I would think that part of the package will be some deep familiarization with the craft anyway. Also I think that there WILL be some manual controls like attitude control. And in a pinch you also WILL want to be able to assure that the antenna points the right way to keep up communications. Note that neither SpaceX nor Musk have even touched the word "tourist" here.I definitely would want to be able to do some troubleshooting, rebooting computers and so on. I doubt very much that anyone going for that would be happy with just being strapped in and being told to enjoy the ride.
My opinion (of course) The discussions about there not being enough demand for Falcon Heavy launches have now been put to rest. Plus, the business model has expanded in the near term to include private spaceflight for significant(?) profit. It also brings the re-use model into focus since this mission is not affordable without reuse.
Quote from: JamesH65 on 03/01/2017 11:50 amSo anyone on board one of these things is a passenger (I think the word tourist is inappropriate), whether they are paid by SpaceX to be there or have paid to be there.A passenger that has no specific destination and is along for the ride and sightseeing is a tourist.Actually,Tourist: a person who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure.
So anyone on board one of these things is a passenger (I think the word tourist is inappropriate), whether they are paid by SpaceX to be there or have paid to be there.
If all these 'tourists' get out of it is a week of weightlessness, and peering at the Moon through the porthole, I think it would not be worth the money. Now, if they are trained to operate experiments located in the trunk it gets more interesting. And if there are cameras back there they would get a better view on their internal screens (Dragon 2 has great displays) than looking through a smudged window.
Maybe this ultimately gets it's own thread, maybe I've missed the discussion elsewhere, but what will these passengers do during the trip? They are unlikely to be scientists so not much heavy science going on. It's an automated spacecraft so they won't have near the workload of an Apollo flight in that regard. There's no landing, orbiting, or EVA's to contend with. That leaves 8-10 days for CNN and selfies. How many times can you watch Apollo 13 and 2001? Just wondering what they might actually do.
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 02/28/2017 04:19 pmEric Berger has a good piece on what parts of NASA may really be thinking about yesterday's announcement: https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/02/if-you-think-nasa-is-frustrated-with-spacex-youre-probably-right/Edit: clarifiedI find that to be a rather negative article by Eric Berger, to be honest. At one point, in support of his overall argument, he quotes a certain Ms. Dittmar, who provides a negative view on Musk's endeavours. Only to reveal that Ms. Dittmar "serves as executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, the organization formed by the principal contractors behind NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft".Well shock and horror, the contractors building the SLS have bad things to say about SpaceX. What a surprise. The general gist of it seems to be that NASA is bending over backwards for SpaceX despite SpaceX's commercial crew program slipping to 2018. No mention is made, however, of the fact that 2018 is still a year earlier than Boeing - a long established "old Space" company - can produce their version of a commercial crew vehicle.
Eric Berger has a good piece on what parts of NASA may really be thinking about yesterday's announcement: https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/02/if-you-think-nasa-is-frustrated-with-spacex-youre-probably-right/Edit: clarified
There are things said publicly by NASA, and there are things said privately. I am fortunate to have some pretty good contacts high in NASA's administration who speak to me privately. They are not amused or enthused by this.I will agree with you that a lot of younger engineers at NASA are very rah-rah when it comes to SpaceX. They see what the company is doing, and they love it. But, for the most part, they don't make the decisions.
Are they hams? Could be the greatest DX-pedition in history.
There's no landing, orbiting, or EVA's to contend with. That leaves 8-10 days for CNN and selfies. How many times can you watch Apollo 13 and 2001?
Quote from: Elvis in Space on 03/01/2017 02:56 pmThere's no landing, orbiting, or EVA's to contend with. That leaves 8-10 days for CNN and selfies. How many times can you watch Apollo 13 and 2001?Do we know that there would be no EVAs? How long would it take to train two paying passengers to do EVAs using SpaceX spacesuits? Doing an EVA while the Dragon is passing the Moon would be spectacular. Can you imagine floating in space next to the Dragon, watching the craters of the Moon sliding past, a few hundred km away?
Quote from: Mongo62 on 03/01/2017 04:02 pmQuote from: Elvis in Space on 03/01/2017 02:56 pmThere's no landing, orbiting, or EVA's to contend with. That leaves 8-10 days for CNN and selfies. How many times can you watch Apollo 13 and 2001?Do we know that there would be no EVAs? How long would it take to train two paying passengers to do EVAs using SpaceX spacesuits? Doing an EVA while the Dragon is passing the Moon would be spectacular. Can you imagine floating in space next to the Dragon, watching the craters of the Moon sliding past, a few hundred km away?D2 has no airlock, AFAIK.
Capture the cabin air with a pump, then just open the hatch? After the EVA is completed, close the hatch and return the air to the cabin.
Quote from: Mongo62 on 03/01/2017 04:35 pmCapture the cabin air with a pump, then just open the hatch? After the EVA is completed, close the hatch and return the air to the cabin.a. What pumps? Never been done in space before.b. Not everything in the cabin is compatible with a vacuum.c. Again, the suits are not EVA suits.