Dragon

All posts tagged Dragon

Remembering the “First Rule of Flying”

Posted by Chris Tobias on September 20, 2014
Posted in: Launches, Updates. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

River Tam:  Storm’s getting worse.

Malcolm Reynolds:  We’ll pass through it soon enough.

— Serenity (2005)

by Chris Tobias

When I got word via Twitter just before 2am this morning that the Falcon 9 launch of the SpaceX Dragon to the International Space Station had been scrubbed due to inclement weather, I somewhat disappointedly shut my laptop and shuffled off to bed. Anyone who’s followed rocket launches, or sports for that matter, knows how unpredictable Florida weather can be, especially this time of year. Storms can pop up seemingly out of nowhere, and it often seems like clear skies are the exception rather than the norm. For those of us who were looking forward to the excitement of watching a night launch, it was simply a matter of resigning ourselves to tuning in around 24 hours later and hoping for better luck with tonight’s (technically tomorrow morning’s) second attempt at 1:52am EST. SpaceX has had a tremendous record recently with regards to their turnaround time between launches. This morning’s scrub was nothing unusual when it comes to the business of launching rockets, and I doubt it will break SpaceX’s stride in the least way.

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule sits on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral prior to this morning’s launch scrub. (NASA photo)

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Here There Be Dragons

Posted by Chris Tobias on September 19, 2014
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by Chris Tobias

September is already shaping up to be a huge month for us here at Take Back the Sky, and no, I’m not talking about the fact that our second anniversary was on September 6 (though it is hard to believe it’s been two years since we first put out that call to convince Elon Musk to name SpaceX’s first manned Dragon spacecraft Serenity).  I’m referring, of course, to the fact that SpaceX has been in the news a lot these past few weeks, and tonight (well, technically early tomorrow morning) they’re really going to grab some headlines with another resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Tonight’s launch of a Dragon capsule to resupply the ISS comes just days after NASA’s September 16 announcement that SpaceX has been chosen along with Boeing as a recipient of the Commercial Crew (CCtCap) contract to send astronauts back into space from US soil for the first time since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. SpaceX will receive 2.6 billion dollars to develop and launch its manned Dragon, otherwise known as the Dragon V2 or Dragon Crew, and will fly between two and six missions to the ISS starting in 2017.

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This is the Dragon V2, which will launch from American soil and carry US astronauts into space as early as 2017. We hope that when she does, she’ll bear the name SERENITY.

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Cons and Conflagrations

Posted by Chris Tobias on July 19, 2014
Posted in: Con Presence, Updates. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SpaceX staffers assigned to the coveted “Comic Con” duty. Unconfirmed reports say they sought out photo opportunities with Iron Man cosplayers in honor of their boss.

by Jeff Cunningham
It’s been an exciting summer in the ‘Verse, including here at TBtS.First off, this week saw a spectacular launch of a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center. If the previous one was any indication, we’ll hopefully see the onboard footage of the rocket’s powered “landing” before long. As of this writing, the next launch is slated for around half past midnight on the evening of August 3rd.
This past launch has shown how, as Jayne would say “what is planned and what actually happens ain’t exactly similar.” To that end, we suggest using spacexstats.com to get notifications. The site features countdowns, email you notifications of any changes or additions to the launch manifest (the list of upcoming rocket launches), and can even export upcoming launches as an event to your preferred calendar app.
Next, we’ll be making encore appearances at some cons in the northeastern U.S. to collect more letters and petition signatures, and will soon expand to others in the southeast.

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So Damned Pretty: 6 Things You Didn’t Know About the Dragon v2 Spaceship

Posted by Chris Tobias on June 3, 2014
Posted in: Articles, Launches. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

After the presentation, we assume he flew away in an Iron Man armor suit.

by Jeff Cunningham

If you missed out on last week’s public unveiling of the Dragon v2 spaceship, you really missed out. It had all of the “cool” factor of an Apple product debut–but when was the last time your smartphone shot a 30-foot flame behind it? Tens of thousands of viewers watched online when the sheets were pulled off of it, revealing what will in all likelihood be the first 21st-century spacecraft to take adventurous souls out into the ‘Verse. The media and the general public were blown away by the touted features of powered-descent landings “with the accuracy of a helicopter,” and especially the sleek, futuristic control panel.

The smooth, streamlined touchscreen interfaces made so much of an impression, in fact, that it may have overshadowed some of the other salient details revealed during the event. We thought that, now that the press has had a moment to catch its breath, we’d help read between the lines for you about what was said–and what wasn’t said, but can be deduced.

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UPDATE: Mark II Dragon Revealed

Posted by Chris Tobias on May 28, 2014
Posted in: Press Coverage, Updates. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Dragon being mated to rocket for mission CRS-3

by Jeff Cunningham

In the cult favorite sci-fi-western series Firefly, the crew seek freedom and fortune among the stars aboard a craft that, we’re told, is classified as a Class III Firefly medium transport. Now, details have been announced by Space Exploration Technologies that will tell us at long last just what kind of ship her real-life counterpart will be. Continue Reading

Big Damn Hero: Steve “Swanny” Swanson, Browncoat-Astronaut

Posted by Chris Tobias on May 17, 2014
Posted in: Articles, Astronaut Profiles, Launches. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Steven “Swanny” Swanson

by Jeff Cunningham

Years ago, a young man found himself about to finish grad school, and began to contemplate his career path in life for the first time. He knew that he wanted to be in a field in science and technology–which was fitting, given that his bachelor’s was in Engineering Physics and that the advanced degree he was about to earn was in Computer Systems.

Finding one’s passion is one of the easier–and more enjoyable–pursuits in life, but finding a way to make a productive career out of it is something that precious few among us are fortunate enough to achieve (and even fewer now with the loss of so many of the jobs that people go to college for). The more the young man thought about it, the more sure he became aware that he was not content to spend the rest of his life “sitting in an office all day long every day.” Long before he would be eventually be introduced to the ‘Verse, this much he knew: he aimed to misbehave. From there, deciding to become an astronaut almost seemed like the logical course. He had no idea if such a thing would really prove possible in the end–but doing the impossible makes us mighty. Continue Reading

CRS-3: A Dragon Takes Flight

Posted by Chris Tobias on April 21, 2014
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by Chris Tobias

This past weekend SpaceX successfully launched its third resupply mission to the International Space Station.  On April 18 the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off into the grey, afternoon sky of South Florida, carrying the Dragon capsule out of the world and into the black, where she rendezvoused with the ISS early on Easter morning, April 20.  Today the crew of the ISS will be busy unloading the Dragon’s cargo.  She will remain berthed at the space station for about a month, and is scheduled to return to Earth on May 18.

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This mission is also significant because it was SpaceX’s debut of the new “legs” on the Falcon 9 booster rocket, which allowed the first stage of the rocket to stabilize its descent and return intact through the atmosphere to splash down in one piece.  This opens the door to the possible reuse of the Falcon 9, and will eventually lead to the first truly reusable American spacecraft since the Space Shuttle.

We at Take Back the Sky congratulate the men and women of SpaceX and NASA on this spectacular achievement.  We look forward to the day, hopefully within the next two years, when a ship just like this one will launch on a similar mission with American astronauts on board– a ship we hope will bear the name Serenity…

CRS-3 Launch Day– It’s About Perseverance

Posted by Chris Tobias on April 18, 2014
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by Jeff Cunningham

Perseverance is a big part of any mission, whether you’re launching a private spaceship into the black or trying to convince a privately owned space corporation to name the first manned version of that ship after the shiniest gorram spaceship in science-fiction history.

After a couple of scrubbed attempts, SpaceX is scheduled to launch the Dragon on its third resupply mission to the International Space Station today at 3:25pm EST.  Live coverage of the launch begins at 2:45pm at http://www.spacex.com/webcast/.  We’ll be watching (and tweeting) along with you as the Dragon breaks atmo and spreads her wings.

Here’s to a good Friday for a successful launch!

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She’s beautiful, ain’t she?– Spectators admire the Dragon atop the Falcon9 on the launch pad.

CRS-3 Launch Delay– Scrub Happens.

Posted by Chris Tobias on April 14, 2014
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by Chris Tobias

Zoe:  Get her running “again?”

Mal:  Yeah.

Zoe:  Sooo… not running now?

Mal:  Not so much… But she will.

— Firefly, “Out of Gas”

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Scrubbed launches and launch delays are just a fact of life in the space industry.  Spaceships are complex vehicles that rely on a lot of intricate mechanisms to function properly, and if any one of those systems, no matter how small, isn’t in perfect working order, it can spell disaster out in the black.  We fans of science-fiction have become accustomed to the portrayal of spaceships like Serenity or the Millennium Falcon as the “lovable bucket of bolts,”  but the truth is very far from what Hollywood has sold us, and when dealing with a real space launch, if there is even the slightest chance that everything isn’t absolutely perfect, then safe is better than sorry.

And so SpaceX’s CRS-3 resupply mission to the International Space Station was delayed yet again today.  This time the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket that was to carry the Dragon capsule to the ISS was scrubbed due to a first stage Helium leak.  SpaceX expects to have the problem rectified in time for the next launch opportunity, which will be Friday, April 18 at 3:25pm EST.

And when the Dragon does finally break atmo for CRS-3, you can bet we’ll be tuned in, watching in wonder…

SpaceX Dragon CRS-3 Resupply Mission is a GO for Monday, April 14.

Posted by Chris Tobias on April 13, 2014
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by Chris Tobias

We all know that in crime, politics and space flight the situation is always fluid, but NASA and SpaceX announced earlier today that the CRS-3 Dragon resupply mission to the International Space Station (the very same mission we told you all about in our recent posts) is in fact a GO for tomorrow, Monday, April 14, 2014.

The launch is scheduled for 4:58PM, EST.  Updates and a live webcast of the launch itself can be found here:

http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

If you’re following us on Twitter, we plan to make every effort to live tweet the launch as it happens.  If you’d like to share in our virtual launch party, there’s still time to follow us at @TakeBacktheSky.

We hope you’ll join us as we watch the ship that will one day be called Serenity break atmo tomorrow evening!

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