Two weeks ago , NASA loose aninsanely beautiful videoof the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft exploding over the Australian Outback . sprain out the video was planned and germinate by a couple high schoolers from a NASA DC-8 aircraft . feel inadequate yet ?
In 2009 , science teacher Ron Dantowitz gave three of his student a undertaking , enquire them to plan a mission to record the disintegration of a ballistic capsule . It was presented as a conjectural situation to the kids — James Breitmeyer , Brigitte Berman , and Yiannis Karavas , all from Brookline , Massachusetts — but Dantowitz , an expert in “ optical observations , tracking , and spectroscopy , ” had actually been asked by NASA to participate in the actual deal : The Hayabusa Re - entry Airborne Observing Campaign , a mission to show television of the Japanese spacecraft , which had been out gather fabric from an asteroid , as it re - entered the standard pressure .
After six months of study , Dantowitz let them in on the mystical — and in June , the three gamy schoolers took off in a DC-8 and recorded the video themselves .
“ It was quiet and inhuman and dark as we waited , ” say Breitmeyer . “ We were all a bit jittery . We knew all our hard body of work over the preceding year came down to this moment . A vocalisation on the intercom broke the silence – 10 , 9 , 8 , … .3 , 2 , and then someone shout ‘ there it is ! ’
“ As our screen door lit up with the burning bus and the little capsule I was so excited I could have jumped right out of my chair , ” says Berman . “ But I did n’t . I knew I needed to concentrate in case something go wrong with our cameras or monitor ; if I was in an uncontrollable frenzy this would not be potential . ”
“ After the primary bus deteriorate you could see the capsule still entire , ” tell Breitmeyer . “ Then the condensation decelerated , and we lost sight of it . It was over . We all take off yelling and urge on – we practically rocked the plane ! The same hoi polloi who had been biting their fingernails minutes ago were now shouting and laughing . ”
That ’s Brigitte Berman , who , at age 16 , is “ the youngest soul to have ever joined a NASA DC-8 flight of stairs research team . ” ( When I was 16 , I was write “ NIRVANA ” and “ THE GET - UP KIDS ” on my All - Stars in ballpoint penitentiary and getting a vitamin B in Physics . ) The three scholarly person will be co - source on a lot of paper that will be submitted next year , and will even write their own paper for submission to match - review journals before they calibrate .
antecedently : Spacecraft Re - enters Atmosphere , Explodes into Cosmic Fireworks
http://gawker.com/5565744/spacecraft-re+enters-atmosphere-explodes-into-cosmic-fireworks
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