IPFS
PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST FALCON 9 LAUNCH
Written by Powell Gammill Subject: Space Travel and Exploration|
PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST FALCON 9 LAUNCH Thursday, May 6, 2010
As
we continue to progress towards the first Falcon 9 launch from Cape
Canaveral, certification of the flight termination system (FTS) and
subsequent range availability remain the two primary schedule drivers. Air
Force Range safety requires the FTS system, which allows them to safely
end the launch should the vehicle stray from its designated flight
corridor. The system consists of a command receiver and an ordnance
system designed to split the vehicle's fuel and liquid oxygen tanks in
the event of an errant flight. SpaceX
is working closely with Ensign Bickford to complete testing of the
explosive elements of the FTS system, but there are other components,
such as the FTS radios, antennas and the transponder that come from
other suppliers as well. All of these components must be qualified
specifically for our flight environments, so unfortunately, it is not
simply a case of buying "off the shelf". FTS
testing is an iterative process where the number of remaining tests
depends on the results of previous tests, making it very difficult to
predict a completion date. Once testing is complete, final data is
submitted to SpaceX and Air Force Range safety officials for review and
acceptance. Much of the range calendar for May is already reserved for
other activities, so range availability will be a key factor in
identifying a launch date. Fortunately the FTS is the last remaining
significant milestone--the vehicle is otherwise ready for flight, so
once we complete certification, we will be "all systems go" for launch. Wet Dress Rehearsal During
our successful wet dress rehearsal (WDR) conducted in March, we
experienced some problems with the thermal protective cork layer that
covers the first stage. In some areas subjected to the extreme cold of
liquid oxygen (LOX), the cork's bonding adhesive failed and several
panels separated from the vehicle. It is important to emphasize that
the cork is not needed for ascent and there is no risk to flight even
if it all came off. This is for thermal protection on reentry to allow
for the possibility of recovery and reuse. While stage recovery is not
a primary mission objective on this inaugural launch, it is part of our
long-term plans, and we will attempt to recover the first stage on this
initial Falcon 9 flight. After
applying a new layer of cork thermal protection using a new adhesive
system, we opted to perform a second wet dress rehearsal in April, as
well as an electromagnetic interference (EMI) test. Everything
performed well and the new adhesive remained properly bonded. A word of
thanks to NASA and our resin supplier for helping our structures team
find these effective solutions. As
we ramp up our flight rate, Florida will continue to be SpaceX's
fastest growing region. We are entering continuous launch operations
mode, meaning we will have over 100 people in Florida on average. That
count may go as high as 200 later this year when we start preparing and
launching Dragon. We expect
our direct employment at the Cape to eventually reach thousands of
people; using standard multipliers for indirect regional employment,
this could mean in excess of several thousand jobs long term. Presidential Visit President
Obama honored us with a visit to the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch site at
Cape Canaveral on April 15, 2010, just prior to his national speech at
Kennedy Space Center describing the administration's new space
initiatives. Several members of our SpaceX team were able to meet the President during his tour of the Falcon 9 launch pad including: Neil G. Hicks, SpaceX Lead Fluid System Engineer Neil
received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Florida and is a Florida Licensed Professional Engineer with 31 years
experience. Neil spent 17 years as a NASA shuttle technician on the
main engines, 13 years as a launch propulsion engineer involved in
design and development of the Delta IV RS-68 rocket engine, and a year
designing the Ares I launch pad pneumatic system for NASA. In the two
and a half years since joining SpaceX, Neil has lead the team
designing, building, and activating the launch pad fluid systems for
Falcon 9. Florence Li, SpaceX Structures Manager Florence
received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Delaware, and her MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford
University. Florence has been with SpaceX almost seven years. She
started with structural analysis, testing and launch integration on the
first four Falcon 1 rocket launch campaigns, and currently works on
Falcon 9 vehicle integration at Cape Canaveral. Brian Mosdell, SpaceX Director, Florida Launch Operations Brian
received his BS in Aeronautical Engineering from Embry Riddle
Aeronautical University and brings over 20 years of launch operations
experience, including work on the Titan, Delta, and Atlas programs.
Brian was the Chief Launch Conductor for ULA prior to joining SpaceX
two years ago. Leslie Woods Jr., SpaceX Compensation and Human Resources Information Systems Manager Leslie
received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and
has been with SpaceX for nearly five years. His diverse background in
engineering, technical sales and recruiting has helped lead SpaceX's
growth from 200 employees in 2006 to nearly 1,000 in 2010. The
President impressed us all with his level of understanding, and the
nature of his questions. He clearly perceives both the challenges we
face, as well as the opportunities for these new initiatives to become
powerful economic engines. Next: Falcon 9 Flight 2 -- The First NASA COTS Launch Our
second Falcon 9 flight, which will be the first launch under the NASA
COTS program, will carry our first operational Dragon spacecraft to
orbit. If all goes as planned, liftoff should occur a few months after
the inaugural Falcon 9 flight. This
"COTS 1" Dragon will perform several orbits of the Earth, followed by
reentry and splashdown off the coast of Southern California. We will
gather performance data and retire significant amounts of risk on key
spacecraft systems, including Draco thrusters, the Dragon communication
systems, PICA-X high performance heat shield material, and other
critical navigation, reentry, landing and recovery systems. This
first COTS mission will pave the way for the following COTS and CRS
flights to demonstrate, and then actually provide, commercial cargo
transport to and from the International Space Station in support of its
continued growth and operation. Falcon 9 Flight 2 -- Primary Structures The
largest sections of flight hardware for the second Falcon 9 flight--the
6.5 meter (89 foot) long first stage tank structure, and the shorter
second stage tank--left our Hawthorne, California headquarters some
weeks ago and have completed acceptance testing at our Texas Test
Facility. We
have completed primary fabrication of the carbon-composite interstage
structure that join the two stages and houses the second stage's Merlin
Vacuum engine during first stage flight. It has already passed
structural acceptance testing, and after fitting it out with pneumatic
collets, pushers, and other supporting hardware, it will ship to the
Cape. Falcon 9 Flight 2 -- Propulsion The
nine Merlin 1C first stage engines are undergoing final integration
into the thrust structure assembly in Hawthorne, and will be shipped to
Texas for mating with the first stage tank. Each
engine has already passed an individual acceptance test firing in
Texas. After mating the nine-engine assembly to the first stage tank
structure, it will be fired as a complete stage. Similarly,
the Merlin Vacuum engine for the second stage has shipped to Texas for
testing at the engine level, to be followed by mating to the second
stage tank and test firing as a complete stage. Falcon 9 Flight 2 -- Dragon Spacecraft Most
significantly, the second flight of Falcon 9 will launch the first
operational Dragon spacecraft into Earth orbit. After several trips
around the Earth to verify its performance, it will reenter and
splashdown off the coast of Southern California, to be met by our
recovery team. Mounted
to the top of the Falcon's second stage, the Dragon spacecraft consists
of a trunk section, a separate pressurized capsule section with
integral service section around its base, and at the top, an
aerodynamic nose cap that the vehicle jettisons after leaving the
atmosphere. Draco Thruster Module Testing Depending
on its mission, each Dragon spacecraft will carry as many as 18 Draco
thrusters for orbital maneuvering and attitude control. The
SpaceX-developed Draco thrusters can generate up to 400 Newtons (90
pounds) of force. They can fire in bursts as short as a few
milliseconds for precision maneuvering, or up to many minutes for
changing orbital parameters and initiating the return to Earth. Like
the Merlin engines, each completed Draco undergoes an acceptance test
firing before integration into the Dragon spacecraft. On Dragon, we
mount the thrusters in groups of four and five, positioned to provide
complete control of the spacecraft's direction of motion (X, Y and Z
axis), as well as orientation (roll, pitch and yaw). The video below shows a test of five Draco thrusters firing in various combinations and durations. Dragon Propellant Tank Fabrication The
Dragon spacecraft carries a total of eight spherical titanium
propellant tanks--four each for monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) fuel, and
nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) oxidizer--the same as used for orbital
maneuvering by the Space Shuttle. These propellants have long on-orbit
lifetimes, permitting future Dragon flights to remain in space for a
year or more. A system of valves provides redundant cross-connection
between the propellant tanks for maximum reliability. Like
many other critical components, we found that the optimum path to
maximum quality and lowest cost was to bring their production in-house.
We take a flat circle of sheet titanium, mount it to a steel mandrel,
then slowly rotate it while heating it to glowing, and then form it on
to a hemispherical steel tool. When
cool, we remove the titanium hemisphere from the tool and finish it
into final form. We then install the interior components, and weld a
second hemisphere into place to make the finished spherical tank. Dragon Trunk Separation Testing At
the end a Dragon mission's orbital phase, the spacecraft's thrusters
fire to slow the craft and begin the return to Earth. Then, a set of
dual-redundant electrically activated frangible nuts fire to release
the trunk and expose the heat shield for reentry. The
trunk and pressurized sections of the Dragon spacecraft join together
at six load-bearing mounts. The video below shows a full-scale test of
the trunk separation system, using a qualification trunk, and with a
steel structure suspended above simulating the Dragon's pressurized
section. Following
separation, Draco thrusters fire to move the Dragon capsule away from
the trunk, and reorient it into reentry position. High Performance PICA-X Heat Shield On
a typical return, Dragon will enter into the Earth's atmosphere at
around 7 kilometers per second (15,660 miles per hour), heating the
exterior of the spacecraft as high as 2000 degrees Celsius (3632
degrees F). However,
just a few inches of SpaceX's PICA-X (Phenolic Impregnated Carbon
Ablator) heat shield material will protect the spacecraft and keep its
interior to a comfortable temperature. Developed
with the assistance of NASA, the originator of PICA, the "X" stands for
the SpaceX-developed variants of the rigid, lightweight material, which
have some improved properties and a greater ease of manufacture. Read
more about PICA-X here. We
produce the PICA-X material in-house in large billets, then cut and
machine them into separate tiles, each as large as a cafeteria tray,
but over 8 cm (3 inches) thick, and weighing only about a kilogram (2.2
pounds) each. During reentry, less than 1 cm (1/2 inch) chars away from
the surface of the PICA-X tiles, providing plenty of safety margin. We
have started final assembly of the first flight heat shield that will
protect the Dragon spacecraft on its return. After fabrication and
inspection, we attach the PICA-X tiles to the lens-shaped
carbon-composite carrier structure, and fill the thermal expansion
joints between tiles with a high-performance silicon compound. >From
its inception, SpaceX designed the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft to
transport and return both cargo and astronauts. With 17 unmanned Dragon
missions presently on our launch manifest, the Falcon 9 and Dragon
spacecraft will have plenty of flight heritage by the time we carry our
first crewmembers to orbit. Now In Production -- Falcon 9 Flight 3 In
addition, we have started production on Falcon 9 Flight 3 hardware and
its Dragon spacecraft. We've completed fabrication of all six domes
(three for first stage, three for second stage) and have started
production of the tank barrel sections. We have the next ten Merlin
engines in-process, components for the Dragon spacecraft pressure
vessel formed, and many other elements under way. Our
SpaceX team is nearing 1,000 members, and we're continuing to hire the
most sought-after and enterprising engineers and production technicians
seeking to make access to space regular, cost-effective and reliable.
If you'd like to join our efforts in California, Texas, or Florida,
please visit our Careers page. Stay tuned for more updates as we progress towards the first flight of Falcon 9 and beyond. |
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