Feb 9 1974
From The Space Library
Medical tests of Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue-begun after their 8 Feb. splashdown-continued on board the U.S.S. New Orleans. All three astronauts reached their maximum preflight work rates on the bicycle ergometer. Each astronaut completed the full run on a whirling chair, reaching a rate of 30 rpm while making 150 head movements with no problems. A test of muscle function showed no significant decrease. As soon as the men had landed, the pull of gravity had compressed the vertebrae of their spinal columns, removing the inch or more of height gained in weightlessness. Carr had gained slightly in weight; Pogue had lost one kilogram and Dr. Gibson a little more than two. (McElheny, NYT, 11 Feb 74, 7)
A Baltimore Sun editorial commented on NASA'S space program and the 8 Feb. splashdown of Skylab 4: "The Apollo moon missions and Skylab have moved NASA to a point where few if any scientists any longer condemn the space program as 'more circus than science,' and Skylab, especially, has given manned spaceflight an unassailable new reputation as a superb scientific instrument.. . . It is unfortunate that the space program entered its most useful and significant period in conjunction with the loss of interest in space on the part of a public obsessed with Watergate and the energy crisis" but "there are no indications the American people wish to junk the space program." NASA'S FY 1975 budget included promising projects. "The evolution of man into space-man has just begun and there are wondrous things ahead." (B Sun, 9 Feb 74)
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