SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has passed most of its operational tests successfully since the start of its development. But before being able to transport astronauts to the ISS as part of the Demo-2 mission, the capsule still has to pass one of the most important final stages: the flight interruption test (IFA). Tomorrow morning, Crew Dragon will be launched by the Falcon 9 launcher from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) from NASA, Florida; during this IFA, the launcher will be destroyed and the capsule will be ejected at a sufficient distance to ensure the safety of the fictitious astronauts (two mannequins) placed inside.
If all goes according to plan, Crew Dragon’s emergency abandonment system will be activated 84 seconds after takeoff, when the rocket-capsule combo is approximately 19 km above sea level. This abandonment system is powered by eight SuperDraco thrusters, which will fire for approximately 8 seconds. This will propel the Crew Dragon capsule away from the Falcon 9, demonstrating the capsule’s ability to protect astronauts in the event of a problem during launch.
Flight interruption test: ejection of the Crew Dragon capsule and destruction of the Falcon 9 launcher
Crew Dragon will move away from its rocket at around 2.3 times the speed of sound, reaching a maximum altitude of 40 km. The capsule will then reorient itself for the descent, deploying its parachutes about 5 minutes after the flight. About 5 minutes after that, Crew Dragon will dive into the Atlantic Ocean, probably 30 to 35 km off the coast of Florida.
A recovery vessel will wait to bring Crew Dragon out of the sea, setting the stage for a detailed analysis of the data collected during the flight, including information gathered by sensors attached to two mannequins which will be placed on board the capsule. This particular Crew Dragon could potentially be refurbished for additional flights in the future, depending on how tomorrow’s test takes place.
Video explaining how the IFA will unfold:
The Falcon 9 won’t be as lucky, however. The two-stage launcher will not survive IFA, and spectators may even get a glimpse of its disappearance if the conditions are right. The first stage of this Falcon 9 – the first of the last versions of the “Block 5” to have flown – already has three successful missions to its credit.
On the same subject : SpaceX could start manned flights to the ISS with Crew Dragon in early 2020
An essential test for the transition to the Demo-2 test mission
SpaceX developed Crew Dragon as part of a series of contracts with the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) of NASA, which relies on the private sector to bring back a human orbital space flight capacity on American soil. The United States currently depends on the Russian spacecraft Soyuz to transport its astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) since the withdrawal of the space shuttle fleet in 2011.
SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Credits: SpaceX
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Crew Dragon has taken a number of milestones on the road to contract operational flights, including a historic unmanned mission to the ISS in March called Demo-1.
The IFA is the last major step to take before Crew Dragon transports astronauts for the first time. This first crew flight, a test mission known as the Demo-2, will transport NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to and from the ISS, possibly this year.
You can follow the launch live below:
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