Crew Dragon Launch Abort System

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Crew Dragon Launch Abort System
Crew Dragon Pad Abort Test (16814592054).jpg
Crew Dragon prototype DragonFly performing a pad abort demonstration.
ManufacturerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
Launch history
StatusOperational
Crew Dragon Launch Abort System
Powered by8 * SuperDraco
Maximum thrust71 kN
Burn time25 seconds
PropellantNTO/MMH

The Crew Dragon Launch Abort System is a propulsive device designed to accelerate the SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft away from a failing rocket. It is equipped with 8 SuperDraco engines capable of generating 71 kN of thrust. [1] [2]

Contents

The abort system has several modes, or procedures for performing an abort in different phases of flight, including a pad abort, an in-flight abort, and the ability to use the abort system to fly into a lower than expected orbit should a failure occur late in flight.

Recovery zones are placed along the 51.64 degree inclination [3] of the ISS (International Space Station), and can be targeted with higher levels of precision than spacecraft such as Orion [4] and Shenzhou due to the throttling abilities of the SuperDraco engines. The recovery areas for a 2a abort are along the East Coast of the United States and the Canadian Maritime provinces, with a 2b abort landing the Crew Dragon capsule near Novia Scotia and the 2c and 2d abort modes resulting in a landing in Western Ireland. [5] 1a and 1b aborts result in landings near the American East Coast.

Design

A diagram showing the configuration of Crew Dragon Endeavor during the Demo-2 mission. Dragon 2 DM-2 03.jpg
A diagram showing the configuration of Crew Dragon Endeavor during the Demo-2 mission.

Traditionally, spacecraft like Apollo and Soyuz have utilized solid-fueled "puller" launch escape systems, with the main spacecraft beneath a protective fairing attached to the escape system. Once in space, the escape system and the fairing are jettisoned, with the spacecraft's mode of abort switched to using its orbital maneuvering thrusters or upper stages. [6] [7] Crew Dragon, however, has its abort system permanently attached to the sides of the spacecraft. [1]

Part of the reasoning behind this design is that it was originally planned to land dragon propulsively using the launch abort system. [8] (These plans were dropped after skepticism from NASA and the cancellation of SpaceX's Red Dragon capsule.) [9] Additionally, the ability to keep the abort system attached to the rocket throughout the entire ascent rather than jettisoning the launch escape system after stage separation allows for an abort capability in all stages of flight, increasing crew safety. [10]

Crew Dragon's "trunk", or cargo bay, also plays an important role in the abort sequence. Rather than leaving the trunk with the rocket like Apollo or Soyuz, Dragon keeps the trunk attached during an abort for aerodynamic stability. [11]

History

Pad Explosion

On 20 April 2019, Crew Dragon C204 was destroyed in an incident while testing its SuperDraco engines. A video leaked shortly the incident after shows the capsule exploding on a launch mount. [12] [13] NASA and SpaceX confirmed the explosion and stated that there were no injuries. [14]

A diagram demonstrating a check valve. Vertical Ball check valve.jpg
A diagram demonstrating a check valve.

Following an investigation, SpaceX stated that the explosion was the result of a faulty valve. During a nominal ignition sequence, valves keeping helium inside COPVs (Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels) are opened, causing the helium to flow through one-way "check" valves into the propellant tanks, pushing the fuel into the combustion chamber. [15]

In this incident, however, the one-way oxidizer valve had allowed nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) to leak back through the helium tube. [16] When the helium valve was opened, the "blobs" of NTO inside the helium line were accelerated at high speeds, slamming into and nearly instantaneously destroying the one-way oxidizer valve. The internal titanium components of the destroyed valve were then exposed to the NTO, resulting in combustion and the loss of the vehicle. [17] [18]

In-Flight Abort Test

A video of the in-flight abort test.

On 19 January 2020, SpaceX conducted a test of Crew Dragon's launch abort system. [19]

After a successful liftoff, the launch abort sequence was initiated 1 minute and 26 seconds into flight. Crew Dragon C205 successfully separated with the Falcon 9 rocket, with the rocket breaking up seconds later under the intense aerodynamic forces of max-q. [20]

After separating the trunk, Crew Dragon reached an apogee of 42 kilometers before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. [21] [22]

Abort Modes

The Crew Dragon has multiple abort modes for different phases of flight, each with its own landing zones and procedures. As the flight progresses, SpaceX mission control calls out switches between abort modes.

TimePhaseRecovery Zone [23] [5]
T - 37 minutesPad AbortLaunch abort armed; Recovery zone in Florida Coast
T + 00 minutes, 00 secondsStage 1aRecovery zones from Florida Coast to North Carolina
T + 01 minutes, 15 secondsStage 1bRecovery zones along Virginia Coast
T + 02 minutes, 32 secondsStage 2aStage separation; Recovery zones along North American east coast
T + 08 minutes, 05 secondsStage 2bRetrograde burn to land near Novia Scotia
T + 08 minutes, 28 secondsStage 2cPrograde burn to land west of Ireland
T + 08 minutes, 38 secondsStage 2dRetrograde burn to land west of Ireland
T + 08 minutes, 44 secondsStage 2eUses SuperDracos and Dracos to abort to orbit

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test</span> Post-launch abort test of the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft

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Crew Dragon C204 was part of Crew Dragon flight vehicle SN 2-1 manufactured and operated by SpaceX and used by NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Used in the uncrewed Demo-1 mission, it was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket on 2 March 2019, arriving at the International Space Station on 3 March 2019. It was the first orbital test flight of the Dragon 2 spacecraft. The spacecraft was unexpectedly destroyed on 20 April 2019 during a separate test when firing the SuperDraco engines at Landing Zone 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crew Dragon Pad Abort Test</span>

The Crew Dragon Pad Abort Test was a spacecraft test conducted by SpaceX on 6 May 2015 from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. As part of the development of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the test demonstrated the spacecraft's abort system capability, verifying the capsule's eight side-mounted SuperDraco thrusters' capability to quickly power itself away from a failing rocket while it is still on the ground. It was one of the two tests conducted by SpaceX on the abort system of spacecraft, the other one being the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test conducted on 19 January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crew Dragon C205</span> Space capsule

Crew Dragon C205 is a Crew Dragon capsule manufactured and built by SpaceX. It completed its only flight on January 19, 2020, with the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test mission where the capsule detached from the Falcon 9 B1046 booster at max q using the SuperDraco abort thrusters. This was done to test the functionality of the abort thrusters in an operational rocket launch.

References

  1. 1 2 "SpaceX Dragon Overview". spacex.com. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Berger, Eric (2016-04-30). "From zero to 100mph in 1.2 seconds, the SuperDraco thruster delivers". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  3. ↑ "International Space Station - NASA" . Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  4. ↑ Jones, Daniel L. "Orion Launch Abort System (LAS) | Propulsion on Pad Abort 1 (PA-1)" (PDF). ntrs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  5. 1 2 Gebhardt, Chris (2020-05-21). "Examining Crew Dragon's launch abort modes and splashdown locations". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  6. ↑ Gilbert, Michael G. "THE MAX LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM – CONCEPT, FLIGHT TEST, AND EVOLUTION" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  7. ↑ Hanneke Weitering (2019-04-24). "The Emergency Launch Abort Systems of SpaceX and Boeing Explained". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  8. ↑ Karcz; Davis; Aftosmis; Allen; Bakhtian; Dyakanov; Glass; Gonzales; Heldmann; Lemke; Marinova; McKay; Stoker; Wooster; Zarchi. "RED DRAGON: LOW-COST ACCESS TO THE SURFACE OF MARS USING COMMERCIAL CAPABILITIES" (PDF). ntrs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  9. ↑ Foust, Jeff (2017-07-19). "SpaceX drops plans for powered Dragon landings". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  10. ↑ Harwood, William (2020-05-27). "SpaceX Crew Dragon abort system a major boost for crew safety - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  11. ↑ "The SpaceX Crew Dragon - NASA" . Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  12. ↑ Berger, Eric (2019-04-22). "Here's what we know, and what we don't, about the Crew Dragon accident". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  13. ↑ Samantha Mathewson (2019-05-01). "NASA Workers Warned About Sharing Images After SpaceX Explosion Video Leak: Report". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  14. ↑ "NASA urges patience as SpaceX investigates the Crew Dragon explosion". CNET. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  15. ↑ Cannon, James L. "Liquid Propulsion: Propellant Feed System Design" (PDF). ntrs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  16. ↑ Harwood, William (2019-07-15). "SpaceX: Explosion that destroyed Crew Dragon spacecraft in April was caused by leaking valve - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  17. ↑ "UPDATE: IN-FLIGHT ABORT STATIC FIRE TEST ANOMALY INVESTIGATION | SpaceX". 2019-07-15. Archived from the original on 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  18. ↑ Jeff Foust (2019-07-16). "SpaceX Says Faulty Valve Led to Crew Dragon Test Accident". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  19. ↑ Amy Thompson (2020-01-19). "SpaceX aces Crew Dragon launch abort test, destroys rocket on purpose". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  20. ↑ Staff, ScienceAlert (2020-01-19). "With a Spectacular Explosion, SpaceX's Crew Dragon Just Passed a Crucial Safety Test". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  21. ↑ Tariq Malik (2020-01-19). "How SpaceX's Crew Dragon launch abort test today works in 10 not-so-easy steps". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  22. ↑ Atkinson, Ian (2020-01-17). "SpaceX conducts successful Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  23. ↑ DeSisto, Austin (2020-05-24). "Crew Dragon Launch Day Timeline: From Suit Up to Docking with the ISS". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
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