NASA and SpaceX are ready to fly their seventh operational flight to the International Space Station (ISS) later this week as the Crew 7 mission takes to the skies. The launch will see four astronauts from four different space agencies fly to the ISS, and soon after they reach their destination, the crew on the previous mission will return to Earth soon after the crew dock with the space station. The upcoming launch will be the first time a Crew Dragon flies to space after a valve problem on SpaceX's Cargo Dragon docked to the ISS surfaced late last month. SpaceX and NASA officials highlighted that the valve problem has been resolved and shared more changes that have been made on the Crew Dragon.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon Will Feature Upgraded Parachute Systems And Other Changes
SpaceX and NASA finished a flight readiness review of the Crew 7 flight earlier today and certified the spacecraft ready to fly on Friday. The mission will lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida early morning local time. It will fly NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Boriso as part of a mission that can last as long as six months in space based on the Crew Dragon's profile.
Their flight will be roughly a day long, as after departing Earth at 3:49 am local time, the crew will dock with the ISS at 2:02 am on the next day. Before the launch, the crew will further familiarize themselves with the spacecraft, and backup opportunities are penned in for the next two days. SpaceX will also run a static fire test of Falcon 9 tomorrow, and if weather permits, then Crew 6 will return to Earth five days after Crew 7 reaches the ISS. The Crew 6 return journey will also include a fly around the ISS, allowing NASA to image and inspect the orbiting space laboratory.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) program manager, Mr. Steve Stich, explained how the agency approached the corroded valves on the SpaceX CRS-28 Cargo Dragon spacecraft. He shared that the corrosion is because oxidizer vapors mix with moisture, creating acid. According to him:
The valves are really in what we call the service section part of the Dragon vehicle, so they're spread all across. There's a number of panels throughout that vehicle that carry the structural load and the valves are in that area. So outside the crew module, inside the service section. Some are under the tanks, some are easily accessible. The ones that we were able to, on the oxidizer side, that we were able to go take apart, [are] the dry sides. The valves use an armature to go ahead and actuate, so to electrically actuate the valve. We were able to take the valve apart and replace some of those components on what I would call the dry side of the valve that doesn't have propellant. And, reassemble those, and retest those on the spacecraft, and we know all those valves are functioning just fine.
SpaceX's vice president for build and reliability, Will Gerstenmaier, added details about how his company analyzed the faulty valve and designed a solution to prevent future problems from occurring in flight:
On CRS 28 we had a valve that didn't close properly. As soon as that vehicle landed, we were immediately able to get that valve out, pull it apart, take it apart, analyze it. We shipped a piece of that valve actually to Marshall to go take a look at they could identify the problem. And then we figured out there's a way that if we actually power the valve a little bit longer we can actually drive through this corrosion and get back functionality of the valve. So again, we not only solved the problem, identified the magnitude of the problem, how far it was across the [inaudible], but then we also found a remediation to prevent a future occurrence if something like this shows up in flight.
SpaceX tests valves at its facilities in McGregor, Texas, and it is upgrading the test site to match conditions in space and in the ocean where the Dragon splashes down after its return. The Crew Dragon for the Crew 7 mission will also fly a shock absorber for the drogue parachute systems. This is called an energy modulator, and it will prevent the parachute straps from coming in contact with other parts of the system.
Falcon 9 and Dragon vertical at 39A in Florida. Targeting Friday, August 25 for launch of Crew-7 → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/wEiTLb2Wxr
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 21, 2023
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