Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Destination: Alpha Centauri => Topic started by: Buster's Uncle on December 15, 2014, 07:34:01 pm

Title: What astronauts see when they're plummeting back to Earth, in one GIF
Post by: Buster's Uncle on December 15, 2014, 07:34:01 pm

What astronauts see when they're plummeting back to Earth, in one GIF
Vox.com
By Joseph Stromberg  50 minutes ago


(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/kEn0kaN0KBQ.2nT_UOQ_gg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/vox.com/737057b33d06d10820de909a459093b7)



When astronauts return from from the International Space Station, their capsule hits the atmosphere at a speed of more than 500 miles per hour.

When they look out the window, this is what they see:


(http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/uqhVkrimZYep7nicauBObw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/vox.com/365d40cabc1c9dc40a97ca3f530b0285)
(NASA)


That GIF comes from a new NASA video on the space station, and was pulled out by Gizmodo's Attila Nagy.

The sparks are the result of the huge amount of heat (roughly 3,000°F) that builds up on the surface of the Soyuz capsule due to friction with the Earth's atmosphere. (The astronauts are protected from all this heat by a heat shield that faces the Earth as the capsule descends)


(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/EF_3SmWRHGzYnZMmseEoLg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/vox.com/3d713db647092d410fcfd0ab59091174)
A rendering of the Soyuz capsule's descent. (European Space Agency)


Soon afterward, a series of parachutes and landing engines deploy, slowing the craft down to a speed of about three miles per hour by the time it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan.


http://news.yahoo.com/astronauts-see-theyre-plummeting-back-184002062.html (http://news.yahoo.com/astronauts-see-theyre-plummeting-back-184002062.html)

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Note the two .gifs...