Back on May 25, 2012, the first SpaceX cargo Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with and dock with the ISS. The records have just kept coming.
There were 14 Dragon 1 capsules used until 2020, when they were replaced by the current Dragon 2 version. The current cargo Dragon mission, CRS-28 set some new records pointed out in short piece on Teslarati.
CRS-28 marked the 38th time a Dragon spacecraft visited the orbiting outpost, beating the record held by the Space Shuttle. SpaceX is currently the only U.S.-based company making regular visits to the ISS, with resupply missions and crewed missions for NASA. Later this year, they will also be launching 3 Cygnus resupply vehicles owned by Northrup Grumman, which is retiring its rocket, the Antares 230+.
The Dragon capsule that's flying the CRS-28 mission is number C208 and is on its 4th flight to the ISS.
- this was the 20th flight using a previously-flown Dragon capsule.
- on June 6, CRS-28's first full day in space, the Dragon 2 fleet's cumulative time in space surpassed the Space Shuttle fleet's time with 1,324 total days in orbit!
I think when most of us think of reuse, we think of the Falcon 9 booster and (eventually) all of Starship. That's certainly part of the picture. The booster on this mission, B1077, was on its 5th flight, including previously sending the Crew-5 mission to the ISS. After stage separation, the first stage successfully landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas to be prepared for its next mission. Reusing the capsules is a big impact, too.
Reusability changes everything.
CRS-28 launch on Monday, June 5. SpaceX photo.
Reuseable boosters, fairings, capsules. Now if they could find a way to reuse the 2nd stage and their satellites, they'd be totally rocking.
ReplyDeleteWonder what's going on with their EVA suits?
Interesting you mention the new hard vacuum space suits, been wondering the same thing. Hard to beat David Clark gear. They are like McMaster Carr of the of aerospace body gear products; good, old fashion reliable standard of quality. How do you top such a manufacturers reputational expertize for relibility?
DeleteIf I had to hazard a guess SpaceX is creating a total makeover of vacuum suits, maybe they got to use a design, something like a skin tight base suit, you got a neck ring for your helmet, with some super air tight spandex like materiel, that way there is no need for pressurization of the whole suit, go very low psi, say 5lbs, like they did because the NASA Appollo lander had to use such thin titanium skin to save weight, the compression tention of the body section is designed to overcome 5psi helmet pressure, and over that you wear say different kinds of insulated coverall, one that is moon dust proof, one say used only off planet work, maybe a super insulated for long duration construction working in shadows on the moons surface, or when the phase of the moon leaves the light side in darkness. Then therr is possibikities if asteroid mining, its pretty cold that far from the sun. For goldilocks zone eva, this type of suit might save in suit environmental back pack mass and size.
Got to be just a myriad of variables you need to take account for if your building a entirely new class of vacuum suits. Particularly when you don't have a bottomless pit of tax money where certain things are one use throw aways.
And then the whole thing about traceability for suits, like a passenger jet or engine part, when parts fail, people die, similar with vacuum suits, a serious failure and your a freeze dried peoplecicle. You need to go thru long term non destructive, but most critically destructive testing. And that is pretty complex I'd say, from a practical point. How do you test a suit somebody will live in and use daily, like for mining operations on say an asteroid or moons surface? And manufacture a truly reliable suit that never fails in such ways as to kill the wearer before they can use an emergency patch or something similar. Because not many things are truly absolutely reliable in that way, where its so easy to get killed from a suit failure.
Could it be stated it is a totally new design and manufacturing venue?
What's interesting is that their current in-capsule-only suit is far cheaper to make than the equivalent legacy styles. And each one is tailored to the customer. It's literally your personal skin-suit, just like God and science fiction intended.
DeleteI wonder if the users get to keep them, or if the suits are stored at SpaceX. Hmmmm. Time to go wander down the interwebs or beg SilGreybeard to waste his afternoon. Hmmmm...
As to new and stylish and unbulky EVA/Surface suits, there are several non-traditional designs out there. One uses elastic materials sewn into the suit to do the expansion and contraction. And heater/coolant lines to warm or cool. Just like, well, sci-fi skin suits. Add hard armor plates and carriers for the sensors, EVA backpack, tools, yada yada.
Bad thing is each EVA/Surface suit has to be tailored to the wearer. Good thing is they are about as bulky as padded arctic wear, so they don't take up as much space as a traditional suit.
Legacy suit designs like what the ChiComs, Russians and Americans are using (when not flying SpaceX Spaceways) are bulky, expensive and a right pain in the arse to use. Modern designs have existed for a while, just NASA has been unwilling to stop supporting their 'friends,' sort of a personal suit version of SLS.
Of course the whole above would be far more understandable if the first line of my blathering had said "What's interesting about SpaceX's current..."
DeleteGeez, Beans, grammar and composition matter. Subject, identify the subject...
It has been a day in doctor and dentist offices so no web-wandering, but the one alternative suit that I know of as likely to be tried out soon is the one Polaris and SpaceX are doing for the Polaris Dawn mission toward the end of this year (last I heard). It's pictured here at least conceptually.
DeleteThere are the suits Axiom developed for Artemis moon landings, which are more like the old NASA suits than Polaris.
Conceptually SpaceX looks like a thicker version of their pressure suits.
DeleteAs to Axiom's suits, NASA could have just saved a bunch of money and bought Russian suits, no?
What's funny is that SpaceX is building the most spacious spacecraft ever while building the most compact EVA suit ever (at least conceptually.) Just roll them up and shove in a locker, or 'hang' them up in a minimal suit locker or velcro them to some non-essential gear or something.
Whereas NASA is still buying the smallest spacecraft and the largest suits. You need a module just to handle 4-6 people's suits and pieces parts.