Before the Moon Blog
Exploring the past, present, and future of space.
Tag: Johnsville Centrifuge
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It started with a countdown. Ten, nine, eight… a group of kids huddled behind a yellow safety line, eyes locked on the slender rocket balanced on its red launcher. The button was pressed, and in a burst of smoke and speed, the rocket shot into the blue August sky. Cheers erupted. For a moment, every…
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What does it feel like to watch a man willingly black out in the name of science? Frank Kurdziel still remembers. In the mid-1980s, Frank was a young environmental engineer at the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster, Pennsylvania. He didn’t design rockets or pilot jets, but he was part of the backbone that…
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Would You Strap Yourself Into a Machine That Simulates Death? Imagine climbing into a steel gondola, being locked into a seat, and flung in a giant circle at 175 miles per hour—until your vision tunnels, your breath seizes, and the world darkens to black. Now imagine doing it… on purpose. This wasn’t a thrill ride.…