Daisy Track Waterbrake

The Waterbrake was part of the Daisy Track deceleration system and was used to stop the sled at the end of the run while providing a very specific G-force deceleration rate. It had a cylinder permanently closed at the back end and sealed at the open end with a plastic membrane, with holes drilled along the top so water could escape when the Waterbrake was engaged. Those holes could be plugged to allow more or less water to escape, slowing the sled at different speeds. The front of the sled had a piston, and as the sled sped down the track, the piston entered the cylinder, broke the plastic membrane, rapidly built up pressure, forced the preset amount of water out of the Waterbrake cylinder, and quickly stopped the sled. On 16 May 1958, Captain Eli L. Beeding, Jr. inadvertently experienced 83 G's of deceleration during a Daisy Track test; seated in one of the safer backward-facing test seats, he suffered only sore vertebrae, blacked out immediately, and recovered within 10 minutes.

Alamogordo, New Mexico · United States