welcome to the nasa lewis research
center
louis originally an aircraft propulsion
lab
was one of the original nasa centers
with the start of the space race in 1958
lewis became nasa's lead center for
space propulsion
power and communications lewis's science
and technology
has been critical to putting a man on
the moon and the development of the
space shuttle
today lewis is also a lead center for
microgravity sciences
and is responsible for the power system
of the space station
during your visit you'll have the
opportunity to learn about
our aeronautics and space programs
from experimental high performance jets
to space shuttles and the space station
unfortunately you won't be able to
experience how
our pilots and astronauts feel in these
dynamic environments
but there may be a way you can
experience some of the sensations
the cedar point amusement park and nasa
lewis have
teamed up to show you how your
experiences within 200 feet of the
earth's surface
relate to activities 200 miles above the
earth
located 60 miles northwest of lewis
cedar point has many rides on which you
can challenge the laws of nature
as you speed around corners and fly
through the air
at times seeming to defy gravity
some of these rides create environments
identical to those
experienced by high performance jet
pilots and astronauts
the only difference is the length of
time you are in these thrilling
environments
let's explore some of the similarities
between amusement park rides
and space flight keeping your
orientation while
spinning around on rides like the
witch's wheel can be a difficult task
this was also difficult for the mercury
seven america's first
astronauts to see if these men had the
right stuff
they came to nasa lewis to train in the
multiple axis space test inertia
facility
the what that's multiple
more than one axis a real or imaginary
straight line on which an object rotates
space you mean like outer space
yes test
can you do that again i think i forgot
to turn the data recorder on
inertia how do you stop this thing
facility just down the midway behind the
merry-go-round
not that kind as another example
if you take a ride on the magnum xl 200
you'll notice that at the bottom of the
first hill you'll feel heavier
typically about three or four times
heavier
that's because the seat of the roller
coaster is pushing you back up
so that you can climb the next hill
that's the same
feeling the space shuttle astronauts
have during a launch
in order to get up enough speed to get
into space
the shuttle must accelerate at about
four times the force of gravity
the difference is this lasts for over
eight minutes when you're an astronaut
perhaps the most obvious similarity is
for those
brave enough to go on the demon drop
this ride
sends its occupants into a brief
from the rider's point of view gravity
seems to be suspended as they rise up
from their seats
this brief experience for demon drop
riders is the way of life for astronauts
shuttle crews have stayed in orbit for
two weeks
while space station crews will live and
work in space for several months at a
time
this puts a whole new meaning to the
phrase losing your lunch
let's look at why what you feel on the
demon drop
is so similar to what the astronauts
experience in space
if an astronaut releases an apple on
earth it falls
when he releases an apple on the space
shuttle it falls too
it just doesn't look like it's falling
that's because
they are all falling together the apple
the astronaut
and the orbiter but they aren't falling
towards the earth
they're falling around it
let's imagine that we put another
astronaut on an elevator on earth
the elevator is going to the top of a
very tall building
suddenly when he reaches the top the
cable breaks
the elevator car with the astronaut in
it begins to fall
what will happen inside the elevator
well
since he's falling and the elevator is
falling at the same rate
he starts to float his body isn't
pushing on the inside of the elevator
anymore
he has no weight he's weightless
if he had an apple with him it would
float too just like the one in the
shuttle
because the astronaut the apple and the
elevator would all be falling together
it would be a fun ride until he hit the
bottom
and that's why things float around in
space
because they all fall on a curved path
around the earth
back at nasa lewis researchers have been
using a facility
similar to the demon drop for over 30
years to conduct experiments
in the low gravity environment of free
fall the basic design and concept is the
same as that of the demon drop
they are almost the same size too one
difference between the demon drop
and the lewis drop tower is the use of a
drag shield
the external cover which eliminates the
effects of wind resistance
the experiment actually falls within the
falling drag shield
to create a pure low gravity environment
about one
one hundred thousands of normal earth
gravity
this environment lets scientists at
lewis get high fidelity data
on low gravity processes and sneak
previews of shuttle experiments
from a rider's point of view the smooth
slope at the bottom of the demon drop is
much more comfortable than the sudden
stop in the sand pit at the bottom of
lewis's drop tower
we have shown you just a small portion
of nasa's space program
which overlaps with your experiences at
amusement parks like cedar point
we hope you enjoy the rest of your visit
here at the nasa lewis research center
and the next time you visit an amusement
park let your imagination
take you to the edge and dream of
future adventures where dreams become
reality
you