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Author
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Topic: Returning astronauts on SpaceX's Cargo Dragon
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dabolton
Member Posts: 419
From: Seneca, IL, US
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 05-20-2015 01:30 PM
  
Would it be possible to return astronauts on a Cargo Dragon if stowable seats were sent up with the spacecraft? How much oxygen is available within the capsule and what is the average return period once departure occurs from the ISS? I was thinking they could certify human return as a separate process from human launch. I realize the Cargo Dragon doesn't have human-certified environmental system at this point. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 05-20-2015 03:27 PM
Not feasible.No seats for entry and splash down g-loads. No method for unassisted egress. More important than a supply of O2 is the removal of heat, humidity and CO2. |
mercsim
Member Posts: 219
From: Phoenix, AZ
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 05-20-2015 05:17 PM
I don't know. "Not feasible" seems like a pretty harsh answer. Sure you should remove the CO2 and you should provide cooling, but if there were an emergency and one were docked that had some seats, life jackets, a life raft, and some portable O2, it might be better than nothing. I fly long duration, high altitude flights with O2 in a cannula for several hours at a time. A quick de-orbit could be possible with a minimum heat buildup. Splashing down uncomfortably hot and having to crawl out into a life raft with an EPIRB could be better than being stuck in space. There are a lot of variables and 'what-ifs' but it would be interesting to hear someone chime in with a bit more technical info. |
dabolton
Member Posts: 419
From: Seneca, IL, US
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 05-20-2015 05:50 PM
It is able to return now with sensitive cargo; is the internal cabin maintaining an reasonable temperature or are those materials inside temperature controlled refrigerators. The one fact mentioned is the inability to egress manually; does that mean there is no internal handle to open the hatch? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-20-2015 05:51 PM
I may be mistaken, but I don't think there would be any way for the crew to seal the hatch from the inside (so you'd be leaving crew on the station anyway) and there would be no way for them to open the hatch after splashdown (hence Jim's reply about no unassisted egress). And I doubt you would ever fly seats if there was no life support system, egress method or other critical systems to keep the crew safe. Otherwise, you're potentially trading one bad situation for another. On edit: the Dragon is equipped with GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator) freezers for the science results it returns. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 05-20-2015 07:44 PM
quote:
Originally posted by dabolton:
It is able to return now with sensitive cargo;
Which is packed in layers of foam. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 05-20-2015 07:45 PM
There is no way to undock the Dragon without somebody on the ISS commanding the CBM bolts to retract and also to operate the arm. |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 05-24-2015 10:07 PM
quote:
Originally posted by mercsim:
...if there were an emergency and one were docked that had some seats, life jackets, a life raft, and some portable O2, it might be better than nothing.
Sounds like prudent back up plan. As we all know life is about preparing for the unexpected. Sure the hatch would have to be modified, seats, restraints and survival equipment added. But this is nothing that is not going to be done anyway. The big down side is all of this equipment would have to be boosted into orbit. This would be a severe weight penitential at the expense of the cargo. Now if all of this equipment could be kept on the ISS, it would only have to launched once. |
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