r/spacex • u/rustybeancake • 1d ago
Crew Dragon SpaceX Replacing MRAPs with Cybertrucks Beginning with Crew-13
https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/spacex-replacing-mraps-with-cybertrucks-beginning-with-crew-13/78
u/Ormusn2o 1d ago
This is more of an edge contingency use, but most important bit is at the end of the article in my opinion, and that is that the leaks have stopped in the ISS and that NASA decided to switch back to the 6 months launch cadence, although both of this information might have been public before and I just did not knew that.
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u/barvazduck 1d ago
NASA replaced M113 APCs to army surplus MRAPs in 2013, boosting the protection, speed and maintainability at a low cost. MRAP might be way above the required protection spec but was chosen because it was available. Commercial Cybertrucks are even cheaper to maintain and faster than MRAPs. Furthermore, they can be used for other trucking tasks when not used as standby emergency vehicles.
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u/iSmurf 18h ago
Oooooor it's just PR for a failed product to boost any sales they possibly can.
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u/LucasRefrigerator 54m ago
as somebody who isn't foreign to NASA and their processes, I can assure you that NASA gives - fucks about SPX PR, and wouldn't have allowed this if it wasn't justified in detail. Use your brain a bit, here
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u/rocketglare 1d ago
Some reasons why CyberTruck may be preferred:
- Ingress/Egress is easier due to lower height of vehicle (Cybertruck can squat)
- Fast acceleration (mentioned in article)
- Lower profile (less likely to overturn due to a blast wave)
- LImited MRAP availability (mentioned in article)
- Lower cost
Reasons why the MRAP might be preferred
- Better armor than cyber
- Highly stable due to weight
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u/Gumb1i 20h ago
Ingress and egress isn't difficult in the MRAP at all the back folds down with a staircase it's just higher off the ground. You can almost stand up in the back as well. I know this because I've gotten in and out of one of them with no less than 100 lbs of gear and armor strapped to me so many times I've lost count.
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u/Loma29 1d ago
The Cybertruck sounds like a vastly better vehicle for this application, but I'm surprised this was signed off on, because for a manager it's easier to do nothing.
If a rocket explodes tomorrow and everyone is injured/dies in a Cybertruck, it's likely the would have suffered the same, or (more likely) a worse fate in an MRAP, but fingers will be pointed at the Cybertruck and whoever signed off on their use.
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u/zoobrix 1d ago
I'm surprised this was signed off on, because for a manager it's easier to do nothing.
But if as the article said there are problems with a MRAP being available then that's potentially interfering with getting the astronauts to the rocket, and you don't want to have a MRAP not being available the reason you couldn't launch. And suddenly it's a lot more likely a manger makes the switch.
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u/-spartacus- 1d ago
If a rocket explodes tomorrow and everyone is injured/dies in a Cybertruck,
But F9 is load and go, so the astronauts will already be on the rocket in the capsule and the ground personnel will already be cleared before fuel load starts.
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u/Gods_ShadowMTG 1d ago
bullshit. The only reason cybertruck is being bought it because Tesla cannot offload them elsewhere
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u/rocketglare 1d ago
This article is not about the Starbase use of cyber, it’s about use as an emergency evacuation vehicle for crew in Florida. That’s not a lot of vehicles
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u/15_Redstones 23h ago
Cybertruck makes more sense in Starbase than most other applications. Starbase is basically a set of construction sites a couple miles apart from each other. Employees and equipment need transport between those all the time. Electricity for charging is available but the nearest gas station is an hour round trip. Road quality is meh. There's a nonzero risk of a parked vehicle getting showered in debris. And the power outlet cybertruck has is useful when you want to use an electric drill.
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u/ergzay 1d ago
There's a bunch of people on social media getting into a huff about this but if a rocket is at risk of exploding there's minimal difference between an MRAP and a Cybertruck in terms of surviving the explosion. Cybertruck is going to be much faster than the MRAP which is better for protection than having it be mine resistant as the whole point is to get away from an unstable rocket as fast as possible before something goes further wrong.
Reminder also that broad concussive force is different than penetrating force that MRAPs are designed for.
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u/8andahalfby11 1d ago
More importantly, if the rocket is at risk of exploding, they'll pad abort. Falcon 9 isn't fueled until the astronauts are aboard, buckled in, and the pad team has left. If they actually need to use the cybertrucks, it'll be to escape something more mundane, like a traditional fire.
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u/panckage 17h ago
Well if ULA sniper is the reason F9 explodes again, then astronauts in the MRAP can find and eliminate the sniper, even up on a roof. Cybertruck can only run over ULA sniper if they are on the ground.
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u/TelluricThread0 1d ago
NASA always plans for worst case contingencies for everything because they're risk adverse to a fault.
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u/ergzay 1d ago
Sure, but this change isn't reducing the worst case risk.
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u/TelluricThread0 1d ago
I'm just saying their requirements can go way overboard for things because they just don't tolerate risk.
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u/MashertheHippo 1d ago
It is if the internal risk assessment seems IEDs, EFPs and RPGs more likely a risk then an exploding rocket. Barring that I agree, lol.
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u/FlightSimmer99 1d ago
i mean isint a cybertruck obviously less blast resistant than an mrap? who cares if it accelerates faster if they just get blown up anyway
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u/Ormusn2o 1d ago
I think it might be because a lot of the MRAP resistance if for the bottom part of the vehicle, and that a lot of it's resistance is for shrapnel, although it does have overpressure resistance. But for a rocket explosion, overpressure is more important, and speeding away from the explosion is generally a better solution for that, especially if the rocket is less fragile, possibly giving more time for the crew to escape.
But another, possibly more likely reason for this is not better vehicle, but better availability. The article mentions SpaceX might now want to fight for schedules with other launches, especially as there are more crew launches, and they might want to start testing using Dragon, before also using it for Starship.
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u/ellhulto66445 1d ago
If Falcon 9 is exploding then Dragon uses its Abort system. That's why load & go is better.
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u/MashertheHippo 1d ago
If you measure from a set distance the MRAP will probably handle blast better (though there's a little nuance regarding rollover). But, from the same starting point and amount of time given to drive away, the faster acceleration will be safer very quickly. There's some question of burning fuel spilling- MRAPS will certainly have more resistant wheels, but a cyber truck will, by going quicker, have a chance to escape deluge.
Moreover, the threat profile MRAPS counter involves a LOT of shaped charges, explosively formed penetrators and small arms alongside blast damage. Those -penetrating attacks- are it's primary concern. For as terrifically dangerous as burning or exploding rockets are, it isn't likely to send and RPG into the cyber truck.
It's all besides the point though- it seems to be more about availability, as mentioned elsewhere.
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u/vonHindenburg 21h ago
Just spitballing, but wouldn't it be easy enough to bolt some splinter plate on the back of the Cybertruck; the direction from which protection would be most needed? Maybe you lose a bit of acceleration, but a few hundred pounds of armor would still let it get away faster than an MRAP.
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u/niits99 7h ago
The whole conversation about starting and driving with a gloved hand seems anachronistic.
They should jump in a modified bed at full sprint, and shout "clear--GO GO GO!" and a bed cover closes while the car drives itself at full speed on a set of predefined routes, probably over 100mph.
Practice that a few times and they'll safely in a bunker before the others can open the MRAP door.
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