I like SpaceX’s Sarah Walker, despite (or partly because of?) the fact that she tends not to answer questions from mere mortals (non-SpaceX / non-NASA personnel).
For example, at the Post-Launch News Conference, there was a question about pulsive splashdown (although that term was not used).
She seemed to imply that the capability would have been available for Crew-7 if it wasn’t for a problem with one of the GPS sensors. (Was this problem known about well in advance of undocking? Would that be why they didn’t announce the new capability at the time?)
She spent most of the time confirming the point I made in my first comment on this post, about taking into account any extra risks that this capability might add, and she said that it had taken “years”.
She didn’t answer whether it’s available if the parachutes fail during a launch abort, nor tell us any of the (non-NASA) missions it has been active for (of which Gerst had said there were “several”).
Here’s the question: https://www.youtube.com/live/wwhfph1vGdE?t=32m30s (at 32:30)
The fairing looks spotless. I guess they’re using a new one, at least partly for reasons of cleanliness? (Planetary protection and all that.)
With boosters we’re at the point where “flight proven” is no longer just a euphemism for “second hand”. I’ve felt that way myself for a few years. And NASA basically confirmed they agree a couple of months ago, when the brand new booster intended for Crew-9 was given a Starlink mission first, increasing confidence in it after a minor problem during transport. (IIRC)
But I’m not sure if we’re at that point with fairings. Or even if we’ll ever be.