Unexpected! SpaceX Revealed SHUT DOWN Dragon After Starship...Elon's Reaction!

Starship is really a replacement it's obsoletes Falcon 9 and the Dragon capsule um now we're not shutting down Falcon we are not shutting down Dragon we you know will'll be flying that for you know six to eight more years but ultimately people are going to want to fly on Starship it's bigger it's more comfortable it will be less expensive and we will have flown it so many more times stop l launching Dragon yeah that would be a real nightmare for NASA and many other organizations as the dragon spacecraft plays a vital role in today's space operations however this shift is indeed part of spacex's plan as steady progress with Starship suggests it will eventually replace both their current rockets and spacecraft including Dragon this Future Vision was recently hinted at by spacex's CEO Elon Musk so perhaps we should start getting used to the idea now in today's episode of great SpaceX we'll also touch on the ISS space suit challenges and the ongoing disagreement between Russia and the us over leak issues let's go ahead and Dive Right In the last decade has marked a transitional era for NASA filled with both obstacles and triumphs following the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011 NASA faced a significant setback the loss of independent human space flight capabilities for nearly a decade the agency was was dependent on Russian soou spacecraft to send its astronauts to the International Space Station however spacex's Dragon spacecraft arrived just in time to fill the Gap and reignite American crude launches when NASA astronauts boarded dragon on May 30th of 2020 for the historic demo 2 mission it marked the first time in nearly 10 years that they had launched from American soil on an American spacecraft bringing human space flight back to the US under NASA 's Wing since that breakthrough dragon has consistently made history the spacecraft has launched nine crude flights for NASA averaging about two missions per year and providing a critical Lifeline to the ISS each Mission has reinforced dragon's reliability and capability helping to keep the ISS operational and advancing research and international Partnerships in space in addition to its crewed missions SpaceX has completed over 30 cargo resupply missions to the ISS steadily delivering essential supplies experiments and equipment to keep the station running smoothly but dragon's contributions aren't limited to NASA the spacecraft has also enabled groundbreaking private missions marking a new era of commercial space flight missions like Axiom inspiration 4 and Polaris Dawn have all used Dragon to reach space each representing significant strides in human space flights and opening the doors for private citizens and research initiatives alike inspiration 4 for example made history as the first all civilian crude mission to orbit while the Polaris Dawn Mission which launched back on September 10th of this year marked a medley of mil Stones such as the highest Earth orbit ever flown by crude spacecraft the first ever commercial spacewalk testing of the starlink laser-based communications in space and the research on the effects of space radiation and space flight on human health dragon's importance goes beyond its own impressive achievements and extends into the broader industry compe crew Vehicles such as Boeing's Starliner have struggled to match its performance and reliability despite years of development and billions in funding Starliner has yet to complete a crude mission for NASA similarly Sierra Nevada's Dreamchaser holds promise as a future cargo and crew vehicle but it has yet to reach the Launchpad in this competitive field dragon has emerged as a reliable Workhorse supporting NASA private missions and Partnerships that continue to expand human presence in low earth orbit however this raises a crucial question what would happen if Dragon were to suddenly retire the potential impact on the Aerospace industry would be profound without Dragon NASA would find itself once again facing limited options for crude space access given recent geopolitical Dynamics the US has been working to reduce its Reliance on Russian soed Vehicles this shift has made Dragon even more vital ensuring that the ISS and future space initiatives have a steady reliable us-based supply line without Dragon plans for the ISS and the next generation of space stations could face serious setbacks yet as revolutionary as dragon has been it's clear that SpaceX is already looking ahead musk recently addressed this shift on X stating dragon is awesome as a capsule architecture but we need to move beyond that to rapidly reusable propulsive Landers this signals spacex's intent to transition from Dragon not because the spacecraft has become obsolete but because its architecture is limited in comparison to the company's upcoming Ambitions dragon is a capsule with limited reusability and a payload capacity optimized for Leo missions which is well suited for today's needs however it falls short for spacex's larger vision of establishing permanent bases on the Moon Mars and Beyond a natural question would then arise why not just build a bigger version of dragon the answer lies in its fundamental design expanding dragon's size would require a larger rocket and would not address some of the intrinsic limitations of a capsule design particularly around reusability and Landing flexibility Dragon returns to earth using parachutes and a splash down Landing which while reliable can be limiting and less efficient than a vehicle with propulsive Landing capabilities to truly revolutionize space travel SpaceX needs a vehicle that not only carries more payload but also lands more precisely and with full reusability this is where Starship enters the picture Starship is designed to be entirely reusable from its super heavy booster to the Starship spacecraft itself this design allows for a rapid turnaround drastically reducing the cost per launch and opening the door to more frequent and affordable missions unlike Dragon which relies on parachutes and splash Downs Starship will use propulsive Landing allowing it to touch down precisely and safely On Solid ground or the lunar surface starship's capabilities far exceed those dragon with a massive payload capacity of up to 200 tons or seating for 100 passengers making it well suited for lunar Martian and even deep space missions SpaceX is advancing Starship development at an impressive rate perfecting its super heavy booster and refining vertical Landing systems as SpaceX sets its sights higher the eventual retirement of dragon feels inevitable moving from Dragon to Starship is a natural Evolution reflecting spacex's Relentless commitment to rapid reusability and groundbreaking Innovation so here's to both dragon and Starship as we celebrate past achievements we eagerly anticipate a future filled with Limitless exploration if you're excited to see what comes next comment Dragon Starship below and don't forget to like share and subscribe to follow spacex's Journey forward now let's dive into the latest updates on the ISS both the ISS and its equipment like the space suits used for Evas are decades old leading to issues such as module leaks and space suit malfunctions that impact Eva activities let's start with the space suits Crew 8 Commander Matthew Dominic recently acknowledged the age of the space suits saying none of our space suits are spring chickens as we would say and so we will expect to see some hardware issues with repeated use NASA's extra vehicular Mobility unit was originally developed in the 1970s and used since the 198 during the space shuttle program over time these suits have faced several coolant leaks including a serious incident in 2013 when Italian astronaut Luca parmitano's helmet began filling with water mid spacewalk more recently a planned crew a spacewalk on June 24th was aborted after a coolant briefly leaked from an umbilical connector on astronaut Tracy Dyson's spacit though no one was in immediate danger it underscored the need to address space suit durability Dominic and emphasized NASA's commitment to refining spacewalk protocols stating we are always ready to stop or turn in another direction to work a contingency procedure and that is exactly what we did as NASA moves toward replacing the ISS with commercial stations they'll be looking for Next Generation space suits suitable for ISS missions and Beyond initially NASA awarded contracts to colins's Aerospace and axium space for this Mission but colins Aerospace has since stepped back due to scheduling conflicts while axium space has announced progress on its suit Financial challenges have raised uncertainties about its timeline this presents a potential opportunity for SpaceX whose Eva suit tested on the Polaris Dawn Mission includes Advanced features like Starling connectivity with spacex's track record their Eva suit could become a strong Contender now let's move on to the ongoing issue of ISS module leaks as the ISS ages leaks have become more frequent particularly in Russia modules NASA and Ross Cosmos continue to collaborate on repairs with Dominic noting a very open and transparent relationship between astronuts on both sides the current leaks primarily affect the crew during cargo unloading operations though there are ongoing disagreements over their causes specifically a persistent leak in the Russian vesda modules vble or PRK has forced the crew to seal off the affected area in a recent ISS advisory committee meeting NASA's Bob Cabana stated although the teams continue to investigate the US and Russian technical teams don't have a common understanding of what the likely root cause is Russian Engineers attribute the cracks to high cyclic fatigue from microv vibrations while NASA suggests a combination of factors including pressure and material stresses could be involved despite differences both sides are working towards Solutions NASA has downplayed immediate concerns reporting that recent repairs reduced the leak rate by a third though they remained concerned about the PRK issues potential for catastrophic failure meanwhile Russia believes such a scenario is unlikely as the ISS nears the end of its lifespan finding consensus and solutions is critical for its remaining years these ongoing issues underscore NASA's need to accelerate progress on commercial space stations here spacex's role remains vital first with dragon and in the future with Starship well folks that's about it for today's episode thank you so much for tuning in and as always this has been Kevin from great SpaceX until next time keep looking up