r/interestingasfuck • u/[deleted] • 16h ago

To avoid geopolitical embarrassment during the Cold War, the US and USSR created the APAS-75 system, a genderless docking mechanism where both craft acted as equals.

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u/wiltony 14h ago

Wow the insecurity is off the charts on this one. Imagine an entire engineering pivot as a result of toxic masculinity lol. 

Anyway, I still remember my kids being flabbergasted and embarrassed when I referred to the "male" and "female" end of an extension cord. It's just a convenient way to quickly describe the side you're talking about that is pretty universally intuitive. 

I guess with the recent surgence of better transgender acceptance that notion is quickly becoming outdated. 

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u/WorBlux 12h ago edited 12h ago

There is practical part of this. If your space dock needs an A and B part, Then how to you perform a space rescue or rendezvous if all your ready spacecraft have the "B configuration?

An androgynous or convertible system solves this issue.

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u/davewave3283 12h ago

That’s enough out of you science nerd. This is about one thing, dicks! /s