[OT] The Final Frontier: The Epic Thread of Space.
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[OT] The Final Frontier: The Epic Thread of Space. | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Josef Haroldsen 17.03.2011 | hey dustin. great stuff. anything space related is definitely dj related, so i'd say it's farom off topic. anyway, i didn't look through this whole thread, but what's you source for these pics? i love the resolution. |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 17.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 16.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 16.03.2011 | Excelsior II Post flight analysis revealed a number of relatively small problems with the gear that hadn't shown up in earlier testing. The aneroid activation and pilot chute timer knobs were redesigned. Sergeant Hale found a seemingly simple fix for the helmet problem: once the nylon webbing had been pulled taut, he sewed the ends together so it didn't matter if the clamp slipped or not. Finding a solution to the faceplate fogging problem required a change in testing locations. The altitude chamber at Wright Field could only reach a temperature of minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit. At altitude, Kittinger encountered temperatures of minus104 degrees. Holloman Air Force Base had an altitude chamber that could create such an extremely low temperature, so it was a matter of finding ways to reset the faceplate defogging system under more realistic flight conditions using this chamber. Some relatively minor adjustments to the gondola made sure Kittinger would not get stuck in the seat again. The problem with the sun glare on the instrument panel proved simplest of all to fix - all it required was a simple cardboard sunshade around the panel. Kittinger feared senior officers in the Air Force would decide that Excelsior was too dangerous after the close call of the first flight and was greatly relieved when Colonel Stapp told him the second flight was approved. All the fixes took less than a month to do. Excelsior II took place on December 11, 1959. One hour after launch, Captain Kittinger was floating 74,700 feet above the New Mexico desert. This time, everything worked perfectly. Immediately after stepping off the gondola, Kittinger began a slow turn. He dropped one foot and lowered his arm and the turn stopped. Fourteen seconds after leaving the balloon, the pilot parachute deployed. The small parachute pulled out the drogue and the main canopy deployed at 18,000 feet, exactly as planned. This "roaring success" cleared the way for another test. Excelsior III Early on the morning of August 16, 1960, Kittinger prepared to board the balloon for the third jump. For this flight, the gondola carried two placards. One was a license plate that his son had cut off of a cereal box. His son was in Ohio, the license plate was from Oregon, and the flight took place in New Mexico. Such details didn't matter to the younger Kittinger - he felt the gondola needed a license plate. The other was a sign that read "This is the highest step in the world". Excelsior III, launched from Tularosa, New Mexico, carried Kittinger to 102,800 feet. During the ascent, the pressurization in his right glove failed and his hand began to swell. It reached nearly twice its normal size and was very painful. Afraid that he would be ordered to jump early because of the malfunction, Kittinger did not report the problem until he was at altitude. Seventy seconds before jumping, he cut away the radio antenna to prevent hitting it. For the first time in the flight, Captain Kittinger was truly alone. After stepping off "the highest step in the world," he fell on his right side for about eight seconds, then rolled over on his back to watch the silvery balloon against a black sky. Sixteen seconds after Kittinger left the gondola, the pilot chute sprang out, followed by the drogue that stabilized him. His top speed, reached at 90,000 feet, was an incredible 625.2 miles per hour! While falling under the drogue chute, he turned to face El Paso, Texas, then back to face New Mexico. Suddenly, Kittinger felt as though he was being choked - the helmet was rising again. Fortunately, as his descent continued, the sensation eased. At 21,000 feet, Kittinger entered a solid layer of clouds. Instinctively, as though he were hitting a solid object, Kittinger drew his feet up. He'd never fallen through clouds before. The main parachute deployed four and a half minutes after he left the balloon, after a fall of just over 16 miles. He emerged from the clouds at 15,000 feet. Two helicopters circled around him as he descended to the desert floor. Prior to landing, Kittinger was supposed to release the instrument box beneath his container. Only one side released, so he landed with its additional weight. The landing was hard and the seat kit inflicted a severe bruise on his leg. Otherwise, he was unhurt. The helicopters landed at almost the same instant as Kittinger and medical technicians rushed to his aid. "I'm very glad to be back with you all," was how Kittinger greeted the recovery team. The total time since leaving the balloon was 13 minutes, 45 seconds. |
| Shira Callie 16.03.2011 | This is, by far, my favorite image of all time... (this is absolutely captivating) Video from the Space Jump (bailout) above: (holy effffff) [ame="http://vimeo.com/4609841"]http://vimeo.com/4609841[/ame] The highest parachute jump ever: 36,9 km, 13:45 min. It was in 1959 for Project Excelsior, Boards of Canada used parts of the incredible classic footage in their beautiful clip Dayvan Cowboy. Project Excelsior Source: http://stratocat.com.ar/artics/excelsior-e.htm Excelsior was the manned extension of High Dive. Colonel John Paul Stapp commanded the Aero Medical Laboratory; during Manhigh, he'd been in charge of the Aeromedical Field Laboratory. Stapp selected the name Excelsior because it meant "ever upward" in Latin. Kittinger planned to use a balloon to reach the stratosphere. Then, he would jump from the aerostat and delay opening his main parachute until reaching 18,000 feet. Kittinger's involvement in both Manhigh and Excelsior has sometimes created confusion regarding the projects and his parachute jumps have been reported as part of Manhigh. However, the two projects were totally different and distinct efforts. One of the challenges facing Kittinger was to find a technique that could be used by pilots who were not trained skydivers. The solution came from Francis Beaupre of the Aerospace Medical Division of the Wright Air Development Center. Beaupre devised a three-stage parachute system. After leaving the gondola, Kittinger would fall for 16 seconds to build up speed. Then, a spring-loaded 18-inch diameter pilot chute would deploy. Building up adequate airspeed before deploying the pilot chute was critical because if it deployed too early, it would flop around due to insufficient dynamic pressure in the thin air. The pilot chute, in turn, deployed a six-foot diameter drogue chute that stabilized Kittinger in a feet-to-earth position. Along with the drogue chute, about one-third of the 28-foot diameter round main canopy was released from the parachute pack. Once he reached 18,000 feet, the rest of the main was released. Because a pilot ejecting from a crippled airplane could not be counted on to manually pull his ripcord, the entire activation sequence was automatic. Winzen Research, Inc., was the prime contractor for Excelsior. During 1956, Winzen developed the Sky-Car system to support low-altitude scientific research and ballooning instruction. The Sky-Car comprised a cylindrical frame gondola that was 56 inches in diameter and 40 inches tall made from steel tubing. The balloon train included a 40.4-foot diameter parachute as a backup in case the balloon malfunctioned. Winzen proposed to use a modified Sky-Car for Excelsior, which meant Kittinger would make the ascent in an open gondola. http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...4517452735832# Wanting to prove operational pilots could use the system, Kittinger wore an Air Force MC-3 partial pressure suit covered by insulated winter flying coveralls. This was one of the most severe tests ever made of the pressure suit. If either the suit or helmet failed, unconsciousness would come in 10 - 12 seconds, followed by death in 2 - 3 minutes. In addition to the pressure suit and parachute system, Kittinger carried a box containing oxygen, instruments and cameras. Wearing all his gear , Kittinger tipped the scales at 320 pounds - more than twice his normal weight. Following a series of 140 dummy tests with the Beaupre system at altitudes of up to 100,000 feet and three live jumps from a C-130 at 28,000 feet, Kittinger was ready for his first stratospheric jump. Although the Aero Medical Laboratory in Ohio sponsored Excelsior, field operations took place at Holloman Air Force Base. The adjacent White Sands Missile Range provided a 40- by 100-mile landing area, but the target area was "only" 11 miles on a side. Excelsior I Excelsior I took off from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on November 16, 1959. The balloon drifted east, arriving over White Sands Missile Range as Kittinger neared the intended jump altitude of 60,000 feet. As he climbed, the balloon slowly rotated., which was typical. Although the gondola had a sun shade around most of it to protect Kittinger from the sun, there was no cover over the entrance area. When the balloon rotated so the entrance faced the sun, the intense sunlight streamed in and reflected off the instrument panel, which glare-blinded Kittinger and made it impossible for him to read them. At the same time, another problem cropped up: the visor on his helmet began to fog over, further blocking his vision. The entire time, the balloon continued to ascend. Now the helmet began to rise up as his suit pressurized. A series of steel wires and nylon webbing were supposed to prevent this, but Kittinger knew of one test in an altitude chamber where the webbing pulled free. Only the quick actions of the chamber operating crew saved the pilot. Flying at more than 12 miles above the Earth, there was nobody to rescue Kittinger should something similar happen to him. Before takeoff, life support technician Sergeant Frank Hale tied several pieces of nylon parachute shroud line between the helmet clasps and parachute harness. Although the helmet ultimately rose about two inches, the shroud line held it securely on Kittinger's shoulders. Through a small clear spot on his visor, Kittinger noticed he was ascending through 65,000 feet. He opened the vent valve in the apex of the balloon to halt the climb. At X-minus five minutes, the faceplate suddenly cleared. Seventy seconds before jump, Kittinger jettisoned the radio antenna that hung below the gondola. Then, one by one, he disconnected the hoses and electrical cables that connected him to the gondola. It was time to jump. Kittinger tried to stand up, but found the instrument pack he wore was stuck in the seat! He grabbed the instrument panel and tried to pull himself up without success. Finally, with one last lunge, Captain Kittinger managed to free himself and stood up. As he prepared to jump, Kittinger noted the balloon had climbed to 76,400 feet, more than three miles higher intended. Standing in the door of the gondola, he pulled the lanyard that activated the barometric release for the main canopy and the timer for the pilot chute. It took three tries to pull the lanyard clear. Unknown to Kittinger, the first pull started the timer. The result of this was the pilot chute deployed only 2.5 seconds after he left the balloon. Without sufficient airspeed to create adequate dynamic pressure, the pilot chute flopped around in the thin air and eventually wrapped around his neck. He began spinning. At first, Kittinger could correct the spin, but soon he could no longer compensate for it and eventually blacked out. He didn't regain consciousness until he was floating beneath the reserve parachute several thousand feet above the ground. The pilot parachute had not deployed the drogue because it was tangled around his neck, so the main parachute never deployed. After Kittinger lost consciousness, the spin continued and eventually reached 80 RPM. A barometric release triggered the reserve parachute at 10,000 feet, but due to the spin, at first it tangled around him. Beaupre had planned for such a contingency and installed the reserve parachute pilot chute with a break-away cord that would enable the canopy to clear itself. Thankfully, the reserve cleared itself at 6,000 feet and inflated. |
| Candy Vardy 16.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by b3nz0n8
This must be one of the best feelings on the world, literatly "On top of the World" |
| Shira Callie 16.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 16.03.2011 | |
| Shira Callie 16.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
http://www.djranking s.com/community /showthread.php?t=21848&highlight=chronicles&page=1 8 Shhh....this was done awhile back on a weekend bender, so I don't want to detract from this cool thread... |
| nayit ruiz jaramillo 16.03.2011 | Id like to see more pics of spacecraft and moon landings and astronauts please :-) Constellations are cool but... |
| Francina Decosse 16.03.2011 | Hey, anyone knows about this app: http://www.stellarium.org/ it's a starmap from the current perspective at where you're standing (or set to be standing). It's a very nice way to learn the sky available for most major platforms including the mobile (iOS & Android) |
| Leeanna Ayla 16.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by b3nz0n8
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| Kristofer Krauel 16.03.2011 | |
| Kristofer Krauel 16.03.2011 | |
| Candy Vardy 16.03.2011 | |
| Candy Vardy 16.03.2011 | |
| Candy Vardy 16.03.2011 | |
| nayit ruiz jaramillo 16.03.2011 | |
| Candy Vardy 16.03.2011 | |
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