Halfway to Anywhere 264
With solar arrays as wings, the Dragon capsule might
resemble a flying dragon. But the name originates from the
songPuff the Magic Dragonby Peter, Paul, and Mary. It
was often said the song was a reference to smoking weed,
something the authors of the song rejected. But the urban
legend lives on. When Elon founded SpaceX, his friends
thought he was “puffing” weed to come up with such a
crazy idea.^299
While in space, the Dragon capsule will smell like a
fire-breathing dragon. It’s difficult to prove, but several
astronauts have reported that space has a smell. “Each
time, when I repressed the airlock, opened the hatch and
welcomed two tired workers inside, a peculiar odor tickled
my olfactory senses,” an astronaut said. “At first I couldn’t
quite place it. It must have come from the air ducts that
re-pressed the compartment. Then I noticed that this smell
was on their suit, helmet, gloves, and tools. It was more
pronounced on fabrics than on metal or plastic surfaces.
It is hard to describe this smell. The best description I can
come up with is metallic; a rather pleasant sweet metallic
sensation. It reminded me of my college summers where I
labored for many hours with an arc welding torch repairing
heavy equipment for a small logging outfit. It reminded me
of pleasant sweet smelling welding fumes. That is the smell
of space.”^293
The first launch of the Falcon 9 took place in June
- “It’ll be considered a good day if even the first
stage functions correctly. It’ll be a great day if both stages
function correctly,” Elon said.^306 It carried a mock-up of