Hasta La Gadget!

This morning we’re hearing official word from SpaceX that their Dragon capsule launch to the International Space Station didn’t go as perfect as it seemed in the live feed. What you’re about to see is a bit of an explosion, some debris flying from the craft, and a burst of fire. Of course as the fire is surrounded by lots of fire from the rockets surrounding it, it’ll be just a bit difficult to detect – good thing the video is in slow motion and you’ll see it all in all of its glorious detail.

The situation we’re seeing here is what SpaceX calls an “anomaly”, assuring us that the ship is indeed in orbit around the Earth now and that the explosion wasn’t something they were alarmed about as it happened nor now. What you can see looks a lot more serious than SpaceX is making it out to be, that being a burst of flame and a collection of debris falling from the rocket as it continues on its course.

UPDATE: SpaceX has released the following statement on the situation, assuring the public that the mission will continue as planned, and that there wasn’t actually an explosion at all – all is well!

The Dragon spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station this morning and is performing nominally following the launch of the SpaceX CRS-1 official cargo resupply mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:35PM ET Sunday, October 7, 2012.

Approximately one minute and 19 seconds into last night’s launch, the Falcon 9 rocket detected an anomaly on one first stage engine. Initial data suggests that one of the rocket’s nine Merlin engines, Engine 1, lost pressure suddenly and an engine shutdown command was issued immediately. We know the engine did not explode, because we continued to receive data from it. Our review indicates that the fairing that protects the engine from aerodynamic loads ruptured due to the engine pressure release, and that none of Falcon 9’s other eight engines were impacted by this event.

As designed, the flight computer then recomputed a new ascent profile in real time to ensure Dragon’s entry into orbit for subsequent rendezvous and berthing with the ISS. This was achieved, and there was no effect on Dragon or the cargo resupply mission.

Falcon 9 did exactly what it was designed to do. Like the Saturn V, which experienced engine loss on two flights, Falcon 9 is designed to handle an engine out situation and still complete its mission.

We will continue to review all flight data in order to understand the cause of the anomaly, and will devote the resources necessary to identify the problem and apply those lessons to future flights. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Dragon is expected to begin its approach to the station on October 10, where it will be grappled and berthed by Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA. Over the following weeks, the crew will unload Dragon’s payload and reload it with cargo to be returned to Earth. Splashdown is targeted for October 28

This craft also works with the Falcon 9, projecting the Dragon capsule into space with nine engines. It’s designed so that if any one of its nine engines should fail, the on-board computers will instantly detect it and act. When a failure occurs, the fuel supply will be cut and the unused propellant will be distributed to the remaining engines, this allowing them to burn longer.

Because these engines were also designed to minimize damage to one another should one of them fail, it appears that one one of the nine was knocked out in the anomaly. SpaceX has assured that they’d be providing more information on the exact situation as it unfolds throughout the day [SEE ABOVE]. We must assume at this point that the mission will continue without delay as SpaceX doesn’t appear to have their feathers ruffled too much – stay tuned!

SpaceX reporting tiny explosion in Dragon ISS launch [UPDATED with statement] is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

SpaceX and NASA have made history again, with the CRS-1 Dragon capsule successfully launching for its first supply mission to the International Space Station. The first time in history that a private American spacecraft has run such a flight for NASA, the blast-off – atop SpaceX’s own Falcon 9 rocket – marks the beginning of twelve missions to the ISS. According to the CRS-1 timescale, the Dragon capsule is expected to reach the ISS on Wednesday morning, October 7.

The launch itself took place at 8:30pm EDT from Cape Canaveral, though wasn’t entirely smooth. At T+80 seconds – roughly 1:30 into the video below – one of Falcon 9′s nine engines suffered some sort of failure, but the remaining rockets were undamaged and the systems compensated for the loss in thrust, meaning the Dragon capsule could still reach orbit.

SpaceX CRS-1 Launch to International Space Station:

On Wednesday, Dragon will fly up to the ISS and be snatched up by the space station’s robotic arm, manned by station commander Suni Williams. It contains 1,000 pounds of materials, which will be unloaded and replaced – over the course of around three weeks – with near 2,000 pounds of used materials and completed experiments that are to be shuttled back to Earth.

SpaceX CRS-1 Falcon 9 and Dragon Go Vertical:

Since NASA mothballed the Space Shuttles, it has been reliant on other countries to run service missions to the ISS, as well as to transport US astronauts to the orbiting station. However, plans have been in progress for some time to replace the Space Shuttle program with a more cost-effective and manageable alternative, of which SpaceX’s Dragon is one example. NASA has awarded SpaceX a $1.6bn deal for the dozen unmanned missions it will fly over the space of roughly a year.

Beyond that, however, SpaceX is also working on its manned capsule mission, part of a further $1.1bn investment by NASA. The company finalized its design review of the so-called second design back in July, the passenger-capable version of Dragon.

SpaceX CRS-1 Dragon launches successfully despite rocket blow-out is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back in May, the SpaceX Dragon made a historic rendezvous with the International Space Station as a demonstration. It went so well, that NASA contracted 12 more flights, and now the time has come for the first one to launch. Can they pull it off again? More »

One small step in May is poised to turn into one giant leap for space capitalism as NASA approved the Sunday evening launch of SpaceX‘s Dragon capsule. The scheduled trip comes just a little over four months after the project successfully completed a docking test by the unmanned private spacecraft with the International Space Station. The Sunday flight — dubbed CRS-1 — will have the Dragon capsule piggybacking on a Falcon 9 rocket to punch through the atmosphere while carrying more than a thousand pounds of cargo. The capsule will then dock with the station for about three weeks before being sent back to Earth to deliver more than a ton of scientific samples and used hardware from the ISS. The launch is scheduled for 8:35PM ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station barring a tantrum from Mother Nature (we’ve also seen our share of aborted SpaceX Dragon launches before so we’re keeping our proverbial fingers crossed). NASA says that Orbital Sciences‘ competing Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket will also make a demo flight later this year.

[Image credit: Jim Grossmann, NASA]

Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt

SpaceX Dragon capsule launch gets go signal from NASA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tomorrow is a big day for the folks at SpaceX and NASA. SpaceX’s Dragon space capsule will be launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station tomorrow, October 7, with the intention of carrying 1,000 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station. The launch of the Dragon capsule marks the first time cargo has been transported to the ISS in an unmanned, private, America-made spacecraft.

In other words, this is a pretty big launch. The Dragon capsule will leave Earth attached to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at 8:35 PM EST time tomorrow evening, and should arrive at the International Space Station on Wednesday, October 10. NASA officials and SpaceX founder Elon Musk met today to give the mission the greenlight for launch.

Once it’s been attached to the ISS, the Dragon capsule will spend a couple weeks in orbit before undocking on October 28 and heading back to Earth. When it splashes down in the Pacific, it will be carrying around 1,400 pounds of experiment supplies and ISS hardware that needs to be returned to NASA. This is the first of 12 planned cargo transport missions that will use the Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket.

If you’re interested in watching this liftoff, SPACE.com says that NASA will be broadcasting the launch through its television channel. If you don’t get NASA TV, you can watch a live stream of the event on NASA TV’s website. Everything should go according to plan tomorrow – NASA says there’s a 60% chance of good weather for the launch – but if the launch needs to be delayed for some reason, NASA and SpaceX will be trying it again on October 8 and October 9. Keep it tuned to SlashGear for more information, because we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on tomorrow’s Dragon launch.

SpaceX Dragon capsule set to launch for ISS tomorrow is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.