- #1
nebullient
- 10
- 2
Homework Statement
In microgravity astronaut training and equipment testing, NASA flies an aircraft along a parabolic flight path. The aircraft climbs from 24,000 ft to 31,000 ft, where it enters a parabolic path with a velocity of 143 m/s nose high at 45.0° and exits with velocity 143 m/s at 45.0° nose low. During this portion of the flight, the aircraft and objects inside its padded cabin are in free fall; astronauts and equipment float freely as if there were no gravity. What are the aircraft's a) speed and b) altitude at the top of the maneuver? c) What is the time interval spent in microgravity?
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
I'm stuck on part c. I'm using the equation dy = -1/2gt2 + viyt. I used 143sin45° for viy and 522 m for dy, which was the answer for part b. However, when I solved this quadratic equation, I got no solution. (I would then multiply this by 2.)
I also attempted to use vfy = viy + at, and multiplied by 2 to get 20.6 s, which is the right answer.
I'm really confused as to why the first method doesn't work, though.
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