Word: astronaut
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...dark, soundproof room for three hours to measure his adaptability to isolation. Before, during, and after these tests came perhaps the most thorough physical examinations ever devised-plus a total of three doses of castor oil, five enemas. Which was the worst part of the tests? Answered one Astronaut, Marine Lieut. Colonel John Glenn: "If you figure out how many openings there are in the human body, and how far you can go into any one of them, you can answer which would be the toughest...
What will the first Mercury Astronaut feel, see and hear? Last week an eloquent forecast came from Navy Captain Norman Barr, veteran flight surgeon and pilot (12,500 hours), who helped set the physical requirements for the space-bound seven. Said Dr. Barr to the American Academy of General Practice in San Francisco...
Floating Fall. The next two orbits will be much like the first in their geometrical form, but the Astronaut will be changing. He will be becoming a more experienced man. No longer will he be so concerned for his safety. He will have more time for introspection. He will observe with more acuity, more conscious of the degree and meaning of his perceptions. The tremor of his voice and its high-pitched quality will disappear. Uncertainties will remain, but he will be able to view them with almost complete objectivity...
Then finally, before the last orbit is finished, a signal will come from the ground which will determine whether the vehicle is pointing correctly stern-first so the Astronaut can take the deceleration of re-entry with his back to the force. Following that, another signal from the ground will cause his small retrorockets to fire, thereby reducing the speed and causing the vehicle to plunge. It will crash into the earth's atmosphere like a stone into water, creating a sudden shock to both vehicle and man. The forward parts of the vehicle will be heated...
...program itself-"flights"' in a centrifuge simulating conditions during high-acceleration takeoff and quick-deceleration re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, flights in Mercury capsules carried by balloons. Finally, just before the big moment comes-perhaps three or four years hence-the first space-bound Mercury Astronaut will be named. The others will be expected to try subsequent flights...