SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft Simulator Lets You Virtually Dock At The ISS

A new online simulator was released by SpaceX that allows users to try their hand at manually docking with the ISS using the Crew Dragon’s controls, which is quite challenging.

SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon spacecraft will take its first human passengers to the International Space Station on May 27. 

The simulator starts with the Crew Dragon vehicle radically slanted in space. The docking system on the Crew Dragon is pointed at an angle away from the port with which it needs to align. Although there are plenty of controls to fix the vehicle’s position and approach the station, but in space, it’s not as simple as moving forward, backward, or turning. 

Simulator of Crew Dragon docking with @space_station → https://t.co/vVqJfnbuNC pic.twitter.com/ZH3bkT0DhM

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 12, 2020

Controls on the left manipulate the Crew Dragon’s translation: its movements forward, backward, up, down, and side to side which is all relative in space. Whereas controls on the right manipulate the vehicle’s pitching, yawing, and rolling. A heads-up display will let you know if you’re moving in the right direction. But also don’t expect to reach the ISS so quickly. Docking in space is a slow process, with the smallest steps making a big difference.

The Crew Dragon vehicle is designed to automatically dock with the International Space Station without the need for any user input. Still, all of the astronauts are trained to take over the controls of the Crew Dragon if necessary. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, SpaceX’s first passengers, will do some manual flying on their mission, to examine the system.