Word: retrorocket
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When he heard that Luna 7 had successfully fired its braking retrorockets and had transmitted signals for three seconds after hitting the moon, Barringer became convinced that the craft was not demolished upon impact. The tardy retrorocket firing that probably made the difference between success and failure, Barringer decided, could have been caused by an altimeter error of as little as 30 ft. - which some scientists believe is the approximate depth of a layer of porous rock or partially compacted dust that covers the moon. Barringer's conclusion: Russian radar penetrated the moon's top layer, reflected back...
...Cooper flight, the control cords holding the retrorocket package to the capsule failed to fall free as intended because the explosive separating devices "were not loaded with the appropriate charge...
...little spacecraft will have its own retrorocket to start its slanting down toward the atmosphere. Guidance apparatus will do most of the navigation and report to the passenger on the success of the perilous maneuver. Dr. Brodsky is confident that the plastic-faced wings can resist the heat of entry into the earth's air. As the paraglider gets deeper into the atmosphere, its speed will drop steadily. At last it will drift slowly near the earth, and the pilot, flying it like an old-fashioned glider, will be able to select a favorable spot on which to land...
...officials huddled tensely, trying to decide what to do. The answer might mean life or searing death to John Glenn. The final decision was made by Operations Director Walter Williams: an attempt would be made to hold the heat shield in place by changing the re-entry procedure. The retrorocket packet was supposed to be jettisoned after the rockets themselves had been fired. But the packet itself was bound to the capsule by three thin metal bands. Williams figured that the bands might be strong enough to hold the shield to the capsule during the descent. He knew that...
Glenn took the news of the deadly threat with characteristic calmness. He made the adjustments necessary to keep the retrorocket packet in place, hand-flew his capsule into proper attitude for descent?and braced himself. Timed by a preset mechanism in the capsule, the braking rockets fired in sequence. Friendship 7 shuddered. "It feels like I'm going clear back to Hawaii," Glenn radioed. He could feel his body beginning to be squeezed by the buildup of G forces. Outside the window, he could see a fiery glow. It grew brighter and brighter. "It became apparent that something was tearing...