LIVE: Launching astronauts from US soil to ISS for first time in last 9 years

[wraper]

Second attempt due to bad weather scrub last Wednesday:

[Shock]

[Lord of nothing]

I hope Mr. Dave is online to. He gave us interesting Information.
--> https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/downlink-freq-for-the-today-space-flight/

Does anyone here try to receive Stuff from the Aircraft?

[rdl]

The weather is still iffy, they just said estimated odds for launch are 50-50. Jim Bridenstein said something like, it's May in Florida - we have to try every chance we get because the next opportunity will probably be no better.

The video feed showing the inside of the Dragon looks truly futuristic.

[Lord of nothing]

Will Mr. Dave do a Stream today to?

[wraper]

8 minutes left. Looks it's a go.

[Shock]

Success! 19 hours to the ISS.

[Mr. Scram]

That was a neat and uneventful launch, just like you'd want them to be. As posted in the TEA thread I saw what seems to be a 87V used during the door closing procedure. Looks like they were using it in the ohms range or continuity mode. I'm quite curious what they were doing, as it seems part of the regular procedure. Maybe it's used to check the door is properly sealed somehow.

[dr.diesel]

^  Those guys need renamed to SpaceX Ninjas!

[Shock]

Purely speculation but likely a manual check to see if the locking mechanism is fully engaged. I've not seen much on the design but they exit to the ISS via the nose so that is essentially a one way door.

[nctnico]

I'm not liking the Nintendo-look of the inside of the new space ship.  Where did all the buttons go?

[Mr. Scram]

Purely speculation but likely a manual check to see if the locking mechanism is fully engaged. I've not seen much on the design but they exit to the ISS via the nose so that is essentially a one way door.

That's my guess too, but I'd like to know how they do it exactly. Maybe some resistance measurement to infer how well the mechanism is engaged?

[Shock]

Could possibly be also the emergency exit release now I've watched it again and them faffing with the handle. So it's probably something like an air bag system for blowing the door open or breaking the seal, either way resistance is a good way to check you have a good electrical connection or that a mechanism is fully connected without powering it up fully.

[Gyro]

In the coverage on Wednesday, they said they were checking for pressure bleed - some kind of resistive pressure sensor?

[Mr. Scram]

In the coverage on Wednesday, they said they were checking for pressure bleed - some kind of resistive pressure sensor?

Possibly, but I'd wager those would be accessible from inside the vehicle and included in the telemetry. This looks like something which is checked once.

[Howardlong]

I'm not liking the Nintendo-look of the inside of the new space ship.  Where did all the buttons go?

I was also thinking the touch screens were an interesting update, I mean it's not like we've ever had a touch gesture misinterpreted!

[eti]

It was superb, but I will just say this:

~ Those space suits look ridiculous - too "trendy".

~ I wish Elon-"I am gonna rule the world, save the planet and then move everyone to the moon"-Musk would butt out, and leave space to REAL ENGINEERS from NASA; having his cringey company stepping in and funding stuff just seems like one GIANT, perpetual commercial marketing stunt & money grab. His cars are SHITE, they're never going to take over, and I find the whole thing very weird, and it doesn't sit well.

[eti]

I'm not liking the Nintendo-look of the inside of the new space ship.  Where did all the buttons go?

It's silly, but then, society is brainwashed because everyone's convinced themselves that touch screens HAVE to be on EVERYTHING, and because they're everywhere else too... 

I can hear this fictional narrator in my head, saying "But this is the science fiction we'd dreamed of YEARS ago, and we hoped one day it would happen - we've MADE it happen, it HAS to happen, and everything HAS to be touch screen because it was our dream" kinda narrative - like it's SO forced and contrived - they HAVE to have touch screen EVERYTHING "just because..." and because some kids had a sci fi fantasy 50 years ago, then those kids grew up, and forced their fantasy to become reality "JUST BECAUSE"

People are idiots, didn't you realise? 

It's likely because Mr Musk is on the scene, and has forced giant iPad-esque touch panels into Teslas... WHY? Who knows! Because it's ... "futuristic" and looks "kewl" - and along with idiotic gullwing doors that serve no purpose except to SCREEEAAAAAAM "FUTURE!!!! FUTURISTIC!!!"  I bet you the cognitive load with those Tesla touch panels is AWFUL! When you're driving a car, you want a PHYSICAL CONTROL - buttons don't freeze and crash, software does!

Ain't NO WAY, ever, these kiddy toy cars are "the foooootcha!" OR taking over anything, it's all a pipe dream from sci fi nerds and Tesla cheerleaders. NO WAY.

[Mr. Scram]

It's silly, but then, society is brainwashed because everyone's convinced themselves that touch screens HAVE to be on EVERYTHING, and because they're everywhere else too... 

I can hear this fictional narrator in my head, saying "But this is the science fiction we'd dreamed of YEARS ago, and we hoped one day it would happen - we've MADE it happen, it HAS to happen, and everything HAS to be touch screen because it was our dream" kinda narrative - like it's SO forced and contrived - they HAVE to have touch screen EVERYTHING "just because..." and because some kids had a sci fi fantasy 50 years ago, then those kids grew up, and forced their fantasy to become reality "JUST BECAUSE"

People are idiots, didn't you realise? 

It's likely because Mr Musk is on the scene, and has forced giant iPad-esque touch panels into Teslas... WHY? Who knows! Because it's ... "futuristic" and looks "kewl" - and along with idiotic gullwing doors that serve no purpose except to SCREEEAAAAAAM "FUTURE!!!! FUTURISTIC!!!"  I bet you the cognitive load with those Tesla touch panels is AWFUL! When you're driving a car, you want a PHYSICAL CONTROL - buttons don't freeze and crash, software does!

Ain't NO WAY, ever, these kiddy toy cars are "the foooootcha!" OR taking over anything, it's all a pipe dream from sci fi nerds and Tesla cheerleaders. NO WAY.

Are you trying to single handedly prove people are idiots? 

[rdl]

I read somewhere that the concept for the look of the suits was done by a Hollywood costume designer.

Starliner has a much more traditional interior design than the Dragon but both are intended to be flown completely automated, so the controls are somewhat redundant anyway.

[Mr. Scram]

I read somewhere that the concept for the look of the suits was done by a Hollywood costume designer.

Starliner has a much more traditional interior design than the Dragon but both are intended to be flown completely automated, so the controls are somewhat redundant anyway.

As far as I understand the craft can be fully controlled from the capsule, even though most spacecraft have historically been flown mostly automatically. In almost all cases crew are simply meaty cargo. Either way, there's little doubt extensive testing was done to ensure functionality of any newly introduced features. Any failure due to a bad choice could effectively end SpaceX at this stage.

[wraper]

I'm not liking the Nintendo-look of the inside of the new space ship.  Where did all the buttons go?

It's silly, but then, society is brainwashed because everyone's convinced themselves that touch screens HAVE to be on EVERYTHING, and because they're everywhere else too... 

I can hear this fictional narrator in my head, saying "But this is the science fiction we'd dreamed of YEARS ago, and we hoped one day it would happen - we've MADE it happen, it HAS to happen, and everything HAS to be touch screen because it was our dream" kinda narrative - like it's SO forced and contrived - they HAVE to have touch screen EVERYTHING "just because..." and because some kids had a sci fi fantasy 50 years ago, then those kids grew up, and forced their fantasy to become reality "JUST BECAUSE"

People are idiots, didn't you realise? 

It's likely because Mr Musk is on the scene, and has forced giant iPad-esque touch panels into Teslas... WHY? Who knows! Because it's ... "futuristic" and looks "kewl" - and along with idiotic gullwing doors that serve no purpose except to SCREEEAAAAAAM "FUTURE!!!! FUTURISTIC!!!"  I bet you the cognitive load with those Tesla touch panels is AWFUL! When you're driving a car, you want a PHYSICAL CONTROL - buttons don't freeze and crash, software does!

Ain't NO WAY, ever, these kiddy toy cars are "the foooootcha!" OR taking over anything, it's all a pipe dream from sci fi nerds and Tesla cheerleaders. NO WAY.

At least in case with astronauts gullwing doors make them way easier to enter/leave while wearing constraining spacesuits. Fashion thing but in this case quite usable feature.
Also do you think this is more practical than 3 touchscreens and a few buttons? If it does the job well, put something that takes minimum space and weight which are quite limited resources in space capsule.

[Shock]

It has to be made before people realize if they need it or not. Certain technologies have downsides, VR has been around since the 80s and it's still a take it or leave it technology. Looks like lithium battery powered cars may not be around in the future. Touch screens are good for displaying and sorting through information but I don't think they will replace manual controls any time soon.

[nctnico]

I read somewhere that the concept for the look of the suits was done by a Hollywood costume designer.

Starliner has a much more traditional interior design than the Dragon but both are intended to be flown completely automated, so the controls are somewhat redundant anyway.

Found an article on the controls:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/30/21275753/nasa-spacex-astronauts-fly-crew-dragon-touchscreen-controls

I'm still puzzled on how they are going to operate those touch screens in high-G (emergency) situations. Fighter jets typically have force sensor sticks for which you don't need to lift or move your arm at all.

[Mr. Scram]

At least in case with astronauts gullwing doors makes them way easier to enter wearing constraining spacesuits. Fashion thing but in this case quite usable feature.
Also you think this is more practical than 3 touchscreens and a few buttons? If it does the job well, put something that takes minimum space and weight which are quite limited resourceы in space capsule.

The Space Shuttle was a not too great compromise in many ways. It should never have existed from an engineering point of view but politics and large amounts of money pumped into facilities across the nation ensured it did anyway.