SpaceX Presents ISS Docking Simulator
The official website of SpaceX has a simulator, which enables us to dock a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. An internet browser is enough to run it.
Anyone who wonders how spacecraft "park" at the International Space Station can now try to perform this maneuver by themselves. You don't have to get an astronaut training. A moment of time, a working computer or a smartphone and a browser is all you need. You can find the simulator on the SpaceX website.
- SpaceX published a browser-based simulator, where everyone can see what a manual docking with Dragon spacecraft to ISS looks like;
- The interface in the simulator looks very similar to the one in the real Dragon;
- The first manned flight on the Dragon spacecraft will take place on May 27; its purpose is to test systems and dock to ISS.
Some time ago, we wrote about the new cockpit in the Dragon spacecraft, using touchscreens. The docking simulator on SpaceX's website has a very similar interface to the real one. The touchscreens and controls correspond to the real ones that astronauts will use. Awareness of this increases the emotion during flight.
However, it should be added that astronauts will rather rarely experience this type of sensation. Dragon docks completely autonomously. Manual execution of this maneuver, which is illustrated by the simulator, will be needed only in exceptional situations. Even in such a case, it will not be a major obstacle because, as we can see for ourselves, it is not so complicated.
We managed to do it on our third try. And that's probably because it was then we bothered to read the manual. Of course, in real microgravity conditions it can be a little more difficult than sitting in front of a computer with a coffee in hand. Nevertheless, this simulator shows how much progress has been made in space technology.
Controlling a spaceship used to require switching hundreds of buttons on a desktop that looked like a nuclear reactor control panel from the 1980s. Today it's more like playing a game with a pad or a touch screen. The rest is taken care of by computers, making adjustments and dosing the power of the engines.
The first manned flight on the Dragon will take place on 27 May. The Falcon 9 rocket will take astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behken into the orbit. Once there, they will test the systems and try to dock to the ISS. This will be the first launch of a manned rocket from the USA since 2011, when the space shuttle program has eneded.
