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Ecuador: A Step Forward
to Aerospace
Taken from El Universo newspaper, May 19th 2008
edition |
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Since last May 6th,
Ecuador has the first zero-microgravity airplane in
Latin America, positioning the country as regional
aerospace leader. |
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Ronnie nader, Director of Space
Operations at
ESAA (Ecuadorian Space Agency) explains that this aircraft is part of Dedalo
scientific project, created by him and that will be
developed in the coming ten years. |
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The project, that
was created with the help of the Ecuadorian Air
Force (FAE), has been designed to capture flight
parameters in microgravity with a device of his
invention. Before obtaining the zero-gravity plant,
Nader searched for sponsors in the private sector
without success; FAE gave him their support and
together they worked in the modification of the
plane. |
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FAE donated ESAA
with a Sabreliner T-39 (used during the Cenepa War
in 1995), a high performance jet but needed to be
adapted for zero gravity. "When we got the plane, we
started to create a plan but found out that we
needed some aeronautical information, so I went to
my friends in Russia and the U.S. but was denied on
the grounds it was a secret technology." he
adds. Overcoming this, he worked with FAE
technicians in a device to measure gravity in the
plane. He remember that during the construction,
some light materials like titanium were needed, but
it was very expensive so they used balsa wood
instead and managed to finish it. |
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The plane received substancial modification and the
gravity meter was installed. The Sabreliner was then
nicknamed Force-G One Condor and two LCD screens
were installed, one in the the zero-g zone and the
other in the cockpit. |
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Lab Jet |
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The zero-gravity jet is considered a laboratory
plane, where the FAE pilots and cientifics test
their experiments. "Here we will study all projects,
since is very similar than being out in space",
refers Patricio Salazar, head of FAE's Aerospace
Department. |
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He further
explains that the gravity in the plane can be
sustained for 15 seconds more than the 10 seconds
previously expected. Furthermore, this project
wishes that Physics students from local schools can
have the opportunity to test their experiment in
flight. It will also help to know possible future
astronauts. |
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Zero gravity |
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Zero gravity is a physical state of ingravity in
space or in flight. On Earth we have gravity 1, in
the Moon gravity 0.16 nd in Mars gravity is 0.33. If
a person weights 100 pounds on Earth, he will weight
16 pounds in the Moon and 33 pounds in Mars. In
orbit he will weight 0 pounds and means that he can
freely float and will not fall while in orbit. |
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A person in zero gravity feels like
an intense free fall. Like the vacuum sensation in
stomach when flying in turbulent weather, but much
stronger. Then this sensation turns into a pleasant
one, but if the trainee does not feel this way, he
will not have the ability to continue in a space
program for astronauts. |
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Profile |
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Ronnie Nader,
41 years old, Cosmonaut from
the Yuri Gagarin Training Center in Russia.
On June 8th 2007 he became the first
Ecuadorian astronaut to complete the ASA/T (Advanced Suborbital
Astronaut /Trained) training program and the
first civil in history to achieve this rank
without being part of a space agency. |
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“Dreams must be followed, we should not
abandon them, and most than anything else..we
have to knock doors for help”. |
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Ronnie Nader, Ecuadorian cosmonaut |
Ronnie Nader
climbing on a FAE's Mirage F.1JE |
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