Following an official green light from NASA managers, the approved the combination of the Dragon C2/C3 (D2/D3) Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) missions was set to launch from Cape Canaveral on February 7 – as much as the potential for a further slip was referenced during the launch date announcement.

Dragon will only arrive at the ISS if all of the requirements under the initial C2 demo objectives receive the joint approval from SpaceX controllers and NASA controllers – the latter located at the Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston. Any major problems during the C2 flight phase will end the mission.

The first commercial spacecraft to attempt a docking at the ISS will also conduct a series of check-out procedures that will test and prove its systems in advance of the rendezvous with the station.

The primary objectives for the flight include a fly-by of the space station at a distance of approximately two miles to validate the operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous and approach.

The spacecraft also will demonstrate the capability to abort the rendezvous, if required. Crewmembers on the ISS will also have a level of manual control via the COTS UHF Communication Unit (CUCU), which includes orders to abort the approach.

All three crewmembers on the ISS have previously been hands-on the hardware associated with the CUCU during a visit to SpaceX back in September. Dragon also requires two trained crewmembers to berth it, with Dan Burbank and recent arrival Don Pettit tasked with the docking.

Dragon will perform the final approach to the ISS ahead of the station crew grappling the vehicle with the Station’s robotic arm.

The capsule will be berthed – by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node.

At the end of the mission, the crew will reverse the process, detaching Dragon from the station for its return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of California.

If the rendezvous and attachment to the station are not successful, SpaceX will complete a third demonstration flight in order to achieve these objectives as originally planned.

Next up in preparation for the launch was the Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) for the Falcon 9 at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, which was expected to take place last week, or early this week. However, that has been postponed, along with the launch date.

The specific reason for the delay has not been revealed, as much as the slip is is expected to be only a matter of weeks.

It is not known if the due diligence checks are related to the launch vehicle. However, the mission profile had passed through the ISS Post Qual Review board before Christmas, allowing SpaceX to enter the final steps toward launch.

“In preparation for the upcoming launch, SpaceX continues to conduct extensive testing and analysis. We believe that there are a few areas that will benefit from additional work and will optimize the safety and success of this mission,” noted SpaceX in a press release on Monday.

“We are now working with NASA to establish a new target launch date, but note that we will continue to test and review data. We will launch when the vehicle is ready.”

Click here for other Dragon News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/dragon/

The comment about launching only when the vehicle is ready is an absolute standard throughout the launch industry, yet the language of the SpaceX release matches the recent heritage of NASA managers tasked with providing a green light for a Space Shuttle launch.

The post-RTF era for the Shuttle earned a large amount of respect for NASA, as Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs – L2 Link to Presentations) and Mission Management Team (MMT – L2 Link to Presentations) meetings often slipped a launch or delayed the target date late into the flow, avoiding the obvious strain of “schedule pressure” – something which can cause a negative outcome.

One such example of only launching when the vehicle is ready from the Shuttle era was seen ahead of STS-133, via deputy Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manager LeRoy Cain, when he made an internal address to his teams relating to the cracked stringer troubleshooting and mitigation on ET-137. (L2 Link to Presentations).

“If there is a way to make that launch period at the end of all of our work, where we have a very thoughtful and complete assessment of where we think we are as it relates to the risk associated with these anomalies, and we can do something within this launch period, then we will,” noted Mr Cain in November, 2010.

“If we can’t – then we won’t, and we are not going to do anything until we are ready to go fly safely.”

This alignment from a relatively new commercial company to the due diligence of seasoned shuttle managers should impress, as much as SpaceX are clearly fully aware of what they class as a sense of responsibility.

That responsibility is not only to re-establish the domestic cargo supply line to the orbital outpost for the first time since STS-135, but also to lay the foundations of the ultimate Low Earth Orbit goal of transporting US astronauts back to the ISS via an American launch vehicle and spacecraft.

“After the last Shuttle flight we were struck with an enormous sense of responsibility,” noted SpaceX communications director Kirstin Brost Grantham to NASASpaceFlight.com. 

“For 30 years the Space Shuttle provided our country’s only means of carrying astronauts to low-Earth orbit. We are determined to get that capability for our country back just as soon as possible.”

SpaceX are currently part of the CCDev2 (NASA’s Commercial Crew Development) process, which is aiming to re-establish domestic crew transport to the ISS by 2015-2017.

(Images via SpaceX, NASA and L2).

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Commercial Latest:

Two main arms of commercial association with NASA are currently being worked, with the initial cargo resupply efforts via the CRS (Commercial Resupply Services) contracts and the interim work on the returning domestic US crew capability for the International Space Station (ISS) via the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) initiatives.

In the program which is also known as COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services), SpaceX – with their Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon capsule – are by far the best known commercial company in the public arena, as they aim to build on their cargo resupply progress with the role of launching crew to the ISS.

NASA notes on their progress have mentioned no issues on both their cargo and crew efforts, as SpaceX build towards making their debut arrival at the orbital outpost next year, which would mark a major boost for both NASA and the commercial aspirations of taking over Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

“SpaceX thermal sac results look good – no issues. Calibrating thermal models and assessing GNC coldplate. Dragon EMI testing (then) ship to Cape,” added notes from various NASA Staff Senior level notes (L2) this month. “Providing risk analysis support to SpaceX on abort scenarios (debris/strike potential on aborting capsule).”

A decision is due on whether SpaceX will be allowed to combine the second and third demonstration flights to the ISS, which would result in a full mission through to the arrival at the Station. This decision is believed to be imminent, and will be made via Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Bill Gersteinmaier.

Click here for recent SpaceX News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/spacex/

“For decision to combine demo flight and trip to ISS, ultimately combined ISS-COTS recommendation will go to HEOMD AA/Gersteinmaier,” added a Staff Senior update (L2). “All stakeholders will participate in the pre-decision process.”

From the NASA side, only one real concern has been noted over recent months, relating to “Secondary Payloads” riding with the Falcon 9 into orbit.

Ranging back to an an agreement to launch 18 ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) satellites as early as the fourth quarter of 2010 through 2014, the delivery of the second-generation satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was set to be carried out on the Falcon 1e launch vehicle.

However, SpaceX – working to further maximize the cost-effectiveness of their COTS/CRS missions – decided to includ the additional payloads as passengers on the Falcon 9′s second stage, allowing them to be deployed after the Dragon separates from the Falcon 9.

It is currently understood that two ORBCOMM satellites will ride uphill with Falcon 9 during the C2/C3 flight, which caused ISS managers some interest from the standpoint of a potential collision risk with the ISS. As such, NASA are using their experienced Monte Carlo analysis methods to clear this concern.

Nothing has been noted since, with only positive notes on progress towards a likely positive decision on combining the flights. Given the Monte Carlo analysis is likely to be sensitive in nature, only a note on a positive or negative outcome would be expected.

However, NASA source information on Monday has pointed to different problem, this time with the “Stakeholders” – notably the Russians, who appear to be unsatisfied with the “performance data” supplied to them from the COTS 1 flight.

The scenario outlined by the source information points to a potential negative decision resulting in the COTS 2 mission in January, 2012 – which was the latest placeholder for the combined C2/C3 mission – prior to the pre-planned C3 mission taking place later in 2012.

It was also stressed all parties aren’t too far apart and thus the path to C3 isn’t threatened – providing C2 enjoys a nominal mission – or that meetings over the coming days may be able to iron out any concerns to allow the combined mission.

Due to the secretive nature of both the Russians and SpaceX (due to commercial and contractual reasons), it is likely no decision will be known until it is officially announced by NASA. No date has been set for such an announcement at this time.

ASAP on Commercial:

As mentioned, NASA are closely tied in with the main commercial companies, allowing them to monitor on the progress being made on their CRS and CCDev milestones. This embedded approach involves actual NASA managers working alongside the commercial companies in an oversight role.
 
Also known as Partner Integration Teams (PIT), their role was one of the subjects at the ASAP Third Quarterly (2011) meeting, which cited concerns about NASA workers “going native” and becoming too close to their commercial collegues, which may threaten how objective they are in reporting back to their NASA bosses.

“Finding: The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) will utilize embedded PIT members to closely follow and guide commercial partner design processes to help ensure that their result meets NASA expectations and requirements. The Panel recognizes the importance of this method of obtaining insight and encourages it,” noted meeting notes, which were sent to NASA administrator Charlie Bolden.

“However, caution must be exercised to prevent these government representatives from psychologically and culturally becoming part of the partner’s team mentality, or ‘going native.’”

As such, the ASAP reccomends that embedded NASA PITs should be rotated, on a tour of duty cycle, so as to avoid NASA teams getting too close to their assignment.

“Recommendation: The Panel recommends that the CCP develop a written policy specifying team rotation schedules based on tour of duty, milestones, or other appropriate criteria, to ensure a fresh set of eyes are always protecting the government’s interest for the insight portion of the acquisition strategy.

“Rationale: History has shown that buyer representatives embedded with supplier development teams are subject to “bending the rules” to aid the development team that they begin to feel part of. Preplanned rotation is one means of minimizing this effect.”

Although meeting notes show it was “interupted” by the inclusion of a passionate letter to reverse the decision to retire the Space Shuttle fleet (a specific article will follow), ASAP Chair, VADM (Ret.) Joseph W. Dyer, expanded on this PIT rotation idea, whilst also taking time to once again note his concerns with the entire commercial program – as he briefly highlighted the ‘big rocks’ of the meeting.

“There is still tremendous uncertainty associated with the CCP cost estimate. The range extends from $1B to $10B, and the estimate’s fidelity continues to be less than satisfying. The budget is the ‘elephant in the room’. The budget to sustain at least two competitors, operating under fixed-price contracts, into design and development looks to be exceedingly challenging. There is an issue with risk acceptance.

“Over the last four years, the work on classic NASA programs has clearly articulated the responsibility, authority, and accountability for risk trades and requirements approvals, but that has become clouded as we move into the commercial space era. The ASAP will recommend that some work be done in clarifying that and promulgating where risk will be accepted.

“There continues to be an issue, often highlighted by the Panel, that ‘the cart is before the horse’ in terms of requirements vis-a-vis the progress that commercial partners are making on design. In other words, design is outpacing a clear articulation on what is needed and how safe it needs to be.”

In summary, it was noted that the Panel’s significant concern with regard to the wide spread in the cost estimate and the uncertainty and shrinking size of the budget for commercial space execution.

“Clearly, the adverse impact and stress on safety increases inversely to the budget – as the budget goes down, things get tighter, shortcuts are pursued, and bad things can happen,” the notes added.

Overall, the ASAP appear happy with the roadmap to the commercial companies taking over the main role of LEO – thus allowing NASA to focus on Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) exploration – though Admiral Dyer further expanded on his concerns, which included the PIT tour of duty recomendation.

“They (Commercial) continue to move forward with how they are going to manage through CCDev 2, which is where they are now, to go to the third stage, which will be certification and integration,” the meeting notes added.

“There are several issues. They will have a two-board structure to manage this – a Technical Review Board and a Program Control Board. Most of the actual, detailed activities will be handled by the commercial partners themselves. NASA will perform oversight at a high level, consistent with the more ‘hands-off’ commercial approach that is being taken; however, it does raise concerns with the ability to have adequate insight to provide appropriate oversight.

“To this end, they are putting in place Partner Integration Teams (PITs) that will have the technical ability to work side by side with the various partners to understand what is going on. This raises some challenges. Will they have adequate insight to get what they need? Specific requirements for how they will get information have not yet been developed.”

Citing that the ASAP have – for three years – been stressing the need to have documentation that specifies how safe is safe, what the certification requirements will be and how they will be verified, Admiral Dyer is concerned that NASA are yet to prove they have a robust way to evaluate whether or not the requirements are being met.

“With those elements not being complete, especially at this advanced point in the program, it is virtually impossible for the partners to be reasonably confident that they will satisfy standards that are not yet official and for NASA to develop a mechanism to monitor that which they have yet to explicitly define,” the notes continued. “This is a longstanding problem.

“The PIT raises other issues – the ability to have the granular insight into what is going on is vital; however if the PIT is constantly working with a given partner, over time there is a tendency to ‘go native’ and inadvertently be less objective since they will be less likely to see issues with ‘fresh eyes’. What is the plan to mitigate this risk?

“When the Panel raised the question on whether there is a plan or a formal way to rotate the PIT members, (NASA) indicated that they have a very large budget for travel, which would enable PIT members to go back and forth, (but) indicated that at this time there is no formal mechanism by which that would be achieved.

“This is a concern to ASAP. There should be a formal plan, so that everyone knows explicitly how PIT members will be rotated to maximize the PIT’s objectivity.”

It is not known at this time if NASA will agree to the recommendations, although it is unlikely they would require immediately implementation due to what is currently early days of the CCDev partnerships.

ASAP are also deemed to be conservative by nature, as was seen during their negativity to adding any additional shuttle missions, citing safety issues, which drew a rare retort from the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) management at the time.

(Images: Space X, NASA, L2 Documentation) (As the shuttle fleet retire, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. 

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view how you can access L2)

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Cygnus Resupply:

The failure of the Russian Progress resupply ship highlighted the delicate balance of ensuring the International Space Station (ISS) can support a six person crew during the transition between the loss of the Space Shuttle’s huge capability and the addition of a commercial resupply vehicles which will be launched by Orbital and SpaceX.

Thanks to Atlantis’ STS-135 mission, the ISS is in no risk from a logistics standpoint, but the future of the Station’s full utilization role – not least in the year 2013 – requires the support of both SpaceX’s Dragon and Orbital’s Cygnus making resupply runs to the orbital outpost, an arrangement fostered by NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract.

SpaceX are still waiting to hear confirmation that they will be able to accelerate their original demonstration schedule, by way of combining flight 2 and 3 of their Dragon demonstrations, while Orbital’s Cygnus is expected to debut early next year for what will be only one demonstration flight.

A key milestone for Orbital’s drive towards ISS resupply missions was the arrival of the PCM at its Wallops launch site, following a transatlantic flight from its manufacturing location in Italy.

The PCM was unloaded from the Antonov An-124 transport aircraft in its specialized shipping container, prior to being transported to NASA’s H-100 payload processing facility, where it will be uncrated later this week and prepared for integration with Orbital’s spacecraft service module.

Thales Alenia Space will provide Orbital with eight more pressurized modules for cargo missions to the ISS. The first PCM will be followed by three more units in “standard” configuration, capable of transporting up to 2,000 kg of cargo each, along with five “enhanced” configuration units, boosting payload capacity to 2,700 kg.

The Cygnus vehicle consists of an advanced service module and a PCM. The service module incorporates avionics, power and propulsion systems from Orbital’s flight-proven LEOStar and GEOStar satellite product lines.

Based on NASA’s requirements, it will deliver crew supplies, scientific experiments and equipment, spares parts and other essential cargo to the ISS.

The Cygnus PCM developed via Thales Alenia Space’s experience with the ISS, as seen with their MPLM (Multi-purpose Logistics Module) which rode numerous times with Shuttle to the orbital outpost – which was built by the company on behalf of the Italian space agency for NASA.

Click here for Commercial Space articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/news/commercial/

The Italian-based company are also a major player with the ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) Cargo Carrier, built for the European Space Agency (ESA). Thales Alenia Space was also a key player in the Columbus laboratory and prime contractor for Node 2, Node 3 and the Cupola – all now on orbit with the ISS.

Together, the PCM and the service module will form the first operational Cygnus that will be launched to the ISS to carry out a demonstration mission, which follows a test flight of the Taurus II launch vehicle at the end of this year.

Taurus II is a two-stage launch vehicle designed for medium-class payloads weighing up to 5750 kg. The vehicle’s system utilizes identical management approaches, engineering standards, production and test processes common to Orbital’s family of small-class Pegasus, Taurus, and Minotaur launch vehicles.

Taurus II incorporates both solid and liquid stages which meet medium-class mission requirements for variety of low inclination low-Earth and sun synchronous orbits and interplanetary trajectories.

The vehicle sports a 3.9 meter fairing to accommodates large payloads such as the Cygnus, while streamlined vehicle/payload integration and testing via simplified interfaces reduce time from encapsulation to lift-off.

Taurus II is capable of launching single and multiple payloads from the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), although it is compatible with the Western Range at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) and Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC).

Following the Taurus II test flight and the Cygnus COTS demonstration mission, Orbital will press immediately forward into their Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, with the first CRS flight scheduled to take place in the second quarter of 2012.

“The arrival of the first pressurized cargo module at Wallops is an important milestone for the Cygnus program, signifying that we are making great progress toward carrying out the COTS demonstration mission early next year,” said Mr. Frank DeMauro, Orbital’s Cygnus Program Manager.

“With the first fully-assembled service module currently in testing at our Dulles, Virginia satellite design and production facilities, it won’t be too long before both of the major elements are united at Wallops for final system integration, followed by integration with the Taurus II rocket that will launch Cygnus to the International Space Station.”

The deal to carry out ISS resupply flights – under the $1.9 billion CRS contract – encompasses eight missions between 2012 and 2015 carrying approximately 20,000 kg of cargo to the ISS.

“This is one more important step in our partnership with U.S. private industry to build safe, reliable and cost effective cargo transportation systems,” said Philip McAlister, acting director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA Headquarters in  Washington. “We are pleased that Orbital has made this accomplishment and look forward to the company flying the Cygnus spacecraft in 2012.”

The debut CRS runs by Dragon and Cygnus will provide the United States with an ability to custom design payloads required by the ISS, as full utilization takes hold on orbit.

It will also mark the first tangible step towards the US regaining its domestic human space flight capability, with several manned vehicles currently being designed via the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) contracts, prior to a NASA decision on which vehicles it will buy services from to launch its astronauts to the ISS.

(Images: Orbital) (As the shuttle fleet retire, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. 

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view how you can access L2)

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Combining COTS 2/3:

The plan to combine the second and third of three planned Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration flights (C2 and C3) for SpaceX’s Dragon has already been agreed in principle, with a preliminary launch date target at the end of November.

Thanks to the success of Dragon’s debut trip into space – carried out on only the second Falcon 9 launch – there is a large amount of confidence SpaceX can take the next step, the final stage of testing ahead of starting Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) runs to provide the ISS with a small – but important – part of the upmass capability that has been lost since the retirement of the shuttle fleet.

However, as with all “Visiting Vehicles”, even approaching the ISS requires numerous safety requirements to be passed, procedures which protect the $100 billion Station from undesirable incidents which could threaten both the ISS and it’s crew.

Highlighted as the main item of interest currently being worked by both NASA and SpaceX, engineers are evaluating a “concern” relating to “Secondary Payloads” riding with the Falcon 9 into orbit.

Ranging back to an an agreement to launch 18 ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) satellites as early as the fourth quarter of 2010 through 2014, the delivery of the second-generation satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was set to be carried out on the Falcon 1e launch vehicle.

The Falcon 1e sports upgraded propulsion, structures and avionics systems when compared to the Falcon 1 – in order to further improve reliability and mass-to-orbit capability.

However, SpaceX – working to further maximize the cost-effectiveness of their COTS/CRS missions – decided to included the additional payloads as passengers on the Falcon 9′s second stage, allowing them to be deployed after the Dragon separates from the Falcon 9.

It is currently understood that two ORBCOMM satellites will ride uphill with Falcon 9 during the C2/C3 flight, which caused ISS managers some interest from the standpoint of a potential collision risk with the ISS. As such, NASA are using their experienced Monte Carlo analysis methods to clear this concern.

“SpaceX Second Stage Payloads Collision Risk: NASA is now receiving necessary data for orbital plane impacts, but it is still uncertain how the analysis will fallout,” noted one MOD ISS presentation from August 10 (available on L2). “Generic policy has not yet been developed.”

SpaceX also acknowledged this ongoing work, citing they were working with NASA to resolve the potential risks associated with the secondary payloads.

“Over the last several months, SpaceX has been hard at work preparing for our next flight – a mission designed to demonstrate that a privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). NASA has given us a Nov. 30, 2011 launch date, which should be followed nine days later by Dragon berthing at the ISS,” noted SpaceX.
 
“NASA has agreed in principle to allow SpaceX to combine all of the tests and demonstration activities that we originally proposed as two separate missions (COTS Demo 2 and COTS Demo 3) into a single mission. Furthermore, SpaceX plans to carry additional payloads aboard the Falcon 9′s second stage which will deploy after Dragon separates and is well on its way to the ISS.

“NASA will grant formal approval for the combined COTS missions pending resolution of any potential risks associated with these secondary payloads. Our team continues to work closely with NASA to resolve all questions and concerns.”

With safety reviews a standard for NASA, the procedures are already being lined up through their respective phases, with phase 3 expected to be completed early next year – likely relating to a green light for the opening CRS flight for the Dragon in 2012.

Click here for recent SpaceX News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/spacex/

“SpaceX/Dragon: Phase 3 part 1 safety review tentatively scheduled for end of September 2011. Starting to see easy phase 3 level hazard reports,” added the MOD ISS Presentation. “Some phase 2 level work pushed off to phase 3 (not unusual). Estimate phase 3 complete 2/2012.”

Known also as Falcon 9′s Flight 4, the CRS-1 flight hardware is already well into production, an in-house process which is undergoing a ramp up in the fabrication of the Falcon 9s – three of which will be required for the 2013 debut of the Falcon Heavy at USAF Vandenberg in California.

“Significant additional tooling and automation will be added to the factory, as we build towards the capability of producing a Falcon 9 first stage or Falcon Heavy side booster every week and an upper stage every two weeks. Depending on demand, Dragon production is planned for a rate of one every six to eight weeks.

As SpaceX rightly note, the arrival of the C2/C3 Dragon at the ISS this year – as much as the mission may slip into 2012 due to a tight schedule from the ISS side, per sources – will be a key milestone for commercial space flight, as the cargo Dragon docks and is ingressed by the crew of the ISS, marking a historic first.

“This next mission represents a huge milestone not only for SpaceX, but also for NASA and the US space program. When the astronauts stationed on the ISS open the hatch and enter the Dragon spacecraft for the first time, it will mark the beginning of a new era in space travel,” noted SpaceX.

The most recent milestone for this potential combination demo mission was carried out at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida, with a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) carried out on the Falcon 9 Flight 3 vehicle.

(Images: Space X) (As the shuttle fleet retire, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. 

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view how you can support NASASpaceflight.com)

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Key Events:

The opening target of a T-0 at 15:09 UTC was enjoying a smooth count heading into the terminal count. However, at T-2 minutes 50 seconds an abort was called. The second opportunity being aimed for is at 10:43am Eastern (15:43 UTC).

Sources note the abort was caused either by an issue with intermittent drop outs in range-critical telemetry, an off-nominal condition with the Dragon computer was also noted. SpaceX are currently classing the abort as related to a false abort on the Ordnance Interrupter (OI) ground feedback on the Flight Termination System (FTS) showing relation to the range critical note.

Following countdown for the second window was faultless, as was all the major milestones of the launch and ascent into orbit, with nominal first stage, staging, second stage flight and deployment of the Dragon all appearing to be flawless.

On orbit, Dragon appears to be very stable. One of the Draco thrusters has failed, sources note, which is within tolerance. All cubesats were deployed and have communicated good status. Deorbit burn was stable, with Dragon heading towards Entry.

Dragon – as expected – deployed its Drogue and three Main parachutes, ahead of a splashdown in the Pacific ocean at  around 19:00 UTC.

Follow post flight coverage on the live update page. Further articles will follow via L2 post flight notes.

SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon Preview:

The Dragon spacecraft has been developed by SpaceX to transport cargo to the International Space Station. In June 2006 it was selected, along with the Rocketplane Kistler K-1, for development under the COTS programme.

The contract with Rocketplane Kistler was subsequently cancelled in October 2007 after the company had been unable to meet targets, and a replacement contract was awarded to Orbital Sciences Corporation in February 2008, to develop the Cygnus spacecraft.

Development of the Dragon spacecraft began in 2005, and in March 2006 it was submitted for the COTS programme. The spacecraft was designed to be able to transport crew eventually, as well as cargo, however a number of modifications would be required before it could be flown manned. 

Its pressurised cargo module has a volume of ten cubic metres, whilst its “trunk” section, which can be used to transport unpressurised cargo or deploy small satellites, has a volume of fourteen cubic metres. In terms of mass, three tonnes of payload can be transported in each section.

Attitude control will be provided by 18 Draco thrusters, burning monomethylhydrazine oxidised by dinitrogen tetroxide. These thrusters will also be used to deorbit the spacecraft at the end of its mission. The Dragon spacecraft, excluding the unpressurised trunk section, is 2.9 metres long, with a diameter of 3.6 metres. It carries a Common Berthing Mechanism, and on flights to the International Space Station it will be berthed at the station using Canadarm2, in a similar way to the HTV spacecraft. 

Click here for SpaceX News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/spacex/

Unlike the existing unmanned spacecraft used to resupply the International Space Station, Dragon is designed to return to Earth and be recovered at the end of its mission.

To do this, it is equipped with a heat shield made of PICA-X, or Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator, which can reach up to 2,200 degrees Celsius. The heat shield has a diameter of 3.6 metres, covering the bottom of the spacecraft, and took four years to develop. SpaceX believe that it will not be damaged by reentry, and will be able to be reused for many flights. Following reentry, the spacecraft will descend into the Pacific Ocean under parachutes.

If successful, this will be the first time a commercial organisation has recovered a spacecraft from orbit. The only previous attempt was made in 1995 by Space Systems Incorporated using the Multiple Experiment Transporter to Earth Orbit and Return, or METEOR, spacecraft.

This was launched from Wallops Island on the only flight of the Conestoga 1620 rocket, and ended in failure when the rocket was destroyed by range safety after its guidance system malfunctioned.

One or two more missions will be conducted to test the Dragon spacecraft. Dragon C2 (large amount of NASA presentations available on L2) is expected to rendezvous with the International Space Station, whilst Dragon C3 is planned to become the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the outpost.

SpaceX are reported to be considering merging the C2 and C3 missions into a single flight, however they will need approval from NASA to do so. SpaceX has also been awarded twelve Commercial Resupply Systems (CRS) missions to transport cargo to the ISS, which will be conducted once the demonstration missions are complete. Two free-flying DragonLab missions, carrying scientific payloads, are also planned.

Dragon C1 will be launched by a Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 made its maiden flight earlier this year carrying a mockup of the Dragon spacecraft, and this will be its second flight. Falcon 9 is a two stage rocket, with both stages burning RP-1 propellant with liquid oxygen oxidiser. The first stage is powered by nine Merlin 1C engines, whilst the second is powered by a single Merlin Vacuum engine. The previous launch was considered successful, however several problems occurred during the flight which SpaceX are hoping to resolve, including roll problems during the second stage burn.

The countdown for the launch of Dragon C1 will begin two hours and thirty five minutes before launch, with flight controllers being polled to begin the fuelling of the rocket. The strongback, a structure used to transport the rocket to the pad, raise it to vertical, and support it, will be lowered 100 minutes before launch. Fuel and thrust vector control bleeding on the second stage will be performed at T-1 hour. At T-13 minutes, a final flight readiness poll will be conducted, which will be followed by the final hold point at T-11 minutes.

The terminal count will begin ten minutes before launch. Four minutes and forty six seconds before launch, the rocket will transfer to internal power. The flight termination system, used to destroy the rocket in the event of a problem, will be armed three minutes and eleven seconds before launch, and seven seconds later oxidiser topping will end. The flight computer will be started sixty seconds before launch, and the pad water system will be activated. Forty seconds before launch, the propellant tanks will be pressurised.

Ignition of the first stage engines will occur three seconds before launch. Assuming checks are nominal, the rocket will then lift off at T-0, and begin its climb towards orbit. Seventy six seconds into the flight the rocket will experience max-Q, the portion of the flight when maximum aerodynamic pressure is exerted on the vehicle. At around 155 seconds after launch, two of the first stage engines will be shut down to limit the load on the rocket due to acceleration. About twenty three seconds later, the remaining engines will also cut off. Stage separation will occur four seconds later, followed after another seven seconds by ignition of the second stage.

The second stage will burn for five minutes and fifty one seconds before cutting out. At this point, the vehicle should be in its target orbit; a circular low Earth orbit at an altitude of 300 kilometres, and an inclination of 34.5 degrees. Thirty five seconds after the end of the second stage burn, and 665 seconds after launch, Dragon C1 will separate from the rocket.

The first stage of the Falcon 9 was designed to be reusable, however on the previous launch it was discovered that it could not survive reentry. Some modifications have been made to try and improve its chances of survival; however it is not expected to be recoverable. Despite this, recovery will be attempted, with the M/V Freedom Star, one of NASA’s SRB recovery ships, on standby to collect the spent stage should it come down intact.

Following launch, the Dragon C1 spacecraft is expected to complete a single orbit of the Earth, before being deorbited during its second orbit. If a problem prevents reentry on the second orbit, it can be waved off until the third orbit. Whilst in orbit the Dragon will manoeuvre to test its propulsion system. Assuming the flight proceeds nominally, then about two hours and thirty two minutes after launch, the spacecraft will jettison its trunk section, and fire its Draco thrusters to deorbit.

The deorbit burn will last six minutes, and will be followed 20 minutes later by entry interface. Eleven minutes after entering the atmosphere, with the spacecraft at an altitude of 13.7 kilometres, the drogue parachutes will deploy to begin slowing the spacecraft down.

The main parachutes will be deployed a minute later, as the spacecraft passes through an altitude of three kilometres. Three hours and 19 minutes after launch Dragon C1 will land in the Pacific Ocean. The target landing site is about 800 kilometres off the coast of Mexico.

Dragon C1 will be launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. SLC-40 was built in the 1960s as a Titan IIIC launch complex. The first launch from the complex, in June 1965, was the maiden flight of the Titan IIIC. During the late 1960s, the complex was converted to support the MOL programme, with the mobile service structure being modified to include an environmental shelter. When MOL was cancelled, LC-40 resumed normal operations.

The last Titan IIIC launch occurred from LC-40 in 1982, and shortly afterwards by the Titan 34D began using the complex. It was then used by the Commercial Titan III before the complex was completely rebuilt for the Titan IV. In 1997 the Cassini spacecraft was launched from LC-40 on its mission to Saturn.

The final Titan launch from the complex occurred on 30 April 2005. In April 2007 SpaceX leased the site and began to convert it to accommodate the Falcon 9. The complex was used for the first Falcon 9 launch earlier this year.

The next Dragon mission, Dragon C2, is currently scheduled for launch on 12 April next year; the fiftieth anniversary of the first manned spaceflight and the thirtieth anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch. This will also be the next Falcon 9 launch. Dragon C1 is also the fifteenth and final orbital launch of the year to be made by the United States.

If the launch of Compass I2, currently believed to be scheduled for 20 December, goes ahead as planned then China will have conducted as many launches as the United States for the first time. The next American orbital launch is expected to be that of NRO L-49 on a Delta IV, which is currently scheduled for 11 January.

(Images: Larry Sullivan, MaxQ Entertainment. Space X).

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The CRS contract deals with the resupply needs of the International Space Station (ISS) after the shuttle retires. However, with a decision date coming within the next few months on extending shuttle to 2012, there remains the possibility that there could be a deferral of a quantity of CRS related launches until 2013. The contracts themselves would not be altered, should NASA decide to extend shuttle.

The award from NASA orders eight flights valued at about $1.9 billion from Orbital and 12 flights valued at about $1.6 billion from SpaceX.

Working on the premise of shuttle retirement in 2010, NASA needed to find a solution to launching up to 150,000 lbs of cargo to the ISS, without the hefty upmass of the shuttle.

The CRS contract – part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, with funding coming from NASA’s Space Act agreements – will cover at least 44,000 pounds of that requirement, joining with the cargo fleet of vehicles such as the European ATV, Japanese HTV and Russian Progress.

With Tuesday’s award, that fleet is being joined by two new launch systems from SpaceX, based in California, and Orbital Sciences Corp, based in Dulles, Va – well known for their Pegasus launch system and Minotaur family.

OSC’s Taurus II – a new medium class launch vehicle – is scheduled to carry out a COTS demonstration mission in the fourth quarter of 2010. Interestingly, the CRS award schedules the first launch to the ISS as a resupply element in October, 2011, followed up by the second launch in June, 2012. This may be related towards aligning with the projected extension of the shuttle, or funding timelines.

“CRS represents a dramatic departure from NASA’s traditional contracting practices that will be greatly beneficial to both the space agency and the nation’s industrial base,” said Dr. Antonio L. Elias, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Orbital’s Advanced Programs Group, which oversees both the COTS and CRS projects.

The Orbital system will include a new advanced maneuvering spacecraft called Cygnus, along with several interchangeable modules for pressurized and unpressurized cargo. Thales Alenia Space teamed up with Orbital on the cargo modules for the Cygnus vehicle, while the pressurized carriers – based on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules – will be built in Italy.

The Cygnus spacecraft to be launched aboard the Taurus II rocket will be capable of delivering up to 2,300 kg of cargo to the ISS and will be able to return 1,200 kg of cargo from the ISS to Earth.

“We are very appreciative of the trust NASA has placed with us to provide commercial cargo transportation services to and from the International Space Station, beginning with our demonstration flight scheduled in late 2010,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“The CRS program will serve as a showcase for the types of commercial services U.S. space companies can offer NASA, allowing the space agency to devote a greater proportion of its resources for the challenges of human spaceflight, deep space exploration and scientific investigations of our planet and the universe in which we live.”

A “high-energy second stage” has also been mentioned as one option of utilizing a liquid second stage to increases the payload performance for the OSC system.

SpaceX won their part of the CRS contract via its Falcon 9 launch vehicle - with stages of the vehicle already arriving at SpaceX site at Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, ahead of its debut flight in 2009.

Based on the Falcon 1 – which enjoyed its first successful flight on its fourth attempt this year – the Falcon 9 is a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle. It uses the same engines, structural architecture (with a wider diameter), avionics and launch system.

Nine SpaceX Merlin engines power the Falcon 9 first stage with 125,000 lbs-f sea level thrust per engine for a total thrust on lift-off of just over 1.1 Million lbs-f. A single Merlin engine powers the Falcon 9 upper stage with an expansion ratio of 117:1 and a nominal burn time of 345 seconds.

Riding on the Falcon 9 is SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft – which comprises of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members.

The Dragon capsule is comprised of three main elements: the Nosecone, which protects the vessel and the docking adaptor during ascent; the Pressurized Section, which houses the crew and/or pressurized cargo; and the Service Section, which contains avionics, the RCS (Reaction Control System) thrusters, parachutes, and other support infrastructure.

In addition, an unpressurized trunk is included, which provides for the stowage of unpressurized cargo and will support Dragon’s solar arrays and thermal radiators.

“The SpaceX team is honored to have been selected by NASA as the winner of the Cargo Resupply Services contract,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO, SpaceX.

“This is a tremendous responsibility, given the swiftly approaching retirement of the Space Shuttle and the significant future needs of the Space Station.  This also demonstrates the success of the NASA COTS program, which has opened a new era for NASA in US Commercial spaceflight.”

Losing out is PlanetSpace Inc, who partnered with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ATK.

They proposed cargo solutions via their Athena III, a three stage vehicle is based on a 2.5 segment Solid Rocket Booster, with an ATK Castor 120 second stage, topped off with an ATK Castor 30 third stage and Orbit Adjust Module (OAM).

The upgraded vehicle would provide an additional 1,560 lbs of payload capability for International Space Station (ISS) missions, carried via the Lockheed Martin and Boeing designed Orbital Transfer Vehicle spacecraft.

The fixed-price indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts will begin Jan. 1, 2009, and are effective through Dec. 31, 2016. The contracts each call for the delivery of a minimum of 20 metric tons of upmass cargo to the space station. The contracts also call for delivery of non-standard services in support of the cargo resupply, including analysis and special tasks as the government determines are necessary.

NASA has set production milestones and reviews on the contracts to monitor progress toward providing services. The maximum potential value of each contract is about $3.1 billion. Based on known requirements, the value of both contracts combined is projected at $3.5 billion.

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Meanwhile, RpK are pressing on with the a new configuration of their suborbital Rocketplane XP – to be unveiled at the X Prize Cup.

**The NASA memos on COTS latest, plus an impressive 50mb video of K-1 COTS Operations are available to download on L2 **

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