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> What do you do if someone has a bad trip or decides to make poor decisions The space shuttle had a hatch that could be opened to vacuum and was actually pad
by KineticLensman 2y ago
> What do you do if someone has a bad trip or decides to make poor decisions
The space shuttle had a hatch that could be opened to vacuum and was actually padlocked shut on some flights where the mission specialists weren't trusted by the commander [0].
[0] https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/01/solving-a-nasa-mystery-why-did-space-shuttle-commanders-lock-the-hatch/ https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/01/solving-a-nasa-mystery...
- schiffern 2y agoIf you mean STS-51-B, the commander duct taped the hatch. After that flight a padlock was added for a more permanent solution. > “I remember waking up at the beginning of a shift and seeing duct tape on the hatch," Gregory told Ars. "I did not know what the origin of it was, and I didn’t pay any attention to it. I may have, but I don’t recall asking Overmyer about it.” Also this detail gives me pause: > The Space Shuttle has been retired for 13 years, but the padlock remains in the fabric of US spaceflight with Crew Dragon. A commander's lock is an __option__ for NASA's crews flying to the International Space Station on Crew Dragon, as well as private missions. Why even make it optional? Seems better to officially take responsibility out of the commander's hands and make the lock mandatory. This would greatly reduce risk to onboard trust dynamics, since the commander is just following orders instead of signaling mistrust toward the crew. This seems like one of those "who needs all those lifeboats??" situations. Why not avert the Titanic now?