SpaceX Is Adding a Glass Dome On Crew Dragon For 360 Views of Space (msn.com) 36
The Crew Dragon capsule poised to fly four civilian astronauts to space this year is getting an upgrade: a glass dome will be added at the top to give space tourists a 360-degree view of the cosmos. MSN reports: The glass dome-shaped window replaces Crew Dragon's docking adapter at its nose since the spacecraft won't be docking to the International Space Station. It's similar to the famed cupola aboard the International Space Station, but Crew Dragon's appears to be an uninterrupted sheet of glass, with no support structures dividing the window's view. Crew Dragon's protective aerodynamic shell that shields the hatch door area during launch will pop open to expose the glass dome once the craft is safely in orbit. Based on the rendering SpaceX tweeted, the cupola would fit at least one crew member from the chest up, revealing panoramic views of space.
NASA, which certified Crew Dragon for astronaut flights last year, said it doesn't plan to use the cupola version of Crew Dragon for NASA astronaut missions and that the window's installation doesn't require NASA safety approval. "We've done all the engineering work, we continue to go through all the analysis and testing and qualification to ensure everything's safe, and that it doesn't preclude any use of this spacecraft for other missions," Benji Reed, SpaceX's director of Crew Dragon mission management, said during a press conference on Tuesday.
NASA, which certified Crew Dragon for astronaut flights last year, said it doesn't plan to use the cupola version of Crew Dragon for NASA astronaut missions and that the window's installation doesn't require NASA safety approval. "We've done all the engineering work, we continue to go through all the analysis and testing and qualification to ensure everything's safe, and that it doesn't preclude any use of this spacecraft for other missions," Benji Reed, SpaceX's director of Crew Dragon mission management, said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Well, if a tiny asteroid wizzes thru your skull... (Score:5, Funny)
At least the last thing you saw was awesome.
Re: Well, if a tiny asteroid wizzes thru your skul (Score:3)
I'd trust hardened glass more to hold them back than aluminium, which is to say not a lot ... but still more.
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Re: Well, if a tiny asteroid wizzes thru your skul (Score:4, Informative)
As a data point, the windows on the ISS are fused silica and borosilicate glass. They have covers that pull over them when they are not in use.
You are correct that the material really doesn't matter at orbital velocity impact speeds. The covers on the ISS windows would save the station if a window failed, but their primary purpose is to prevent the windows becoming clouded by debris or exposure to the surprisingly harsh LEO environment.
Re:Well, if a tiny asteroid wizzes thru your skull (Score:4, Informative)
At least the last thing you saw was awesome.
So, just like a spacesuit with a glass dome over your face.
360 degrees (Score:4, Insightful)
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How does 360 degrees mean anything in 3-dimensional space with no surface?
Give me a 4 pi steradian window please!
(can't believe it is 2010 and /. still cannot render the greek letter pi.)
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+11, that was a bad typo :-(
Of course the same complaint held in 2010 that unicode support was long overdue.
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> Give me a 4 pi steradian window please!
At least 4 pi steradians if not more! Btw. isn't that called a space walk with no body attached?
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How does 360 degrees mean anything in 3-dimensional space with no surface?
Because your head is still in the normal location with eyes on one side of it. So, you can still rotate your body 360 degrees and see all the way around you in that plane.
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Finally (Score:5, Funny)
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Most under appreciated comment of the century. This right here is why you should be able to mod someone up more than once without a loads of alt accounts. Touche. You win the Internetz.
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Or the final episode of 1979 Battlestar Galactica, which introduced us to the "ancient" navigation dome. I always wanted a ship with one of those.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Just let it tumble (Score:2)
Transparent Aluminum Ought To Do It (Score:5, Interesting)
You can see from the hand-written annotation on the linked image that the pitting was approximately 1mm across.
Although a glass windshield for a space vehicle was made popular by NASA's shuttle, we're probably still a ways off from Star Trek's transparent aluminum [youtube.com]. Or are we [youtube.com]?
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hole in the main windscreen of Challenger.
A "pit" is not a "hole". I suppose it could be as long as it feels good about itself.
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Although a glass windshield for a space vehicle was made popular by NASA's shuttle, we're probably still a ways off from Star Trek's transparent aluminum [youtube.com].
A metal cannot be transparent, what with all those free valence electrons - that is basic chemistry. But you could use aluminium oxide, aka Sapphire , which has long been popular for watch faces and lens covers. Manufacturing sapphire windows of that size is a work in progress.
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In other words, whilst you're absolutely right to note that the free valence electrons of a metal precludes natural transparency, it might be possible to cheat and user a laser to knock a few of them off, without disturbing the crystalline lattice. Having
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Not a big deal only 0.63mm deep. The tripled paned shuttle windows were thick and massive, 15.9 mm fused silica outer layer, middle 33 mm (also fused silica) optical pane, and inner 15.8mm aluminosilicate pane (to contain cabin pressure). Plenty of pits recorded after missions and you can see the depth distributions.
https://www.sciencephoto.com/m... [sciencephoto.com]
They'll all die from inhaling Windex (Score:2)
What could go wrong (Score:1)
The only oversight for safety, NASA, doesn't need to be in the loop for this and you're left with last minute engineering designs that are pushed by Elon Musks ego.
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NASA provides oversight when they are dealing with NASA. NASA will not use this - because they need the docking port, so they will not spend our taxpayer dollars on it.
All commercial spaceflight oversight is done by the FAA. It's up to SpaceX to get appropriate approval to fly this.
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The FAA covers launch and reentry. There would be no oversight over systems performance during in orbit flight and beyond. For example, a lunar lander would need zero approvals from the FAA other than at launch time. NASA are the only ones with the experience for this sort of oversight. But the point isn't that NASA isn't doing it, it that nobody other than SpaceX will and in my eyes that's a mistake.
Re:What could go wrong (Score:4, Insightful)
Great Glass Elevator (Score:5, Funny)
It can go sideways, and slantways, and longways, and backways and squareways, and front ways, and any other ways that you can think of.
Faster, faster... faster, faster...
Funniest part of the article is at the end. (Score:3)
Is that part of the SpaceShipFour initiative, which is itself part of the SpaceShip V program?
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Is that part of the SpaceShipFour initiative, which is itself part of the SpaceShip V program?
Let's just worry about making non exploding Starships before we get too full of Spacex and it's cromulence.