Astronaut: SpaceX Dragon beats shuttle, Soyuz for launching:
SpaceX delivered its second crew of astronauts to the International Space Station late Monday night, just 27 hours after their launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
In their first press conference from orbit, the four astronauts described Sunday night's launch and their first impressions of the space station, their new home until spring.
Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi—who became only the third person to launch aboard three kinds of spacecraft—said "the Dragon is the best, short answer."
[...] First-time space flyer Victor Glover, the crew's pilot, said the G-forces gradually built up after the rocket's second stage kicked in.
"In a fighter, you can't hold 4 G's for several minutes, not most aircraft," Glover noted. "I've been able to feel that for a few seconds. But to have that for an extended period was just truly amazing."
Once reaching orbit, "it's surreal," he added. "I've seen tons of pictures. But when I first looked out the window at the Earth, it's hard to describe. There are no words ... It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime feeling."
[...] The astronauts chose a small, plush Baby Yoda as their zero-gravity indicator for the same reason—"when you see him, it's hard not to smile," said commander Mike Hopkins. The crew had started watching the Disney and "Star Wars" TV series, "The Mandalorian," featuring Baby Yoda.
"The ride into space was probably a little rougher than Baby Yoda was used to," Hopkins said.
The SpaceX crew—which also includes Shannon Walker—joined one other American and two Russians at the orbiting outpost. It's the first time the space station has had seven long-term crew members all at once, which is expected to boost scientific output.
(Score: 3, Touché) by takyon on Friday November 20 2020, @02:12PM (3 children)
So it's more fun and has a lot of fancy touchscreens and less manual controls. And maybe a better window view. I was wondering if the ride could be smoother given a particular rocket's performance. More fuel, less acceleration.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by choose another one on Friday November 20 2020, @03:10PM (1 child)
At a guess it's probably quite a bit smoother than the shuttle as all engines throttle (they throttle down through max-q for instance), once lit, the shuttle SRBs were basically full on until burned out (or burned through..). Compared to Soyuz, not sure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 21 2020, @11:26PM
IIRC, the SRBs did in fact throttle back at max-q. They did this by layering different fuel mixtures inside the rocket, with each layer having a known burn time. It was a crude system, but it worked.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 20 2020, @07:23PM
I'd never remove the fun factor from all of this stuff. Like the brief in the article even hits on, hitting 4gs for several minutes was "just truly amazing".
Given the choice, I'm not sure most astronauts would pick a smoother ride!
Even back here on Earth. When you're in a beast of a car, would you rather go from let's say 0 to 120 with a magic warp if it were possible, or would you rather *feel* it? It's just fun!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 20 2020, @02:22PM (4 children)
I understand these kind of stories in the big picture, but this sounds like it was picked up out of Reader's Digest or People Magazine.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday November 20 2020, @04:44PM (3 children)
It was the Associated Press.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday November 20 2020, @05:21PM (2 children)
Still, it almost sounds like a paid testimonial. But I am inclined to believe that Dragon is way better.
Now I can believe that Dragon is fantastic compared to Soyuz. Just look at interior pictures of both. Soyuz is like being packed in a can of sardines. They must have to wear a diaper good for the duration until they reach the ISS. And not be able to move their limbs much.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 20 2020, @09:57PM (1 child)
It is all warm and fuzzy PR BS. I'm sure that whatever is on the drawing boards right now to replace Dragon will be nicer, etc. It would have been a slightly more interesting story if it was that the Soyuz capsule was more spacious and comfortable than Dragon. Your run of the mill Amtrak commuter car is way more comfortable than your 1870s wooden bench commuter car, but does that surprise anyone?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 21 2020, @11:29PM
The advantage over Soyuz is obvious as you say, but being better than the Shuttle is a bit of a surprise.