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SpaceX Reveals the Controls of Its Dragon Spacecraft For the First Time (arstechnica.com)
On Monday, SpaceX let reporters take a look inside its Crew Dragon capsule for the first time, as well as hear from the four astronauts: Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins. Ars Technica writes about several pieces of hardware observed at the event in Hawthorne, California: During the event at SpaceX, engineers guided reporters through various displays. Outside, under a resplendent blue sky with the rolling hills of Palos Verdes in the distance, media was invited to crawl into a low-fidelity mockup of the crew Dragon spacecraft. This was a roomy vehicle, especially in comparison to NASA's current ride to the space station, a cramped Soyuz with a capacity of three. The Dragon will comfortably carry a normal complement of four for NASA, but seven seats can fit inside. On the second floor of its main factory, where astronauts have trained in recent years, SpaceX also showed off two simulators publicly for the first time. This marked the first time SpaceX has revealed details about the controls and the interior of its crewed spacecraft. The cockpit simulator demonstrated the controls that Dragon astronauts will have at their command. In comparison to the space shuttle and its more than 1,000 buttons, switches, and controls, the Dragon capsule has a modest array of three flat screens and two rows of buttons below.
These touch screens selectively display the necessary controls during flight and are the primary interface astronauts have with the vehicle. Below are two rows of manual buttons, 38 in total, that provide back-up control of the spacecraft. Many of the buttons are situated beneath clear panels, intended to never be used, because they are often the third option after the touch screens and ground control of the Dragon. One control stood out -- a large black and red handle in the middle of the console with "EJECT" printed in clear white letters above it. This initiates the launch escape system, which rapidly pulls the spacecraft away from the rocket in the case of an emergency during the ascent into space. It must be pulled, then twisted. Normally the flight computers would initiate such a maneuver, but the prominence of the escape system handle underlines its importance. Notably, after the vehicle reaches orbit, this control becomes "deadened," such that accidentally pulling it in space would do nothing. CNBC has included several pictures of the Crew Dragon capsule mock-up in their report. CNN also has a first look video with text and quotes from the astronauts.
These touch screens selectively display the necessary controls during flight and are the primary interface astronauts have with the vehicle. Below are two rows of manual buttons, 38 in total, that provide back-up control of the spacecraft. Many of the buttons are situated beneath clear panels, intended to never be used, because they are often the third option after the touch screens and ground control of the Dragon. One control stood out -- a large black and red handle in the middle of the console with "EJECT" printed in clear white letters above it. This initiates the launch escape system, which rapidly pulls the spacecraft away from the rocket in the case of an emergency during the ascent into space. It must be pulled, then twisted. Normally the flight computers would initiate such a maneuver, but the prominence of the escape system handle underlines its importance. Notably, after the vehicle reaches orbit, this control becomes "deadened," such that accidentally pulling it in space would do nothing. CNBC has included several pictures of the Crew Dragon capsule mock-up in their report. CNN also has a first look video with text and quotes from the astronauts.
this control becomes "deadened," such that accidentally pulling it in space would do nothing.
Cool, the whole thing looks neat. Too bad I'll never get to ride in it, as a pilot OR a passenger. (Well, maybe ashes, but I doubt I'd pass the fitness exam even then.)
... "
That being said: After a successful launch and orbit insertion -- Musk: "Here, hold my beer and watch this! You just need to pull and turn it the other way and
If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
thats nice but how many womyn and transgenders will be on the crew? Are there any incel engineers with shirts with scantily clad women we can criticize?
Yes, we all know that *BSD is a failure, but why? Why did *BSD die? Once you get past the fact that *BSD is fragmented between a myriad of incompatible kernels, there is the historical record of failure and of failed operating systems. *BSD experienced moderate success about 20 years ago in academic circles. Since then it has been in steady decline. We all know *BSD effectively lost all of its market share but why? Is it the problematic personalities of many of the key players? Or is it larger than their troubled personas?
The record is unambiguously clear on one thing: no operating system has ever come back from the grave. Efforts to resuscitate *BSD are one step away from spiritualists wishing to communicate with the dead. As the situation grows more desperate for the adherents of this doomed OS, the sorrow takes hold. An unremitting gloom has settled in. Now is the end time for *BSD.
If all this money was spent on the poor and disadvantaged.
Its great they can finally will be able to fly on their own.
a bid deal and huge step up from all those fake movie studio flights..... or russian airship charters...
I have trouble operating touchscreens in a moving car. I wonder what it'll be to operate them atop a rocket pulling multiple g's.
This is your sig. There are thousands more, but this one is yours.
Three touch screens and lack of buttons... there are some physical knobs hard to tell from the images... overall looks painful.
High G's...Vibrations...space suite gloves and touch screens??
the Dragon capsule has a modest array of three flat screens and two rows of buttons
People won't like being forced to use buttons. Either allow them to use their keyboard/mouse/gamepad of choice or the average consumer just isn't going to buy this thing.
There is no chance that is going to work in a vacuum. Are we supposed to believe this nonsense?
And double LOL at their touchscreens! Just what you need when you're trying to pilot a spacecraft. Laughable.
bigger question , will it hold the saudi princes camels
I donno about that "space suit" though. What will THAT thing look like and act if you put even half an atmosphere of pressure into it?
The Pillsbury Doughboy?
Touchscreens aren't better interfaces. For most uses they are worse, especially when used in a vehicle.
They are only popular because they are cheaper to reconfigure than panels of physical buttons/knobs and switches.
They showed off both the controls and the interior in 2014. Neither were final at the time to be sure (the controls have changed dramatically and the wall panels were missing), but this is definitely not the first time they've shown the controls or the interior. The controls they're showing now don't appear to be final either, as the control panels aren't fully populated: one of them just has a pull ring instead of any actual controls.
They appear to have given up any illusions of manual piloting, as the most prominent part of the original control interface that is missing is the manual joystick.
Was better, just a little cramped.
How do you operate it when wearing a suit? What if there's excessive condensation? What if the panel cracks? What if the backlight dies? What about excessive vibration? What about accidental touch?
I hardly trust *cars* without physical buttons. Space ships seem pretty flippin dangerous.
They could knock that button count down by half if they would just install the latest version of MechJeb.
Beware of Sales Reps bearing gifts.
Does it have an 'SCE to AUX' switch? AC
I like it, man! Far out! It's groovy!
why you always call liar, but dont show the lie? Is it an inside joke I'm not getting?