Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
SpaceX Dragon To Land On Any Planet
The upcoming SpaceX Dragon will be able to land on any planet in the solar system - any planet with a solid surface, that is.
This award will accelerate SpaceX’s efforts to develop the next-generation rockets and spacecraft for human
transportation. With NASA’s support, SpaceX will be ready to fly its first manned mission in 2014.
The United States has a critical need for American commercial human spaceflight. After the space shuttle retires in a few
months, NASA will be totally dependent on the Russian Soyuz to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space
Station (ISS) at a cost of $63 million per seat.
Dragon [is] designed to carry seven astronauts at a time to the Space Station at a cost of $20 million a seat.
The Congressionally mandated award is part of the agency's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) initiative that
started in 2009 to help private companies mature concepts and technologies for human spaceflight.
(Space X Dragon video)
SpaceX's integrated escape system will be superior to traditional solid rocket tractor escape towers used by other vehicles in the past. Due to their extreme weight, tractor systems are jettisoned within minutes of liftoff to improve performance as the rocket climbs through the atmosphere, but the SpaceX innovative design builds the escape engines into the side walls of Dragon, eliminating the danger of releasing a heavy solid rocket escape tower after launch.The integrated abort system will also provide a way to escape from the second stage of the booster throughout the climb to orbit, while allowing Dragon to carry more weight to orbit than if a tower-based system was used.
The SpaceX design also provides crew with emergency escape capability throughout the entire flight, whereas the space shuttle has no escape system. The result is that astronauts flying on Dragon will be considerably safer.
The integrated escape system returns with the spacecraft, allowing for easy reuse and radical reductions in the cost of space transport. Over time, the same escape thrusters will also provide the capability for Dragon to land almost anywhere on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.
I'd like to note that it appears that the SpaceX Dragon will be able to land "on its fins" and then take off again, which any self-respecting space craft should be able to do.
Secondly, I thought I'd mention that this private space craft that can easily take off and then land back on a planetary surface sounds a lot like science fictional space craft like the Joy-boat Junior from Robert Heinlein's 1941 classic Methuselah's Children. In that novel, wealthy individuals owned space craft in the same way that wealthy individuals today own Lear jets.
From SpaceX.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/23/2011)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Spacecraft ")
China Wants To Build Mega Space Ships
'Don't do anything to endanger our shipping privileges...' - Frank Herbert, 1965.
Dream Of Building Your Own Rocket?
Fiorello Bodoni, you inspire all of us.
Used Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Will Fly Again
'the overstrained meters made the smaller craft skittish as a young horse...' - Robert Heinlein
Laser-Powered Spacecraft To Explore The Solar System
'Whoever launched it fired a laser cannon... for about forty-five years, so the intruder would have a beam to travel on...'- Niven/Pournelle, 1974.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'
Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'
'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?
Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'
Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'
San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'
Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'
Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
