Feb 8th 2008
Star City, Russia
SERIOUS TRAINING BEGINS NOW....
Today I did the centrifuge....The TsF-18 Centrifuge is using for acquainting cosmonauts and military pilots with conditions of both high G-loads and "physiological weightlessness". The centrifuge has the ability to simulate a maximum of 30 G's which is thirty times more than the force of gravity here on Earth. G-load affects the spaceship during placing in orbit and backing on the Earth. The unique TsF-18 Centrifuge with moving cab is using for simulating G-load on the Earth. It is the only one model in the world with such characteristics and the largest of its kind in the world.
With my centrifuge run today, I had to perform an orbital ballistic re-entry at 8g's and to cope with the body stress for a few minutes, whilst maintaining a strong heart rate. An orbital ballistic entry is a worst case scenario for a space capsule rocketing through earth’s orbit if it's thrusters which slow it down normally fail. In the event of thruster failure, your body has to cope with high G stress for a few minutes during re-entry. With 8 g's you cannot breathe through your chest...It feels, like it is going to explode and cave in.....You have to literally pant like a pregnant woman in labour to suck every ounce of breath in. As a result of wearing my watch during the centrifuge run, my watch now ticks 3 mins faster per day. I guess there is nothing in the trouble shooting guide to wearing a watch in an 8g environment.
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Watch the Centrifuge in the Video Gallery.