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NASA Tests Heaviest Chute Drop Ever

Iddo Genuth writes "NASA and the US Air Force have successfully tested a new super-chute system aimed at reclaiming reusable Ares booster rockets. On February 28, 2009 a 50,000-pound dummy rocket booster was dropped in the Arizona desert and slowed by a system of five parachutes before it crashed to the ground. The booster landed softly without any damage. This was possibly the heaviest parachute drop ever, and NASA is planning to perform even heavier drops of up to 90,000 pounds in the next few months."

12 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. Re:1 Question by quenda · · Score: 4, Funny

    When will America start using SI units as the standard?

    In NASA's case, it would take something big to make them see sense. Like, say, loosing a major space probe.

  2. Re:Cool - now how much ... by whong09 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cool? Try hot. As in dropping it like it's hot.

  3. Re:1 Question by bakes · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here we have a situation where a single large country - with too much power and inertia in these matters - is pointedly ignoring what the rest of the world is doing, and forcing the use of an arcane, unwieldy, incompatible standard on the rest of us.

    Thank goodness this sort of thing doesn't happen in the IT industry.

    --
    Ho! Haha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!
  4. Re:Astroid Net? by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Funny

    Those asteroids are probably too infrequent to bother planning for.

    That's it. You've just chosen our doom.

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    Qxe4
  5. Thank you NASA! by Morkalin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe someday I'll be able to take up skydiving after all!

    1. Re:Thank you NASA! by Lord+Lode · · Score: 4, Funny

      Your mom will.

  6. How many libraries of congress? by definate · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seriously, this is a useless measurement, it's way over things I know about. I need it in something practical, like how many libraries of congress is it?

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    This is my footer. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  7. Re:1 Question by nickgrieve · · Score: 5, Funny

    Metric, motherfucker, do you speak it?

  8. Re:1 Question by c6gunner · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here we have a situation where a single large country - with too much power and inertia in these matters - is pointedly ignoring what the rest of the world is doing, and forcing the use of an arcane, unwieldy, incompatible standard on the rest of us.

    Sheesh, you Esperanto guys just never give up ...

  9. Re:Cool - now how much ... by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well over 350,000 pounds Boeing 767 so don't get any ideas.

    Planes would probably break up as well. Great that you attached to the mid section but you'll probably loose either the front 3rd or the rear as the thin cabin torsions apart.

    If you could guarantee the front third would survive it would help sell business class tickets in these troubled times.

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    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  10. Re:1 Question by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

    An American pint is actually a copy of a British pint in 1707. The British later changed over to Imperial in 1824.

    We had a choice between Liberty and More Beer. I'm still not sure we chose wrong.

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    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  11. Re:1 Question by somersault · · Score: 4, Funny

    I believe the unit was standardised on the weight of Winston Churchill's right testicle.

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    which is totally what she said