BTS-1 Space Camp in the Swamp

"Last time on BTS-1: the three member crew, Commander Camilla SDO, Pilot Fuzz Aldrin and Mission Specialist Skye Bleu launched in their balloon propelled capsule to the Edge of Space. The capsule, named 'Inspiration' had three cameras mounted to capture the view of the balloon and Earth beneath it. At 60,000 feet a personal message from the ISS was received. At 78,000 feet communications and tracking was lost. The situation became dire. After long 15 minutes of no com, the ground tracking picked up the BTS-1 signal again. The crew was descending fast, flying over Lake Sabine, crossing into Louisiana. Commander Camilla SDO had time for one last twitter update "Gdetjb voiygb Bd biydv" before they landed. And landed they did - right inside a wildlife refuge. An area filled with alligators and mosquitos. The ground rescue team just could not reach them..."

The Mission Team just released real-time Launch and Flight Communication from the BTS-1 mission. I thought I would share a few screen shots with you before telling you about our adventures inside the swampy Wildlife Refuge area! 

Exerts from the BTS-1 Launch & Flight Communication Log (LFCL) 

As mentioned in my previous post, right after the crash landing we checked and made sure we all were fine and we got ready for some time in the wilderness. 

The question we get all the time "What did you do all day long inside the swamp?". Well, believe us when we say, we had plenty of things to do. We spread the red parachute out so our rescue team could spot is a little easier. Then we prepared a little camp, told each other stories, sang camping songs, did some star gazing at night and made friends with some of the habitants at our "vacationing paradise". Last thing we wanted is for them to think we did not come in peace...

The time went by pretty fast. On Day 3 (Tuesday) we did hear a something that sounded like a boat or an airboat. But it was so windy that day it was hard to tell from what direction it was coming. Only later did we learn that the Fish & Wildlife team tried to find us but had to turn around approx. 1/2 mile away because of the weather. 

So that night we decided to have a good dinner. Yes, we did have real rations with us. And before you look at me (well, your screen funny), yes, this crew eats everything. So don't give me a hard time for liking my Sweet & Sour Chicken (keep in mind, I am a rubber chicken, which is a completely different species from the laetus pullus! If you have followed my blog, then you know that I am very fascinated by Space Food. There goes a lot of thought into the items our astronauts eat in Space. 

Shrimp Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Grilled Pork Chop, Cranapple Desert, Cinnamon Scone
and plenty of dehydrated water and coffee! 

And of course we cannot forget the cupcake Pilot Fuzzy got on board! Which I believe made us a little heavy during our ascent. But hey, how happy were we later!?! 

So while we were stuck and waiting, our recovery teams put together some "press-conference style" updates about our BTS-1 flight and the rescue operation. Of course we didn't see these until after our rescue. We didn't have a TV or internet there. And even if we did, our fuel cells were already depleted. 

In my next update I will tell you about the heroic recovery efforts from the Sabine Wildlife people! And this was almost out of a James Bond movie! Really, it was that cool. Except, we weren't there...

BTS-1 Crash Landing into the Louisiana Swamp

Welcome back to my review of the BTS-1 mission, part 3. "What did I miss?" you might ask? Well, this Launch Trailer sums it up!

Or then you can read my Launch Blog and my Inflight experience write-up.

Ok, now that you are all up-to-BTS1; So after we sent our last communication back, we landed in the swampy grass/water of the Sabine Wildlife Refuge. The landing wasn't as hard as expected but the chute dragged us a few feet. Skye Blue was going "Wheee Wheee Wheee". We did a quick crew check and we were all fine. Then it was time to check our hardware and "Inspiration" really held up well. Just at that time the last of the three cameras stopped taking images. The two video cameras had run out of battery power even before the balloon popped.

So, here we were. Somewhere inside this wildlife refuge, much further away from where the predicted landing site for the day would be. We had no idea how close or far away the rescue team was. Luckily Fuzz brought some extra astronaut food and so we just started to get comfy and hunkered down.

We were not worried about our situation, despite the fact that we didn't really know where we were, what kind of environment we were in and when we would be found. See, astronauts go through a lot of training and one important part is survival training.

Astronauts have to be prepared and ready for almost everything and any situation in space. But not only there. Each trip to space starts and ends on Earth. Spacecrafts leaving for the ISS may encounter a problem after launch and may be forced to come down in the sea, desert, tropical rain forest or a glacier; summer or winter.

 Survival training in the wilderness near Brunswick, Maine. In the foreground, left to right, astronaut candidates James P. Dutton Jr., Akihiko Hoshide, Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger, and Satoshi Furukawa use a makeshift gurney to extract fellow astronaut candidate Robert S. Kimbrough from the woods. In the back, Joseph M. Acaba, Richard R. Arnold II, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Thomas H. Marshburn carry Christopher J. Cassidy. Hoshide and Furukawa represent the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

But there is more to it. Our astronauts train and fly the T-38 Talon aircraft a minimum of 48 hours per year to maintain aviation and navigation proficiency. Their flights takes them over mountains, deserts and water. If they had to eject from the aircraft, the may have to fend for themselves for at least a few hours and possibly longer.

Furthermore, the training in the wilderness also provides an unique and challenging team building environment. Astronaut candidates (ASCAN) spend a lot of time together. These ASCANs bring a wide variety of experiences, ideas and philosophies together and learning teamwork and leadership skills when dealing with adverse situation out in the nature is extremely valuable.

Three astronauts float down river during training at the Panama Jungle 
Survival School. Left to right, are Astronauts Edgar D. Mitchell, Ronald E. 
Evans, and Scientist-Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt.   

So what kind of training did we go through? Well, we learned about survival medicine, signals, fire craft and navigations. We also learned about working with rationed materials to create shelter. Then we were instructed on how to safely climb and descend high cliffs, crossing rivers and how to pick your food out in the nature. Did you know that cupcakes actually don't grow on trees?

ESA Astronauts being introduced to climbing techniques
by a professional mountaineer during survival training, June 2010

Here we were, the BTS-1 crew inside the Sabine Wildlife Refuge. Apparently on launch/landing day, our ground crew came looking for us. They managed to find a boat, they managed to get close to our location, set foot onto the swamp, wade through the swamp, past the gators and through the mosquito swarms - but they just could not find and reach us.

For us it was time to make a fire and start singing camp fire songs. It would be a few days until we saw anyone else besides the three of us, the gators and some other very interesting animals...

The BTS-1 Flight

In my previous post I talked about our launch experience. In case you missed it you can read it here!

So, here we are. At approx. 65,000 feet when the International Space Station flies right over Houston and over our BTS-1 balloon and capsule. At that time we were the closest individuals to the ISS. At this time Astronaut Ron Garan sent us all a message from the Space Station. Now how awesome is that? Ron and I met last year at Kennedy Space Center and it truly was friendship at first sight. He talked about his upcoming trip to the ISS via the Soyuz. And now he is already up there, sending us a hello back down. Plain awesome!

Ron also flew on STS-124 Discovery to the ISS to delivery the Kibo module. And on April 4, 2011 he launched on Soyuz-TMA21 to the ISS to join the Expedition 27 crew.

So we continued our ascent and that it was about then we left the Troposphere. See, our atmosphere has five distinct layers and they are identified by:
    - thermal characteristics (temperature changes)
    - chemical composition
    - movement, and
    - density

So the Troposphere begins at the Earth's surface and extends from 4 - 12 miles (or for my out of the US friends... 6 to 20 km) high. Obviously, this is the layer of the atmosphere we (minus 6 people) live in.

As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air becomes thinner. Therefore, the temperature in the troposphere also decreases with height in response. As we climbed up higher, the temperature dropped to a chilly -60 Fahrenheit (or -51 Celsius). Let me tell you, Mark Twain said the coldest winter is a summer in San Francisco, but Camilla says the coldest winter, spring, summer and fall is at 60,000 feet, mo matter where you are!

The transition boundary between the troposphere and the layer above is called the tropopause. Together the tropopause and the troposphere are also known as the lower atmosphere.

Oh yea, almost all the weather we know occurs in the Troposphere. And speaking of weather, we get into some Jet Stream and that really sped us up. At some point we were doing well over 130 mph hours! What is jet stream? Jet Stream are fast flowing, relatively narrow air current found in the atmosphere around 6-7 miles (10-11 km) above the surface of Earth. They form at the boundaries of adjacent air masses with significant differences in temperatures, such as the polar region and the warmer air to the south. The jet stream is mainly found in the tropopause, at the transition between the troposphere (where temperature decreases with height) and the stratosphere (where the temperature increases with height).

So we entered the Stratosphere, which extends from the top of the troposphere up to around 31 miles (or again, 50 km) above the Earth's surface. Now this layer holds 19% of the atmosphere's gases but very little water vapor. (side note: I believe for a little while we increased that % to 20 or 21% percent since Fuzz really had some bad CCG (CupCakeGas).

What's really interesting - in this region the temperature increases with height. Why is that you might ask? Well, heat is produced in the process of the formation of Ozone and this heat is responsible for the temperature increases from an anverage -60 Fahrenheit (-51 Celsius) at the tropopause to a maximum and warm 5 Fahrenheit (-15 Celsius) at the top of the stratosphere.

So, here is where some of our problems started. But in order for you to get the entire picture, I have to tell give you some more insight information. Of the past 5 months we did daily Trajectory Predictions on a daily basis. These predictions really helped us understand the dynamics of a balloon flight. There were periods where we landed 200+ miles away from the launch site and then there were periods where it was "only" 100 miles. And we learned that the seasons and weather patterns really have a big impact. The morning of May 8, our launch day, the two different predictions we got were so-so. One got is on land, the other one had us land in the Gulf of Mexico.

Red and Pink where our May 8th predictions. Green ended up being our real flight data! 

As we approached 78,000 feet our ground tracking went offline. What happened? We looked at Mission Special Skye Bleu and she just shrugged her shoulders. My first thought was that maybe Space Weather impacted our communications.

Could have a solar storm, solar wind or even a Coronal Mass Ejection really taken us "offline"? While it could have, we didn't think so. See, Space Weather does have a direct impact on life on Earth and can interfere with communications. The charged particles that come in from the Sun can truly take out satellites. Imagine GPS satellites to go down or communication spacecrafts to get damaged. But space weather can also be harmful for our Astronauts in space. And a large enough solar event can also damage and entire power grid, leaving millions of people without power. If you want to learn more about Space Weather, read my older post "Space Weather - A different kind of Storm" or "Space Weather - Impact on Life on Earth".

Well, it turns out that Space Weather was not the cause for our communications black-out with our ground team. In fact, we are still analyzing all the data and are trying to learn the real cause and how we can fix it in the future.

But what it meant was that our recovery team was "stranded" for over 15 minutes. They really had no idea where exactly we where. So they stopped and waited. During this time we also hit our apogee of approx. 87,000 feet. Our propulsion system, the weather balloon, by now over 25 feet in diameter, popped. For a few seconds we experienced weightlessness and then it went the other way! Because the air is so very thing up there, the parachute did not deploy and we had a few seconds of fun free fall. We were all screaming from joy!

The parachute deployed as planned and slowed down our descent. I looked out the window and saw a lake ahead of us. At around that time our tracking picked up and I was able to send a message to Ground Control "Houston, we have a problem!".

We were heading straight for that lake. I was not really excited about a water landing. Only because the rocking of the waves always makes me a little sick. For some time we just seemed to "hover" over the same location. The weather patterns were pretty amazing. But then we continued to decent and get closer to the ground. Fuzz pointed to our map and said "Commander, we are about to cross the State line into Louisiana.". We were not supposed to go there! But hey, why not! Except, I really wanted to get across that lake, which divides Texas from Louisiana.

Fuzz did a great job with piloting us over the lake and Skye kept giving us coordinates and instrument readings. It was great team work. About 20 seconds before touchdown I was able to send one last message and then we hit the ground...

And now it's time to learn about our landing experience and our first day in the swamp of Louisiana. Check out my next blog entry. 

The BTS-1 Launch

Commander Camilla SDO here!

It is Saturday, May 14, 2011 in the late afternoon. The BTS-1 crew has arrived back in Houston, TX and is currently in quarantine. Yesterday was our rescue, even though we really didn't need any rescue. But I guess you can say that they rescued our capsule and equipment and just happened to find us too. By the time they got to us, we were already in Port Arthur. And because Fuzz was hungry, we stopped for cupcakes. But let's start at the beginning!

Sunday May 8: Launch Day
At 8 AM we were woken up by the song "99 Luftballons". Fuzz was already awake and he was dressed and ready to rock. Skye was a little nervous but as excited. As for me, I felt good, proud and ready. We got to the University of Houston-Downtown at 10 AM and most of the Ground Crew was already working hard.

Let me quickly say a huge Thank You to the fine and wonderful people of the University of Houston-Downtown. They were so helpful and really made the launch experience a fantastic experience for everyone involved:

Undergrad Students - The following students are majoring in STEM degrees:
     Deysy Vieyra Damon
     Aaron Herridge
     Douglas Litwin
     Midar Balimuttajjo

They were responsible to organize and transport the materials for launch. There were two more students who wanted to be part of this. But one happened to be out of town and the other one is expecting a baby any day soon! (all the best from the BTS-1 crew! Kind of glad she didn't come and try to find us in the swamp area! Wouldn't have been fun!).

University Faculty (University of Houston-Downtown):
      Dr. Donals S. Musselwhite (Lecturer)
      Dr. Penny A. Morris (Professor)

They oversaw the students and Don met with the the team on Saturday, checked out the payload and made sure all materials met FAA regulations.

On the Day of Launch they made the calls to the FAA to clear for launch, directed the launch tasks, making sure all the materials were properly packed for launching. Don was pretty much the Close-Out Crew!

Penny directed the overall operation including day to day communications, organized the student support and ensured all required launch materials were readily available.

Don directing the student team. 

Like I said - this was an amazing team and we are proud that they took such good care of the vehicle, the propulsion system and the crew!

There were a lot of tasks that needed to be performed carefully. All the equipment was laid out, the capsule was prepared, the equipment was double checked, the cameras tested and the close-out crew was making sure they had their procedures down. We were a little concerned about the early morning trajectory predictions because one of them got us into the Gulf of Mexico. But we had full trust into our ground teams.

Here I also want to mention the many other friends who came out to the launch. There were the many HAM radio operators who came to support and help us, there were our great friends from NASA JSC and then there was a very special group! They drove over 14 hours from Alabama to come and be part of this launch. Not only that - but they brought Henrietta, who is also a rubber chicken. Huge thank you Melissa!

After saying our good-byes to our friends, family and team members, Skye boarded the "Inspiration" capsule first. As Mission Specialist she got the the bottom left corner. I took my seat next on the right side and Pilot Fuzzy boarded our near-space vehicle last. As the pilot he got the very good spot. The center one that let him look through the camera holes to the bottom, the side and through the top. He needed the view to control our spacecraft's ascent and descent.

At T-10 minutes the propulsion system was activated and helium was pumped into our 800 mg weather balloon. It didn't take too long for the balloon to get the right size. It is balloon science! You don't want to over or under fill that balloon.

The balloon grows and bursts due to atmospheric pressure. Let's take a look at that for a second. Sometimes you see a weather balloon being launched and it looks as if someone forgot to fill it all the way up. Being partially inflated at liftoff allows the weather balloon to reach its intended altitude without bursting. That's called the "Boyle's Law".

Boyle's Law states that for a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional. This means that, as pressure decreases, the volume of confined gas, like the one in a balloon, increases.

So as altitude above the Earth increases, the atmospheric pressure decreases. At sea level, atmospheric pressure is 14.7 pounds per square inch. As a balloon rises, the weight of the air directly above it decreases and the number of air molecules touching it per square inch decreases. That means the atmospheric pressure drops.

Now as the atmospheric pressure around the balloon drops, the volume of the gas inside the balloon increases. So if the ballon is half-full of helium when it's launched, the expanding gas in the balloon now fills up as it rises.

So if you add too much gas, the balloon will burst prematurely. Not enough helium and it will not raise fast enough.


The Countdown
So, inside the capsule the atmosphere was filled with excitement and we heard the countdown being called out! 10, 9, 8 - I remember when the the "7" was called it hit me that we were about to head to near space. It got me really excited and Fuzz was looking at Skye and said "Let's Go!".

The launch crew released the balloon and the capsule and we started to ascent into the sky. It was a little bouncy the first two seconds but then it was just beautiful and we climbed at a very steady rate. We quickly reached 10,000 feet and the view we had over Houston was truly awesome. Fuzz did really well piloting us and we took a Northern course at first before almost turning around and going back South and then East.


Inside the capsule we were focused on our tasks at hand. All the equipment worked very well, the capsule handled the winds as predicted. While there was not a lot of space for us crew members inside the "Inspiration", we felt comfortable. Our team prepared the vehicle well and so our ascent was a smooth one.

In my next update I will talk a little more about our flight and our landing.

Fore more launch pictures and another great blog read "A Bear, a Pig and a Rubber Chicken Take Off in a Balloon..."

Read my next blog about our in-flight experience!

BTS-1 Launch Schedule

Our current launch window extends from 10:50 AM to 2:02 PM on May 8, 2011. Current launch target time is 11:03 AM. 

Tonight we discussed many of the things that we could encounter during our mission. One thing has become very clear; What you can't predict, you cannot prevent. So we are doing final planning and coming up with contingency procedures in case something does go wrong. Better to be prepared than not. 

Below is the schedule for the next 11 hours. 

T-11 hours

▪   Weather and engineering briefings

▪   Flight crew equipment late stow (so our cupcakes and chocolate stay fresh!)

▪   Perform ascent switch list

▪   Crew goes to sleep

▪   Activate the capsule’s fuel cells (or in other words, charge all the batteries)

T-6 hours

▪   Mission Management Team and launch director receive weather update

▪   Launch team verifies no violations of launch commit criteria before loading the external tank (or balloon) with helium

T-3 hours

- Crew walk-up call

▪   Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration

▪   Align BTS-1 Launch Area (Houston) tracking antennas

T-30 minutes

▪   External tank (balloon) loading with helium

T-20 minutes

▪   Crew departs for the launch site and, upon arriving at the site, begins entry into the capsule

▪   Complete close-out preparations

▪   Check cockpit switch configurations

▪   BTS-1 crew perform air-to-ground voice checks with Launch Control and Mission Control

▪   Close the capsule crew hatch and check for leaks

▪   Transition the capsule’s onboard computers to launch configuration

T-9 minutes

▪   Final launch window determination

▪   Activate flight recorders

▪   Final "go/no-go" launch polls conducted by Test Director, Mission Management Team and launch director

▪   Start automatic ground launch sequencer

▪   Crew members close and lock their visors (T-2 minutes, 0 seconds)

▪   Capsule transfers from ground to internal power (T-50 seconds)

▪   Ground launch sequencer is go for auto sequence start (T-31 seconds)

▪   Activate launch area sound suppression system (T-16 seconds) (asking people to be quiet)

▪   Main engine start (T0 seconds) – letting go of the balloon

T-3 Days for BTS-1 Launch

We are now 3 days away from our "Inspiration" capsule launch as part of the Balloon Transport System (BTS).  On Sunday May 8, 2011 we will launch from Houston, TX. You can all follow us live on Ustream starting at 10:30 AM CST. Our actual launch will happen at approx. 11:00 AM CST. Watch the BTS-1 Launch live here.  And if you would like to learn more about our BTS-1 mission you can go to our mission blog and get some information. 

Since our T-15 days Pre-Flight Medical a lot has happened. The crew arrived at Squaw Valley on April 30 for two reasons. At Squaw Valley the Living with a Star (LWS) Solar Dynamics Observatory is holding a workshop for over 200 solar scientists from all over the world. At this meeting the scientists are sharing information, findings, ideas and their science after Year 1 of having SDO operational. 


The other reason is for Fuzz, Skye and I to get ready for our ballon flight mission. We are doing some high altitude training and team work preparations. As of last night we went into quarantine. Why do we have quarantines at NASA?

Why are we going into quarantine? Well, NASA is cautious about exposing the crew to any and all viruses and bacteria in the preflight phase, whether that be swine flu or the common cold.

In 1963, a special subcommittee of the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences was convened to consider the general problem of handling material and personnel returned from flights to the moon. The subcommittee recommended that NASA establish a quarantine program to ensure that the Earth and its ecology would be protected from any possible hazard associated with the return of lunar material.

Flight crews typically spend seven days split between JSC and Kennedy Space Center in isolation before flight, and the Russian crews spend approximately five days of postflight isolation at JSC.

Once the crew arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center the quarantine is strict, and the crew surgeon is isolated with the crew. The astronauts undergo a second exam two days prior to launch, and are given a brief medical check just before they suit up on launch day. Anyone on the ground who is sick or exhibits any signs of illness is prohibited from working with the crew.

Pre-Flight Medical for the BTS-1 Crew & Astronauts

Liz giving me a scan inside the ISS medical lab

When I met with my friend Liz at NASA JSC, I learned about the changes that occur in astronauts' bodies in space. Basically, without gravity, their bodies decondition, which means they deteriorate. The longer they live in space, the more deterioration occurs. Their bones lose calcium and get weaker. Their muscles atrophy. Their hearts get smaller and weaker. They lose aerobic capacity and more.

As scary as all of this sounds, NASA has developed several countermeasures to keep astronauts healthy in space. Of course exercise and nutrition are very important in keeping their bodies in good physical condition. But also making sure our astronauts are healthy before going to space is very important.

Dr. Natcho after our pre-flight medical. 

So we are now at T-15 days until our BTS-1 launch and it is time for our crew pre-flight physical. This is very much like what crews have to go through before their missions to space and/or the ISS. 

The Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health (LSAH - because we love acronyms) is a proactive occupational surveillance program for the astronaut corps to screen and monitor astronauts for occupation-related disease. the LSAH Repository (LSAH-R because it would be too hard to say and spell out the entire word) was established to implement a research component to enable analysis of astronaut medical data from pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight phases of space travel. 

So there are several tests astronauts have to go through before a launch. I am listing only a few here. 

Behavioral Observation of Training

This is for all ISS crewmembers to observe training events and to provide important data about individual behavior & crew interactions. These data may help in providing consultation and recommendations to CMs preflight in order to optimize behavior and team performance. It also provides a baseline data for supporting & consultation of CMs in-flight. 

Preflight Behavioral Health Status Checks

All ISS crewmembers are required to complete a brief preflight interview & exam with the psychiatrist/psychologist to confirm crewmembers mental and psychiatric fitness for launch. 

Exercise Treadmill Test

All U.S. crewmembers need to go through this test to assess preflight cardiovascular status. 

Pre- and Postflight Physical Exam for Short Duration Crews

This is for all prime Shuttle crewmembers to check vital signs, head/face, ears, nose, throat, eyes, chest, cardiovascular, abdomen, musculoskeletal, skin, and neurologic assessments.  

This was the majority of today’s exam.  Crewmembers have to be fit enough to deal with any emergency, so a full physical exam of their abilities to function properly is necessary.  We had already been medically screened for anything serious prior to being selected for the astronaut corps, so today was more of a check-up.  But the L-10 exam should also include checking retinas (aka a fundoscopic exam, to make sure no detached retinas or other acute eye problems could happen between now and flight), as well as a pregnancy test for females (like Camilla), which, if positive, would be disqualifying for flight, because of the unknown effects of microgravity and radiation on a developing fetus.  Any signs of underlying infection on exam (fever, pain, swelling or redness anywhere) can be further evaluated in bloodwork or urine, and either treated in time for launch or (gulp) requiring back-up crew substitution.  Other than the pregnancy test, there are no required labs for the L-10 physical, and the completeness of the exam is up to flight surgeon discretion based on the past medical history and current exam of each crewmember.  Fortunately, we had physical exams that were not concerning for needing further work-up, so escaped any needles!

Pre- and Postflight Pulmonary Assessment

This is for all ISS flights and crewmembers, both primary and backup crews and will measure the lung volume and diffusion capacity. 

So today we had our L-10 (even thought it is L-15) pre-flight physical exam with Dr. Natacha C. Now let me tell you, Doc Natcho (that's what we call her) has been our favorite aspiring NASA doc! She not only has the passion for medicine, but she wants to take care of the NASA family and is one of my favorite Docs around (if not THE favorite!). So I wasn't nervous this morning, while good ole Fuzz was nervous and a little grumpy. Mostly because we couldn't eat anything after midnight and that also meant no coffee. See, the Doc wants a good and strong baseline in case any last-minute lab tests needed to be done, which can be affected by food or chemicals like caffeine (sorry, Fuzz). So we were there with empty stomachs.  It’s also important to have reliable baseline data to compare to in-flight and post-flight exams/lab tests so that we have a better idea of what is a true effect of spaceflight and eliminate any confounding factors (like caffeine raising heart rate, which can mimick a deconditioned heart).

So the Doc Natcho checked for all the vitals signs. I can tell you that we all three provided very different results. But not because of different fitness levels (we are all very fit), but rather because of our different, well, nature. Simply put, the smaller an animal is, the faster their metabolism is.  Think of the size of a hummingbird compared to an elephant.  A hummingbird’s heart is much smaller and must beat faster to pump blood through its entire body compared to the large heart of an elephant.  The elephant also has more body volume available for energy stores.  So, smaller animals have faster heart rates.  Fuzz is especially lucky because he can also hibernate if necessary, and conserve energy in the event of a remote landing! 

Cmdr Camilla SDO

Blood Pressure: 162/88

Heart rate (beats per minute): 275

Plt Fuzz Aldrin

Blood Pressure: 182/95

Hear rate (beats per minute): 90 

MS Skye Bleu

Blood Pressure: 128/76

Heart rate (beats per minute): 70

These results are very typical for the various species and as such, Doc Natcho gave us truly flying colors and a "Go for Launch". 

Interesting Medical Facts from the Early Days

Now I want to share some very interesting medical information from the very early days of human spaceflight. 

Astronaut Stafford on Apollo 10 inhaled fiberglass particles which were liberated into the spacecraft's air after the lunar module was opened up

Astronaut Schweikart got space sick on Apollo 9. Vomited. Described as "sicker than hell." His EVA was postponed and scaled back.

Astronaut Mattingly exposed to German measles (rubella) just before Apollo 13 launch, so he was removed from the mission. (He never got ill)

Astronaut Lovell had "minor liver ailment" that disqualified him in 1959's Mercury selection.

Astronaut Eisele injured his shoulder during a zero-g airplane flight at Wright-Patterson AFB in 1965. Result: not prime crew for Apollo 1.

When urinating on Apollo 7, Astronaut Cunningham instinctively turned his back to the window, prompting Astronaut Schirra to ask "Walt, who is out there?"

Astronaut Pete Conrad dislocated his finger while fooling around during exercise on Skylab 2 (sounds like something Pete would do!)

During the Rorschach inkblot test in 59, Drs slipped blank white card into the deck. Conrad baffled the Drs by insisting it was upside down.

Astronaut Cerman got a sunburn during his EVA on Gemini 9A. Wow!

All Apollo 11 crew members took an anti-motion sickness pill before re-entry and after splashdown. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin said "At all costs we must not throw up in the biological isolation garments that the swimmers will throw in to us."

On the trip to the launch pad before the first (of three) liftoff attempts for Gemini 6, Astro Wally Astronaut Schirra lit up a Marlboro.

Astronaut Slayton was the worst snorer. Fellow Astronaut John Glenn said "He could rattle the pictures off the wall."

Astronaut Shepard had Meniere disease. Checked into the hospital as Victor Poulis to keep the whole business quiet.

Astronaut Schirra was the first American to suffer the common cold in space (Apollo 7).

The Apollo 7 crew disobeyed a direct order to wear helmets during re-entry, cause all had headcolds & worried about rupturing an ear drum.

Astronaut Cooper had hay fever. Had to convince doctors: "I can't imagine I'll run into many mixed grasses and sycamore trees in space."

And Astronaut Gus got seasick and vomited while bobbing in his Gemini 3 spacecraft after splashdown.

Interestingly, space motion sickness was only discovered as spacecraft got larger.  With very little room to move in a one-man Mercury capsule, there was little opportunity for one’s inner ear to detect micro-gravity effects.  As capsules increased in size with Gemini, Apollo and the shuttle, astronauts got out of their seats and moved around more, giving their eyes, ears and brains more opportunity to get “confused” with the lack “up” or “down.”  Astronauts continue to take medicines to prevent motion sickness as needed before launch.  This is also why EVAs are never scheduled early in the mission- this gives the crew time to adapt to their new environment.  Plus, puking in your EVA suit would be quite a mess!

Yes - this has my information on it! 

A big thank you to Dr. Natacha who will be a great NASA Flight Surgeon. I sure hope she can continue to be my personal physician.