SPACEX LAUNCHES DRAGON TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

SMN REPORT:

News that the US company SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon space capsule, which is now on course for a test rendezvous with the ISS International Space Station makes us smile. And of course, it opens the door to the model-making wish-list.

Elon Musk of SpaceX with the Falcon 9 launcher that carried Dragon to orbit.

BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST

We’re waiting for an injection kit of the Dragon capsule, or even a ready-built will do. Both preferably in two scales: 1:72 and 1:48. The smaller scale can include the Falcon 9 booster, the bigger one with detailed inside features - in both cargo and future crewed versions please, complete with a lineup of seven scale astronauts, in seated positions and a standing set too. There's more - let's be honest and say we’d also like to see a superdetail 1:24 cutaway kit. Come on, Revell - or more logically kit-maker Dragon, as the real thing’s your namesake.

QUESTION OF SIZE

Wish list over, we think these scale comparisons are absolutely fascinating, especially the one (above) that includes the Federation Starship Enterprise. Oh yes, and there's the Skylon, an ongoing UK project that's based not too far from the newly-relocated SMN Towers. Excellent graphics here, courtesy astrochemist Markus Hammonds, link below.

DRAGON FLIGHT PROFILE

Meantime, the Dragon capsule (below) has its electricity-generating solar panels spread, and is slowly overhauling the ISS, with close encounter scheduled for May 24. If all goes well with test manoeuvres, Dragon will be captured by the Space Station’s robotic arm, and brought in for docking - then the ISS crew will be able to unload half a tonne of cargo onboard the Dragon. Two weeks after that, Dragon will detach, targeting a parachute splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. 

More on SpaceX and Dragon here.

Flying scale rockets here.

Non-flying rocket kits here.

Markus Hammonds here.

SPACE-X IS TEN YEARS OLD - AND NOW TAKING US BEYOND THE SHUTTLE ERA

SMN report from David Jefferis:

SpaceX is the sort of company that brings a smile to the face of many a space buff. Under the leadership of Elon Musk, who set the company up a decade ago in 2002, SpaceX has gone from strength to strength. Right now, SpaceX is aiming to make the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, using its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule combo. And guess what? There’s a model rocket available from SpaceX that you can build and fly.

Amazon supply details

First things first: the only supplier we know of at the moment is Amazon, and they don’t mail the SpaceX rocket  to all countries, so x-fingers you live in an approved locale. Even so, it’s an interesting item, and at about $30 USD, pretty fairly priced, too. When assembled, the kit measures 580 mm (22.8 in) high, equating to 1:88 scale. 

Building the beast

Assembly is very simple, and it’s compatible with Estes model rocketry products, which is a high recommendation, as this writer has flown many an Estes rocket off the pad, and it’s huge fun, even if you do stand to lose the occasional model. 

What a choice

I recall one successful launch, moments after which my partner of the time decided that she was about to have our baby! Suffice to say, the last I knew of that camera-equipped beauty was the sight of it drifting under its parachute, far away into the January mist, never to be seen again. I didn't have to time to fret about it though - after a speedy dash to hospital, I helped the midwife deliver a beautiful baby daughter!

Static or flight mode

Back to the SpaceX kit. You can build it static or flying - it’s your choice, and a parachute is included for flight recovery. Non-scale, but necessary for model flying are the transparent tailfins, which you can leave off if you decide on a static display model.

Summation

A great idea from a pioneering company, and good news for us that SpaceX is into the model spacecraft game. If the SpaceX Falcon-Dragon kit raises some cash to help US astronauts return to the space race, so much the better. 

Humans in space

The Dragon capsule has been designed from the start as a human-rated spacecraft. If all goes well, after a number of trial cargo flights, it’ll take over from the old Space Shuttles, to ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station.

Target: new worlds

There’s more - Elon Musk is thinking long, with eventual aims to shoot for the Moon and Mars. And a developed version of today’s Dragon capsule could make that first touchdown on the distant Red Planet. 

SpaceX at Amazon here.

Estes rockets here.

Assorted space stuff here.

Visit the Lower Hudson Valley E-Gift Shop for a feast of paper model rocketry here.

Good stuff at The Rocketry Blog here.

This pic shows the planned Falcon landing system in use. Art courtesy the talented Stanley Von Medvey, whose blog is here.

SPACEX BOSS SAYS - MARS HERE WE COME! MEANTIME, HERE’S A FREE MODEL MARS ROCKET

SMN report:

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed the planet Mars as his long-term goal during a speech on 29 September at the US National Press Club. Already known for its Falcon rockets and Dragon space capsule, SpaceX is to make them reusable. The Falcon 9 will incorporate a descent module at the base, so that it can make a vertical soft landing, while the Dragon (above) will use its emergency-escape rockets as brakes on the journey back from space.

Cracking the engineering problem

Musk said: “It's a very tough engineering problem, and I wasn't sure it could be solved." However, he went on: "In the last twelve months or so I've come to the conclusion that it could be solved, and I think SpaceX is going to try to do it. The idea looks promising, added Musk: “We have a design that on paper, doing the calculations, doing the simulations, it does work."

Let's hope crosswinds won't affect Falcon 9's landings too much!

Economic issue

Good for you Elon, but why bother? It’s a question of economics: “The Falcon-9 costs $54m, but fuel and oxygen and so forth is only about $200,000. So obviously if we can reuse the rocket, say 1000 times, then that would make the capital cost of the rocket launch only about $50,000." 

Road to the Red Planet

In fact, it’s the same set of sums the airlines use when working out how to fund a hugely expensive jetliner - what price your next vacation if the jet was thrown away after every flight? And of course, if SpaceX lowers the cost of spaceflight, then it could mean the road to the planets - and Mars in particular - is open.

Artist Chesley Bonestall showed a Mars expedition being prepared in Earth orbit.

The legacy of Wernher von Braun

It's about time someone took a long-term view of spaceflight - we certainly cannot leave it to the politicians and their vote-hungry, budget-cutting, short-termism. The long view is not new however - the architect of the Apollo moonflight program, Wernher von Braun, came up with feasible Moon and Mars rockets way back in the early 1950s. 

Free paper spaceplane

It’s one of these designs - a huge winged cargo ship for Earth orbit operations - that’s the subject of the free downloadable paper model. And a similar ship, with bigger wings and cylindrical fuselage, was envisaged as being able to glide through the thin Martian air, to make a horizontal landing on the rust-red sands. We reckon that this paper rocket could be made up in either form with not too many mods. The paper rocket is designed for an A4 printer, and at that size the ship is to a nominal 1:100 scale, but as ever with these paper products, the scale can be varied by changing the output percentage on your printer, though you'll need an A3 printer if you're thinking of a 1:72 scale model.

The von Braun spaceplane sat on a massive booster.

Outer wing sections attached high above Mars.

Popular magazine

Von Braun’s Mars Expedition concept was published in the pages of Colliers, a popular news magazine of the time, and even today looks a carefully conceived and futuristic plan. The inflatable living sphere looks a great idea, if somewhat top-heavy!

Snowcat-style rover featured a shirtsleeve-comfort living sphere.

Enjoy making the model - it ought to make an interesting change from plastic. 

Nose section of spaceplane raised vertically for return to Mars orbit.

Download the paper Mars ship here.

A more than decent cgi animation of the SpaceX system in action (it’s a slooow loader, but worth it - and do crank your bass up for the music track) is here.

SMN’s own David Jefferis has written the Exploring Planet Mars book (above and below) which is available on Amazon here. Watch out for the amazing ebook version, due next year.

Thanks to the Lower Hudson Valley Challenger Center Paper E-giftshop, which has many other paper models available here.