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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallturm_Bremen
Fallturm Bremen is a drop towerat the center of applied Space technology and microgravity at the University of Bremen. It has a 123-metre-high drop tube (actual drop distance is 110 m), in which for 4.74 seconds (with release of the drop capsule), or for over 9 seconds (with the use of a catapult, installed in 2004)weightlessness can be produced. The entire tower is 146 metres high.
The 123-metre drop tube is free-standing within the concrete shell, in order to prevent the transmission of wind-induced vibrations, which could otherwise result in the airtight drop capsule hitting the walls. The drop tube is pumped down prior to every free-fall experiment to about
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The 1,200 year old “Free Hanseatic City of Bremen” and its North Sea port sister of Bremerhaven make up a two-city state, which is the smallest of Germany’s sixteen states. The cities are separated by a mere 60 kilometers along the river Weser. Bremen is a center of technology, renowned for its leadership in aircraft construction and space station assembly as well as space propulsion systems. The city-state earned the distinction of being named the “City of Science” in 2005 as demonstrated by the science center “Universum Bremen” and the “EADS Astrium”.