Evening star., 1961-04-14

Sputniks TX and K of March
9 and 25, 1961-have made II
abundantly clear that the first
Of these problems had been
solved.
Much of the research our
scientists carried on with these
vehicles was directed toward
the final solution of the other
two problems.
Taking the second one, how
was the safety of the cosmo-
nautS to be insured? The hui
man organism is rather deli
cate in space terms and is
adapted for living nowhere ex-
cept in the earth-bound en>
vironment. To sustain mans
life cycle beyond his planet
he needs an artificial atnos-
phere with a definite amount
Of oxygen, a definite pressure
and proper temperature.
Blood BoiIS 1T II Miles
The medical profession knew
that as few as eight kilometers
Give miles, up, a human being
quickly loses consciousness. Al
the height of Is kilometers
(9l2 miles, he faints within Is
seconds. At the height of 1920
kilometers (l2 miles, the all
pressure is so low that his blooc
boils in his veins, even with ar
oxygen supply provided.
The pressure at the heights
of space traversed by satellites
is practically down to zero ano
oxygen is nonexiStent. Thi;
means that the interplanetary
medium canpot support hu-
man life for even a fraction oi
a second. So. the crew of q
spaceship needs to be accommo.
dated in a sealed cabin with the
interior environment stimulating
that Of the earth.
1t was this kind of a sealed
cabin that carried the dos
Laika, the first living creature
to have travelled out in space
in Soviet Sputnik II during
November, 1857. The same typt
of cabin was installed in our re-
cent Spaceship satellites start
ing with Sputnik w on MAY
16, 1860.
The cabin contains a system
for air regeneration and car
bon dioxide disposal as we'll a!
system of heat regulation. 1
was essentially the same cabir
that was designed for man Il
make his maiden flight init
space. That made the informa,
ton transmitted from thu
Sputnik Spaceships most valu
able was that the temperature
and pressure of the air wa
maintained within the pre-
Scribed limits up to a month.
To provide an adequate sup
ply Of food, water and air TO
spacemen was another seriou
problem. 1t has been calculated
that to maintain a crew o
three to five alive for on
month would require about
ton of food, water and oxygen
This is quite a heavy load,
you bear in mind the amour
Of other scientific equipmen
the cosmonauts will need.
The launching of artificia
satellites and deep-space rock
cts brought about unexpecte,
discoveries. Perhaps the mos
significant of these has beel
the revelation Of several gigan
tic bands of radiation circlin
the earth symmetrically sin tn
region Of the earth's magneti
equator. These (Van Allen
radiation belts consist of elec
irons and protons moving a
what is close to the speed O
light. These particles have
great penetrating power, a
we'll as the secondary X-ray
emitted when they strike tn
skin of a spaceship and ar
thus a serious danger to human
life. To guard against it is
very complicated problem.
Other Hazards
The average radiation inten
sity in outer space proper is no
great, as a rule. Yet, wheneve
there is solar prominence, spac
is suddenly filled with deadl
bursts Of high-energy particles
However, these discoveries max
it possible to select the safes
flight paths for manned space
ships. These will, in all prob
ability, pass through high geo
magnetic latitudes for cart