SpaceX today reported a successful drop test of a mock-up Dragon spacecraft as the company approaches a first operational flight of the capsule this fall. You can watch a video of the test, which took place Aug. 12, here.
An Erikson S-64F Air-Crane helicopter dropped a Dragon test article from an altitude of 14,000 feet.
SpaceX said two drogue parachutes and three main chutes -- each 116 feet in diameter -- successfully deployed to ease the capsule into the Pacific Ocean about nine miles of the coast of Morro Bay, Calif., where it was recovered and returned to shore.
SpaceX has delivered to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station the Dragon that is supposed to fly the first operational mission, perhaps in October, launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
It's the first of two or three demonstration flights for NASA before SpaceX begins to deliver cargo to the International Space Station under a $1.6 billion contract, a critical service once the shuttle is retired.
"Data gathered during the drop test will be invaluable as we prepare for the upcoming demonstration flight of the first operational Dragon spacecraft," Chris Thompson, SpaceX's vice president of structures, said in a statement.
SpaceX said the parachute system was the same one that would be used if the Dragon carried people. The company is considered a leading contender to fly astronauts if NASA switches to commercial crew taxis, as proposed by President Obama and a bill that has passed the U.S. Senate.
IMAGE: Fully deployed, the three main parachutes bring the Dragon spacecraft down for a water splashdown. Credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX.
Congratulations, you're where the Constellation/ Ares project was 3 years ago. Nothing like progress. And before anyone posts "didn't the parachutes fail on Ares I-X", yes they did... during the test flight, worked perfectly during the drop tests. Whole different dynamics.
ReplyDeleteanother win for the good guys
ReplyDeleteWow! A tiny capsule for a tiny rocket and it parachuted to the earth. Wait a second, didn't NASA do that 40 years ago? Way to go Obamas's future of space. Aren't liberals supposed to be progressive instead of regressive?
ReplyDeleteNice drop? From only 14,000 ft. NASA has done it from space. If Obama wants this effort to be totally private enterprise, why are they working under a NASA contract? Are they any different that USA, Boeing, Lockheed, etc? So why all the fuss over them being private????
ReplyDeleteLooks a lot better than the last drop test we had with "the other" spaceship. Congrats to SpaceX.
ReplyDeleteGerhard Hauer, Austria
Actually, Constellation suffered several drop test failures. They couldn't even get the test pallet parachutes to deploy properly during Orion's first drop test, let alone the parachutes that were actually the objective of the test. SpaceX also got to this point with far fewer people and far less taxpayer money. SpaceX is also working to a firm fixed price contract that only pays when milestones are met. This differs greatly to the more traditional cost plus contracts given to the bigger/older contractors.
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ReplyDeleteAmerican taxpayers got this sort of a drop and a rocket with Russian engines and one that losses its insulation while setting on the pad for $1.6 billion. Good deal???
Aren't cynical people wonderful?
ReplyDeleteThough Micheal Griffin was no dummy, the Constellation program he championed was doomed to mission failures from the begining. Not necessarily a failure that caused loss of life but the mission itself. Any manned heavy lift space program that relies on two separate missles (one for the crew and one for the payload) where the payload rocket and the crew rocket must launch within two hours of each other for the success of the mission is just begging for it. Can you imagine the payload rocket launching successfully and something keeps the manned one on the ground? Especially in a new program, how many scrubs due to a technical issue have we had since Mercury, I'm not sure of the number but it was LOTS! Hey, that's not say I was totally against it, it would keep lots of us gainfully employed but it sure wasn't the best option. A single system shuttle component arrangement utilizing tried and true SRB's, beefed up ET and Shuttle main engines with a cargo bay on top of the ET topped by an Orion-like gumdrop was the BEST option, and the Bush Administration should have known that before approving the Constellation.
ReplyDeleteTo those who say "hey, NASA did this 40 years ago" -- look at the price tag -- the Orion "test launch" alone last year cost something like $400M+ -- and that was with a mock up upper stage (basically a stainless steel can) fixed atop the old shuttle booster & engine (i.e., not the actual design) -- and no, it never got out of the atmosphere. Yeah, I have full confidence that NASA can build cool stuff, but the problem is they'll need $50 BILLION of tax dollars to do it. SpaceX has built a complete vehicle that can reach orbit for the price of one unimpressive NASA test launch, and most of the funding was private funding.
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