Launch News SpaceX Dragon V2 Pad Abort Test, May 6, 2015

[C3PO]

AFAIK astronaut helmets aren't strapped to the head like racing drivers and jet pilots.

 

[tl8]

AFAIK astronaut helmets aren't strapped to the head like racing drivers and jet pilots.

It is also important to note that HANS is still quite new (<5 years) and there have been no really new spacecraft used in that period.
I would not be surprised if the belts in the new spacecraft are optimised for a HANS device.

For those that haven't seen a HANS device, it basically attached the helmet to the shoulders by using the belts to press down, remove the belts and the head is free to move (mostly).

Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that it is harder to get out of the car, but this has never really been an issue (Likely different methods are required)

 

[Thunder Chicken]

For those that haven't seen a HANS device, it basically attached the helmet to the shoulders by using the belts to press down, remove the belts and the head is free to move (mostly).)

The idea behind HANS is to prevent neck hyper-extension by putting a mechanical limit on helmet travel relative to the body. A lot of racers have died, safely strapped in their seat, simply because the momentum of their unrestrained head and helmet broke their necks in a hangman's or basilar fracture.

I would think this would be easier to incorporate into a spacesuit than the awkward collar assembly with a separate Nomex suit used in NASCAR. In fact, I wonder if it is even a problem. If the helmet is held onto the suit with a ring, and the head is in the helmet, there isn't anywhere for the head to go really. If the force is big enough to mechanically remove the helmet from the suit, you're probably SOL anyway.

 

[Fabri91]

A different perspective:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oobLXhS--lE"]Periscope: Chris Hadfield - SpaceX launch - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Hlynkacg]

AFAIK astronaut helmets aren't strapped to the head like racing drivers and jet pilots.

No they are strapped to the astronauts body, which is the important part as the whole point of restraining the helmet is to prevent hyper-extension.

 

[C3PO]

No they are strapped to the astronauts body, which is the important part as the whole point of restraining the helmet is to prevent hyper-extension.

... and that would make the HANS device pointless because its main purpose is to restrain movement between helmet and body.

The reason Basilar skull fractures have become a problem in racing is that the cars have become so strong that accidents that previously weren't survivable, because of mindbogglingly high Gs, have left the driver's neck/skull as the weakest point. We're talking 50+ G with the added weight of the helmet. You wouldn't get anywhere near to those accelerations during a launch abort no matter how bad it was tumbling.

You could add something to restrain the astronaut's head inside the helmet, but the restriction could have some issues regarding the safe operation of the craft during normal conditions. As always: Make sure the cure isn't worse than the disease.

 

[RisingFury]

Woooooohhoooooo!!!

Footage of the abort test from the Dragon capsule!

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Has an in-flight abort test been scheduled? I've been looking for information on this but Google keeps serving me pad abort information.

 

[Unstung]

Has an in-flight abort test been scheduled? I've been looking for information on this but Google keeps serving me pad abort information.

Searching for "Falcon 9 abort" turned up some information.

 

[RGClark]

Woooooohhoooooo!!!

Footage of the abort test from the Dragon capsule!

Pad Abort Test | Point of View - YouTube

An edited version of the flight. Perhaps to eliminate the most wildly gyrating portions?

Bob Clark

 

[Thunder Chicken]

An edited version of the flight. Perhaps to eliminate the most wildly gyrating portions?

Bob Clark

How so? They distinctly show the trunk separation, tumble, and the main chute deployment. The long risers did their job, righting the tumbling capsule and stabilzing the chute deployment.

The point of all this is not to give the astronauts a smooth and comfortable ride, it's to get their selves away from a burning/exploding rocket and saving their lives. For some moments they will be suffering through riding the worst designed roller coaster in history, but they will live to tell the tale.

 

[RisingFury]

An edited version of the flight. Perhaps to eliminate the most wildly gyrating portions?

Bob Clark

You need to get your eyesight checked. It's all there. The only cuts are camera changes, but no time has been cut.


But I guess for you it's easier to believe that SpaceX is trying to cover up their failure than that the oscillations weren't as bad as you initially though from the first video.

 

[Evil_Onyx]

I just watched both videos together and the on board one has the same time from lift-off to splashdown,

 

[Hlynkacg]

The point of all this is not to give the astronauts a smooth and comfortable ride...

As myself and others have noted (and my old flight instructors pounded into my head :facts Bailing out is not safe, (nor should you expect it to be) but it is still much "safer" than impacting the ground at a high mach-number or being strapped to an exploding rocket.

 

[Frilock]

A few miles north up that very coast used to be the Daytona Beach Boardwalk. There used to be a ride there where you would sit in a cage between two towers. After you were strapped in, some bungee cords attached to your cage would begin to rise up the towers. When they reached the top, a cable holding you down would be released and you would get flung up into the sky. I remember riding it and the view was pretty similar. I would say (as I remember at least) the ride seemed much more violent.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

That's exactly the same ride I was describing that I'd seen at Six Flags. My mom-in-law had ridden it (and nearly wet herself). She said she'd have to be pretty drunk to ride it again though.

Regarding the in flight abort... I'd read that it's been moved from V-brg to KSC? I may have dreamed it, but I thought I'd read it somewhere. Scheduled in the fall (again, maybe dreamed it).

 

[RGClark]

You need to get your eyesight checked. It's all there. The only cuts are camera changes, but no time has been cut.
But I guess for you it's easier to believe that SpaceX is trying to cover up their failure than that the oscillations weren't as bad as you initially though from the first video.

You may be right. The jump cuts didn't appear smooth to me. But the sound didn't have any cuts.
Still they could have chosen the best angles at each stage of the flight...

Bob Clark