- SpaceX released a simulator that teaches you how to dock with the International Space Station.
- According to SpaceX, this the actual interface that astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley used during the Demo-2 mission.
- The magic number: 0.2.
Think you have what it takes to be an astronaut? SpaceX has just the game for you. Elon Musk‘s company created a docking game that puts you up close and personal with the International Space Station (ISS). You can play the game here.
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This weekend, SpaceX launched aboard Crew Dragon—the first American-built spacecraft to haul American astronauts to the ISS in 11 years. According to the new game’s opening slide, this is the actual interface on which astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, Crew Dragon’s inaugural test pilots, have been.
The goal: dock your spacecraft to the ISS. The central interface is packed with a slew of numbers. The green numbers indicate whether corrections need to be made. When they’re below 0.2, it means you’ve successfully docked and beat the simulation. Sounds easy, right? Not so much.
“Movement in space is slow and requires patience and precision,” the game’s creators write in the opening slide. It’s true. This isn’t Grand Theft Auto. The game takes finesse.
Fortunately, the simulator has two sets of controls to help you inch closer and closer to the ISS without smashing into it. On the right, there’s a set of rotation controls that help you guide the spacecraft’s movement. Roll controls the movement around the front-to-back axis of the spacecraft, pitch addresses rotation around the side-to-side axis of the spacecraft, and yaw addresses the spacecraft’s rotation around its vertical axis.
On the left, several position controls help you maneuver up, down, right, left, forward, and backward. Precision toggles in the center of each control help you make super-fine movements.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine bragged on Twitter that he had tested out the simulator and “nailed it on my first try.”
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Unlike previous crewed spacecraft, this impossibly futuristic spacecraft has a tryptic of three touchscreens that house all of the control and flight information. (And, yes, each astronaut will be equipped with touchscreen compatible gloves.)
“The control system has been thoroughly tested during the hundreds of hours of training and joint simulations with the crew in both suited and non-suited situations to demonstrate full functionality over the entire expected operating range of Crew Dragon,” NASA said in a prepared statement.
In March 2019, the Dragon vehicle became the first in history to autonomously dock with the ISS. It’s nearly completely autonomous, meaning astronauts can almost sit back and enjoy the ride.
If things go sideways, the spacefarers can quickly jump in and take control of the craft. How’d the inaugural flight go? Let’s hear it straight from NASA.
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On Earth, as in space, the game takes time. Looks like we’ll be spending all weekend practicing our docking game.
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