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NASA Video Shows What It's Like To Reenter the Earth's Atmosphere
astroengine writes: In a mesmerizing new video released by NASA, the Dec. 5 reentry of the Orion test space vehicle is chronicled — and it's a phenomenal 10-minute ride from fiery reentry to sudden splashdown into the Pacific Ocean. (YouTube Link.)
You can't really appreciate what NASA does until you build your own rocket, load it up with little green men, and crash it dozens of times while you try to learn how to orbit. Kerbal Space Program taught me how impressive this achievement really is.
Sliders are not utilized on these parachutes. A reefing line, basically a circular cord holding the skirt of the parachute closed, is cut after a predetermined delay using small timed pyrotechnic cutting charges. These are designed to keep the parachute from overpressurizing and blowing out during high-velocity opening. FYI - I was a parachute & survival equipment specialist in the USAF.
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Maybe a running graph of speed and altitude, g-forces, marks for when the various chutes open or are released. That'd be much better than this.
Everybody, please read OP's comment and understand that it provides us a valuable learning opportunity.
Suppose you read a popular press article about a complex subject (like space flight) and all the experts in the field have concluded that it should or has to be done one way, or one of a few ways. Having read a summary and maybe spent 5 minutes on Wikpedia still hasn't revealed why it's done this way. The two most important things to do now are to admit that you don't know, and realize that that's perfectly okay because admitting you don't know is the first step on the path to knowledge. Ask a question with non-hostile phrasing; This will invite people to provide helpful, explanatory responses and you will, as the saying goes, come off smelling like roses.
Or you can go OP's route, and we'll all laugh at your dumb ass for being stupid enough to think that spending 5 minutes reading Wikipedia makes you smarter than all the experts who've ever worked on rocketry. Then we'll put the Cone of Shame on you and make you sit in the corner while we chalk up yet another mark in the "true" column for the Dunning-Kruger hypothesis. At some point, we'll probably idly speculate whether your attitude is causative or symptomatic of your total inability to get laid and decide the answer is "yes."
The also had a front facing camera, but didn't include the footage, because the heat shield was blocking the view the whole time.