The Touchscreens Controlling SpaceX Dragon on its Historic Mission
What led to this modern approach and the challenges that came along with it
“SpaceX, Dragon, we’re go for launch, let’s light this candle.”
With this command, astronaut Doug Hurley marked the beginning of many historic firsts.
As the Falcon 9 took off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on May 30, it was the first time in nine years, since the end of the Space Shuttle program, that US astronauts launched from American soil.
Atop the Falcon 9 was the Crew Dragon capsule carrying astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station (ISS). Both, the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule, are manufactured by SpaceX, making it the first time NASA astronauts went to space on a spacecraft owned and operated by a private company.
In addition to these historic firsts, there is one other that stands out: it was for the first time that astronauts operated and flew a spacecraft almost entirely on touchscreens.
