Pretty disturbing (Yi describes bone-jarring return to Earth)

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24238036/

1. "During descent I saw some kind of fire outside as we were going through the atmosphere," said Yi So-yeon, the first South Korean to have completed a spaceflight. "At first I was really scared because it looked really, really hot and I thought we could burn."

2. "They were very surprised and could not believe their eyes," Malenchenko said. "One of them asked if the landing capsule was a boat. Another said that we might have jumped down from a plane," Malenchenko said. When he told them they were astronauts, "They nodded but then asked again where we had come from. They could not believe that we had been to space. They believed us only when they saw the spacesuits."

3. All three members of the crew walked slowly and were unsteady when arriving for the news conference at Russia's Star City cosmonaut training center outside Moscow. Medics who flanked them ensured they didn't fall.


What was more disturbing was the fact when they landed off target how they had to retreive their phone to call home so they can come and get them!!!!!!! Am I the only person who dosen't understand this. You would imagine the spacecraft is supposed to have a locator beacon inside that would immeditalty be tripped.


 

yelo333

Senior member
Dec 13, 2003
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Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
so let me get this straight? THey just plummetted to earth and didn't die? how?

No, but their trajectory was wrong, so the deceleration forces were higher than planned (article says ~10g's). IIRC from reading This New Ocean, I think 10g's was actually around what they used to plan for, so it's probably OK. (but may leave you slightly injured)

Cool book, btw, though it's kind of dry.
 

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
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Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
so let me get this straight? THey just plummetted to earth and didn't die? how?

Reading FTW - "the capsule took a steeper-than-usual trajectory"
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
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Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
so let me get this straight? THey just plummetted to earth and didn't die? how?

well, space capsules all plummet down to Earth, but then have parachutes slow it down for when it hits water. This was just the experience of a new person to space flight. Notice the American and Russian didn't say anything that would suggest it was a life threatening ordeal. All they experienced that was out of the ordinary was higher than usual re-entry G-forces.

+
 

NanoStuff

Banned
Mar 23, 2006
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Originally posted by: steppinthrax
You would imagine the spacecraft is supposed to have a locator beacon inside that would immeditalty be tripped.

Koreans are space newbies. You can tell by this:

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
At first I was really scared because it looked really, really hot and I thought we could burn.

Apparently nobody told them what they should expect to see out of the window.
 

IceBergSLiM

Lifer
Jul 11, 2000
29,932
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Originally posted by: destrekor
Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
so let me get this straight? THey just plummetted to earth and didn't die? how?

well, space capsules all plummet down to Earth, but then have parachutes slow it down for when it hits water. This was just the experience of a new person to space flight. Notice the American and Russian didn't say anything that would suggest it was a life threatening ordeal. All they experienced that was out of the ordinary was higher than usual re-entry G-forces.

+

ohhh so they had chutes I was picturing this thing flying in like a meteor
 

jjones

Lifer
Oct 9, 2001
15,424
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Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
Originally posted by: destrekor
Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
so let me get this straight? THey just plummetted to earth and didn't die? how?

well, space capsules all plummet down to Earth, but then have parachutes slow it down for when it hits water. This was just the experience of a new person to space flight. Notice the American and Russian didn't say anything that would suggest it was a life threatening ordeal. All they experienced that was out of the ordinary was higher than usual re-entry G-forces.

+

ohhh so they had chutes I was picturing this thing flying in like a meteor
Well, to be fair, they normally forgo the parachutes and land in a big catcher's mitt. :p

 

lyssword

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2005
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Bah it's just the friction of atmosphere making fire. But I guess I too would be scared to see hot-burning flames all around the small capsule :)
 

scott916

Platinum Member
Mar 2, 2005
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Reminds me of the video they showed from the recent space shuttle disaster, you could see the flames like what she was describing creeping across the windows. Very very creepy in that instance because you knew they all died horribly minutes later.