Another Dragon Returns From Space
SpaceX Dragon Splashes Down with Crucial NASA Research Samples, NASA
“SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 11:47 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 26, southwest of Baja California with more than 3,000 pounds of NASA cargo, science and technology demonstration samples from the International Space Station. The Dragon spacecraft will be taken by ship to a port near Los Angeles, where some cargo will be removed and returned to NASA immediately. Dragon then will be prepared for a return trip to SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing.”
I’m still curious where the used Dragons end up and what they do with them. Are there any plans for re-flight or donation to a museum? I asked this once before. That turned into a debate over who owned the recovered Dragons (NASA versus SpaceX) and didn’t really give me an answer.
It’s the taxi model; NASA is only buying the delivery service, not the launcher or vehicle. SpaceX owns them, and after use they’re stored at McGregor.
SpaceX recently said they’ll start re-using Dragons starting with CRS-11 or CRS-12, but NASA’s Joel Montalbano said CRS-11 which is NET early February 2017. Rumors say this would be the CRS-6 Dragon.
Good! Use ’em!
Think I read that the units exposed to salt water couldnt be re-used, but I can’t confirm it.
Since that would be all of them, I suppose SpaceX may be careful about the wording. There is a difference between reuse after checkout and a major overhaul between cycles. That’s probably something they pay attention to.
Considerable disassembly and inspection could be involved after their dunk in sea water. I’m sure this is one huge reason SpaceX wants Dragon 2 to ultimately land on a landing pad via its Super Draco engines.
Is that actually true? I guess I thought propulsive dry landings were envisioned.
Sorry. I meant all landings so far. They definitely have plans to eventually land the manned version of Dragon on dry land.
Under their CRS Phase 2 contract both Dragon 1 and Dragon 2 will be be used. Initial propulsive landings will be under parachutes, over water first then land, with the SuperDracos firing the last few meters like Soyuz.
Water landings for Dragon 1. Water, water + propulsive, then land landings for Dragon 2. After full propulsive is proven NASA has the option to order rapid return full propulsive landings; IIRC at KSC, the Houston Spaceport at Ellington near Houston, and a California AFB.
They are planning on using one next year:
“I think we’re looking at SpaceX-11,” said Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy manager of ISS utilization, referring to the 11th resupply mission the company will fly with Dragon and the Falcon 9.
“I thought it was 11 or 12 — something like that,” replied Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability at SpaceX. “So, not too far from now.”
SpaceX-11 is currently scheduled to lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in February 2017, and SpaceX-12 is slated to launch two months later, according to Spaceflight Now.
One of them was on display outside the SpaceX launch control building in Cape Canaveral.
Is that building in the publicly accessible part of the Cape? I’ve not been over there in some time. Guess it’s time to go, only a few hours’ drive.