I'm actually surprised they use a touchscreen interface, and they will use that for the manual docking too! https://i.imgur.com/YKiqIqO.jpg
This is what a Martin Baker ejection handle looks like: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/BJTDWG/martin-baker-ejection-seat-...
With all due respect to all the engineers that work at SpaceX, the UI of the cockpit has regressed to the point of pure marketing. Same with the suit design, looks like an awful low budget sci-fi film. Functionalism and the beauty in the way things are without adornment is dying. And, it is painful to watch as a engineer who designs HMI systems. IMO design and aesthetic that emerge out of the way things are is so much more authentic than CEO's inspiration from a sci-fi movie genre that was probably conceived by some guy in 80's in half a dozen hours before before putting up a hollywood set. These movie makers did not study UX/UI and it was all about entertaining the audience.
Just look at how functional and beautiful the aesthetics of space flight was like during the golden era of Apollo 11. There was no design. There was just pure emergence of aesthetics from whatever they were doing to make things functional (ok, with some small exceptions like the logo and US flag on the suits): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpLrp0SW8yg
Checkout the new Mars rover - absolutely zero marketing, pure function - https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8649/nasas-perseverance-mars-rove...
If SpaceX designed a mars rover, it would have gaudy shrouds and plastic covers, probably some LED lights to make it look cool, sleek 30, 45, 60 degree angles everywhere (ohhh space aesthetics), and all kinds of marketing bullshit whereas NASA engineers are focused on what is important. And it is gorgeous without even trying.
They sent voyager up with the Golden record. Those dumb engineers wasted precious mass on something purely for sentimental value.
Also compare with other abort modes Shuttle was a dial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_abort_modes#/med...
If something doesn’t work, SpaceX will fix it. You really don’t give their engineers enough credit.
Or a high budget sci fi film, or a medium budget sci fi film, since literally every film involving a spacesuit ever made had a more reasonable design than the utterly ridiculous, cumbersome, and bulky Hamilton Standard design American astronauts were stuck with for such a long time.
Of all the possible critiques of SpaceX, an attack on the new space suits is a genuinely weird one.
It's mostly just that older suits [0] and scifi suits [1] have painted a picture of there being more stuff involved in a suit to break up the expanse of the torso and the back, so they look weirdly plain. I bet they're perfectly fine functionally, and the single port seems like a good idea, but the do kind of miss the mark for me aesthetically.
Also really hope they figure out how to make flexible necks work because this [2] video of them trying to look to the top of their rocket looks so uncomfortable.
[0] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/AC...
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/19/16104004/science-fiction-...
In an article[1] a month ago, Bob said "I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb to say that the right answer for all flying is not to switch to a touchscreen, necessarily. But for the task that we have and to keep ourselves safe flying close to the ISS, the touchscreen is gonna provide us that capability just fine."
Doug explained "The difference is you’ve got to be very deliberate when you’re putting in input, relative to what you would do with a stick. Because you know, when you’re flying an airplane for example, if I push the stick forward it’s going to go down. I actually have to make a concerted effort to do that with the touchscreen, if that makes sense."
So it sounds like there's more cognitive overhead to use the touch interface for flying. I did think the touchscreen was perfect for the procedure checklists shown extensively in the middle console during today's flight.
In the on-board media event a few minutes ago, he pointed out "One thing that does get lost is there is an extensive button panel down below."
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/04/this-is-certainly-differen...
A stick while flying is useful for weather, but there's no weather in space. In space, a stick probably provides little feedback.
Yet think it makes for a good HN post to "facepalm" at their decisions.
"It's great, I'm so happy, we are all happy family. We had say on how these things work." Wait until they retire to find out the truth.
BTW - On Soyuz they would need sticks, literal sticks, to interact with controls that are out of reach.
Interested what exactly isn't functional about the suits? Most of this post seems to be entirely about looks and outward appearances alone.
The advent of additive machining means everything doesn't have to be right angles and hard corners.[1] As a result the cabin will be safer because your astronauts are less likely to be hurt if there is an unanticipated thrust. Parts can also be made to fit better and to closer tolerances.
With regard to the suits - they look far better than the orange shuttle flight suits. I think that having the umbilical on the thigh was a good innovation. No idea how comfortable they are, but they're only going to be worn for launch & entry. I expect Doug & Bob have already put their shorts & t-shirts on.
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/spacex-dragon-l...
[0] I'm a tiny bit disappointed that they didn't go for a 2001 design, with Eurostile Bold Extended fonts. https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/01/31/2001-a-space-odyss...
[1] Which is the same reason why shift levers in cars are being replaced by knobs and switches - so the passengers don't get hurt by them in an accident.
I don't think so, they're using the screens for docking too according to their own site. [0] You can do the same basic task the pilot would be doing during a manual approach from what I think is Waypoint 1 (meaning Dragon is in front of the ISS pointed mostly towards it). You can see the actual text on the buttons here [1] and they're all critical system tasks like power cycling the controllers, aborts/emergency response commands, or manual triggers for things during landing.
[0] https://iss-sim.spacex.com/
[1] https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2...
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/9243/what-computer...
I'm shifting uncomfortably in my chair just reading that
Personally I found the lack of analog input control harrying toward the end. A toggle between "large" and "normal" thrust mode is all you get. Normal felt like it wasn't fine-grained enough.