SpaceX Adding Crew Dragon Glass Dome for 360° Views of Space
DannyB writes:
SpaceX is adding a glass dome on Crew Dragon for 360 views of space:
A Crew Dragon version tailored for tourists gets a better view
The Crew Dragon capsule poised to fly four civilian astronauts to space this year is getting an upgrade: a glass dome will be added at the top to give space tourists a 360-degree view of the cosmos. Plans for the window were announced on Tuesday as SpaceX and the team managing the tourist mission, Inspiration4, revealed the full crew for the upcoming expedition.
The glass dome-shaped window replaces Crew Dragon's docking adapter at its nose since the spacecraft won't be docking to the International Space Station. It's similar to the famed cupola aboard the International Space Station, but Crew Dragon's appears to be an uninterrupted sheet of glass, with no support structures dividing the window's view.
[...] Crew Dragon's protective aerodynamic shell that shields the hatch door area during launch will pop open to expose the glass dome once the craft is safely in orbit.
Left unanswered was whether flash photography will be permitted.
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