@CashUNutt specifically addressed the Gemini-Agena missions, where the Gemini had to rendezvous with the Agena target vehicle. Neil Armstrong found himself in a spot of bother with one of those. There was also a Gemini mission where two spacecraft (Gemini 6A and Gemini 7) did a rendezvous in orbit.
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OK, my bad. I was thinking of the Mercury missions.
At any rate it’s not just a matter of making the calculations. It’s a matter of getting to the location at the right time to meet up with the other spacecraft. The ISS doesn’t pass the same spot every 30-60 minutes.
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The Gemini-Agenda docking mission also had the Agenda craft launch only 1 hour 41 minutes ahead of the crewed Gemini capsule that was supposed to rendezvous with it, so they almost certainly cleared the mission for launch as a package set and not as individual launches… Also, all orbital docking launches, including Gemini’s, have very tight launch windows because of the velocities involved in rendezvous. Yes, recalculating the flight trajectory is (relatively) trivial, but orbital mechanics means that the craft may not have the necessary fuel or delta-V to maneuver into position to dock with the orbiting craft if it launches outside of that window. The movie Gravity is not a good model to use as a basis for how easy it is to transfer from one orbital position to another. 
Edit: Also, I went looking, and the Shuttle was never allowed to extend a scheduled hold beyond its expected duration during an ISS launch because the window was only 10 minutes, and the Shuttle had a LOT more orbital maneuverability than Dragon does.
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I’d be more positive about this if Musk wasn’t such an appalling individual.
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They were mentioning field mills - those are used to measure the electrical field/voltage change with height. You might be surprised at how many volts can be between your head and your feet just on a clear day. Then imagine a thunderstorm, or that you’re a 300’ tall rocket. In a thunderstorm.
Field mills are common in outdoor explosive test ranges. Mills read over “x”, everybody inside for a game of cards…
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Thanks, and I stand corrected. I guess the Dragon is pretty much a taxicab, then. Not that I’m complaining.
Von Braun wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but I loved the moon landings just the same.
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Also, the President plans to turn the launch – when successful – into a campaign rally.
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Everything Trump touches dies. Including today’s launch, it seems.
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Bread and circuses.
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Do they have the lights inside the helmets to illuminate their faces?
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Apollo had Wernher von Braun.
@CashUNutt vCoke.
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They don’t look like they are designed for a full vacuum. They don’t have the bulk that joints designed to be flexible when fully pressurized create, even when they are covered by an outer layer of fabric. So this will be the first time Americans have traveled to space in a new spaceship without wearing full pressure suits.
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But if you had an orbital maneuvering system with a little more delta v, or a restartable upper stage, you could retry twice* every twenty four hours ** when the orbit of the ISS passed over. If you’re in the same plane as your target, it is fairly easy to catch up to it by starting in a lower orbit.
*possibly 4 times, since the ISS has a greater inclination than KSC.
** really every sidereal day, but who’s counting.
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Orbital alignment isn’t the only consideration for a valid launch window either, though. Potential abort recovery resource availability, crew sleep schedules on the launch vehicle and the ISS, travel time, etc. also play a part in narrowing down what your options are. Sometimes (almost always, really) the risk of having to scrub a launch is cheaper than overbuilding your launch vehicle to be able to brute-force its way around a scrub condition.
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I mean, sure, but it’s a somewhat weird comparison to make. Actual Nazi rocket scientist vs…what, Paypal billionaire Twitter irritant and general jerk?
I guess that, if they are unexpectedly exposed to the vacuum of space, then a lack of space suits won’t be the only issue.
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Turns out Elon can’t control the weather – what a scrub: Rain, clouds delay historic manned SpaceX-NASA launch
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Well, those things will happen when you hire Michael Bay’s Hollywood spacesuit designer to make the suits look cool 
To be fair, though, they looked a bit slicker when they were introduced, with the dark, anonymizing mirror visor, tailor-fit to the fashion models who were wearing them.
The working suits don’t have that cool dark visor, and they’re tailor-fit to the astronauts, not fashion models. And Doug Hurley’s call sign is “Chunky” for a reason. 
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They aren’t designed to be comfortable for long-term use, but they are most certainly full pressure suits.
If and when they’re inflated in vacuum, they will be a lot more balloon-like, and, yes, very stiff and difficult to move in. But they’re only intended for emergencies - to keep the astronauts alive inside the capsule during an unexpected depressurization. They’re not intended for EVA, for moving about outside the capsule, or for any extended use.
It’s the equivalent of the Shuttle’s ACES “pumpkin suit” or the Russian Sokol suit.
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Whatever you say about Elon Musk himself, SpaceX is awesome. 
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