First Men Into Space - Solving The Space Survival Problems 1962

[Music] for ages man gazing with wonderment at the but only by 1961 had rocket power developed point where he could actually now man faced a serious question how could he survive in this virtually unknown environment to fully understand the problem artificial satellites explored the conditions of space which man would encounter while ground Laboratories investigated the problems of man's survival in space we shall study some of the and their Solutions we begin with air like all matter air is composed of atoms and molecules shown here as spheres those nearer the ground are pressed together by the weight of the trillions above them progressively denser and a column of air 1 in square and the height of Earth's atmosphere weighs about 15 PBS this is why air normally exerts a pressure of 15 lb on every Square in of our bodies at sea level as we go higher there are fewer and fewer air particles above us hence the weight and pressure of air decreases 5 miles up air pressure is only 5 lb per square in the air pressure inside this testing chamber quickly drops below 5 lbs per square in when the membrane is broken note how the liquid in the beaker bubbles for at low air pressure gases dissolved in the liquid are released as bubbles without protection the man's body fluids would bubble because air in the lungs is also sucked out this would be fatal another danger in a space vehicle is the accumulation of carbon dioxide the gas exhaled in breathing the man becomes groggy when 4% of the air is composed of carbon dioxide then unconscious a higher percentage would cause death radiation of atomic particles is perhaps the greatest danger to man in space solar flares near active sunspots produce such atomic particles others originate outside the solar system as symbolized here they move at tremendous speed when these primary Rays strike atoms or molecules of air both shatter producing fragments as shown by this analysis the fragments called secondary Rays hit other atoms and molecules only a few Rays finally reach the ground for this reason radiation at ground level is much less severe than the mass of radiation in outer space whenever primary Rays hit the walls of a space vehicle symbolized by this metal sheet they break into secondary rays that shower the spaceman inside equipment surrounding him can provide only minor protection solar activity is continually observed therefore it is always possible to call off a flight if solar activity is unusually high weight is another major problem in space travel on Earth the weight of a body is caused by the Earth's gravity when we weigh an object we measure the force of Earth's gravity on it the normal force of gravity at the earth's surface is one gravity or 1 G besides Gravity the force of inertia can affect weight Newton's law states that matter at rest tends to remain at rest this means that matter resists acceleration before takeoff the rocket and the man capsule on its top are at rest this model Spaceman will will show what happens to the live passenger inside the capsule when the rocket takes off it accelerates violently the man's body resists this acceleration and the force of this resistance added to the force of normal gravity increases his weight note the pressure he exerts on the membrane as the rocket continues to accelerate the man's weight continues to increase and may reach nine times the pull of Earth's gravity or 9 GS in orbital flight when jetting stops acceleration stops and all weight disappears if not strapped down the spaceman would float freely for the forward outward pull created by the speed of the vehicle exactly equals the pull of Earth's Gravity the opposing poles neutralize each other causing all weight to disappear but when the vehicle re-enters the atmosphere air resistance slows it down and this deceleration causes the man's weight to return Newton's law concerning inertia namely that matter in motion tends to continue in motion explains why the block continues to move after the vehicle is stopped so too the man's body tends to speed on as the vehicle decelerates and pushes against the vehicle with about 10 G's of force equipment such as this rocket sled revealed the main problem resulting from violent acceleration and deceleration which is that blood made heavier by multiple G's would rupture blood vessels just as the liquid breaks this balloon weightlessness the opposite of multi G's is another problem one not well understood these floating men are in an airplane flying a curved path whose outward pull equals the inward pull of gravity thus simulating a capsule in orbit so far we have studied the main problems of man's survival in space let's begin with a space suit and see how these problems were solved for early space flight oxygen coming from a storage tank and pressured at 5 lb per square inch circulates throughout the suit to cool the spaceman's body and then passes into the helmet for breathing exhaled air next leaves the helmet passing first through chemicals which absorb carbon dioxide then through a cooler which absorbs heat and condenses water vapor the air can then be used again earlier we observed the effect of multi gs on the liquid inside a balloon when the balloon is strongly supported it does not burst the space suit applies this Principle as G's increase flexible tubing along the fingers Limbs and torso is tightly inflated with air to support the blood vessels further protection from multi GS comes from a contour couch molded to the spaceman's body it places his heart and brain at the same level this prevents blackouts caused by Blood moving away from the brain or hemorrhages caused by Blood rushing into it Space Capsule designed to re-enter the atmosphere without burning up small meteorites are vaporized by the heat generated by compressing the air in front of them at their tremendous speeds to avoid this danger the vehicle re-enters the atmosphere with a wide end leading so that air resistance will slow it down the dark portion covering the wide end of this capsule is a heat shield the heat generated by air resistance burns the shield instead of the vehicle a historic flight is about to begin we shall see how the solutions to various space flight problems work out in actual practice the worldwide radio system is ready Vital Information on the functioning of the spaceman's body will be automatically transmitted to the radio receivers on Earth this D and his personal report on the flight will help us Advanced space technology the vast preparations are now complete the Towering launching rocket majestically takes off and soar spaceward bearing a man inside the tiny capsule at its tip as the rocket accelerates the man's weight increases about 3 minutes later and 100 miles up the rocket is in Orbit it aims the capsule toward a predetermined orbital path the space vehicle Jets free when the jetting ends weightlessness Begins the vehicle is in Orbit at about 177,000 mph power a camera in the vehicle films the spaceman he swings the vehicle around so that the heat shield faces forward ready to return at any moment below gleams the Earth where Millions anxiously await news of his flight moving through the silent darkness of outer space every moment of the capsule is followed by the network of radio stations when the Retro Rockets are fired orbiting ends these Rockets reduce the capsule speed and push it downward the launching rocket which has been following the vehicle now passes overhead the launching rocket will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere in about a week and burn up the burned out Rockets are cast off to clear the heat shield which is then positioned to re-enter the atmosphere head on small Jets rotate the capsule to disperse air compressed by the wide shield in the thin upper air speed decreases gradually but 15 minutes later the air thickens perceptively the heat shield becomes white hot burning at 3000° fah speed decreases from 15,000 mph to 7500 in just 1 minute here about 25 mil up the spaceman's weight increases to more than 10 G's from this point down G's and heat fall off and the spaceman prepares for a Landing now the shots take over the capsule's Descent and land it safely in the ocean it can float indefinitely until picked up by a helicopter which carries the man and vehicle to awaiting ship and final safety space flights such as these are a tribute to the heroism of men like the Russians Yuri Gagarin and Gman Tito and the Americans Alan Shepard Virgil Grom and John Glenn and a Triumph for the centuries of scientific research in mathematics astronomy and physics in chemistry and biology which made possible these first steps into [Music] space [Music] n