Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

This awesome SpaceX simulator lets you pilot the Crew Dragon in space

By

Ahead of its historic mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 27, SpaceX has launched an online simulator that lets you try your hand at docking the Crew Dragon capsule with the orbiting outpost.

“This simulator will familiarize you with the controls of the actual interface used by NASA astronauts to manually pilot the [Crew Dragon] vehicle to the ISS,” SpaceX said in a tweet.

Recommended Videos
Related

The much-anticipated Demo-2 mission is set to put the U.S. back at the forefront of space exploration as NASA looks ahead to a crewed mission to the moon in 2024. It will also mark the end of U.S. reliance on Russia’s Soyuz program, with NASA sending astronauts into space from American soil for the first time since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.

For SpaceX, its first crewed mission comes after years of successful cargo trips to and from the ISS with the Dragon capsule. Demo-2 will be the latest in a string of achievements for the commercial space company, which also has its eye on even grander goals involving missions far beyond the lunar surface.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be inside the Crew Dragon capsule as it approaches the ISS in a couple of weeks. The pair used the simulator for part of their mission preparations, but they shouldn’t have to call on their intense training to dock the capsule as the process is designed to take place autonomously. Still, if something goes awry, they’ll be ready to step in and take control of the spacecraft.

“Crew Dragon’s system includes touchscreens and physical manual control options with robust fault tolerance built into the system,” NASA said this week. The space agency said the touchscreens can be operated with and without the SpaceX spacesuit gloves, and the control system has been thoroughly tested during hundreds of hours of training and joint simulations with the crew.

Hit the question mark at the top left of the simulator for precise instructions on how to navigate the capsule. Final tip from SpaceX for the crucial docking procedure: “Movement in space is slow and requires patience and precision … successful docking is achieved when all green numbers in the center of the interface are below 0.2.” Got that? Now go ahead and see if you have what it takes.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
SpaceX already has a date in mind for next Starship launch
spacex cinematic video previews starship test

SpaceX launched the mighty Starship for the first time in April last year, but it took a full seven months before it became airborne again.

Following the second test flight in November, SpaceX managed to get the Starship off the launchpad again just four months later in a spectacular flight that took place last week.

Read more
Take a high-speed ride on SpaceX’s emergency escape chute
A view from inside Crew Dragon's emergency escape chute.

SpaceX has put a Crew Dragon on Pad 40 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first time. This means that going forward, SpaceX will have two pads to choose from when sending astronauts to space.

Up to now, crews launching on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft lift off from Pad 39A at Kennedy, but having another launch site available gives NASA and SpaceX greater flexibility when planning missions by easing pressure on teams if scheduling issues and traffic conflicts arise.

Read more
SpaceX shares awesome rocket imagery from Starship flight
A view of Earth captured from SpaceX's Starship spacecraft.

SpaceX’s third Starship test flight last Thursday was its best yet, far exceeding the first two missions, which took place last year and ended in huge fireballs just a few minutes in.

This time, the Starship -- comprising the first-stage Super Heavy booster and upper-stage Starship spacecraft -- kept on flying, with both parts reaching their destination points before breaking up on descent.

Read more