Topic: NASA Tests Flying Airbag

[sam]

"NASA is looking to reduce the deadly impact of helicopter crashes on their pilots and passengers with what the agency calls a high-tech honeycomb airbag known as a deployable energy absorber. So in order to test out its technology NASA dropped a small helicopter from a height of 35 feet to see whether its deployable energy absorber, made up of an expandable honeycomb cushion, could handle the stress. The test crash hit the ground at about 54MPH at a 33 degree angle, what NASA called a relatively severe helicopter crash."

http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/12/09/1625237/NASA-Tests-Flying-Airbag?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+(Slashdot)

[Simon]

Bit of a waste of a chopper, isn't it? 

[Rik]

Well, the budgetary axe had to fall somewhere.