Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-04-10
SPACE

Continued From First Page
UsN, SO, aeronautical engineer
from Boulder, Colo.
"A composite Of the seven as
tronauts would look something
like this:
Age, 341s; height. 5 feet 10
inches: weight. l64 pounds:
children, 2; education. college
degree with scientific or engi-
neering background: military
experience, World War II or
Korean war experience or both;
flying experience, $500 hours,
1880 Of them in jet-powered
planes.
The typical astronaut was
rnotivated to volunteer for the
hazardous task because Of in
tense interest in an exciting
new field. Mrs. Astronaut, for
her part, supports her hus-
bands decision TO go out into
space, and the more she learns
about the project the more in.
terested she becomes.
PrOtracted Preparations
Announcement of the iden-
titles ended a lengthy prepare
tory phase which became gen.
eral public knowledge last No
veEnber when NASA invited bids
on a man-carTying space. cap
gule.
The space capsule contract
was awarded January II to the
Mcdonnell Aircraft Corp. Of st.
Louis, and preliminary tests in
volving the parachute dropping
Of mock-up capsules were an
nounced March 26.
The seven officers already
have been detached from their
military services and have been
assigned to duty with NASA at
Langley Field, Va. Although
the astronauts will, for prac-
teal purposes, be civilians"
they viii remain on the mi4-
taly rolls and will be eligible
for promotion on the same
basis as other officers. They will
receive regular military pay
and ordinary flight bonuses.
Selection of the astronauts
fell into four phases.
First. military test pilots
were invited to volunteer for
a man-in-space project pro-
vided they could meet certain
general qualifications. OF more
than 100 who responded, SO
were interviewed here and 80
were selected to enter sub
sequent phases.
The second phase took place
at the Lovelace Foundation for
Medical Education and Re-
search in albuquerque, N Mex.
There, beginning February 7,
groups of six land a final group
of two) underwent 7l2 days Of
medical examinations.
The tests at Lovelace began
with a full aviation and medi- |
cal history interview.
A general examination of the
nervous system and muscular |
structure followed. Nerves were |
stimulated by electric currents |
to check their response. Alb
uormalities. If any, were meas
ured. Brainwave patterns were
drawn by an electromagnetic
graph.
Then the Lovelace doctors
subjected the applicants to a
series Of dynamic examine
tons" to measure body effici-
ency. The first Of these involved
q bicycle-like machine on which
the volunteer pedaled while
wearing an oxygen mask. The
subject pedaled an increasingly |
heavy load. The test was eval-
uated by the amount the volun-
teer was pedaling when his
heartbeat reached $50 q minute,
about az times the normal
rate.
Set Psychological Tests
The volunteers then went to
Wright Air Development Gen.
ter, Dayton, Ohio, for a week.
long series of psychological
tests. These began February
Is, and involved six groups of
five each and one of two. Their
purpose was to determine the
candidates personality and his |
reaction to the sort of stresses
expected in space flight.
Wright's Aeromedical Labora-
tories gave the men these tests:
Step up 20 inches onto a plat
form, doing this once every two
seconds for five minutes (150 /
times) to measure physical fit
ness.
Walk at a constant speed on
q treadmill which gets sleeper
by the minute until the heart
beat reaches 1870, also for phys
ical fitness.
Plunge the feet into-a tub of
ice water to determine the "be-
fore and after" pulse rate and
blood pressure.
Attempt to cope with a 12-
signal panel, each signal re-
quiring a different response, in
order to show ability to react
to confusing situations.
Lie for Is minutes on a
steeply inclined table to show
ability of the heart to compen-
safe for unusual positions over
long periods.
Wear a partial-preSsure suit
for one hour in a chamber with
air pressure at the 65.000-foot
level, to test heart action and
breathing under high-altitude
situations.
In Isolation Chamber
Spend three hours in dark,
soundproof room where all ex-
ternal stimuli are absent, to
determine ability to adapt to
unusual circumstances in a sit
uation of extreme isolation.