SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test - Launching January 19, 2020
Screenshots don’t look cooler than this. This isn’t ART. Maybe it's ART. Who cares.
Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5
Dragon In-Flight Abort Test
Written: January 04, 2021 - First resurrected prelaunch preview
When SpaceX let’s one “RIP” bigtime
Following on from their successful DM-1 mission, SpaceX will conduct an uncrewed In-flight Abort (IFA) Test. This will validate Crew Dragon’s ability to pull crew away to safety in the event of a failure during launch.
This is a Mission Timeline, I found on Crew Dragon’s homepage, which I believe is helpful to understanding just some of the things that must happen before Lift Off.
SpaceX simulated an inflight engine failure which after my opinion is too simple a method to test a rocket failure. They should have simulated an engine explosion. My opinion.
Something cool from Geoff Barrett, the height is wrong though, that’s with the 34,4 foot fairing
Mission Profile
At the point of maximum dynamic pressure (max Q), the Falcon 9 rocket will terminate its thrust, simulating a failure. This will trigger the launch escape system, causing the spacecraft to fire its integrated SuperDraco abort motors and pull itself safely clear of the rocket. After a 10-second burn, the capsule will coast up to its apogee of 40 km, detach from the trunk and later deploy its parachutes, finally splashing down 34 km downrange, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Within an hour, the spacecraft will be recovered from the water and brought back to Port Canaveral by Go Searcher and other members of SpaceX’s east coast fleet. As a result of extreme aerodynamic forces, the Falcon 9 rocket is expected to disintegrate immediately after the abort, which will be performed at approximately T+ 00:01:24.
The second stage is not required to work for this flight; subsequently, its Merlin vacuum optimized engine has been replaced with a mass simulator as a money-saving measure.
Test stand anomaly
The mission, originally slated for late 2019, was delayed as a consequence of a ‘test stand anomaly’ in April. The anomaly resulted in the spectacular destruction of the capsule, which had been planned for use in the IFA. The destroyed spacecraft had previously flown on DM-1, an uncrewed orbital demonstration of its capability to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
This Crew Dragon rendering is missing its concave heat shield.
Crew Dragon is 16 feet tall, the trunk is 12 feet tall. Together they stack 27 feet, and there is an unknown neck ring between the 2nd stage and the bottom of the Trunk. This intermediary Payload Adapter Fitting ring is estimated at 3 feet in height. That is 30 feet give or take a few inches, and with the fairing measuring 34.4 feet, then the SpaceX rocket B1046-4 mesures 68,66 meters in height.
The failure occurred during a static fire test of the capsule’s abort motors, when before SuperDraco ignition: A slug of Dinitrogen Tetroxide oxidiser leaked past a helium check valve and into the pressurization system.
During pressurization, the same slug was propelled through the check valve as a result of a phenomenon known as fluid hammer. This event, with an oxidizer rich environment, was sufficient to set fire to the titanium component and lead to an explosion. A more detailed explanation can be found in Scott Manley’s video.
Evolution of the capsule
Crew Dragon has undergone many changes since its ostentatious unveiling in 2014. When SpaceX founder and chief engineer, Elon Musk, presented the futuristic spacecraft, it was capable of seating seven astronauts and would land propulsively. However, the complexity of propulsively landing a capsule, and its entailing safety concerns, resulted in certification difficulties, and ultimately, SpaceX pulled the plug on the idea.
Since then, numerous changes have been made. Most notably, due to concerns regarding the G-forces crew might experience, the angle of the seats was changed. As a result of which, the three bottom seats of the original seven-seat configuration were removed, leaving a row of four.
To prevent the recent test stand failure from reoccurring, SpaceX opted to replace the check valves with burst disks. They were hesitant to do so, as burst disks are single-use and subsequently can’t be tested pre-flight. Such a change goes against their company philosophy of testing every possible component to ensure the best chance of flight success.
Furthermore, this mission will fly SpaceX’s new Mk3 parachutes. The new parachutes were developed because the parachute risers were experiencing more load than predicted by models, an issue that has plagued both Boeing and SpaceX. This was rectified with the latest iteration of SpaceX’s parachutes, which were recently drop-tested to gather more data and ensure efficacy.
The launch abort propellant will be rerouted from use in the Super Draco’es to being used as orbit phasing propellant by the 16 regular Draco thruster engines. Many still think that if the parachutes fail, then the Super Draco’es can double as emergency landing thrusters. I don't know how much - if any - propellant is still available for that burn.
What’s The Commercial Crew Program?
This will be SpaceX’s last flight in its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract, making it an FAA licensed test flight. The contract is a NASA-funded program that aims to launch American astronauts — and eventually, astronauts from other countries — on American rockets from American soil. The last time this happened was in July 2011 on the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135. After this, NASA contracted two private-sector companies – SpaceX and Boeing – to develop a next-generation spacecraft to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. You can learn more about the Commercial Crew Program on NASA’s website.
Inside Crew Dragon DM-2
If performed norminally, the first certified crewed flight (DM-2) will occur shortly after, in February. This mission will carry NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS. This will put an end to the U.S. 's reliance on the Soyuz spacecraft for transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station, a monopoly enjoyed by Russia since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.
In this G. DE CHIARA drawing there are measurement sticks inserted by Me; the side section has been split to separate the capsule and the trunk. Some internal gear might have switched sides.
The cabin had been rotated, so Dough Hurley and Bob Benken name tags had to switch sides. These angles and viewpoints are easier to comprehend and not upside down. The top section is seen from below. The side section capsule is flipped downside up, and so is the front section together with the nametags. I also forgot to flip the trunk.
For an in-depth comparison of both SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner CCP spacecraft, check out Everyday Astronaut’s video. Furthermore, if you want to learn more about launch abort systems and why SpaceX and Boeing have ditched abort towers, Everyday Astronaut also has a video covering this topic.
The One, my Precious
I thought this was lost in the Clouds, so I copied it by watching it again and again, and made all previous Prelaunch Previews that were lost in the homepage updated around New Years 2020.
Then I made more of them all the way back to Falcon 9’s first flight in 2010.
The link under my name gives access to all Falcon 9 Post Launch Mission Rundowns with the available Webcast links from Tim Dodd, SpaceX and a few other forgotten sources from way back in the early years.
So I learned a little rocket “science” aka. rocket mechanics. Now what?
Everyday Astronaut Tim Dodd’s orange links got lost in the January move. SpaceX booster B1046-4 conducted 4 missions in its short glorious life, seen here.
The very first Falcon 9 Block 5 launch of Bangabandhu-1, and now the very first deliberate inflight self destruction test ever done by any space company. That’s balls to the walls.
Only one thing pussels me. Weren't there any older boosters left lying around, who could act as stand-in for this suicide flight. A Falcon Heavy core booster or one of the old side boosters or any of the old Block 4 boosters. Just set one aside.
Don't worry. It’s just Me rant… Wanting an explanation with 20x20 hindsight.
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