NASA and SpaceX say the delaying parachute in the Dragon capsule is not a problem, "this late parachute incident is something we're seeing from orbit." However, the two spaceflight partners have reduced the severity of The problem, claiming that the parachutes worked safely despite the behavior.
 |
| NASA and SpaceX say the delaying parachute in the Dragon capsule is not a problem, |
Parachute problems occurred during the landing of the last two Crew Dragon capsules of SpaceX. During each of these landings, one of the spacecraft's four main parachutes was slower to fully swell than the other three. The delayed parachute was clearly visible during the live broadcast of the November landing, as Crew Dragon took four astronauts home from the International Space Station. There was no live broadcast of the January landing, which brought cargo back from the International Space Station, but a Space News report said a dragon's parachute was also delayed there.
Today, NASA and SpaceX staff held a press conference to discuss parachutes ahead of SpaceX's upcoming launch at Dragon. NASA and SpaceX claim that they are reviewing the data to better understand the behavior.
"You may have a bird that is completely missing and still certified to land."
During the November landing, the fourth parachute took 75 seconds longer than the other three, while during the January landing the slower parachute took 63 seconds to swell. Nonetheless, NASA says vehicles have fallen at a rate considered normal. NASA and SpaceX further claim that while the fourth parachute is not inflated, the dragon can land well. "One of your parachutes may be completely missing and may still be certified for landing," Steve Reich, director of the NASA Commercial Crew Program, which oversees the Dragon, told a news conference.
Although Dragon teams plan to conduct a full review of the parachutes, they do not anticipate any hardware or design changes to the Dragon vehicle. "It's more of an educational exercise to improve our understanding of the design and engineering of the parachuting process," said Bill Gersteinmeier, vice president of SpaceX's construction and flight reliability, while lobbying.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule is an integral part of NASA's hardware and is used to maintain the International Space Station. The capsule is one of two spacecraft currently capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. A similar version of the spacecraft is also responsible for transporting cargo to the station.
After reading a picture of Crew-2 astronaut Crew Dragon: SpaceX
Despite a failed cargo mission in 2015, SpaceX has delivered dragon capsules safely to and from the station for years, with its first passengers flying onboard in May 2020. In November, SpaceX successfully launched a new crew of four. The man, Crew-3, was called to the station by Crew Dragon, just a few days later another crew was brought home, named Crew-2. During the night landing of Crew-2, onlookers noticed that one of the four parachutes fell into the air and swelled more slowly than the others. The crew dragon slowly swelled before crashing into the Gulf of Mexico, and four astronauts recovered safely from the ship.
After the start, NASA and SpaceX indicated that the behavior was normal. "These parachutes showed this behavior," Stitch told a news conference after the water splash. NASA "saw that data and it was in some of our test families." SpaceX also said it reviewed video and data from large landings before the Crew-3 launch, but said the behavior was as expected. "It performed the way it was originally designed to perform," Gerstenmeyer told a news conference after the landing in November.
The problem resurfaced during the recent return of a cargo version of a mission dragon known as CRS-24, which returned from the International Space Station on January 24. NASA has not provided a live feed of this landing, so the delayed parachute has not been known to the public for about a week. Kathy Luders, NASA's assistant administrator for the space mission, told a news conference today that the space agency had stopped broadcasting live cargo landings due to costs, but the agency now plans to hold a press conference after the cargo mission ends in the future.
In today's press, NASA and SpaceX have doubled their claim that they have seen this happen before. "The parachute lag phenomenon is something we see with these large, ring-cell canopies," Stitch said. "We've already seen it on other tests and on other [shipping] flights." Employees believe that when parachutes are deployed, three aerodynamic chutes "block" the other, causing it to spread more slowly.
"We don't see it as a disturbing situation."
In addition to reviewing the data to better understand the behavior, NASA and SpaceX say they plan to go to SpaceX's parachute supplier and set up issues to see if something looks bad. They also plan to conduct an "inflation analysis" to see if all parameters of falling products are in line with expectations. If all goes well, NASA will work to clear SpaceX of its next manned mission to fly, named Crew-4, which is slated for an April 15 launch. SpaceX plans to transport a special crew of astronauts to the International Space Station for Axiom at the end of March.
The Crew-3 Crew Dragon Capsule currently does not require any modifications to the International Space Station, SpaceX, and NASA. That capsule, whose parachutes can't be fixed in any way, will bring four crew home this spring.
When asked if the crew dragon would be able to land with two parachutes, Gerstenmeyer declined to answer. Instead, he noted, while testing the parachute, SpaceX mimicked the failure of one parachute and found that the other three parachutes lifted loosely. In fact, the failed parachute helped ensure that the other three parachutes swelled, he said. "We don't see it as a deterioration," he said. "Actually, it's probably a self-correcting condition."
Video from the department appeared
First look at the Lenovo ThinkPad Z-Series
Lenovo has launched a new line of ThinkPads at CES 2022. Aimed at Gen-Z viewers, the Z-Series features a slim and light design, multiple color options, eco-friendly packaging, and the new AMD processor.
After science
COCID launches CDC Sanitation Tool to show COVID-19 trends
New car emissions record low in the UK
Texas blackouts hit the county because people need electricity for medical devices
Elon Musk's first Starship update in 2 years will be next week
The offshore wind project surpassed the ship they built
Scientists are building an AI-powered robot to disconnect your phone
