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Title: Snagging space sample return with helicopters? Post by: Alluvian on April 06, 2004, 11:46:10 AM http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/04/06/solar.booty/index.html
The article is somewhat confusing to me, I am not really sure what they plan to learn from this matrix of exotic materials exposed to solar radation/light. The part that leaped out at me was the following: Quote To preserve the delicate solar particles in their matrix of gold, sapphire and diamond, specially trained helicopter pilots will snag the return capsule from mid-air using giant hooks. The flight crews for the two helicopters assigned for the capture and return of Genesis are former military aviators, Hollywood stunt pilots and an active-duty Air Force test pilot. I had no idea we could do that. I would have thought they would have crashed it into the ocean to recover it there. Snagging it out of midair with helicopters??? I had no clue. Have we done this sort of thing before? Am I just way out of date? Anyone know why they would do this experiment in the first place? Title: Snagging space sample return with helicopters? Post by: daveNYC on April 06, 2004, 12:30:32 PM They used to retrieve early spy satellite film canisters in a similar manner. They would yoink them in mid-air using a cargo plane.
Title: Re: Snagging space sample return with helicopters? Post by: Roac on April 06, 2004, 12:38:25 PM Quote I am not really sure what they plan to learn from this matrix of exotic materials exposed to solar radation/light. It isn't so much just exposing something to sunlight and see what happens - they are actually collecting the solar wind itself, to see what the Sun is vomiting into space. Quote Have we done this sort of thing before? Am I just way out of date? Yeah, you're out of date - that's like 40+ year old technology. Title: Snagging space sample return with helicopters? Post by: Alluvian on April 06, 2004, 12:47:36 PM Thank you, and apologies for being way out of date. I suppose grabbing it on the way down with a parachute is easy. For some stupid reason I had this image of them grabbing it at full speed and not lazily wafting to the ground with a parachute. Total mental block there.
I took a double dose of stupid this morning I guess. Title: Snagging space sample return with helicopters? Post by: HaemishM on April 06, 2004, 01:08:42 PM Some sci-fi authors have postulated that starships (or at least inter solar system ships) could travel using "solar sails" that collect and are driven on particles contained in the so-called "solar winds." Who knows? Maybe there's some super-duper rocket fuel in them thair winds.
Title: Snagging space sample return with helicopters? Post by: daveNYC on April 06, 2004, 01:50:44 PM That was more about the physical impact of the wind particles.
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