Hayden and the Saturn Probe
Hayden remembers fondly the escape path from the Apollo Moon Rocket segment he was working on, which was the Saturn (?) rocket. The escape device, in case of explosion or unforseen critical problem, was meant to rescue men instantly from a small, high platform poised alongside the Saturn Rocket.
It was basically a line, tethered high up on the launch pad, and again at ground level some distance away. Hayden "did the math" to prove that this slingshot would decelerate a human mass properly. And Hayden was the first man to ("Whoosh!") jump down the escape line. For practice only, of course!
I have met many interesting people. Hayden is one.
Edited January 2007:
Sarah, who works at NASA, says NASA definitely did not destroy the plans for the Saturn rockets. Hayden describes people literally crying in the halls, forced to destroy their lovely, lovely plans. Then he unrolls his old, faded copy, and it is certainly a thing of beauty. But he lied!
Sarah says they have all the plans in the library.
Of course they would.
They don't use that design anymore, although the current spaceship looks a lot like the Apollo rockets. Sarah says, if anything happens, the capsule (with people) detaches and accelerates away at 15g (for 15 seconds?) blacking out the humans inside, then depositing the capsule safely in the ocean.
Pretty cool.
But I'm steamed about Hayden's heart-tugging lie.