New answers tagged

3 votes

How does SpaceX prevent fuel from cluttering together in zero G

In practice it's not worth preventing in large fuel tanks. The fuel is simply assumed to have floated away from the engines and any attempt to light them will at best fail (and at worst blow up your ...
Loren Pechtel's user avatar
5 votes

Why would astronauts need a wristwatch and a separate timer?

Speaking as a pilot who uses egg timers in the cockpit one of the primary reasons is convenience: they are quick and easy to set and change, whereas setting timers on a watch are actually a real pain ...
GdD's user avatar
  • 19.9k
16 votes

Why would astronauts need a wristwatch and a separate timer?

As mentioned in another answer to your question, astronauts may need to time multiple events. Also using multiple clocks helps to detect if one clock is wrong. In fact Buzz Aldrin famously wears three ...
Steve Pemberton's user avatar
25 votes
Accepted

Why would astronauts need a wristwatch and a separate timer?

(Shuttle-centric answer, but concept likely applies to other spacecraft, especially involving crew who flew on the shuttle) "Egg timers" were utilized heavily on the shuttle to time multiple ...
Organic Marble's user avatar
5 votes

Why would astronauts need a wristwatch and a separate timer?

As CourageousPotato mentioned in a comment: You can't have enough clocks in space travel; accurate timing determines whether you can execute precise maneuvers at all. To build on this: not all ...
Michael Bonnet's user avatar
3 votes

What is this device/object that the SpaceX astronauts are holding?

I believe it's CDN PT2 kitchen timer. In shuttle era PT1A was used.
user52175's user avatar

Top 50 recent answers are included