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  • lift off.

  • There we have the dragon in range of the space station.

  • All right.

  • Welcome, everybody.

  • Thio Hawthorne, headquarters of Space Exploration Technologies.

  • We're here to unveil Dragon Version too.

  • Dragon Version one is right above your heads.

  • In fact, this is the first Dragon spacecraft that came back from orbit.

  • You can see the scorch marks on the on the heat shield.

  • The thrusters that have fired.

  • It's, ah to riel.

  • Real spacecraft on.

  • I'll tell you what, I'll start off by telling you a little bit about the dragon version One before showing you dragon version, too, when we first created Dragon version.

  • One way.

  • Didn't really know how to create a spacecraft were never designed this spacecraft before.

  • So while they were there a lot of interesting technologies in version one.

  • It does have a relatively conventional landing.

  • Approach it.

  • It throws out parachutes to land in the water off the coast of California after it comes back from the space station.

  • And it does have a life support system, but not one that can last for a long time or carry a lot of people.

  • And ah, so it's a It's a great space craft And it was a great proof of conflict, proof of concept that showed us, uh, what it takes to bring something back from orbit, which is a very difficult thing to do, usually when something comes in from over the blast.

  • Yet it burns up in a big fireball.

  • So but going from from dragon version one who want to take a big step in technology really create something that was a step change in space craft technology, And it's, um, important characteristics of that are the ability to land anywhere on land propulsive Lee.

  • So that's one of the things that dragon version, too, will be able to do.

  • So you'll be able to land anywhere on Earth with the accuracy of a helicopter, which is which is, I think, something that a spaceship should modern spaceships should be able to do.

  • And it will be capable of carrying seven people seven astronauts for several days.

  • It it has an improved version of our peak, a heat shield, and, uh, it's all around.

  • I think, a really a big leap forward in technology.

  • It really takes things to the next level.

  • So with that, let's let's see the dragon version.

  • What?

  • We're gonna do a countdown here.

  • All right.

  • Track version too.

  • So we have an animation that shows you how Dragon Version two will work.

  • So let's roll that animation.

  • That is how a 21st century spaceship should land a few other things that talk about some of the hardware in dragons from the technologies.

  • We're gonna roll those out.

  • And, um so if a few things that I should mention that you saw in the animation But we don't have time show you today all the eyes, the docking mechanism.

  • So the dragon version two is capable of autonomously docking either autonomously learned a pilot docking with the space station.

  • Or, you know, with the international space station potentially other things.

  • And ah, without without needing.

  • Ah, the station arm.

  • So the current version one makes use of the Canada on That's on the space station.

  • Dragon Version two is capable of of docking autonomously without the use of the arm.

  • That that's a significant of greatest well.

  • And although it wasn't shown in the video dragon version to still retains the parachutes of dragon version one so that what we'll do is when it reaches a particular altitude just before for Atlantic a few miles before landing.

  • It will test the engines.

  • Verify that if all the engines are working, it will then proceed to a propulsive landing.

  • If there's any anomaly detected with the engines or the propulsion system, it will then deploy the parachutes to ensure a safe landing.

  • Even in the event that the propulsion system is not working and even after starting a propulsion system, it can afford to lose up to two engines and still land safely on.

  • And then after that, the engines are started.

  • It deploys the landing legs for a four soft landing.

  • And so the reason that this is really important, apart from the convenience of the landing location, is that it enables rapid reusability off this of the spacecraft so you could just reload propellant and fly again.

  • This is extremely important for revolutionizing access to space because as long as we continue to throw away rockets and spacecraft, we will never have truly true access to space.

  • It will always be incredibly expensive.

  • You can imagine a scenario where in an aircraft, if aircraft were thrown away with each flight that nobody would be able to fly very few, maybe a small number of governed customers and and the same is true of rockets and spacecraft.

  • So, uh, that's that's really why it's so important to be able to land propulsive Lee land on land on Be Able t o, then reload propellant and take off again.

  • So look, att Point out, some of the technology is here.

  • This is a a composite of rap to titanium sphere and this get this contains the ultra high pressure helium That pressure rises the propulsion tanks that feed the Super Draco engine.

  • This is the that the Draco engine, which is a maneuvering thruster, and this essentially the same as the one that's very similar to the one that's on Dragon Version one.

  • And when Dragon version, when they're 18 of these thrusters for maneuvering in space as well as controlling the reentry, the trajectory during re entry.

  • So what?

  • We're just a bunch of these on version two as well.

  • Um, from propulsion standpoint, that the biggest a single change Full dragon version two is the addition of the Super Draco engines so that this is really a super powered version of the Drake.

  • Oh, engine.

  • Where is the drake or engine?

  • Produces about £100 of thrust.

  • Each of these engines produced £16,000 of thrust so it against the super and that they're in Paris so that if one malfunctions, it's pair can take over an increase thrust to compensate for the one that's not firing.

  • And each one is in a protective shell.

  • So if anything goes wrong, it's contained within that that protective in the cell.

  • Um, this is also will be the first fully printed engine.

  • So this is it.

  • It's printed in canals, a special high strength alloy.

  • And there'll be Alex the first time that a rocket, a printed rocket engine sees flight.

  • And then this is the propellant tank.

  • This whole series of these spears are around the perimeter off Dragon V two, and these these air also covered over half titanium and and they they feed the Super Drakkar engines, which are operating Super Jake.

  • Engines are operating at a chamber of pressure, about 1000 PSC and fed from the a series of propellant tanks around the perimeter.

  • And then we also have version three of the peaky heat shield, so the base heat shield is the is the third version of our heat shield technology.

  • The first version obviously flew on that version one spacecraft up there, Um, and we're not about to fly sort of version to inversion version three with with each one were able to make the reliability of the heat shield better so it oblates less as it as it enters and cereals get more flights.

  • So that's, Ah, that that's dragon version, too, although it would be nice to go inside.

  • But for that we will need a comically fast instead of stairs himself.

  • So I'm sitting here in the sitting here in the pilot's seat.

  • Pull it now.

  • So that wave aim for something with the drink version two for the interfaces and for the overall aesthetic of something that's very clean, very simple.

  • Uh, and, uh, so as the pilot, you are able to interact with the screens overhead, control the spacecraft, and then we've got all of the critical functions that are needed in an emergency situation as manual buttons.

  • That's what you see in this area here.

  • Yep.

  • All right.

  • That's a lot easier in zero G, by the way, uh, so that they have it.

  • Dragon version two capable of carrying up to seven astronauts.

  • Propulsive Lee, landing almost anywhere in the world.

  • And something that designed has said to be fully reusable.

  • So you can fly this multiple times, allowing for potential dramatic reduction in the cost of access to space.

  • Thank you.

  • Thank you.

lift off.

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