NASA: Astronaut Cooper Saw Exactly What He Saw
Men., Oct 21, 1963 The Newt-Review Page A-1
CAPE CANAVERAL (UPI) -Some
experts were flatly con
vinced U.S. astronaut L. Gor
don Cooper Jr. was suffering
from hallucinations.
Others were less incredulous,
but preferred to believe that
"outside influences" such as at
mospheric conditions or per
haps even weightlessness were
primarily responsible for it.
The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA)
put a five-man scientific team
to work on the problem. After
weeks of research, the group
came up with its rather startl
ing answer:
Astromut Cooper saw exact
ly what he said he saw on earth
below during his 22.9-ormt voy
age around the globe last May
15-16.
Thus, with no us, ands or
buts, one of the most remarka
ble scientific reports of the
year was vindicated. It could
have an important bearing on
future manned space flights,
and even on the development of
"spy-in-the-sky" satellites fori
policing military build-ups on
earth.
All the flurry centered around
Cooper's report of spectacular
views of earth. At one point, be
said, "I could detect individual
houses and streets" in the Him
alaya mountains, on the plains!
of Tibet and in the southwest
ern desert area of the United!
States.
Sees Road Clearly I
On another occasion, the as-j
tronaut said, "I saw what I took
to be a vehicle along a road in
the Himalaya area and in the
Arizona-West Texas area. I
could first see the dust blowing,'
off the Toad, then could see the
road clearly ..."
And still another: "I saw a
steam locomotive by seeing the
smoke first; then I noted the
object moving along what was
apparently a track ...
All of which triggered a hot
debate in scientific circles. Ex
perts quickly noted that cars,
locomotives, houses and such
are only a comparatively few
feet wide, that a road is scant
yards across and that Cooper
was claiming he saw them from
orbital heights of more than 100
miles.
Some said outright that it was
impossible, that Cooper must three previous U. S. orbiting as-
have differed halliirinatinni: nritronauts. But On all three of
jthe earlier flights, cloud cover
I
some sort of space-going varia
tion of the "raptures of the;
deep." Others said perhaps the! !. J
atmosphere magnified the ob jiUCCeSSOr IS numed
jects on earth, or that the as- .. ....
tronaut's vision was improved ,IIn WiQtA Committee
by the effects of weightlessness
in orbit.
Confirm Astronaut's Views
Not a bit of it, said the NASA
scientific team headed by Dr.
John A. O'Keefe: "... from
knowledge of the factors which
affect visibility under these con
ditions, there appears to be no
reason to suspect that these
identifications (by Cooper) were
not generally accurate."
In the first place, it was
pointed out, Cooper has excep
tional vision. A recent examina
tion measured his eyesight at
20-12 meaning he could see
objects at 20 feet that a person
with normal 20-20 vision could
not detect beyond about 12 feet.
Secondly, Cooper enjoyed "un
usually good weather condi
tions." His report stood out all
the more in the light of a gen
eral lack of similar sightings by
SALEM (UPI) Rep. Ed
Ridderbusch, D-Tillamook, Fri
day was named to the interim
committee on wildlife to succeed
Rep. V. O. Kelsay, D-Rose-burg,
who was killed in an
auto crash Oct. 4.
The announcement was made
by House Speaker Clarence Bar
ton, D-Coquille.
Barton said the appointment
of Ridderbusch, "who has long
been active in fish and game
pursuits and tourist trade fori
Oregon, will maintain geo
graphic and interest balance in
the committee."
Sen. Andrew Naterlin, D-New-port,
has assumed chairmanship
of the committee. Kelsay was
chairman. I
around earth was heavy.
His view was aided by the
rarified atmosphere in the Ti
betan plain, which rises 16,000
feet above sea level, and by the
low humidity, cloudless weather
over the U.S. southwest. He did
not see other more massive
sights such as Los Angeles or
Calcutta even though he flew
right over them because of
obscuring haze or clouds.
As for spotting roads of per
haps less than SO feet across,
the NASA experts pointed out
that U. S. rockets are far back
as the Viking series in the early
1950s had made similar sight
ings from altitudes of up to 150
miles.
American military leaders are
reported to have found Cooper's
report impressively encourag.
ing. The Air Force is develop,
ing a camera-carrying "spy"
satellite called Samos to photo
graph sites on earth from
perches in space as lofty as
Cooper s.
One more point is certain:
such grandiose views right out
side the spaceship windows
should make flights into orbit
interesting experiences for
many years to come.
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