UNIT 5
LAB QUESTIONS
SPACEX’S PLAN TO FLY YOU ACROSS THE GLOBE IN 30 MINUTES
1. What helped inspire Ms. Shotwell to become an engineer?
She got into engineering because her mom took her to a Society of Women Engineers
event, and she fell in love with the mechanical engineer that spoke. She was doing really
important work, and she loved her suit.
2. What is the purpose of the Launch Escape System for Dragon? How does it work?
The system actually allows instant escape if there's a problem. It is an integrated launch
escape system. It is principally a pusher, so the propellant system and the thrusters are
integrated into the capsule. Thus, if it detects a rocket obstacle, it pushes the capsule away.
3. What is one specific reason SpaceX is successful according to Ms. Shotwell?
The main reason SpaceX is successful is that they're kind of standing on the shoulders of
giants. They got to look at the rocket industry and the developments to date, and they got
to pick the best ideas, leverage them. They also didn't have technology that they had to
include in their vehicle systems. So they didn't have to design around legacy components
that maybe weren't the most reliable or were particularly expensive, so they really were
able to let physics drive the design of these systems.
4. What is one example of how physics was used to drive SpaceX design?
The tank architecture is a common dome design. Principally it is like two beer cans heaped
together, one full of RP, one full of liquid oxygen, and that saved weight. It allowed them to
take more payload for the same design.
5. Why is the satellite internet project difficult for SpaceX?
Because it is a massive network of literally thousands of low earth orbit satellites to provide
low-cost, high-bandwidth internet connection to every square foot of the Earth.
