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Old 07-29-2011, 09:13 AM
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Default Next SpaceX Launch
According to Space.com, November 30 is the date for the third F9/Dragon test flight. This is the first time I've seen a date given for the mission, so take it with a few grains of salt...

If this mission goes well, they're hoping for a March 2012 flight to ISS (docking) as the first of their COTS contract flights.
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Old 07-29-2011, 09:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CPMcGraw
According to Space.com, November 30 is the date for the third F9/Dragon test flight. This is the first time I've seen a date given for the mission, so take it with a few grains of salt...

If this mission goes well, they're hoping for a March 2012 flight to ISS (docking) as the first of their COTS contract flights.


The November 30 launch will be sending cargo to the ISS.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011...E76R7RY20110728

It seems like a bold move since they haven't demonstrated the ability to maneuver in orbit or dock - and now they are going to aim at a manned space station. :-)

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Old 07-29-2011, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by jadebox
The November 30 launch will be sending cargo to the ISS.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011...E76R7RY20110728

It seems like a bold move since they haven't demonstrated the ability to maneuver in orbit or dock - and now they are going to aim at a manned space station. :-)

-- Roger


I think Irene Klotz mis-quoted the announcement. Here's what the Space.com write-up says:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Wall - Space.com
All of these visits, however, will be by private vehicles. The California-based company SpaceX is set to launch its Dragon capsule toward the station on Nov. 30 on its second and final orbital test flight, NASA officials announced last week. And if all goes well, the firm could launch another Dragon capsule on its first operational cargo-carrying mission three or four months later.


Further down in the story, Wall adds:
Quote:
The Nov. 30 mission will be the Dragon/Falcon system's second demonstration flight under the COTS program. While the first Dragon test flight orbited Earth twice and then splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX wants this second one to dock with the space station.

And, the capsule will carry cargo on both legs of the journey, SpaceX officials said.

"If we're up there, we might as well take some stuff up and bring some stuff back down," Reisman told SPACE.com.

If all goes well with that flight, Reisman added, the next Dragon mission would likely not be a demo — it would be a fully operational re-supply mission, the first of the 12 under SpaceX's contract. And it could happen as soon as March 2012.


It still requires NASA to sign off on the idea, and there still seems to be some hesitation from that direction.
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Old 07-29-2011, 05:04 PM
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Originally Posted by jadebox
It seems like a bold move since they haven't demonstrated the ability to maneuver in orbit or dock - and now they are going to aim at a manned space station. :-)


Unfortunately, there isn't much else to dock with up there.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:29 PM
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A clarification to my earlier reply...

SpaceX wants very much to combine their second Dragon demo flight with the first docking mission, and have been pushing, urging (as Blackshire might say, Chomping at the bit...) NASA to allow them to combine those two objectives into one mission. NASA, on the other hand, has suggested they would look at the idea; yet by the tone of their voice(s) one gets the feeling they would rather SpaceX fly two separate missions and observe the results.

Obviously, SpaceX is being quite vocal and "optimistic" about their ability to move forward...
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