How has the spacecraft cockpit changed in 60 years

On November 16, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, carrying four astronauts. It will be incorporated in the International Space Station and stay for half a year. Of course, the Crew Dragon had a track record of taking astronauts to the International Space Station in May, but at that time it was the first demonstration flight for manned flight using a civilian rocket. This is the first regular mission of NASA.

Then, how have the spacecraft UI and UX launched so far have changed? When comparing the three control panels of the Apollo launched from 1961 to 1965, the space shuttle launched from 1981 to 2011, and the Crew Dragon of SpaceX, which began operation in 2019, the difference is clearly evident.

The Apollo control panel lets you feel the taste of your hand (?) by pressing or turning with your finger. In the case of the space shuttle, you can see outside the window, but the display is stretched. It feels like between Apollo and Crew Dragon. However, in the case of Crew Dragon, the main UI is a color lined with three touch screens that can be operated from beyond the Glover.

Of course, the touch panel itself has existed since ancient times, but at the time it was only a pressure-sensitive type. However, with the advent of the iPhone, capacitive type became the main axis, and if you flip the screen slightly, it moves smoothly. Now, as represented by Tesla, car dashboards tend to stick to large touch panels. When the manufacturer updates, the vehicle is also able to update the function through the reception function at will.

This flow also leads to the spacecraft. The CST-100 Starliner, a space capsule made by Boeing, still has a cockpit with many buttons, but the SpaceX has a structure that eliminates waste similar to Tesla. After this simplification, only one panel can be reduced by playing an international space station consolidation simulator with only virtual reality goggles, or controlling it like a TV game, voice input, and fully automatic operation. Related information can be found here .