8 July 1959

SUBJECT: Suggestions for Better Support of BMD DISCOVERER

Program

TO: Major General Osmond Ritland

I. With the recent international events of interest centering around.

aerospace medicine the most meaningful accomplishment for the

United States preceding man in space would be the successful launching, orbiting, and recovering a live biological specimen. This not

only would. lend international prestige to our nation but it would be

the first step in obtaining biomedical data as it may be altered by

physical forces encountered in orbital space flight. To realize these

objectives the School of Aviation Medicine endeavored. to integrate

our limited knowledge and experience with other members of the

Ballistic Missile industry team in the DISCOVERER program. As

you are undoubtedly aware, the problem has become exceedingly

complicated. The most recent endeavors at Vandenberg have met

with innumerable difficulties and it has caused such concern from

among our scientists that we have re-evaluated our position with

respect to the entire program.

2. In the early inception of this program, of necessity the biomedical

portion was a "piggy back" endeavor, as it should be, because of the

pressing missile development program. More recent events, however, indicate that this program may now become a biomedical

experiment in itself. This being the possibility. leads me to suggest

the following:

a. To Ingot previous deadlines it was necessary for all of the

various organizations concerned in this program to proceed without

complete laboratory testing on all component parts of the life cell.

Fuethermore, because different agencies were responsible for the

construction of selected components, complete assembly and testing

have only been possible under field conditions, As a consequence

difficulties have arisen that could not easily be corrected except in

an equipped laboratory wherein many individuals and highly specialized

equipment are available.
b. It would be our suggestion now for your consideration,

since there is an extended delay, that we consider utilizing the

facilities of the School of Aviation Medicine as a focal point for a

thorough laboratory dry-run on every component of the life cell.

The idea being, that should deficiencies of a mechanical, electronics or biological nature become apparent there would be

sufficient highly skilled individuals available to contribute to

thorough corrective measures. Furthermore, it would enable all

the agencies involved to ultimately determine full laboratory qualifications of each and every component part in the life cell system

prior to its delivery to the missile division. In making this suggestion I fully realize that my own institution is fully committed both

to your program and to three specific programs with NASA and

that perhaps we are taxing an already hard. working group of people.

Nevertheless, I feel, as I am sure you do, that this is such an

important step in the biological conquest of space that it can only

have meaning if it is in fact so thoroughly done that we can essentially guarantee a live specimen upon re-entry and recovery from

orbit. This is the only step at this time yet undone by any nation,

and appears to be a scientific way of approaching our two objectives.

This would specifically then involve select scientists from each

of the agencies involved and the transfer of responaibility for the

entire life support systems to the School of Aviation Medicine during

this concerted period of research. To implement this with the large

numbers of people involved we think that each agency should clearly

define a single project officer who has the authority to make decisions

on the spot for modification of items that do not thoroughly withstand

rigid laboratory testing, and to make such retrofits as will produce

a completely functioning, dependable life support system. • The position

in which we now find ourselves I feel is identical with the probable

situation of all of the other interested agencies, namely, a great many

people are making small contributions to specific end items but they

are not in a position to study and evaluate the entire end item, and as

such they are trying to accomplish the final checkouts and modifications

under conditions encountered in the field..

These ideas have been thoroughly discussed within our own group

alone and are offered with the hope that our interest will carry over

and find support necessary to get this job done in the earliest possible

period of time. 'There is no intent at criticism because we all realize

the need for expediency but it is our considered judgment that until a

thorough laboratory experiment corrected for its deficiencies is conducted we are trading our objectives for time alone and jeopardizing

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