Retired NASA engineer Mark Rober recently undertook an intriguing and risky experiment: he successfully threw an egg from orbit while filming the entire procedure. The procedure was “physically, intellectually, and financially exhausting,” according to Rober, but the end product was well worth it.
Rober and his team divided the issue into more manageable parts in order to do this. They started by figuring out an egg’s final velocity, which was discovered to be 75 mph. A target mattress area was built in a small town to capture the egg when it returned from space after the researchers discovered via intensive testing that a mattress could preserve an egg even if it is moving faster than its terminal velocity.
Testing revealed that the mattress idea was unworkable, so Rober and his team changed course to develop a contraption with a parachute that would allow them to safely drop the egg back on Earth. The egg was fastened to a rocket that was linked to a weather balloon to launch it into space. The rocket was launched by the weather balloon, and when it approached Earth, it raced past the speed of sound. The rocket’s four rear fins guided it to the precise spot where it would fall on the complex apparatus.
Rober collaborated with Joe, a self-taught rocket builder from http://BPS.Space. They put heating components all around the egg to prevent it from freezing in space. Before the egg arrived back on Earth, the elements were intended to disintegrate. Although there was a lot of tension building up to the experiment’s climax, the complex apparatus ended up working and the egg landed without incident.
The experiment pushed the envelope of what was conceivable and demonstrated the amazing powers of science and engineering. Rober’s team successfully launched an egg from orbit, demonstrating that anything is feasible with creativity, problem-solving abilities, and collaboration. This accomplishment serves as a reminder of how inspiration and knowledge may come from creativity and scientific discovery.