Dragon 9 is about to launch...

[Shelley]

The difference is the Orion is not made to deliver cargo to ISS, its main design is to reach the moon. I've been doing some work with NASA and MCC21 the past couple of months and got the opportunity to fly the Orion sim. Part of that was docking with ISS, so it is capable. Even so, SpaceX will be a more cost effective solution, since it is purpose built to be supply vessel for ISS.

What worse though is that ISS is due for a reentry burn in 2020 - an extension from the original 2013 date. It isn't actually "in orbit", its on the upper edge of the atmosphere and requires periodic altitude boosts. The last one keeps it aloft until 2020. So the net of this is its all just a temporary solution to a short term problem.

Hopefully an ISS replacement will be assembled at one of the earth/moon l-points so that it can become a permanent base for earth and lunar ops. Eventually, it could become the anchor point for a space elevator between both.

Yeah, i thought it was strange (from the first link in this thread) that orion was being mentioned when i watched the live feed from pressing the link in the first post since this really had nothing to do with the thread topic so my first bunch of posts were based upon this since orion will be sitting ontp of the heavy lift rocket which as far as i know is still being developed.

I never knew it needed period boosts and suffered from orbital decay. Personally the ISS is just a waste of money, time and resources we learned nothing building it apart from sending people into low earth orbit with russia did many years before that, heck even America partially did with skylab in the 70s.

Space elevator - Can't see that being done for many years.

edit: what was the simulator like Fred? I did see a documentary sure i did where someone tested the orion simulator docking onto the ISS.

 

[Fred Sherman]

The controls are clunky, but the reasoning makes sense. They seemed overly mechanical in my hand, but they're designed to be used with a pressurized glove hand where tactile response is muted. The data screens are text based. White is nominal, yellow is a warning and red is an error. The buttons on the right hand control or left hand mouse tab between data points, which can they be drilled down for more detailed info.

The flight avionics are pretty much what I was used to in an aircraft. Thrusters for pitch, roll and yaw. Docking is a delicate procedure, requiring minutes to move inches. And it is cramped, much more than I would have thought. No one in the Orion program will suffer from claustrophobia. 5 minutes in the sim and you forget it isn't real.

I support the US space program 100%. Without its previous accomplishments, our lives today would be so much different. The space program was responsible for 150 years of technological advance in the span of only 40 years. It made so much of our daily lives possible.

There have been a number of recent medical breakthroughs that have been possible only through the biotech research on ISS. Some of the benefits from ISS won't reach us for 10 or 20 years. Nanotechnology in medicine, high tensile strength lattice polymers, nanomaterials and growth of crystalize semiconductors are all technological advancements made possible by ISS from which we haven't even seen the benefits yet.

Its not an instantaneous event. We still see benefits today from the Apollo program and space shuttle.

 

[SilverCircle]

Next attempt in about 4 1/2 hours from now (03:44am EDT, May 22).

Webcast with live stream here (starts at 03:00).

 

[Bob]

WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!! We have liftoff!!!!!!!!

 

[Shelley]

WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!! We have liftoff!!!!!!!!

I watched the whole thing this morning and what a treat it was. 10 minutes to get into orbit before making the two day journey to the ISS. Amazing to see live as the solar panels dropped down and spread out you could see the curvature of the earth in the background.

My initial post was based on the thought this was something nasa were doing so I was a little harsh in saying it was repetitive. I think we'll see some great things done by SpaceX and I have to admit I'm a bit of a fan. Excellent job and a flawless launch.

 

[Fred Sherman]

I'll be in the MCC at JSC for the docking. I can't believe I'm going to have a front seat to history. It pays to have NASA as a client.

 

[Bob]

Congrats SpaceX for making History. Dragon has been captured by the ISS just seconds ago.

 

[Shelley]

Congrats SpaceX for making History. Dragon has been captured by the ISS just seconds ago.

They are certainly making it look easy aren't they? Now all they have to do now is safely get the spacecraft back to earth and this will be a solid foundation into progressing into better, more adventurous things by SpaceX. Where do I purchase my spaceX T-shirt? *holds hands up in the air* Yes, I'm a big fan.

They've been getting a lot of good publicity and media exposure and rightly so. Long may it continue.

 

[Bob]

They are certainly making it look easy aren't they? Now all they have to do now is safely get the spacecraft back to earth and this will be a solid foundation into progressing into better, more adventurous things by SpaceX. Where do I purchase my spaceX T-shirt? *holds hands up in the air* Yes, I'm a big fan.

They've been getting a lot of good publicity and media exposure and rightly so. Long may it continue.

Was so cool watching it. Been up all night. Started watching it when it was just a blip on the screen. Seeing it get closer and closer, listening to all the chatter back and forth between the ISS crew, NASA and SpaceX, then watching the capture. Im with ya on the T-shirt now I must get SLEEP haha!

 

[Fred Sherman]

It was a thing of beauty. ISS MCC was electric up to the moment of capture and then it just burst. Getting ready for the 4 hour drive up I-45 back to Dallas. This is a hell of a way to start a holiday, seeing two months of my life making albeit a small contribution to a historic moment.