> Which planes are these? I've never seen an autopilot that could take off or land.
Have you seen many autopilots, to be that certain?
Civil planes equipped with autoland are commonplace.
Some fighter jets take off from carriers in autopilot. The pilots are actually required to grab a couple of handlebars in the cabin during take off, to make sure their instinct doesn't overcome them.
> In the exceedingly unlikely event that corrections need to be made
The set of bad things that can happen in a complex spacecraft isn't limited to needing a route correction. That is obvious, but even if it wasn't obvious to someone, history tells us.
> where would she practice twiddling the knobs?
Do you honestly think astronauts go to space untrained, because "where would they practice"?
They practice in simulators. Even the two tourists will have to be trained, for obvious reasons.
Have you seen many autopilots, to be that certain?
Civil planes equipped with autoland are commonplace.
Some fighter jets take off from carriers in autopilot. The pilots are actually required to grab a couple of handlebars in the cabin during take off, to make sure their instinct doesn't overcome them.
> In the exceedingly unlikely event that corrections need to be made
The set of bad things that can happen in a complex spacecraft isn't limited to needing a route correction. That is obvious, but even if it wasn't obvious to someone, history tells us.
> where would she practice twiddling the knobs?
Do you honestly think astronauts go to space untrained, because "where would they practice"?
They practice in simulators. Even the two tourists will have to be trained, for obvious reasons.