Oct 19 1976
From The Space Library
Physicians at Johnson Space Center were gathering data on female physiological performance and tolerance limits as a basis for establishing criteria in recruiting NASA's first women astronauts. Women employees of the center were asked to volunteer for testing on a treadmill and in a lower body negative-pressure device, to see whether women responded differently from men of comparable age to treadmill exercise and to stresses on the circulatory system induced by decreased pressures on the lower 'body. On the treadmill test, researchers would monitor the subject's heart rate and blood pressure as they varied the speed and tilt of the moving treadmill. The pressure device, encasing the subject from the waist down, would have the pressure reduced while researchers monitored the reaction of the cardiovascular system to the change in pressure. NASA had issued a call for at least 30 Space Shuttle astronauts (15 pilot candidates, 15 mission specialist candidates) in July 1976, with a closing date of 30 June 1977. Selection would be completed by December 1977. (JSC Release 76-65)
Two "pilots of note"-Gen. James M. Doolittle and Neil A. Armstrong had announced plans to establish a Charles A. Lindbergh Memorial Fund to support the work of young scientists, explorers, and conservationists, the New York Times reported. Gen. Doolittle, leader of the first World War' II air raid on Tokyo, and astronaut Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon, would head a drive to raise $5 million for the fund by 20 May 1977, the fiftieth anniversary of Lindbergh's takeoff on the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Income from the endowment, expected to be about $400 000 a yr, would be distributed to Lindbergh Fellows who "combine qualities that made [Lindbergh] a unique human being," said Doolittle at a press conference. He told reporters Lindbergh "would have been happier with a living memorial than one out of bronze and stone." Lindbergh, who died in 1974 at the age of 72, had continued in aviation as a test pilot and airline executive but had branched out into medical technology research and wildlife conservation in his later years, the NYT said. The fund's sponsoring committee included representatives of the Explorers Club and the World Wildlife Fund, as well as other areas of interest to Lindbergh: aerospace, ecology, exploration, and science and engineering. Announcement of selections for fellowships would be made yearly on 21 May, anniversary of Lindbergh's arrival in Paris after his 33-hr flight in Spirit of St. Louis. (NYT, 20 Oct 76, 22)
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