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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 6, 1962)
The threat of war is spurring the race for space hut the greatest long-range benefits may he in your health, happiness, and home comfort By JAMES E. WEBB Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration with Theodore Irwin 3t lames E. Webb Editors' Note: Americans should be more aware of the importance of space explo ration to their everyday lives, Mr. . Webb believes. With this in mind, he will appear as main speaker at the Second National Con ference on the Peaceful Uses of Space, which NASA is sponsoring May 8-10 at the Seattle World's Fair. And, to reach an even wider audience, he has written this interesting and informative ar ticle for the readers of Family Weekly. WHEN ASTRONAUT John H. Glenn, Jr., rocketed into space and orbited the earth, his performance and reac tions were monitored by miniature in struments attached to his body. As these sensors measured his heart action, brain waves, blood pressure, and breathing rates, the information was telemetered back to earth. At Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, doc tors recently used similar sensors in a medical experiment. They attached the instruments to the bodies of critical-list patients and set up a system to monitor the devices. Shortly after the equipment was put into use, it saved the life of an accident victim who suddenly went into shock when no one was around. The monitor signaled a nurse who, in turn, summoned a heart specialist in time to revive the patient. Soon to come are other electronic systems which will permit one nurse to keep a constant check on as many as 24 patients via remote con trol. A public-health official estimates that in a postoperative ward such a system could free at least four nurses on each shift for other duties and save $100,000 a year in salaries alone. It is evident that what we are learning in space exploration will affect the lives of every one of us. Saving the accident victim at Roosevelt Hos pital is but one example of many applications of space information to down-to-earth problems. New, almost painless dental drills already have been made possible through the use of pinpoint size bearings devised originally for satellite equipment. Miniscule batteries developed to pow er space devices are now being employed in elec tronic watches and hearing aids. MORE DIRECTLY, through satellites themselves, we can expect far better weather predic tion in the future. Before we began to use our experimental me teorological satellites Tiros I, II, and III there were wide gaps in our weather knowledge. With in 60 days after Tiros III was launched, pictures transmitted from it were used to track and an alyze Storm Eliza in the Pacific and Hurricane Anna in the Atlantic. Later, in Hawaii, Tiros pictures helped trace a violent tropical storm. And in Japan, the weather-bureau chief acclaimed Tiros as open ing a new era in forecasting typhoons. Eventually, satellites will enable scientists to forecast the weather with great accuracy weeks, perhaps even months, in advance. You will know better what kind of a winter to anticipate, and whether there will be a rainy or dry spell ahead. You will be able to time your vacations for the utmost in sun or ski conditions. And promoters of fairs and outdoor sports events will be able to schedule these affairs with much less risk. Another type of space craft communications satellites may permit you to watch the 1964 Olympics as they are being held in Japan or give you a box seat at the opera in Milan without your moving from the tv set in your home. One such satellite, Echo I, has already trans mitted two-way telephone calls from New Jersey to France, reflected facsimile photos back and forth across our continent, bounced a recording over the Atlantic, and beamed letters from one state to another. Intercontinental television is likely to be next. Today, the two transatlantic telephone cables can carry only 168 conversations at one time. New cables can be laid, of course, but one satel lite could accommodate as much traffic as a half-billion-dollar cable system. Such satellites should be able to increase global message-handling ca pacity several thousandfold. This year, four communications satellites are being placed in orbit for NASA's Project Relay, paving the way for a practical world-wide system of sending tv pictures and telephone messages. Research on food for astronauts should even tually improve nutrition for all of us. Ef forts to control temperatures in space .vehicles should lead to cheaper ways to heat and cool your home. Research on radio transmission from sat ellites should produce truer hi-fi. Development of space-era materials should provide you with toasters, refrigerators, and other household equipment that are far more durable than any thing on the market today. Already, Pyroceram, a material devised to shield radar equipment in the nose cones of space vehicles, is being used to make pots and pans which can be taken safely out of a freezer and immediately placed over a hot flame. These are only a few examples of present and near-future dividends from space. As manned space exploration extends to the moon and un manned devices are sent to investigate the near er planets, we can expect countless other practi cal benefits from the technology developed for such deep-space expeditions. COVER: Even Eve might envy this carefree, sweat erlike swim suit modeled by a Florida bathing beauty and ph olograph edbyArth ur Schatz. For more new swimwear, see p. 7. Weakly May S, 1962 LEONARD S. DAVIDOW J'reeioVitl and Pablither WAITER C. DREYFUS 1'iiT 'T.idcnl PATRICK E O'ROURKE Atrcrl,g Director MORTON FRANK Director of PublMer Relation! Send all advertising communication! to Family Weekly, 153 N. Michigan Av... Chicago I. III. Address all communications about editorial features to Family Weekly. 60 E. 56th St., New Tork 22. N. V. Board of Editors ERNEST V. HEYN Bdilnr-iii-Olm BEN KARTMAN Ercculiee Editor ROBERT FITZGIBBON .Wnnaoinn Editor MARGARET BEll Feature Editor PHILLIP DYKSTRA Art Director MELANIE DE PROFT Food Editor Rosalyn Abrevaya, Arden Eidell, John Hochmann, Hal London, Jock Ryan; Peer J. Oppenheimer, Hollywood. FAMILY WEEKLY MAGAZINE, INC., 153 N. Michigan A.e.. Chicago I, III. All rights reserved.
