NASA Langley Engineers Helped Design Miners' Rescue Pod

NASA Langley here in Hampton, Virginia, is one of the regions crown jewels even though it often fails to receive the recognition that it is due. Indeed, the City of Hampton needs to talk up NASA Langley far more than is usually the case since the installation is a strong counter point to the ignorance and backwardness embodied by Pat Robertson and Regent University over in Virginia Beach. Clint Cragg (pictured) is one of the NASA Langley personnel who assisted in the design that helped result in the amazing rescue. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:
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Clint Cragg spent Wednesday glued to his desk, but he didn't get much work done. He was too busy taking calls from the media and watching the live feed from Chile on his computer.
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Reporters wanted to know the same thing: How does it feel to see the miners coming up alive? "It's a relief," Cragg said in an interview as rescuers pulled the 17th miner from the ground. "The capsule is working the way we hoped it would."
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Cragg is an engineer at NASA's Langley Research Center, and he helped design the 13-foot-long pod that carried the miners to safety. "To see them in good health, to see them coming out smiling - it's a good day." Cragg, who is 55 and spent 26 years in the Navy, became involved with the miners soon after they were discovered to be alive. It was mid-August and the Chilean government had called the U.S. State Department looking for help. So the State Department called NASA headquarters, which called Cragg, who seemed a natural choice for the assignment.
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Cragg quickly assembled a team of 20 engineers. Roughly half worked from Hampton. The others were scattered in NASA offices across the country. They toiled 16 hours a day for three days, then sent the Chileans a paper containing 75 specific suggestions for the design of the capsule.
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Among their ideas: The pod should move on spring-loaded rollers so it doesn't grind against rock as it travels up and down the rescue shaft. A loose harness should be installed in case a miner loses consciousness during the ascent to the surface. The capsule must be built so one person can operate it alone; someone's going to have to be the final person pulled from below. The Chileans used many of NASA's suggestions in their final design. "We're just glad we could help," Cragg said.