SpaceX has confirmed that it will try to launch the first modified Dragon Crew capsule this Saturday. This first mission will be entirely on autopilot, as it is for certification of the spacecraft's systems for travel to the International Space Station (ISS), including the docking and approach system.
SpaceX declares that the next mission, scheduled for June/July, will carry astronauts, but still on a testing basis. The Dragon Crew capsule will only be allowed to carry astronauts on a regular mission to the ISS from the 3rd launch, but only if the spacecraft es all NASA certification requirements to launch astronauts into space.
The mission launch “Demo 1” will be carried out using a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, in the historic PAD 39A, site of the Apollo missions and the various Space Shuttle trips. The company has scheduled a live broadcast for 04:49 am this Saturday (Brasília time), in the video below.
At launch there will be an attempt to land the Falcon 9's first stage on a raft in the Atlantic Ocean.
Starman from Falcon Heavy? He's here again, but he's been nicknamed Ripley. SpaceX placed it inside the capsule as a way to test the equipment with weight, supposedly including the vibration transmitted to the astronaut during flight, along with re-entry.
The Dragon Crew capsule will likely dock with the Space Station in the early hours of Sunday, in an automatic procedure that does not depend on the robotic arm used by Dragon Cargo.
The spacecraft will return on March 08, landing in the sea near Florida, where it will be rescued by SpaceX.
Making certification easier
Musk's spacecraft received several changes throughout the project to facilitate certification. The possibility of landing on Earth like a Falcon 9 rocket was ruled out, due to the difficulty of quickly certifying the safety of this type of procedure.
The spacecraft also has space for up to 7 astronauts, with the necessary modifications, the control incorporates the Glass Cockpit style to the extreme, quite different from the various Space Shuttle buttons.
The great highlight of the Dragon Crew capsule is to maintain a more “advanced” development schedule in relation to Boeing's CST-100, at half the price. This moves NASA's schedule forward so that it relies less on Russia to launch astronauts.
