1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,399 So you want to go to space. Of course you do. And luckily 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:08,519 for us, human space flight is finally becoming accessible to people outside the elite 3 00:00:08,599 --> 00:00:13,919 ranks of the astronauts. This is almost entirely thanks to the revolutionary vehicle that 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,719 is the SpaceX Crew Dragon. There has never before been an easier, more 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:23,239 convenient, or cheaper way to put human beings into outer space, and I 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,359 mean real space, not that virgin blue origin little hop over the line of 7 00:00:27,399 --> 00:00:31,879 technicality. We are going to orbit, friends, and this is what it's 8 00:00:31,879 --> 00:00:36,880 going to be like. This is the space race. Let's meet our chariot 9 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,200 to the gods. The SpaceX Dragon Capsule. This goes back to the very 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,799 early days of SpaceX and was one of the first products they developed, alongside 11 00:00:45,799 --> 00:00:51,359 the Falcon nine. Version one of the Dragon capsule began operation in twenty ten 12 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:56,399 as a supply ship for the ISS and flew twenty three cargo missions over ten 13 00:00:56,479 --> 00:01:02,359 years. This proven success and reliability led space to develop Dragon two in twenty 14 00:01:02,359 --> 00:01:07,640 fourteen with support from the NASA Commercial Crew Program. Dragon two completed its first 15 00:01:07,719 --> 00:01:11,799 demo flight in twenty nineteen, and on May thirtieth, twenty twenty, became 16 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,359 the first American rocket to fly a crew into orbit since the Space Shuttle. 17 00:01:15,719 --> 00:01:21,079 Actually, Dragon was the first US made crew rated space capsule since the Apollo 18 00:01:21,159 --> 00:01:26,120 program, so this was a much needed vehicle. Unlike those old Apollo capsules 19 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:32,040 that were cramped industrial and confronted astronauts with a dashboard full of esoteric lights, 20 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:37,040 switches, and meters that they could never fully understand, the Dragon is sleek 21 00:01:37,159 --> 00:01:42,000 and modern both inside and out. The capsule itself is sixteen feet tall by 22 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,560 thirteen feet wide, and it sits on top of the trunk section, which 23 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,359 adds another twelve feet in length. This is the main source of power for 24 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:55,920 the Dragon and also serves as a literal trunk for unpressurized cargo. The Dragon 25 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,280 has one mechanical hatch located in the tip of the nose cone that reveals either 26 00:02:00,319 --> 00:02:05,000 a docking port or a cupula window depending on the mission profile, and one 27 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,400 side door for the crew to enter and exit while on Earth. The exterior 28 00:02:08,439 --> 00:02:14,479 of the Dragon is painted in SpaceX white and is perfectly smooth, revealing only 29 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:20,000 a couple of small windows and the various thruster ports. There are two kinds 30 00:02:20,039 --> 00:02:23,520 of propulsion on the Dragon, Draco thrusters, are grouped into small clusters all 31 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:29,520 around the capsule with nozzles pointing out at different angles. There are sixteen of 32 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:34,439 them in total, and this is how SpaceX maneuvers the vehicle and controls orbital 33 00:02:34,479 --> 00:02:39,199 altitude. Each thruster is a tiny rocket engine that uses hypergolic propellant, which 34 00:02:39,199 --> 00:02:45,319 means two chemicals that self combust on contact are combined in the thrust chamber to 35 00:02:45,439 --> 00:02:51,199 generate force. SuperDracos are the capsule's main engines. They are concealed inside the 36 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,000 four large ridges that surround the Dragon, with two engines per ridge. These 37 00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:00,240 are high thrust, hypergolic rocket engines that are around two hundred times more powerful 38 00:03:00,479 --> 00:03:07,039 than the maneuvering thrusters. Super Draco's are also capable of deep throttling control. 39 00:03:07,479 --> 00:03:12,919 SpaceX had originally experimented with the idea of using these engines for a propulsive landing 40 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,639 of the Dragon capsule, but ended up scrapping that in favor of the more 41 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:21,000 tried and true parachute ocean landing. Now, ideally, we don't want to 42 00:03:21,039 --> 00:03:25,000 see these super Draco engines in action during our flight. These are abort system 43 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,719 engines and their only job is to get the crew as far away from the 44 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:35,719 rocket booster as fast as possible before something explodes. This is why the trunk 45 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,919 section is fitted with aerodynamic fins. They obviously don't serve any purpose in space, 46 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:44,400 and the Falcon nine doesn't need them for launch. Those fins are to 47 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,319 keep the Dragon stable in the event that it has to fly through the air 48 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:53,120 on its own. Inside the Dragon is where things get even more unconventional. 49 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:59,400 The interior volume is huge by space capsule standards, with nine point three cubic 50 00:03:59,439 --> 00:04:03,719 meters of pressurized volume, and can seat four passengers comfortably. By comparison, 51 00:04:04,039 --> 00:04:09,800 the currently used Russian so used vehicle has just around four cubic meters of habitable 52 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:15,240 space in its descent module and carries three people max. Ahead of the crew 53 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,879 is a simple layout of three large touch screen monitors and that's it. No 54 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:25,079 analog controls, and that's because, as a modern spacecraft, Dragon flies fully 55 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:29,560 autonomously, and if there is any need for manual input, it's done remotely 56 00:04:29,639 --> 00:04:33,399 by the ground crew, not the passengers. This makes perfect sense, but 57 00:04:33,519 --> 00:04:38,560 even the Boeing Starliner that was developed at the same time as the crew Dragon 58 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,759 still has a giant panel of buttons switches and levers, so dragon is still 59 00:04:43,879 --> 00:04:46,879 very unique. Okay, so we know our vehicle. Now we need to 60 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,319 prepare for launch. It's time to suit up. Each SpaceX crew member is 61 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:56,560 going to receive their own custom tailored pressure suits and three D printed helmet. 62 00:04:56,959 --> 00:05:00,879 The suit is designed to maintain an earthlike condition on the inside, even in 63 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,560 a total vacuum, so that means breathable air, stable temperature, and most 64 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:12,079 importantly, an atmospheric pressure comparable to Earth's sea level. Obviously, we don't 65 00:05:12,079 --> 00:05:15,519 want to suffocate, but a pressure loss is a definite worst case scenario because 66 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,959 a lowered ambient pressure will lower the boiling point of water and eventually your blood 67 00:05:19,959 --> 00:05:26,720 will start to vaporize inside your body. So let's not do that. Just 68 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,199 like those super Draco engines, we don't want to actually see these pressure suits 69 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:34,759 do their job because that means something has gone terribly wrong, but we are 70 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:40,160 happy to have them just in case. Unlike previous flight suits that were bulky 71 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,639 and modular, the SpaceX one is thin, flexible, and all one piece, 72 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,040 so you just unzip the en sam of the pants and kind of go 73 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:51,639 in from the bottom. All of your communication systems and vital signs monitoring is 74 00:05:51,639 --> 00:05:56,360 going to be built into the flight helmet. On the day of the launch, 75 00:05:56,439 --> 00:06:00,160 things are going to happen pretty fast. At three hours prior to launch, 76 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,439 we begin to suit up in the NASA Space Flight Center and get a 77 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:08,079 final technical briefing before the main event. The crew of four, outfitted in 78 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,480 flight suits, are then ferried to the launch site in a fleet of Tesla 79 00:06:11,519 --> 00:06:15,240 Model xsuvs. The Falcon wing side doors make it incredibly easy to hop in 80 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,839 and out with the suit on. Around one hour prior to launch, we 81 00:06:18,959 --> 00:06:23,839 take an elevator up two hundred and fifty five feet to the crew access arm 82 00:06:23,879 --> 00:06:27,720 of the launch tower. At the top there's a landline telephone if you want 83 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,680 to say any final words to friends and family, just a reminder that flying 84 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:35,720 to space on a rocket is an incredibly dangerous activity. Next, we traverse 85 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:40,720 the walkway to the awaiting dragon. The ground crew helps us in through the 86 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,720 capsule's side door and secure us down to the seats. The heels of your 87 00:06:44,759 --> 00:06:47,639 boots have a clip that secures your legs into the floor so they don't jostle 88 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,639 around during launch. The life support tether from your chair plugs into a port 89 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,959 on the five of your flight suit, and this allows a flow of cooled 90 00:06:56,079 --> 00:07:00,879 nitrogen and oxygen to move through your suit, maintaining temperature and air quality. 91 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,079 At this point, the flight suit is fully integrated with the Dragon capsule. 92 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:10,879 The onboard computer is monitoring your vital signs and providing a customized life support experience. 93 00:07:10,959 --> 00:07:14,839 It's all quite luxurious. At a round T minus forty five minutes, 94 00:07:14,879 --> 00:07:17,759 the ground crew is going to bid us all farewell and seal the capsule. 95 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:23,639 Then the crew access arm will retract. Once the arm is clear, we 96 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:28,519 are going into final countdown. Prep visors down on the helmets and secured into 97 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,160 the seats. We need to arm the launch escape system. This is one 98 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:35,160 of the very few operations that has to be done from within the capsule. 99 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:40,000 We are going to hear a very loud thump as the hypergolic fuel tanks are 100 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:45,199 primed for the super Draco engines. If SpaceX detects any kind of anomaly in 101 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,879 the Falcon nine booster on ascent, then those eight engines will fire up to 102 00:07:47,959 --> 00:07:53,639 sixteen thousand pounds of thrust per nozzle in about one hundred milliseconds, and that 103 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,000 is going to propel the Dragon away from the rocket at a blistering speed. 104 00:07:58,079 --> 00:08:01,839 It's not going to be fun, but the Dragon will travel about half a 105 00:08:01,879 --> 00:08:05,759 mile in just seven seconds. Next up, we are going to begin propellant 106 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:11,079 loading of the Falcon nine. This is unique for SpaceX to fuel the rocket 107 00:08:11,079 --> 00:08:13,920 with the crew on board. Typically it's done the other way around, but 108 00:08:15,279 --> 00:08:18,560 there are only two other crew rated rockets in the world right now, so 109 00:08:18,839 --> 00:08:22,319 what's typical From the cockpit, We're actually going to be able to hear the 110 00:08:22,399 --> 00:08:26,480 valves opening and the ultra chilled propellant flowing through the rocket. It's supposedly like 111 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:31,680 a fluttering sound and a low hum. In the meantime, we have our 112 00:08:31,759 --> 00:08:35,320 three display screens that provide all of the information about the rocket and the status 113 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:41,080 of the flight plan, basically everything that you normally see on a SpaceX live 114 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:45,960 stream, plus even more technical data. And then there's the final countdown and 115 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,279 liftoff. The nine Merlin engines at the base of the Block five Falcon booster 116 00:08:50,519 --> 00:08:54,000 are going to generate about one point eight million pounds of thrust. After just 117 00:08:54,200 --> 00:09:00,279 thirty seconds, the rocket will be traveling five hundred kilometers per hour at an 118 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,919 altitude of two kilometers above sea level. One minute into the flight, the 119 00:09:05,039 --> 00:09:11,200 rocket will break the sound barrier and reach supersonic speed. Assuming everything goes smooth 120 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,639 and we don't need to abort. The next major event comes at around two 121 00:09:13,639 --> 00:09:18,519 minutes and thirty skins with a booster engines cut off and we have the first 122 00:09:18,639 --> 00:09:22,679 stage separation. Now we are moving at over six thousand kilometers per hour at 123 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:28,279 an altitude of over eighty kilometers, and the upper stage vacuum engine has kicked 124 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:33,840 on to bring us to orbital velocity. Around nine minutes into flight, we 125 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:39,960 reach twenty seven thousand kilometers per hour in two hundred kilometers of altitude. The 126 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:45,159 second engine has done its job and shuts down. We are now experiencing zero 127 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,559 g's and that should be indicated by a floating stuffed animal in the capsule, 128 00:09:50,039 --> 00:09:54,200 assuming we have good orbital insertion. At around twelve minutes, the second stage 129 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:58,559 will separate from the dragon and we are simply coasting in space, circling the 130 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:03,960 Earth. After fifteen minutes, we can go visors up and unbuckle from the 131 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:07,399 seats to begin free floating in the capsule. At this point, the flight 132 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:11,639 suits are no longer needed. Thankfully, we're through the most dangerous period for 133 00:10:11,759 --> 00:10:16,360 now. At this point, we are looking at one of two mission profiles. 134 00:10:16,519 --> 00:10:18,159 If we are on our way to the ISS, then it's going to 135 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:24,440 take about one day for the capsule to slowly move into a rendezvous trajectory to 136 00:10:24,519 --> 00:10:28,320 meet the station and dock. In this case, we are going to manually 137 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:33,360 unwind the nosecone cap to reveal a docking port that will use to transfer into 138 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,960 the ISS. But that's not all the Dragon capsule is being used for these 139 00:10:37,039 --> 00:10:41,840 days, we could be some of the lucky few who have taken this vehicle 140 00:10:41,919 --> 00:10:46,559 out for a pleasure cruise through low Earth orbit, much like the inspiration for 141 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,799 Crew as seen in the Netflix documentary series. That mission profile spends around three 142 00:10:50,879 --> 00:10:54,559 days in orbit, and since the docking port is not going to be necessary, 143 00:10:54,879 --> 00:11:00,440 SpaceX outfits the Dragon with a cupula window that is revealed underneath the nose 144 00:11:00,519 --> 00:11:03,200 cone, and it's a glass dome that you can fit your whole head inside 145 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:09,200 and see the entire perimeter of the Earth all at the same time. All 146 00:11:09,279 --> 00:11:13,200 Right, Eventually someone's going to have to use the space toilet, so let's 147 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,600 talk about it. Luckily, this is something that has gotten a lot more 148 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:22,679 dignified over the history of human spaceflight. Alan Shepard, the first American in 149 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:26,559 space, had to pee his own pants in the Mercury capsule. This evolved 150 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,440 into a tube that the astronauts would stick their junk into. They were only 151 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,080 sending dudes to space back then, and as longer duration space flight became a 152 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:39,480 thing, astronauts were issued a sack for their Yeah. Anyway, that's now 153 00:11:39,519 --> 00:11:43,759 evolved into a vacuum suction powered toilet that was first installed on the Space Shuttle 154 00:11:43,919 --> 00:11:48,799 and is also used on the ISS. The Dragon has one too. It's 155 00:11:48,879 --> 00:11:50,840 just above the side door, kind of in the ceiling. From the cruise 156 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:56,039 perspective, the unit is kind of sewed away in an alcove built into the 157 00:11:56,039 --> 00:12:01,320 wall. It's basically a collection of fans, valves, suction hoses, dehumidifiers, 158 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:05,720 and storage tanks. You also do get a curtain for privacy. Apparently, 159 00:12:05,759 --> 00:12:09,320 the zero G environment has a pretty immediate and unpredictable effect on your body 160 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:15,080 systems, and astronauts have reported that everybody ends up using the space toilet within 161 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:18,720 a couple of hours into the flight, so you can't just hold it. 162 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,399 Okay, So we've either completed our stay on the ISS or enjoyed a couple 163 00:12:22,399 --> 00:12:26,440 of days soaring high above the world as space tourists. Either way, we 164 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:31,279 need to get back down. There are seven potential landing sites along the Florida 165 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,879 coast, either in the Gulf of Mexico or the open Atlantic Ocean. The 166 00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:41,440 ground crew is going to determine which landing site is the most optimal according to 167 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:46,519 weather conditions and other safety factors. The SpaceX team at mission Control is going 168 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:52,039 to begin to gradually move the Dragon into its final orbital trajectory, basically just 169 00:12:52,279 --> 00:12:56,879 steadily dropping the parage, which is the lowest altitude of each orbit, until 170 00:12:56,879 --> 00:13:01,200 the Dragon is on course to re enter the atmosphere. This is where things 171 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:05,559 get dangerous again, so it's suits on, visors down and strapped in for 172 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:09,600 the ride. When all systems are go, the Dragon capsule is going to 173 00:13:09,639 --> 00:13:13,960 separate from the trunk module and the Draco thrusters will fire to point the heat 174 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:18,080 shield down towards the Earth and set the final approach angle. From here, 175 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:22,320 the Draco thruster can still autonomously make small adjustments to our trajectory as we fall. 176 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,399 Worst of all, the communication system is going to go dead for seven 177 00:13:26,399 --> 00:13:31,120 minutes through the most intense period of re entry, so if anything goes wrong, 178 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,200 we won't have any warning about it. We will just explode, not 179 00:13:35,279 --> 00:13:39,320 that we could really do anything about it anyway. The capsule is going to 180 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:43,879 come in at a speed of around twenty eight thousand kilometers per hour, and 181 00:13:43,919 --> 00:13:48,000 that is going to impact the air with so much force that the gases will 182 00:13:48,039 --> 00:13:54,960 compress and combust into screaming hot plasma reaching around nineteen hundred degrees celsius. The 183 00:13:54,960 --> 00:14:01,360 heat shield tires are absorbing that energy and then partially vaporized. This is what's 184 00:14:01,399 --> 00:14:03,679 called an a blade of heat shield. By having the outer layer of the 185 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:09,759 tiles purposefully erode away, they are moving heat build up away from the capsule. 186 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:13,039 We are going to remain at a pretty comfortable temperature inside the flight suit 187 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:18,879 with the capsule life support system flowing cooled air through the umbilical connection that is 188 00:14:18,919 --> 00:14:22,399 then distributed throughout the suit. The resistance from the atmosphere is going to slow 189 00:14:22,399 --> 00:14:26,759 the dragon down to just five hundred and sixty kilometers per hour, which is 190 00:14:26,799 --> 00:14:31,639 going to exert a force of between four and five times the force of Earth's 191 00:14:31,679 --> 00:14:35,879 gravity on the crew inside. We are going down back first, so it's 192 00:14:35,919 --> 00:14:39,240 not going to feel like whiplash in a car, will be pushed into the 193 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:43,159 seat, just like at liftoffs. Once the fire has dissipated, the communication 194 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,399 system is going to come back online and the ground crew is going to let 195 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:50,919 us know to prepare for shoot deployment. First two drug shoots go for the 196 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:56,080 initial slowdown, and those are followed by four main shoots, and that brings 197 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:00,840 the speed down to just twenty four kilometers per hour before splashdown. Once in 198 00:15:00,879 --> 00:15:03,799 the water, we are going to be met by a SpaceX crew on a 199 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,000 barred ship. They're going to get the capsule hooked up to a crane and 200 00:15:07,039 --> 00:15:11,080 lifted on deck. At this point, the pristine white paint on the Dragon 201 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:15,039 is going to be charred into different shades of gray and black. But we 202 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,159 are going to be safe and comfortable inside as we wait for the all clear 203 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,720 to open the hatch. Before they can get us out, the crew has 204 00:15:22,759 --> 00:15:26,639 to plug all of the draco thruster nozzles. The hypergolic fuel is incredibly toxic 205 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,879 and we want to make sure that no one gets a faceful of vapor, 206 00:15:31,039 --> 00:15:35,679 so the ship's crew are all wearing respirator masks. During this onboarding procedure. 207 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:39,559 Once we're sure that the toxic gas has dissipated, then the capsule slides over 208 00:15:39,559 --> 00:15:43,519 the egress platform and the side door gets popped open. From there, the 209 00:15:43,559 --> 00:15:48,559 crew is assisted as they awkwardly have to crawl and slide out of the capsule. 210 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,919 Depending on how long we were just in space, we may or may 211 00:15:50,919 --> 00:15:56,399 not be able to walk with some assistance to keep our balance. And that's 212 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,399 it. We just went to space and back again. From here, the 213 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,000 Dragon is going to be fully refurbished so that the capsule can do the whole 214 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:08,120 process all over again. And that is what life inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule 215 00:16:08,399 --> 00:16:08,600 is like.