'Red Dragon' Mission Private Spaceflight to Mars

NASA is working with private spaceflight firm Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to plan a mission that would search for evidence of life buried in the Martian dirt. The NASA science hardware would fly to the Red Planet aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which the company is developing to ferry cargo and astronauts to and from the International Space Station. This so-called "Red Dragon" mission, which could be ready to launch by 2018, would carry a cost of about $400 million or less, researchers said.

SpaceX is developing the Dragon capsule under a NASA contract to resupply the International Space Station. The company also hopes NASA will use a human-rated version of Dragon to ferry astronauts to and from the orbiting lab, perhaps by 2015 or so. SpaceX is developing a heavy-lift rocket, called the Falcon Heavy, which could carry Dragon to Mars. The Falcon Heavy may launch for the first time by late 2012 or early 2013, Musk has said.

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Falcon Heavy would lift from 100,000 to 120,000 pounds to orbit, about three times the performance of the Falcon 9. It is comprised of three nine- engine Falcon 9 first stage booster cores and would utilize upgraded Merlin 1D engines currently being tested at the SpaceX rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas. The Falcon booster cores would be the first to have cross feed propellant capability enabling significant enhancements in payload performance, Musk explained. “We expect to launch a lot, maybe 20 launches per year,” said Musk. He thinks that the launches would be spilt about equally between the current Falcon 9 and the new Falcon Heavy allowing SpaceX to compete in the full gamut of opportunities for commercial rocket providers. The Falcon Heavy could even be used for interplanetary science missions to Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System.

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It is impossible to say if SpaceX will be the company that leads into the future but their pioneering efforts are to be commended. To those who say that the American space program is dead with the Shuttle let it be known that we have only just begun.....

This is awesome. S+F
if they want a cheap astronaught i'll be right here

Awesome find, thanks for sharing.

Looks like NASA has gone from using their own spaceships, to outsourcing. What a true tale of the days we live in. I hope the American tax payers don't get the bill for this since if anything of importance is found it will be hidden from the general public. Still a great article though. Cheers.

reply to post by iforget


They look like Giant Nukes. Warheads and all. I wonder

reply to post by LightAssassin


I believe it to be a modern, efficient and well tested design is all. SpaceX has its doubters for sure but it should not be denied that they are at the least showing us the way forward. I wish them luck

reply to post by iforget


Well, it looks as if they must have found something in their pictures they have been taking......But we don't get to see why they are going to Mars???? COME ON just show us.....We really want to see what the big deal is....

Originally posted by Chrisfishenstein
reply to post by iforget

 

Well, it looks as if they must have found something in their pictures they have been taking......But we don't get to see why they are going to Mars???? COME ON just show us.....We really want to see what the big deal is....

This thread does a nice job of answering that question:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Keep in mind the everywhere we find liquid water on Earth we find life at this time is is most reasonable to extend that deduction beyond Earth.

reply to post by iforget


Getting rid of our old money blowing peice of # shuttle was the best thing ever. I like how everyone think's the government is done with the exploration... idiot's. What year is it people? they already have the new magnetic based shuttle that will be taking test flights in 2014 i believe. Old shuttle to mars - 5 years. New shuttle to mars - 5 months.

Originally posted by SeattlesFinest
they already have the new magnetic based shuttle that will be taking test flights in 2014 i believe

I'll bite got any sources on that

reply to post by iforget


no my buddy is more into the NASA and space things and he had told me about it.
2014 the guy that owns virgin mobile has created the first flight system that will take civilians to space for 4 minutes.. for a pricey 200,000.
Were moving to the next step of human kind not to hard to believe these things. I believe my friend had mentioned the new airlines can go around the world in 2 hours. It's just basic upgrades that were bound to happen.

reply to post by iforget


It will have some sort of new jet engine but it will have a forever generating magnetic energy from a pad dock here on Earth and attached to the ship that will give it a nice push.

Funny how they nwed this red dragon, after Dr. hannibal lectar

reply to post by SeattlesFinest


Hey I am all for it I honestly hope there is a more efficient and unconventional launch platform buried in some black project.

reply to post by iforget


only time will tell, hopefully everyone makes it past 2011 to witness the space frontier

Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, the Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members. The Dragon spacecraft is comprised of 3 main elements: the Nosecone, which protects the vessel and the docking adaptor during ascent; the Spacecraft, which houses the crew and/or pressurized cargo as well as the service section containing avionics, the RCS system, parachutes, and other support infrastructure; and the Trunk, which provides for the stowage of unpressurized cargo and will support Dragon’s solar arrays and thermal radiators.

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dont miss the giant insectoid UFO at the start of this vid

What is the goal of the "red dragon" mission?

reply to post by gossipnancy


carry NASA equipment to Mars that will look for microbes in the soil is my understanding

I would love to hear somebodies thoughts on public vs. private space exploration, or whatever...Personally I think we will go further, faster and cheaper by divorcing the massive governmental bureaucracy from our off planet endeavors.

reply to post by iforget


Haha, I just realised the bible, revelations, speaks of a red dragon....I tell ya, these are weapons. Probably be aimed at Nibiru.

reply to post by iforget


i agree, having space flight in the hands of the prviate sector is a big step forward.
only time will tell if this will be a fruitful endevour.