A Non-Astronaut's Account Of Flying To The Edge Of Space

http://images.askmen.com/entertainme...4820-flash.jpg
"If I say: 'Jim, eject, eject, eject,' this is not command for discussion, only forfulfillment." In broken English, Russian pilot Alexander Garnaev is preppingme on emergency evacuation procedures for the MiG-25 Foxbat fighter jet while his groundcrew straps me into the cramped cockpit. I’m listening carefully. Garnaev is aboutto take me to the edge of spaceat upward of twice the speed of sound. "But don't pull this handle," he adds nonchalantly,gesturing at another mechanism near my seat. "You could eject me." I knew thisflight wouldn’t be first class in a Learjet, but accidental ejection of the pilotwas something I hadn't really considered. No matter, here I am in Russiadonning a pressurized flight suit, helmet and oxygen mask. My heart is racing. Is this howAlan Shepard, the first American into space, felt before his historic Mercury flight in1961? Shepard's capsule topped out at just over 100 miles above the Earth's surface. Myride is only supposed to go to 16 miles. But since that's above 99% of the planet’satmosphere, much of what one sees -- the blackness of space, the curvature of the Earth --is similar to a space flight. We've gathered at Zhukovsky Air Base, justsoutheast of Moscow. During the Cold War, the place was so secret it didn't appear onmaps. But today, with times tough for Russia, outside entrepreneurs such as Space Adventures and IncredibleAdventures give tourists the thrill of a lifetime from the base, at the same timepumping needed money into the Russian economy. At my preflight briefing, Ilearn that the MiG is quite an aircraft. Designed in the 1960s to intercept American SR-71Blackbirds, the MiG-25 still holds the world record -- 123,000 feet -- for altitudeachieved by a jet. After the big buildup, I’m not quite ready for whatawaits me on the runway. The machine looks ancient -- like something out of Dr.Strangelove: frayed seat harnesses, chipping paint, nothing digital in the cockpit. Iam to fly in a separate cockpit on the nose of the jet. Garnaev, 10 feet behind in anotherarea, will communicate with me via radio; I must push a button whenever I want to talk.After a jolting takeoff powered by full afterburners, we quickly rise to30,000 feet -- the height at which passenger jets cruise -- but we do so sub-sonically.Supersonic speed should only be achieved up high, Garnaev explains on the radio, because asonic boom near the ground could break too many windows below. As weaccelerate to the speed of sound -- about 650 mph -- Garnaev asks me to watch theinstrument gauges. The needles, and the plane, should react when we go supersonic. Sureenough, just as the gauge flashes Mach 1, there is a slight shudder, then the ride becomesincredibly smooth. For the first time in my life, I am traveling faster than thunder. We continue to accelerate. The sensation of speed becomes harder to judge as allframes of reference disappear; we are way above the clouds. Then we gently circle backtoward the base, already 200 miles away, and start a steep climb. I really begin to feelthe G-forces. The small camera in my right hand suddenly feels as if it weighs 10 pounds! Continue Reading

http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/austin/flight-to-space.html ]More...[/url]