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
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