Word: orbit
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Tearing out of the first dip, they reel from the force of 2.7 Gs -- nearly the gravity load that hits shuttle astronauts on their climb to orbit -- but only for an instant. Then they are shooting skyward for 100 ft., only to dive abruptly again, down the second of 21 more hills. Frightening twists and turns dot the nearly one-mile course, and disaster seems inevitable as the train hurtles back and forth through its creaking wood supports. Finally, the sudden squeal of brakes in the station signals a merciful finish, and the stunned but happy passengers scramble...
SOVIET SPACE, Museum of Science, Boston. A behind-the-scenes look at the Soviet space program, including a model of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth, and a "space bicycle" used for travel outside the space station Mir. Through Sept...
...goes according to plan, the competition winners, each weighing 500 kg (1,100 lbs.) or less, will be launched by rocket into Earth orbit. There, high above the atmosphere, each will unfurl a giant sail consisting of wispy plastic coated with a film of aluminum. Positioned by radio signals from the ground, the sails will catch the gentle push of sunlight...
Increasing their velocity in Earth orbit, the spacecraft would spiral out from the planet, eventually swinging by the moon for a gravity assist that would hurl them into a trajectory toward Mars. Depending on their route and design, they could take as little as 500 days or more than 800 to reach the red planet...
Lack of financing may also be fatal to the Mars race. The Jubilee Commission has placed the burden of fund raising on the individual teams, which must spend anywhere from $3 million to $15 million to complete each entry. Boosting the sailships into orbit is another worry; rocket launches are prohibitively expensive for most teams, which are desperately seeking help. Robert Staehle, head of the World Space Foundation, flew to Paris last month for a workshop with teams from Europe and Asia. The goal: a proposal to the European Space Agency for piggybacking the sailships on a 1992 Ariane rocket...