Re:SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After Historic Test Flight
by nickik on Saturday March 09, 2019 @12:20PM
(#19347197)
> continue toward qualifying a reusable Dragon 2.
Pretty unlikely. To have it landing on land would be incredibly difficult specially to qualify.
Also they already have Starship and Starlink as huge projects they have to finance. They will make as much money as possible of Dragon 2 with the flights from NASA and invest that money in Starship.
Starship could actually be useful for tourism.
Re:SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After Historic Test Flight
by perilunar on Friday March 08, 2019 @09:16PM
(#19344043)
I wonder if they could catch the Crew Dragon with Mr Steven instead of water splashdown? No loss if they miss, and less refurb if they succeed.
Re:SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After Historic Test Flight
by simonh on Friday March 08, 2019 @09:51PM
(#19344148)
Mr Steven is designed to catch fairing halves which weigh just under a metric ton. A Dragon capsule weighs 9.5 tons and can carry up to 7 people or 3 tonnes of return cargo, so it’s from 10 to 13 times heavier than a fairing half.
Re:SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After Historic Test Flight
by thachmai on Saturday March 09, 2019 @02:26PM
(#19347941)
Metric ton sounds redundant to me. Does the US have the notion of a "imperial ton"? (1000lbs?)
Re:SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After Historic Test Flight
by grzm on Saturday March 09, 2019 @02:28PM
(#19347952)
Yes, tons do differ. A metric ton (or tonne) is 1000kg. In the US what’s commonly referred to as a ton is a short ton, or 2000 lbs.
Re:SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After Historic Test Flight
by NeedMoreTea on Saturday March 09, 2019 @02:33PM
(#19347978)
An imperial ton would be the British one, also known as a long ton. It's 2,240 lbs, which is slightly heavier than a metric tonne.
They are already getting good experience (and can experiment with) Dragon Cargo capsule re-use to better understand the impact of salt water landings on their designs. And while it would be hard to find space for the landing struts to go back into D2, if that meant doing a parachute landing with a last minute landing burn similar to what Blue Origin has proposed in their sub-orbital offering and is currently used on Soyuz, I could see that working with a landing in Texas.
What amazes me that this seems like a "small" amount of engineering to go from where they are, to a capability that was previously considered impossible by many. I'm sure it is way more complex than I realize, but they have some so far from where they started.