"So what are we looking at"
"Well as you can see, Melinda, this is a giant floaty. We have filled it with air, and these NAVY divers are attaching ropes and carabiners in a very official way, as to facilitate the move from the capsule into the giant floaty."
I did a web search for Mach 32 in MPH, and got three different answers. So...roughly 24,000 mph but nobody knows for sure?
@hollie The problem with Mach numbers is that they vary based on temperature and pressure. Mach 1 at sea level is much slower than Mach 1 at the edge of the atmosphere.
@valthonis Yeah I didn't know that until today! So cool. I had always heard it as a static thing but Greg informs me that's just the number that's usually given for sea level.
@hollie mach is an absurd measurement since the speed of sound varies with temperature and other factors
@SRLevine Yeah it does make me wonder how useful it is? Or rather, under what conditions is it super useful?
@mycrowgirl @SRLevine <claps wildly> WELL DONE 😂
How cool would it be to be the helicopter pilot that took the astronauts back to the ship, duuuude, that's the job I wish I could have. :)
In case you're curious what I'm watching, it's NASA's official broadcast:
"As the earth grows larger in the field of view" yeah because they're going to be FALLING. My mind can't get over this. My palms literally start to sweat when I think about it, sitting at my desk, on the earth. Tipping out of orbit, like just tipping over a cliff.
This is why I don't want to go to space, lol. When friends get talking about this and begin "what if" questions and I admit I wouldn't actually go up, they ask why and I say it's because it's basically the worst possible fear-of-heights scenario we know of. I like helicopters (yeah, I have been in one). In aviation they're like the horse and carriage of altitude. 😅 (fear of heights doesn't have to be logical)
"We've now armed the pyros" okay NASA that can't mean what it sounds like
@hollie Pedos. I think they meant pedos....they also wear red hats.
@hollie
*Looks up "spacecraft pyrotechnics", quietly returns flamethrower to the gun cabinet*
Okay that separation was amazing.
@hollie are you sure? 😈😎
@hollie I expect it kind of is? Apollo had explosive bolts on the hatch to they could get the astronauts out of the water if the hatch jammed. I’m guessing Orion does too.
Mach refers to speed relative to the local speed of sound, which varies with temperature and pressure. (Pressure goes down as altitude increases.)
@johnlogic Oh cool, thank you! I didn't realize the speed of sound changed!
