Hey, I know that guy!

Bullet

Bullet

10-Year Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
Messages
986
Pima called me a few minutes ago with some really cool news! A buddy of mine, and fellow WSO from my F-111 days, was on Good Morning America this morning, showing the "Zero-gravity simulation trainer" in action to the morning anchors. Col Mike Good (they were calling him "Col Mike" in the segment) was being interviewed UNDERWATER! Mike is scheduled to go up this summer (on the Atlantis, I believe) as a mission specialist to do a bunch of space walks repairing and upgrading the Hubble telescope. They even showed his family, which I haven't seen since his kids were playing with my kids yeeeears ago. (I saw Mike last summer at our local air show, good to see all the training hasn't made him go grey up top, yet.)

Way Cool! Way to make us WSOs proud, Mike!

So you young men and women out there, hoping to follow in his path; dreams do come true! Aim High, even shoot for the stars!
 
^^^^^

No, but they were showing highlights af the GMA anchors getting a flight in that (I think it's a modified Beoing 737 where the interior is open and the walls are padded. The jet flies a profile where they pull up then do a negative G push over for about 30 seconds. People in the back are able to experience simulated zero G that way, flying around and doing spins in the air.)

What Col Good was in was the large water tank where the astronauts practice space walks. Pima told me he was the one in the wetsuit and scuba gear, overseeing another astronaut practicing repairs on a mock Hubble.

NASA gets all the cool toys :smile:
 
LITS,
I think you are referring to the centrifuge. Chris Cuomo did that. I remember Bullet doing that in Almogordo and coming home with weezils (?) I also was allowed to watch him do it from a small room with the camera, and you can hear them sound off the markers 5 G's.... 6 G's, ...7 G's...8 G's...9 G's, and you get to see their face distort during the entire time
 
Not that I like to normally correct my own wife (something most husbands avoid at all costs unless they are subsequently entitled to hazard duty pay:shake: ), but the Vomit Comet does refer to the flight in the Boeing 737 where you experience the zero G profile. So named because this exercise does entail a lot of people experiencing the wonderful sensation of tasting their breakfasts a second time.

And what she also was referencing in the last post are "Geazles", so called because sometimes in a sortie when your pulling a lot of Gs mulitple times (such as during Basic Fighter Manuevers, i.e. BFM, i.e. Dogfighting) the blood vessels just under your skin slightly "burst", especially in your extremeties such as your arms or legs. Nothing dangerous, it just looks like you got the measles, hence the name Geasles. Even WSOs like me get them! Some guys have also been known to burst the blood vessels in their eyes, especially during agressive negative G manuevers. Ouch, that's why we avoid doing that unless absolutely necessary! Again, not an especially dangerous side-effect (it goes away in a couple of days), but it does look like you just woke up from a very long night partying with the boys!

I will have to say that the centrifuge profile was "interesting". Never thought I would get a photo of myself with my cheeks somewhere in the vicinity of my ears :thumb:
 
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