TEAMQUEST'S SPACEFLIGHT HOMEPAGE

TESTS THAT WOULD GROSS YOU OUT

Astronauts have endured some real crazy tests and training methods in the past. Today the tests are not too terrible, but in the early days of spaceflight, no one really knew what forces a man would be subjected to. Man did not know what lied in space and had to be prepared for the worst. That is why NASA was so selective in choosing their FIRST ASTRONAUTS. NASA chose the cream of the crop, physically and mentally to be the first Astronauts. Many of the applicants bailed out of the tests after being subjected to only a few of them.
These were some pretty way out tests too. The Centrifuge test Alan Shepard shown here in Centrifuge) was like a Amusement ride on steroids. It sent the astronaut around and around and around at tremendous speed, subjecting the person inside to mega G forces. Many of the Astronauts were affected by the test and some even puked. The centrifuge soon became known as the puke mobile.

Many medical, physical and psycological tests were regularly endured by the first Astronauts. The regime of tests just never seemed to end. Blood was removed and tested so many times that a few of the men actually started showing signs of enemia. Vital signs were tested before, during and after every test or activity. Everything that these astronauts did was measured and monitored. Every bite of food, swallow of liquid, was measured and recorded. Urine, sperm and feces specimines were measured. Imagine having to produce,measure and save your urine or worse everytime that you needed to go and even when you didn't. These men truly had "The Right Stuff."

The medical staff must of been formed by a group of sadists. The tests that were thought of were beyond imagination. No one person could have thought up all this sick stuff. In the adjacent image we see Wally Schirra being monitored as he was subjected to a colonic enema. How filling ones intestines with water or barium had to do with spaceflight we will never know... but that is what they did!! Just look at Wally's face and you can see the discomfort he is in. He looks like he is going to pop. The astronauts and trainees should have revolted and subjected the scientists and medical staff to their own tests. Things might have been different then.

Some of the other way out tests were:

Electro-Shock Test:

The subject were strapped into a chair. One arm and wrist were secured and then a large electro prod 1 inch deep and 4ga. thick was inserted through the soft skin between the thumb and pointer finger. Electric current was sent thru the prod shocking the soft membrane of the test subject. When the pain became to great, the test was halted.

Landing Assimilation:

The trainees were placed in a seat and strapped in with a harness. A large vertical sled was raised about 12 feet and free dropped. The huge jolt that occurred whent the sled reached the bottom of the drop was bone jarring. This test was supposed to prepare the Astronauts for the force of a splashdown.

Pressure Test:

The test subjects were placed in a large pressure chamber and subjected to negative pressure for prolonged periods of time. The Astronauts' physical and mental condition were monitored for effects and changes. It was not known exactly how strong the negative pressure would be faced in space and NASA and the men had to be prepared and accustomed to completing tasks in a negative environment.

Yaw and Pitch Assimilation:

This was another test that made the astronauts lose their breakfast. Strapped into a seat the trainees were subjected to rolling motion. The machine was capable of 3-axis motion at a variable rate in both the speed and angle mechanisms. The motion was very hard on the trainees equilibrium, especially here on Earth with her large gravitational pull.

Lung Volume and Pressure Test:

This test was to determine and build the trainees lung staminia and effeciency. The trainees would blow into a tube full of water suspending a ping-pong ball in the airflow. The test was usually done for a period of 5 minutes or more. In that timeframe, the trainees blew on a small tube with a mouthpiece. This was very hard and tiring. Plus the fact that most experienced oxygen deprivation due to the fact they were blowing on the hose to maintain pressure and keep the ball up.

Sensory Deprivation:

The trainees were locked into a small cubical and left alone. The duration varied, but was usually for 3 days or so. Some men just could not handle being alone in a confined space for that long. Many freaked out and demanded to be let out. Just for kicks, NASA would set off some type of alarm inside the cubical to see the trainees' reaction.

Shake Rattle and Roll Test:

Once again the trainees found themselves strapped to a chair. This time they were shaken and rattled with vigor. This teeth rattling experience was to assimilate the vibrations that were suspected during the reentry process.

After a few space flights, some of these tests were suspended or modified. It was then learned that many were not necessary and too extreme. The FIRST ASTRONAUTS were very respected among the Space Travellers. If not for being one of the first to leave Earth's grasp, then for enduring these tests.

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Last Updated by TeamQuest '96 c/o hotshots@ix.netcom.com on August 15th 1996 at 20:59:59 PDT