First Ever Spacecraft “Black Box” Successfully Survives Fall from Space

We know the venerable dim box can survive a agonising plane crash , but what about fall from orbit ?

Today we lie with it can , although the form factor and recovery method are n’t quite the same as they would be for an airplane . The space - based version is called the re - entry breaking - up recorder ( REBR ) , says the Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo , California , and its got a whole host of kickshaw on control board that are meant to relay info to controllers on the ground about its status .

The one that fell from the sky this week was aboard a de - orbiting , uncrewed HTV2 cargo slyness owned by the Japanese Space Agency ( JAXA ) . As the HTV2 disintegrated the black corner was jettisoned and fall to the earth somewhere near New Zealand .

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This ostensibly elementary twist was in reality omit from mod Clarence Shepard Day Jr. space programs , so the successful psychometric test , while basic , is an fantastically significant one for place geographic expedition .

Fun terminal fact about this black boxwood is it ’s never meant to be discovered on the ground ( although this one in reality was ! ) . Instead , the aerodynamic flesh allows the box to compensate itself during descent , so that the antennas are constantly speak to orbiter in orbit . A warmth shield protects the bottom until the inevitable remnant . [ New Scientist ]

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