Four Civilian Astronauts. Three Days in Orbit. One Giant Leap. Meet the Inspiration4 Crew

TIME Studios is producing the Netflix documentary series Countdown: Inspiration 4 Mission to Space, starting Sept. 6. Jared Isaacman is not likely to forget the day he almost died at 10,000 ft., back in 2011. He was flying closely alongside three others, all in L-39 fighter jets, tearing along at 460 m.p.h. over the desert southwest of Las Vegas. The group, part of Isaacman’s Black Diamonds aerobatic team, was rehearsing for an air show and trying to come up with a flashy new finish. What they decided on called for flying in a square formation and then suddenly veering toward one another, before pulling back at the last second. It would be a nifty thing to watch go right—and a terrible thing to watch go wrong. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The pilots began the maneuver at their four separate corners and then banked in toward one another. But their coordination was a mess, and the fully fueled fighter jets came screaming toward one another. “Holy sh-t,” exclaimed Isaacman over the radio. He yanked hard on his stick and veered sharply away; the others did the same. Shortly afterward, the Black Diamonds landed, gathered to debrief and reached three conclusions. First, they had gotten too close during the critical approach point. Second, the cause was most likely insufficient lateral spacing at the beginning. Third, they would never try such a high-stakes stunt again. Then they relaxed—and laughed. Philip Montgomery for TIMEJared Isaa...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Magazine Space Special Project Source Type: news