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welcome to the nasa lewis research

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center

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louis originally an aircraft propulsion

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lab

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was one of the original nasa centers

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with the start of the space race in 1958

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lewis became nasa's lead center for

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space propulsion

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power and communications lewis's science

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and technology

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has been critical to putting a man on

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the moon and the development of the

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space shuttle

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today lewis is also a lead center for

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microgravity sciences

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and is responsible for the power system

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of the space station

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during your visit you'll have the

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opportunity to learn about

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our aeronautics and space programs

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from experimental high performance jets

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to space shuttles and the space station

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unfortunately you won't be able to

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experience how

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our pilots and astronauts feel in these

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dynamic environments

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but there may be a way you can

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experience some of the sensations

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the cedar point amusement park and nasa

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lewis have

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teamed up to show you how your

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experiences within 200 feet of the

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earth's surface

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relate to activities 200 miles above the

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earth

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located 60 miles northwest of lewis

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cedar point has many rides on which you

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can challenge the laws of nature

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as you speed around corners and fly

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through the air

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at times seeming to defy gravity

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some of these rides create environments

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identical to those

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experienced by high performance jet

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pilots and astronauts

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the only difference is the length of

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time you are in these thrilling

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environments

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let's explore some of the similarities

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between amusement park rides

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and space flight keeping your

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orientation while

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spinning around on rides like the

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witch's wheel can be a difficult task

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this was also difficult for the mercury

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seven america's first

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astronauts to see if these men had the

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right stuff

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they came to nasa lewis to train in the

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multiple axis space test inertia

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facility

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the what that's multiple

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more than one axis a real or imaginary

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straight line on which an object rotates

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space you mean like outer space

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yes test

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can you do that again i think i forgot

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inertia how do you stop this thing

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facility just down the midway behind the

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merry-go-round

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not that kind as another example

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if you take a ride on the magnum xl 200

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you'll notice that at the bottom of the

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first hill you'll feel heavier

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typically about three or four times

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heavier

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that's because the seat of the roller

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coaster is pushing you back up

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so that you can climb the next hill

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that's the same

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feeling the space shuttle astronauts

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have during a launch

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in order to get up enough speed to get

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into space

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the shuttle must accelerate at about

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four times the force of gravity

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the difference is this lasts for over

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eight minutes when you're an astronaut

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perhaps the most obvious similarity is

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for those

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brave enough to go on the demon drop

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this ride

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sends its occupants into a brief

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from the rider's point of view gravity

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seems to be suspended as they rise up

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from their seats

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this brief experience for demon drop

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riders is the way of life for astronauts

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shuttle crews have stayed in orbit for

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two weeks

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while space station crews will live and

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work in space for several months at a

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time

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this puts a whole new meaning to the

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let's look at why what you feel on the

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demon drop

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is so similar to what the astronauts

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experience in space

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if an astronaut releases an apple on

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earth it falls

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when he releases an apple on the space

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shuttle it falls too

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it just doesn't look like it's falling

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that's because

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they are all falling together the apple

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the astronaut

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and the orbiter but they aren't falling

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towards the earth

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they're falling around it

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let's imagine that we put another

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astronaut on an elevator on earth

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the elevator is going to the top of a

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very tall building

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suddenly when he reaches the top the

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cable breaks

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the elevator car with the astronaut in

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it begins to fall

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what will happen inside the elevator

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well

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since he's falling and the elevator is

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falling at the same rate

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he starts to float his body isn't

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pushing on the inside of the elevator

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anymore

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he has no weight he's weightless

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if he had an apple with him it would

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float too just like the one in the

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shuttle

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because the astronaut the apple and the

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elevator would all be falling together

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it would be a fun ride until he hit the

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bottom

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and that's why things float around in

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space

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because they all fall on a curved path

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around the earth

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back at nasa lewis researchers have been

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using a facility

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similar to the demon drop for over 30

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years to conduct experiments

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in the low gravity environment of free

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fall the basic design and concept is the

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same as that of the demon drop

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they are almost the same size too one

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difference between the demon drop

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and the lewis drop tower is the use of a

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drag shield

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the external cover which eliminates the

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effects of wind resistance

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the experiment actually falls within the

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falling drag shield

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to create a pure low gravity environment

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about one

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one hundred thousands of normal earth

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gravity

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this environment lets scientists at

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lewis get high fidelity data

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on low gravity processes and sneak

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previews of shuttle experiments

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from a rider's point of view the smooth

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slope at the bottom of the demon drop is

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much more comfortable than the sudden

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stop in the sand pit at the bottom of

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we have shown you just a small portion

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of nasa's space program

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which overlaps with your experiences at

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amusement parks like cedar point

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we hope you enjoy the rest of your visit

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here at the nasa lewis research center

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and the next time you visit an amusement

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park let your imagination

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take you to the edge and dream of