Dragon/Falcon 9 launch abort test moved from Vandenberg to Kennedy
Instead of using the Air Force’s Vandenberg launch complex in California, NASA and SpaceX have shifted their plans for the final launch abort test of the manned version of Dragon capsule to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The date for the test has not been finalized, but it appears it will be delayed until after the next Dragon flight to ISS, itself delayed following the Falcon 9 failure on Sunday. The test will also be delayed until after the completion of the unmanned demo flight to ISS of the manned version of Dragon. SpaceX will then refurbish that demo capsule and re-use it for the launch abort test.
Update: I have rewritten the paragraph above, correcting my first version, which had mistakenly said that a refurbished cargo version of Dragon would be used for the launch abort test. My very knowledgeable readers noted the error and set me straight.
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Instead of using the Air Force’s Vandenberg launch complex in California, NASA and SpaceX have shifted their plans for the final launch abort test of the manned version of Dragon capsule to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The date for the test has not been finalized, but it appears it will be delayed until after the next Dragon flight to ISS, itself delayed following the Falcon 9 failure on Sunday. The test will also be delayed until after the completion of the unmanned demo flight to ISS of the manned version of Dragon. SpaceX will then refurbish that demo capsule and re-use it for the launch abort test.
Update: I have rewritten the paragraph above, correcting my first version, which had mistakenly said that a refurbished cargo version of Dragon would be used for the launch abort test. My very knowledgeable readers noted the error and set me straight.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
I read the original source article different than your take. (I suspect the link you used read it wrong, personally) It seemed to me that they wanted a full flight fidelity Crew Dragon for the Max-Q/Max-drag abort case. But the build for the Pad Abort has differed enough from the flight model now that they did not think it would be a good test anymore.
Thus they were delaying until after the first Crew Dragon demo flight to the ISS (Launching unmanned) probably in 2016. They would then refly THAT capsule, which would be the new build. MaxQ abort was a voluntary test they offered to do, not one NASA mandated (ergo CST-100 will not be doing it) so it is not a show stopper on the way to Commercial Crew.
Using a Crew Dragon on a cargo mission is unlikely. For one thing, PMA’s did not get their IDA, as it was lost on CRS-7 (IDA-2 on CRS-9, with BEAM on CRS-8). So they have to use a CBM. But the Crew Design uses a docking adapter, not a CBM berthing adapter and that may be a largish structural change. (Very different diameters).
You may be right, but I have to tell you that you use so many undefined acronyms that I am at a loss to understand you. “PMA’s did not get their IDA, as it was lost on CRS-7 (IDA-2 on CRS-9, with BEAM on CRS-8).”
Some people may know and understand that sentence, and if I spent a few minutes I probably could figure it out, but when it gets this bad my brain freezes and wants to go elsewhere.
Are you saying that the delay is until the planned unmanned crew demo, and to use that capsule over, rather than to reuse a cargo capsule?
Are you saying that the delay is until the planned unmanned crew demo, and to use that capsule over, rather than to reuse a cargo capsule?
Yep.
IDA – International Docking Adapter. Will be attached to PMA 2 (and second one to PMA 3).
PMA – Pressurized Mating Adapter – Where the shuttle used to dock. PMA-1 connects Unity to Zarya, and PMA-2 is at the front of the station. PMA-3 is being moved to the sky facing port on Node2.
BEAM – Bigelow Expandable (Not idea what the A stands for) Module.
CRS X – SpaceX Commerical Resupply missions are numbered as Spx CRS-1, to 6 as success, 7 just failed.
CBM – Common Berthing Module. this is the full width hatch used to connect module to module on the ISS. HTV (H-2 Transfer Vehicle, Japanese frieght vehicle), Dragon, and Cygnus all use the CBM. The PMA actually attaches to a CBM port, and makes it narrower down to the new standard.