Doing Business / SPACE SIMULATION : Taking the Plunge
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Where: Underwater Test Facility, McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. in Huntington Beach.
Dimensions: 35 feet deep, 70 feet in diameter. Holds 1 million gallons of fresh water. Built in 1980.
What: Underwater testing is the closest thing on Earth to the zero gravity of space. For example, in tests related to the U.S. space station project, subjects performed tasks wearing replicas of space suits to study the length of time required for construction and maintenance chores.
Recent Activity:
* NASA conducted tests of the Precision Segmented Reflector, a structure erected on free-floating space platforms that functions as a high-powered telescope to observe Earth from space.
* UC Irvine engineering students tested a submarine they had built. It leaked.
* Underwater scenes from the movie “Star Trek IV” were filmed there.
Upcoming: In April, McDonnell Douglas Space Systems will test the Mars Aerobrake, a system designed to slow interplanetary space vehicles by creating drag using the planet’s atmosphere instead of firing retrorockets.
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