Can astronauts fly like birds in the space station? The space station is microgravity, and astronauts can't walk. Can we design a pair of wings for astronauts to fly in the space station? What if the space station is large, say 100 meters in diameter, and astronauts can't touch the wall?
3 Answers
Winged flight is possible in microgravity, as shown by these pigeons on a parabolic flight. Clearly some adjustment to flying technique is required based on the need to generate thrust and not lift. In that sense an astronaut propelling themselves using aerodynamic forces would be like a neutral buoyancy creature swimming through water.
It would be pretty counterproductive.
Birds fly the way they do because they're working against gravity. They need a constant force to keep them in the air.
Not so in microgravity. Once you're in the air you'll stay in the air. You fly simply by pushing off of a wall. There's nothing pulling you down so you just keep going.
Flapping your wings would push you towards the wall rather than pushing you forwards. It wouldn't really do anything useful.
Also, if we're talking about the ISS, there's not enough room for wings. It's pretty cramped in there.
-
$\begingroup$ What if the space station is large, say 100 meters in diameter, and astronauts can't touch the wall? The bird's wings not only balance gravity, but also push the bird to move. $\endgroup$– enbinCommented Dec 23, 2021 at 0:54
-
$\begingroup$ In microgravity they have superior maneuverability compared to humans because now they need not expend anything opposing gravity. $\endgroup$– DKNguyenCommented Dec 23, 2021 at 1:07
-
$\begingroup$ @enbin it would work but why would you use wings for that instead of developing something more precisely suited to the situation? If you can invent any machine, you probably wouldn't invent wings, you'd probably want something like the Manned Maneuvering Unit but adapted to an atmosphere $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 24, 2021 at 12:43
Birds fly in the air because they're pushing against gravity. However, in microgravity, flapping the wings won't do much. You could already fly without gravity.
-
$\begingroup$ The bird's wings not only balance gravity, but also push the bird to move. $\endgroup$– enbinCommented Dec 23, 2021 at 0:57
-
2$\begingroup$ Birds fly in the air because they push the air and use that to oppose gravity. In microgravity they have superior maneuverability compared to humans because now they need not expend anything opposing gravity. $\endgroup$– DKNguyenCommented Dec 23, 2021 at 1:03
-
$\begingroup$ @DKNguyen Humans can obviously use the wings of birds to drive them to fly in the space station. $\endgroup$– enbinCommented Dec 23, 2021 at 2:35