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Destination Tomorrow - DT6 - Space Capsule Design

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Subido el 28 de mayo de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment describing how Dr. Maxime Faget's space capsule design helped launch the United States into the Space Age.

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Today, most of us take the idea of manned spaceflight for granted. 00:00:00
But during the late 50s and early 60s, the idea of manned traveling in space was an exciting 00:00:09
challenge to be conquered. 00:00:14
In the early days of the space program, engineers knew very little about the effects of space 00:00:16
travel and re-entry into the atmosphere. 00:00:21
But one man, Dr. Max Faget, came up with a revolutionary design that helped launch America 00:00:23
into the space age. 00:00:29
During the late 50s, engineers debated over which type of craft should be used to launch 00:00:32
man into space. 00:00:36
The debate centered on whether the U.S. should continue refining the X-series of rocket planes 00:00:38
or to build an entirely new type of craft to achieve orbital flight. 00:00:43
While this debate was occurring in the U.S., the Russian space agency successfully launched 00:00:47
Sputnik, the first satellite into space, in October of 1957. 00:00:52
The space race had begun, and the U.S. was already far behind. 00:00:58
After hearing about the successful flight of Sputnik, engineers began to design and 00:01:03
test new spacecraft at a frenetic pace. 00:01:07
The U.S. had some expertise in building long-range ballistic missiles, but was having difficulty 00:01:10
designing a vehicle to carry man into space and bring him back safely. 00:01:16
One day while playing pinochle after lunch with a co-worker, engineer Max Faget began 00:01:21
sketching out a design for a new spacecraft on his napkin. 00:01:26
This new craft had a blunt-shaped bottom and was designed to fit on top of a ballistic 00:01:29
missile. 00:01:34
With his idea in hand, Faget began a series of crude experiments to test his design, one 00:01:35
of which included tossing a paper plate out of a window to test the basic aerodynamic 00:01:40
principles of the design. 00:01:45
Faget's idea for a blunt-shaped craft was ill-received by many aerodynamicists of the 00:01:47
time. 00:01:52
Astronomers thought the most effective way to orbit and return to Earth would be in a 00:01:53
low-drag aerodynamic vehicle. 00:01:57
Although this vehicle had merit, Faget knew that an aerodynamic aircraft would create 00:02:00
excessive amounts of heat, causing major structural and safety problems for the astronauts. 00:02:05
Well, everybody that had to do with anything flying through the air would always try and 00:02:10
keep the drag down as much as they could, so the original versions of ballistic missile 00:02:14
reentry vehicles were all highly streamlined and they had everybody working on ways to 00:02:20
keep them cool. 00:02:28
Faget alternatively proposed that his new blunt body design should be used instead. 00:02:30
He reasoned that his design would create a huge shockwave around the spacecraft, moving 00:02:35
the heat away and keeping the craft cooler upon reentry. 00:02:39
Faget began to push his idea as the best one to get the job done quickly and safely. 00:02:44
That particular shape wasn't really an invention, that's just a piece of nature. 00:02:49
There isn't any shape that will have less heating than a Mercury shape, it's it. 00:02:56
After a series of wind tunnel tests, his blunt-shaped vehicle was proven to be the most successful 00:03:03
design. 00:03:08
Faget's space capsule design was adopted in the late 50s. Astronaut Alan Shepard became 00:03:09
the first person to fly in the Mercury spacecraft designed with a blunt shape. 00:03:14
This design proved to be so successful that a variant of this craft was also used in both 00:03:20
the Gemini and Apollo space programs. 00:03:25
Faget's foresight and tenacity overcame many technical challenges and helped launch America 00:03:28
into the space age. 00:03:34
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Idioma/s:
en
Niveles educativos:
▼ Mostrar / ocultar niveles
      • Nivel Intermedio
Autor/es:
NASA LaRC Office of Education
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
371
Fecha:
28 de mayo de 2007 - 17:04
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
NASAs center for distance learning
Duración:
03′ 37″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
480x360 píxeles
Tamaño:
21.05 MBytes

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