Comprehensive, classic introduction to space-flight engineering for advanced undergraduate and graduate students provides basic tools for quantitative analysis of the motions of satellites and other vehicles in space.

Paraffin and other combustibles were burned in a zero-gravity environment. Zero-gravity intervals of 12 seconds, maximum duration, were obtained in the cabin of an aircraft flying Keplerian parabolas. Experiments were photographed with infrared sensitive film at 100 frames per second and 16-mm color film (ER-B) at 200 frames per second. Test results indicate that ignition is essentially unchanged compared to a one-gravity environment but that combustion is suppressed, in some instances, to the extent that the fire appeared to be extinguished. In all cases, the flame was brightest during periods of acceleration, such as at impact of the test chamber with the aircraft and when returning to level flight. Flame conditions at zero gravity were typical of those expected of a pure diffusion flame in which steady-state conditions were not achieved.

This book explains how researchers design, prepare, develop, test and fly their science experiments on microgravity platforms before sending them to space. All preparation phases are explained and presented, including aircraft parabolic flights as part of spaceflight preparation. Twenty international authors, all experts in their own microgravity research field, contribute to chapters describing their experience to prepare experiments before space flights. Fields covered are Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. Physical Sciences covers fluid physics (vibration effects on diffusion; red blood cell dynamics; cavitation in microgravity; capillary driven flows) and material sciences (electromagnetic levitator onboard International Space Station). Life Sciences includes human physiology (sampling earlobe blood; human cardiovascular experiments; tumours in space) and neurophysiology (dexterous manipulation of objects in weightlessness).

More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human outposts, culminating in the current International Space Station (ISS). However, of the more than 500 humans who have so far ventured into space, most have gone only as far as near-Earth orbit, and none have traveled beyond the orbit of the Moon. Achieving humans' further progress into the solar system had proved far more difficult than imagined in the heady days of the Apollo missions, but the potential rewards remain substantial. During its more than 50-year history, NASA's success in human space exploration has depended on the agency's ability to effectively address a wide range of biomedical, engineering, physical science, and related obstacles-an achievement made possible by NASA's strong and productive commitments to life and physical sciences research for human space exploration, and by its use of human space exploration infrastructures for scientific discovery. The Committee for the Decadal Survey of Biological and Physical Sciences acknowledges the many achievements of NASA, which are all the more remarkable given budgetary challenges and changing directions within the agency. In the past decade, however, a consequence of those challenges has been a life and physical sciences research program that was dramatically reduced in both scale and scope, with the result that the agency is poorly positioned to take full advantage of the scientific opportunities offered by the now fully equipped and staffed ISS laboratory, or to effectively pursue the scientific research needed to support the development of advanced human exploration capabilities. Although its review has left it deeply concerned about the current state of NASA's life and physical sciences research, the Committee for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space is nevertheless convinced that a focused science and engineering program can achieve successes that will bring the space community, the U.S. public, and policymakers to an understanding that we are ready for the next significant phase of human space exploration. The goal of this report is to lay out steps and develop a forward-looking portfolio of research that will provide the basis for recapturing the excitement and value of human spaceflight-thereby enabling the U.S. space program to deliver on new exploration initiatives that serve the nation, excite the public, and place the United States again at the forefront of space exploration for the global good.

Relates the early excitement and glamour in the life of astronaut Charlie Duke and his wife, recaping the exciting sequences of events that made up Apollo 16 and discussing the personal problems faced by he and his wife

This book provides a unique, authoritative and detailed examination of the physiological and clinical consequences of human exposure to high G forces. Pilots of military fast jets, civilian aerobatic pilots and astronauts during the launch and re-entry phases of spaceflight are frequently and repetitively exposed to high G forces, for which the human body is not fundamentally designed. The book examines not only the nature of the high G environment, but the physiological effects of exposure to high G on the various systems of the human body. In particular, the susceptibility of the human cardiovascular system to high G is considered in detail, since G-Induced Loss of Consciousness (G-LOC) is a serious hazard for high G pilots. Additionally, the factors that influence tolerance to G and the emerging scientific evidence of physiological adaptation to high G are examined, as are the various countermeasures and techniques that have been developed over the years to protect pilots from the potentially adverse consequences of high G flight, such as the G-suit and positive pressure breathing. The accumulated knowledge of human exposure to high G is drawn together within High G Flight, resulting in a definitive volume on the physiological effects of high G and their countermeasures.