3 chances to get genesis capsule!!!!!!!!!

"simon.coombs3" wrote:

sc I see NASA has lined up three helicopters to try to catch
sc the capsule from genesis.

My understanding of the plan is that they have 2 helicopters,
and 5 attempts at capture.

sc as it drops to Earth, will the capsule survive if the
sc helicopter teams fail and it hits the Earth?

Depends where it lands. The impact velocity is estimated to be
9 mph if the mid-air capture fails. Not a problem if it lands on sand,
but it might be an issue if it lands in mountainous areas where sharp
rocks pose a threat.

I see NASA has lined up three helicopters to try to catch the capsule from
genesis.
as it drops to Earth, will the capsule survive if the helicopter teams fail
and it hits the Earth? Nasa have presumably decided that one attempt should
be ok two must almost definatley get it and three is an almost dead cert.
which is the kind of odds
I would want to get a scientificly important cargo back safely.

Simon

"simon.coombs3" wrote:

I see NASA has lined up three helicopters to try to catch the capsule from
genesis.
as it drops to Earth, will the capsule survive if the helicopter teams fail
and it hits the Earth?

"If the capsule were to descend all the way to the ground, some
[collection wafers] might fracture or break away from their mountings"

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2004-207

That sounds to me like it might not be totally destroyed, but they'd
really rather not risk it. It's coming down on a parafoil, so it'll
have some forward velocity. Perhaps they are concerned about it
smashing into a cliff or rock.

That NASA release also says they have two helicopter crews who are
expected to have a total of 5 attempts to capture the capsule. I
wonder why they chose a parafoil and helicopters over the proven
system (round chutes and planes) they used dozens of times to retrieve
film from the early spy satellites. Sometimes I think NASA just pick
the cool solution (like flying Cassini through Saturn's rings)


Tim
--
Google is not the only search engine.

They just don't want anyone to steal it................

"Tim Auton" wrote in message
...
"simon.coombs3" wrote:
I see NASA has lined up three helicopters to try to catch the capsule
from
genesis.
as it drops to Earth, will the capsule survive if the helicopter teams
fail
and it hits the Earth?
"If the capsule were to descend all the way to the ground, some
[collection wafers] might fracture or break away from their mountings"
That sounds to me like it might not be totally destroyed, but they'd
really rather not risk it. It's coming down on a parafoil, so it'll
have some forward velocity. Perhaps they are concerned about it
smashing into a cliff or rock.

Have I missed something? I would have thought that the initial impact,
wherever it occur, wouldn't be a big problem. What might be a problem is if
it landed on a hillside. One would then expect the capsule to get wrapped up
in the parafoil and thence to commence bouncing down the terrain at ever
increasing, and changing, velocities. I've often wondered whether the
inflated bag landings were such a good idea. A body can build up a lot of
angular momentum in a short time on even a minor slope.
Grim