WASHINGTON — Delays in the completion of a new Crew Dragon spacecraft will extend the stay of astronauts on the International Space Station by a month, including two who have been there since June.…
This means Butch & Suni may actually still be up there at the start of April! If so, their mission managers should solemnly inform them of a substantial further delay (as an April Fools’ Day prank).
The managers could claim that a review had discovered the possibility for out-of-family COM (centre of mass) scenarios in the capsule as a result of the changes to the crew complement.
“As you both surely know, assumptions about the COM are built in to multiple systems throughout the vehicle. If things go wrong, the worst case scenario could involve both helium leaks, and an unexpected thermal load on the thrusters, leading to malformation of some Teflon seals and a potentially significant loss of thrust … oh no, hang on … that was Starliner not Dragon. Sorry about that guys. My bad. April Fool!”
This means Butch & Suni may actually still be up there at the start of April! If so, their mission managers should solemnly inform them of a substantial further delay (as an April Fools’ Day prank).
The managers could claim that a review had discovered the possibility for out-of-family COM (centre of mass) scenarios in the capsule as a result of the changes to the crew complement.
“As you both surely know, assumptions about the COM are built in to multiple systems throughout the vehicle. If things go wrong, the worst case scenario could involve both helium leaks, and an unexpected thermal load on the thrusters, leading to malformation of some Teflon seals and a potentially significant loss of thrust … oh no, hang on … that was Starliner not Dragon. Sorry about that guys. My bad. April Fool!”