back to article Anomaly-free SpaceX fires up SuperDracos, ISS astros go iFixit in orbit, and Buran turns 31

Last week SpaceX proved its Crew Dragon abort engines can work, ISS 'nauts embarked on an EVA to fix their particle physics detector, and Searching for Skylab got a director's cut of sorts. SpaceX fires up Crew Dragon's abort engines, nothing explodes SpaceX successfully completed a full-duration static fire test of the …

  1. A K Stiles
    Pint

    Here's hoping ...

    ... those boys and girls at SpaceX have resolved all of the RUDdy issues and we will finally see them launch to the ISS next year, with crew on board.

  2. Stoneshop
    Trollface

    No user-serviceable parts

    We hope the iFixit gang were paying close attention to NASA TV last week as astronauts Luca Parmitano of ESA and NASA's Andrew Morgan started an ambitious set of spacewalks to repair the station's AMS-02 Cosmic Particle Detector.

    Haynes will be quicker having a manual out, as it will end with the line 'Reverse these steps to reassemble.' after describing how to take it apart.

    1. David Given
      Thumb Up

      Re: No user-serviceable parts

      Yep.

      https://haynes.com/en-gb/international-space-station-manual

  3. Gene Cash Silver badge

    WTF? Not serviceable in 2011? After all of Hubble's Troubles?

    That just really is a shocker. ANYTHING mounted to ISS should be astronaut-serviceable. That's a no-brainer.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: WTF? Not serviceable in 2011? After all of Hubble's Troubles?

      Because just like an iPhone, making it serviceable makes it much bigger, heavier and more expensive. Parts that can be swapped while wearing a space suit aren't exactly compact.

      Hubble is reckoned to have cost 3x as much to make it man serviceable (although some of that was NASA being dumb)

  4. defiler

    Skylab on a disc?

    What I'd really want is Searching for Skylab on a BluRay or as an MKV download. That way it's *my* copy rather than Vimeo's.

    Any news on that front?

    1. phuzz Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Skylab on a disc?

      There's a 'Rent' button to stream the film, and a 'Buy' button that literally says "Stream + download anytime", so I'm not sure why didn't realise that you could download a copy.

      If you download it (once you've bought it, obv), it comes as a 3.6GB mp4, which is easy to convert to an mkv if you're that bothered by a file extension.

      1. defiler

        Re: Skylab on a disc?

        Ah! I honestly didn't realise it was a download! I just had a nagging suspicion that it would end up being like an iTunes "purchase" where it's DRM'd up the arse and would disappear as soon as there was an argument over licensing.

        £8.20 spent. .mp4 will be just fine. Cheers for that!

  5. Muscleguy
    Alert

    Is it coming?

    I could have been hit by Skylab. I was living in Auckalnd, NZ at the time and we were in the estimated debris zone. It missed in the end but we all became avid sky watchers hoping to be disappointed.

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