That would have required a diver team to parachute to the capsule, attach a harness, and then deploy a balloon and cable system. A low-flying C-130 would then snag it and haul it up.
It was similar to what was done in the movie Green Berets and Batman, The Dark Knight.
Quote from: Jim on 05/27/2009 05:13 pmIt was similar to what was done in the movie Green Berets and Batman, The Dark Knight.That was the Fulton Skyhook. It was apparently developed for/by the CIA, originally using a B-17 (seen in the Bond movie Thunderball). It was later put on special C-130s for special forces teams. They used a V-shaped set of poles on the nose of the aircraft to snag a cable.
Those are some nice images. Where did you acquire them? And do you have them in higher resolution?I think I posted some black and white pics of early tests of the C-130 in this role. They used the early version of the C-130, with the ugly nose (I think the pilots called it the Roman nose).
That bottom picture is interesting. My suspicion is that it was for a heavier payload, hence a larger diameter parachute. At some point the chute would have been too big to capture between the two poles hanging out the back of the airplane. So the solution is to put that little bubble cap on the chute which has a smaller diameter.
What I don't "get" is why they didnt (not sure but havent come across anything) use the fulton skyhook for sat. canister pickup....it seemed to work fine with human pickup...
Gusess what I found.http://6594thtestgroup.org/Hopefully more info will be added later
The C-130 and the C-124 were both ugly until they got the radar nose.
Okay, I won't spoil the surprise--this appears to be our first public image of the KH-9 HEXAGON capsule (a training version, anyway). it is actually a little smaller than I expected, but imagine four of these stacked alongside each other on a KH-9 "Big Bird" satellite.
Quote from: Art LeBrun on 05/31/2009 04:41 pmThe C-130 and the C-124 were both ugly until they got the radar nose.Even then, I'm not sure anybody would call either aircraft attractive. The 124 in particular looks like a cartoon aircraft.The C-130 is a little better. At least it is a little utilitarian. I've long harbored a view about "ugly" aircraft. There's "ugly" and then there's "ugly/cool." The B-52 and the A-10 Warthog both fit the latter category--neither one is pretty, but you respect their looks. There's other planes, like the 124, that are just ugly and don't generate any respect.
Quote from: Jester on 05/28/2009 05:21 pmWhat I don't "get" is why they didnt (not sure but havent come across anything) use the fulton skyhook for sat. canister pickup....it seemed to work fine with human pickup...I think it has to do with the weight of the object. The way that the satellite recovery system worked was that they strung a cable out behind the plane between two poles. The cable was hooked to a winch with a friction brake. As soon as it caught, a sergeant in the back of the plane engaged the brake, gradually. This slowed down the cable. This should have reduced the yank on the plane....
Anyway, one thing that I note is that it is in USAF markings. I was unaware that the USAF operated the Sea King. They certainly operated related aircraft, like the one on the top, the H-3 "Jolly Green Giant." They were most famous as search and rescue helos in Vietnam.
Additional interesting information is available here:http://usafhpa.org/6593rd/6593%20Hawaii.html
I have been trying to find the photos of T-IIID/34D's with the four doors in the fairing for our thread on T-IIID. I can't find mine.
I'm looking at all this mid-air recovery stuff and I often wonder if the USAF's lifting body program had two elements. One was the obvious, collecting data for manned space shuttles derived from the lifting body shape. The other was a bit darker. Were the PRIME and ASSET research vehicles prototypes for new methods of returning film in a much more controlled fashion?
I have seen at least one reference to the fact that USAF hoped that they could develop winged reentry for a film-return vehicle.
And it all would have been obsolete within a few years. - Ed Kyle
What would make more sense, but would have been beyond a big stretch for the times, would have been to make the entire upper stage and payload recoverable/reusable.