Page 72 - (DK) Danger! Open with Extreme Caution!

ROCKETS AND PARACHUTES

Space travel is a dangerous game, and things can go horribly wrong.
The most dangerous times are liftoff —when you rocket up into space—
and reentry—when you parachute back down to Earth. Roll the dice
and see if you can make it safely from the Launch Pad
(square one) back to Mission Control (square 36). 34

Rockets: the dangers
of liftoff 35

14 No smoking 36
In the past, rockets used more than
2,200 tons (2,000 tonnes) of fuel just
for liftoff. All it took was one spark and…
BOOM! In 1960, 91 people were killed
when a rocket exploded at a space center
in Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union.
25 26
16 Made of the wrong stuff 27
In 1967, Apollo 1’s command module
burst into flames during a run-through, 22
killing the three U.S. astronauts inside.
The cause? Possibly a spark created
by one of the astronauts’ nylon 24
space suits rubbing against a seat.

19 One small part, 23
one big explosion
In 1986, just 73 seconds after liftoff, 15
tragedy struck the space shuttle
Challenger. A small part (the O-ring seal)
in the right solid rocket booster failed,
allowing hot gases to escape. The gases
burned into the shuttle, which broke
into pieces and crashed into the ocean,
13
killing all seven crew members. 14
24 Time to bale out 32 No “off” switch

The first four space-shuttle missions Once a space shuttle’s solid
in 1981 and 1982 had ejector seats rocket boosters are ignited,
for the commander and pilot but there’s no way to turn them off.
not for the rest of the crew. They They stop only when the fuel 11
worked only going up, as the super-hot runs out. However, on flight 12
temperatures and windblast at supersonic STS-68 in 1994, a computer shut
speeds would have killed anyone ejecting down the engine seconds before
during reentry. ignition after sensing a problem.

29 An unlucky strike 34 Space chimps 2
In 1969, Apollo 12 was struck by Be glad you weren’t one of the shrimp,
lightning just after liftoff—seriously frogs, snails, dogs, or monkeys sent into
scary with all that fuel onboard. space—most didn’t make it back. The
Luckily, nothing ignited, but since first six monkeys sent up on U.S. rockets
then, if there’s a lightning cloud within were all called Albert, and they all died.
11 miles (18 km) of the launch pad, Ham the astrochimp (pictured) became 1
liftoff is delayed. Better safe than sorry. the first primate to return to Earth alive.

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