Perhaps Backward And On Fire Would Be Easier.

Remember re-entry? Back before spaceships had wings?

They did it backward, in flames, into the ocean (Image via Wikipedia)

Back in the day, astronauts came back to earth by falling backward through the atmosphere. Their capsule would be engulfed in flames in the upper atmosphere, then there’d be a point where they’d deploy a parachute or three and slow down.

It wasn’t over even then. They’d fall into the ocean. Ideally, this would happen somewhere near the aircraft carrier they were aiming for so they could be rescued before they capsized.

"Omawarisan is no Astronaut. He will scream like a banshee" - Walter Cronkite (Image via Wikipedia)

Walter Cronkite used to portray the astronauts as cool and collected during this wild plunge. He made us think about them going about their business as their fireball streaked toward the ocean. Read the rest of this entry »