Air bag system will cushion Orion’s landing on earth

The escape craft called Orion, which is under construction is actually designed to land at sea in case there is an emergency, astronauts needing to evacuate the International Space Station. However, in the worst case scenario, if there comes a situation where it needs to land on earth, it is not very well equipped to do so. Consequently, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is developing an air bag system, which will cushion Orion in case it needs to land on earth. Taking inspiration from the structure of seeds, Sydney Do has come up with a small, lightweight and reusable 317.5 kg. (700 lb.) air bag system. This will inflate during launch and landing, deflate for storage and partially inflate to provide seating while it is in space. The best part is that it will not be at the mercy of computers, being purely mechanical in its functioning. And, if all goes well, it might soon become a reality.

aestronaut air bag

Via: Gizmag