragon splashes down into the Atlantic Ocean about 1.4 miles (2.2km) from the launch pad. 

But SpaceX's revolutionary design uses eight 'Draco thrusters' on its side, which will one day also be used to land the spacecraft softly on the ground so it can launch again.

The thrusters can each produce 15,000 pounds of thrust, and are expected to lift the spacecraft to about 5,000ft (1,500 metres) above the ground.

For this test, the spacecraft will then parachute into the Atlantic Ocean about a mile (1.6km) offshore, where recovery teams will be on hand to retrieve it.

On future missions to space, the Crew Dragon will be intended to land on the ground.

It will be capable of taking up to seven astronauts to and from orbit - such as the ISS - and SpaceX also has plans to use it on their proposed missions to Mars.  

The window of opportunity for the flight tomorrow opens at noon BST (7am EDT) and closes at 7.30pm BST (2.30pm EDT) - although the flight itself will only last 107 seconds.

Conditions will need to be just right for the launch to be successful, which you can watch live on Nasa TV.

For the purposes of this test, the flight will be unmanned save for a dummy on board named 'Buster'.

The dummy will be fitted with sensors to see how humans would cope with the intense acceleration needed to escape from a dangerous launch pad. 

And in this test, the vehicle won't actually be launched by a rocket either.

Instead, it will merely sit on top of a dummy rocket, before its eight thrusters attempt to fire it to safety.

Crew Dragon will ultimately be capable of taking up to seven astronauts to and from orbit - such as the ISS - and SpaceX also has plans to use it on their proposed missions to Mars. Shown here is the cockpit, with futuristic digital displays used to monitor the spacecraft during launch

Crew Dragon will ultimately be capable of taking up to seven astronauts to and from orbit - such as the ISS - and SpaceX also has plans to use it on their proposed missions to Mars. Shown here is the cockpit, with futuristic digital displays used to monitor the spacecraft during launch

For the purposes of this test, the flight will be unmanned save for a dummy on board named 'Buster' (legs seen in the centre of this image). The dummy will be fitted with sensors to see how humans would cope with the intense acceleration needed to escape from a dangerous launch pad

For the purposes of this test, the flight will be unmanned save for a dummy on board named 'Buster' (legs seen in the centre of this image). The dummy will be fitted with sensors to see how humans would cope with the intense acceleration needed to escape from a dangerous launch pad

SpaceX's revolutionary design uses eight 'Draco thrusters' on its side, which will one day also be used to land the spacecraft softly on the ground so it can launch again. Two of the thrusters are shown here. They are also the first rocket engines to designed entirely by 3D printing

SpaceX's revolutionary design uses eight 'Draco thrusters' on its side, which will one day also be used to land the spacecraft softly on the ground so it can launch again. Two of the thrusters are shown here. They are also the first rocket engines to designed entirely by 3D printing

The window of opportunity for the flight tomorrow opens at noon BST (7am EDT) and closes at 7.30pm BST (2.30pm EDT) - although the flight itself will only last 107 seconds. Shown here is the path the spacecraft will take, and how it will maneuvre to land safely in the ocean, on this test

The window of opportunity for the flight tomorrow opens at noon BST (7am EDT) and closes at 7.30pm BST (2.30pm EDT) - although the flight itself will only last 107 seconds. Shown here is the path the spacecraft will take, and how it will maneuvre to land safely in the ocean, on this test

SpaceX is under contract with Nasa to start ferrying astronauts to low Earth orbit and the ISS, beginning in 2017, with the Crew Dragon (shown). Under the $2.6 billion contract, SpaceX will launch the Crew Dragon spacecraft atop the Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida

SpaceX is under contract with Nasa to start ferrying astronauts to low Earth orbit and the ISS, beginning in 2017, with the Crew Dragon (shown). Under the $2.6 billion contract, SpaceX will launch the Crew Dragon spacecraft atop the Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida

The thrusters on the side will ultimately be used to enable the spacecraft to land softly back on the launch pad, shown here in this illustration, even when returning from a regular operational flight. And they may also be used on future missions to Mars, shown on the right
The thrusters may also be used on future missions to Mars, shown in this illustration

The thrusters on the side will ultimately be used to enable the spacecraft to land softly back on the launch pad, shown in the illustration on the left, even when returning from a regular operational flight. And they may also be used on future missions to Mars, shown on the right

'Fortunately the test doesn't need to be perfect to be valuable - our primary objective is to capture as much data as possible as the data captured here will be key in preparing Crew Dragon for its first human missions in 2017,' said SpaceX in a statement.

But the test represents a huge milestone in SpaceX's ultimate goal to being launching astronauts into space.

'This is what SpaceX was basically founded for, human spaceflight,' said Hans Koenigsmann, Vice President of Mission Assurance with SpaceX.

'The pad abort is going to show that we've developed a revolutionary system for the safety of the astronauts, and this test is going to show how it works.

'It's our first big test on the Crew Dragon.'

Previous manned rockets used a 'rocket tower' - essentially a long spike - on the top to carry a spacecraft to safety in an emergency. That launch abort system is seen here on a modern Soyuz rocket
Shown is the Apollo Pad Abort Test 2 in 1965

Previous manned rockets used a 'rocket tower' - essentially a long spike - on the top to carry a spacecraft to safety in an emergency. That launch abort system is seen on the left on a modern Soyuz rocket (circled in the red ring), and on the right during a test of the Apollo launch abort system in 1965

In this May 29, 2014 photo, Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, introduces the SpaceX Dragon V2 spaceship - now referred to as Crew Dragon - at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Nasa also selected Boeing's CST-100 as another private vehicle they will use to take astronauts to space

In this May 29, 2014 photo, Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, introduces the SpaceX Dragon V2 spaceship - now referred to as Crew Dragon - at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Nasa also selected Boeing's CST-100 as another private vehicle they will use to take astronauts to space

Crew Dragon will ultimately be used to take astronauts to the ISS, shown here in this artist's imperssion. Astronauts on the ISS recently installed the necessary docking rings for private spacecraft - including Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 - to attach to the station

Crew Dragon will ultimately be used to take astronauts to the ISS, shown here in this artist's imperssion. Astronauts on the ISS recently installed the necessary docking rings for private spacecraft - including Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 - to attach to the station

The vehicle will be packed with sensors - including temperature sensors, acoustic sensors and microphones - to get as much data as possible.

'This is basically a flying instrumentation deck. At the end of the day, that's the point of tests, to get lots of data,' added Mr Koenigsmann.

The next goal for the Crew Dragon will be an in-flight abort test, when the same launch abort system will be used to carry the spacecraft to safety during an actual launch mid-flight.

It is expected that this test will take place later this year, with flights to the ISS beginning in 2017. 



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