Astronaut recalls roller coaster of space

[Zamperla]

Astronaut recalls roller coaster of space
From: AAP
July 08, 2011

RIDING a space shuttle is sort of like surging skyward aboard a high-speed, rickety roller coaster and then returning through a pulsing cosmic nightclub, US astronaut Terry Virts says.

Asked to describe his most savoured moment in space, the Air Force colonel and 11-year NASA veteran was unable to settle on a single high point during his first and only two-week flight aboard a space shuttle last year.

"Every day I had a favourite memory," Virts told AFP in an interview at Kennedy Space Center as Atlantis was poised to make its final journey to the International Space Station, marking the end of the 30-year shuttle program.

"The launch itself is amazing - the sounds and the sights," he said.

"In 20 years of being a fighter pilot and test pilot I never felt anything like that before," said Virts, 43, who piloted Endeavour to the orbiting lab in February 2010.

"You are accelerating, so in some ways that's like pulling g's. There is a lot of noise. It's kind of like an airplane but it sounds like a train - just really loud because there is so much wind pressure on the windows.

"The vibration is like riding one of those old wooden roller coasters that rattles your head, only a lot more," he said.

"It is an amazing experience."

An astronaut barely has time to catch a breath after jolting toward space when suddenly, the first majestic sights of Earth come into view.

"Around a minute into the flight ... I could see the whole East Coast of the country," said Virts.

"A couple minutes into my space flight I'm like 'Hey, there's America', you know?

"Then a few minutes later I'm floating in space and there's the sunrise and the jets are banging and it sounds like a shotgun going off. They are really loud jets," he said, describing the process of the rocket boosters falling away about 45km above the earth.

"There is flashing, and then they separate from the tank and they burn for 10 seconds or so, and it's an unbelievable light show," he said.

"And then a few minutes later we are flying over the Alps. And that was the first day. Every day there was an experience like that."

Perhaps the only way to top the mind-blowing liftoff was to experience the fiery re-entry into Earth's atmosphere under cover of darkness.

"If you are ever coming back from space to Earth, I recommend doing it at night," he said with a laugh.

"The re-entry was even more impressive than the launch."

Plunging back into Earth's atmosphere, the crew experiences a unique light show from the plasma in the magnetosphere and the complex interplay of electric and magnetic fields that encircle and protect the planet from the Sun.

"Going through that plasma you realise it is like 2200 degrees," he said, gesturing to show that the shuttle window was about a half-metre from his head.

"You can see wires of plasma swirling around, like right by the window, you could hear a little tinkling, like little noises on the window.

[princess]

Sounds amazing, maybe we could have a simulated ride with appropriate music

[benclare]

I really enjoyed reading that one, thanks for sharing it Zamperla!

Any creator of a space simulator should employ this fellow as a consultant.