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Family WeeJcly
December 13, 1959
An interview with
BRIG. GEN. DONALD D. FLICKINGER, USAF
by James C. G. Conniff
About the launching of a manned satellite, Washington opinion
i is firm on two counts: 1) we will orbit a man successfully by
1961, but 2) the Reds will probably beat us to it!
By much? Two months to nearly two years.
How come? The Soviets will risk killing their astronaut rather
than let the U. S. be first to put a man in' space. This coldly utilitarian
mentality of the Russians forces on us the need to answer quickly
and correctly some sharp questions. Thanks to jet fighters and
space probes, along with atomic-submarine cruises, we already have
the answers to many puzzles about space travel.
But there is one question nobody can really answer till an Ameri
can or Russian astronaut does the honors: can flesh and blood,
can man's mind and emotions, survive in space? .
To learn the odds, family weekly sent me to Washington to inter
view Brig. Gen. Donald D. Flickinger, USAF-(MC). General Flick
inger is vice chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad
ministration's special committee on life sciences. He is also in charge '
of bioastronautics (the "human factors" in space medicine) for the
Air Research and Development Command at Andrews Air Force
Base near the capital.
A surgeon and, at 51, an experienced pilot, Don Flickinger was
the Air Force expert on the three-man interservice medical team
which selected our seven Project Mercury astronauts from 110 vol
unteers. With Army and Navy colleagues, the general now has the
crucial task of grooming the winners for their big adventure.
Q. Frankly, General Flickinger,
what chance have theBe men of com
ing back alive?
A. They will be in a far better posi
tion to accomplish their mission and
live to repeat it than they are in any
of the high-performance jet aircraft
they have all flown as career test pilots.
Q. Is this because they arc superior
specimens, or because the space cap
sule itself will lie so thoroughly tested?
A. Both. Our astronaut trainees are
superior people, physically and men
tally. Before we send them up we will -have
fully conditioned them to handle
and survive anything that will come
their way at the altitudes now envi
sioned. They will carry no space first
aid kits. They will be able to perform
their duties, normally and naturally,
under all circumstances. On top of that,
we will give the capsule itself, with all
its equipment, a series of maximum
demand laboratory tests.
Q. When you say the astronaut will
perform "normally and naturally,"
General, do you mean he will not be
drugged in any way?
A. Apart from wanting to make clear
that we plan to have him at the peak
of mental and physical form, that is
exactly what I mean.
Family Weekly, December 13, 19S9
Q. But hasn't aeromedical re
search found that a certain "pep
pill" effectively combats boredom
from prolonged, repetitive tasks
like. those in a space capsule with
out a letdown later?
A. Yes, but for what we call these
"first-generation" space flights, such
a compound is unnecessary for two
reasons. First, our astronaut is going to
be too busy to grow bored or drowsy.
When he's not talking to us, we'll be
talking to him. Secondly, in line with
our plan to let him make only two or
three circuits of the earth at 90 min
utes each, he won't be up there long
enough to need drugs.
Q. What about other narcotic aids
for the physical and mental strain
of being rocket-driven into orbit at
18,000 in.p.h. like tranquilizers,
antinausea drugs, bowel-and-bladder
inhibitors, and such?
A. We will use none of them. Tran
quilizers would dull alertness, slow
split-second responses, and imperil
man, machine, and mission. Against the
danger of nausea and dizziness from
concentrated G-forces at launching
followed by a sudden eerie weightless
ness in orbit, we are going to build into
the capsule its own controls to prevent
excessive tumbling.
We are also installing tested
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restraints to keep the astronaut from
being disoriented by the "floating-in-air"
effects of zero gravity. Bodily
excretory problems will be dealt with
by a blend of conscious precondition
ing and diet, for the most part, rather
than by reliance on drugs.
Q. How can you be sure these types
of "conditioning" will work at alti
tudes where man has never been?
A. My answer to that is not intended
to detract one iota from the courage
of our astronauts or the calculated
adventure in store for them. It is a fact,
however, that the drama of our
national effort to orbit an American
airman and bring him back safely
makes people forget that we have
already encountered practically every
difficulty space presents in 1) high
altitude balloon flights and 2) high
performance jet aircraft. Through
. manned exploratory flights in rocket
ships like the X-15, we expect to know
even more about the total space-flight
picture before orbiting a man.
Q. Does that mean we've licked the
radiation problem in space?
A. Unfortunately, no. We are gaining
new data on the nature and extent of
radiation in space almost daily, but
anti radiation shielding of astronauts
and of instruments, too will prob
ably be a space-medicine headache for
some time. The answer to your basic
question about man's ability to survive
in space must therefore be that, as of
this moment, he cannot mainly
because of 1) severe limits on the
length of time he can safely be exposed
to radiation of whatever intensity, 2)
the present state and prospects of
shielding technology, and 3) our
imperfect knowledge of the kinds and
degree of radiation to be found there.
However, while all this is regrettably
true of higher altitudes and longer
trips, what we anticipate for these first
flights is something quite different.
The estimated 120-150-mile level
where our early astronauts will orbit
is not saturated with lethal radiation,
as outer space may prove to be. Fur
thermore, the brief duration of the
flights (3-18 hours) will result in
exposure at the rate of only 45 or so
milliroentgens per 48-hour- period
Compare this with a single-chest Xa-ay
where you get 1,200-1,500 milliroent
gens, or with the 300 milliroentgens a
week permitted in industry.
In this exclusive interview, an Air Force expert gives straight
forward answers to the toughest questions about human space travel
Q. Are you saying, General, that in
effect these "orbital altitudes" of
first-generation space flight are not
really outer space but just part of
the upper atmosphere?
A. Not at all. For all practical pur
poses, the altitude of our manned satel
lite will be space, period. Except for
intensity of radiation, I assure you as
a scientist that it has otherwise the
same phenomena as outer space or
deep space: no atmosphere, intense
darkness, extreme temperatures, utter
silence, zero gravity, and so on.
Q. But even at these altitudes and
with all your conditioning, won't the
first astronaut have to
learn the hard way.
to survive the "break
off phenomenon"?
A. By this you mean
panic and disorientation
that are supposed to
result from being so far
above one's home planet
in an absolutely weight
less state for a prolonged
period especially after
having briefly weighed
many times more than
normal during launch
acceleration. It sounds
like a one-two punch of
formidable dimensions, I
agree, but as for its
destructive or unbalanc
ing effect on the mind, we
in astromedicine are no
longer worried about it. ,
Our reasons include 1) the reassur
ing data obtained from more and more
extended research into human weight
lessness during zero-gravity ma
neuvers in conventional aircraft, 2)
experience in supersonic jets, and 3)
perhaps most of all, our intention never
to give the astronaut an idle moment
to start thinking about how high up
and feather-light he is.
Q. But with his internal organs also
weightless, along with his food and
drink, how will he swallow and keep
nourishment down?
A. Again, it will be a matter of care-
ful conditioning, assisted by. conscious .
nprypus P" mnsfiilar rnntrnl nvpr the
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swallowing mechanism--plus-praetice-rw"
in guarding against involuntary - re
gurgitation. Even a belch, in the
weightless state, could bring up food
particles and cause choking. It will be
a rigorous self-discipline, reinforced
by tubed-food-paste feeders and aes
thetic variety of menu. Long before
attempting to put an American in or
bit, we doctors will have worked out
with the astronauts themselves every
last possible hitch in this area, and
gotten proof that it's been licked. We
are practically at that point now.
Q. What about air supply and dis
postal of waste gases in a pressurized
space capsule?
A. We have learned a good deal
about this particular problem right
here on earth, from long
submerged voyages by
atomic submarines. They
" had only the air they took
down with them and,
through secret reprocess
ing techniques, used it
over and over. The astro
naut will have to do the
same.
His equipment will also
have to "wash" or absorb
possibly toxic concentra
tions of trace gases that
would not even be noticed
in less confined quarters.
But we have sojved all
such problems.
Q. Suppose a meteor
ite punctures the space
capsule?
A. The threat of this is
remote. If it did happen, our man is
wearing a full-pressure suit designed
to keep him alive and in control till he
can effect re-entry.
Q. Is there danger of sending the
astronaut into space forever by
launching error?
A. Hardly. We will have attained
such precision in rocketry as to make
this hazard negligible..
Q. But suppose it did happen?
A. We would detect it long before
orbital altitude was reached or
rather, exceeded. In such a crisisr we.
have means-of freeing the astronaut
" and getting him back down safely. "
Q WhaMtfheoket''mltrepxlium nn-whictr-we-tiaiT not-only sur-
explodes at launch or before-It can vive but in time move freely to enrich
get the man-capsule into orbit? human knowledge.
A. There is a sub-rocket mounted on
a pylon above the capsule for just such
a possibility. The astronaut can fire it ,
on his own or at our signal, depending
on who first realizes there is trouble.
If the astronaut for some reason can
not respond, we can fire it for him from
the ground. The escape device will hurl
the capsule free and shoot it high
enough for safe descent by parachute.
The sub-rocket itself breaks away at a
prearranged altitude to avoid encum
bering the capsule.
Q. Won't the physical buffeting at
launch knock out even a toughened
astronaut?
A. We are sure it won't because right
now we are putting these men through
grueling centrifuge, spin-table, and
high-speed pneumatic "jumping-jack"
tests that demand of them everything
the actual launch will demand. They
are standing it just fine.
Q. Haven't there been some less
than encouraging psychological reac
tions to your prolonged confinement,
monotony, heat-endurance, total
darkness, and absolute-silence tests? .
A. In earlier investigations, there
were hallucinations, anxiety, claus
trophobia, irrational hostility that
sort of thing. But our much more re
fined and intensive studies of the 110
volunteers taught us what we need to
know for the elimination of people sus
ceptible to these weaknesses, and for
reducing to near-zero the risk of emo
tional failure in our chosen astronauts.
Q. If for some unforeseeable rea
son something did go wrong with an
astronaut's mind, mightn't he refuse
' to come down at all?
A. You may be absolutely certain
that no matter what happens, we can
in any given 10- 12-minute period
bring man and machine safely to earth.
Q. General, what danger is there
of a manned space capsule colliding
with one of the satellites already up?
A. We know their altitudes and
orbits. Avoiding such disastrous con
tact is well within our capability.
Q. Finally, there is no question in
your mind, General, that we can, and
will, solve these problems
A. No question whatever. We are
committed to space, irrevocably All
- the evidence indicates that it is a me .
Family Weekly, December 13, 19S9