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The parachute system for Orion, America's spacecraft that will carry humans to deep space, deployed as planned after being dropped from an altitude of 6.6 miles on July 12, at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. Data from the successful seventh drop in a series of eight qualification tests will help NASA engineers certify Orion's parachutes for missions with astronauts.
[...] To demonstrate the system's robustness, this test evaluated parachute deployment under conditions that exceeded the requirements for a system carrying crew. Engineers dropped the dart-shaped test article from an altitude that allowed it to generate enough speed to simulate almost twice as much force on the main chutes as would be expected under normal conditions. Orion's full parachute system includes 11 parachutes—three forward-bay cover parachutes, two drogue parachutes, three pilot parachutes, and three main parachutes that will reduce the capsule's speed after reentry in support of a safe landing in the ocean.
[...] For storage, the parachutes are compacted with hydraulic presses at forces of up to 80,000 pounds, baked for two days and vacuumed sealed. Once packed, they have a density of about 40 pounds per cubic foot, which is roughly the same as wood from an oak tree.
(Score: 3, Informative) by bob_super on Friday July 20 2018, @06:42PM (1 child)
In my head:
Over 100km is "space".
Anything below GEO is Near-Earth Space (LEO to GEO)
Go to the moon, still in Earth-Space, because gravity well.
Rocky planets ... Near-Space or Near-Sun Space
Beyond the Asteroid Belt: Outer planets means Outer-Space
Go past the last planet, and you're in Deep Space which then overlaps with interstellar space.
That's just my head. People like to think of going to Mars as "Deep". That's setting the bar a little low, when it's only a 20-minute latency call away.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday July 21 2018, @04:15AM
Awesome!! I love it! Of course those distances are spherical.
Here's the burning question: what (who where) is the "last planet"?? "Planet X"?? Yet another postulated possible planet? How about just anything past the Kuiper belt?