Structural and functional changes in man accompanying the weightlessness in "Skylab" flights: a mathematical approach

The present paper reports a kinetic analysis of changes of some physiological parameters, obtained from international literature, after changes in gravitational environment. The overall phenomenology of the adaptation to weightlessness is characterized by a rapid process followed by a slow one. The two processes show half time values differing by about five times. Also in the case of readaptation to gravity, after recovery on the Earth, two well resolved processes, showing different half time values, are observed. It is of interest to notice that the rate of response to weightlessness is lower than that to gravity. Of course, the half time values observed depend on the different physiological parameters considered. In any case, the experimental data suggest a general trend of many adaptive changes, that may all be described by a simple mathematical model.     

Skylab experiment M-092: results of the first manned mission

Blood pressure at 30-sec intervals, heart rate, and percentage increase in leg volume continuously were recorded during a 25-min protocol in the M092 Inflight Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) experiment carried out in the first manned Skylab mission. These data were collected during six tests on each crewman over a 5-month preflight period. The protocol consisted of a 5-min resting control period, 1 min at -8, 1 min at -16, 3 min at -30, 5 min at -40, and 5 min at -50 mm Hg LBNP. A 5-min recovery period followed. Inflight tests were performed at approximately 3-day intervals through the 28-day mission. Individual variations in cardiovascular responses to LBNP during the preflight period continued to be demonstrated in the inflight tests. Measurements of the calf indicated that a large volume of fluid was shifted out of the legs early in the flight and that a slower decrease in leg volume, presumably due to loss of muscle tissue, continued throughout the flight. Resting heart rates tended to be low early in the flight and to increase slightly as the flight progressed. Resting blood pressure varied but usually was characterized by slightly elevated systolic blood pressure, lower diastolic pressure, and higher pulse pressures than during preflight examinations. During LBNP inflight a much greater increase in leg volume occurred than in preflight tests. Large increases occurred even at the smallest levels of negative pressure, suggesting that the veins of the legs were relatively empty at the beginning of the LBNP. The greater volume of blood pooled in the legs was associated with greater increases of heart rate and diastolic pressure and larger falls of systolic and pulse pressure than seen in preflight tests. The LBNP protocol represented a greater stress inflight, and on three occasions it was necessary to stop the test early because of impending syncopal reactions. LBNP responses inflight appeared to predict the degree of postflight orthostatic intolerance. Postflight responses to LBNP during the first 48 hours were characterized by marked elevations of heart rate and instability of blood pressure. In addition, systolic and diastolic pressures were typically elevated considerably both at rest and also during stress. The time required for cardiovascular responses to return to preflight levels was much slower than in the case of Apollo crewmen.     

再入机动飞行器数学仿真研究

本文讨论了再入机动飞行器三自由度和六自由度仿真和分析。三自由度仿真研究了再入机动飞行器的导引规律和减速控制规律，证明了其合理性，且精度是满足要求的。而六自由度仿真说明了飞行器再入过程中虽然有静稳定和静不稳定交替出现的飞行状态，且动压变化大，如控制系统和制导方法设计良好，其精度仍可满足要求     

螺栓挤压推力终止系统验证试验

本文总结了螺栓挤压推力终止系统(BETTS)的设计、研制和验证试验。该系统在阿诺德工程研制中心(AEDC)进行了多次冷试,一次海平面热试和两次高空点火推力终止试验,试验所用的发动机是政府向化学系统分公司提供的“民兵”发动机空壳体装药后制成的。通过大发动机热试,证明本计划所验证的这种BETTS可以消除前部碎片,大大地简化药柱和发动机壳体的设计,提高末级性能。另外,这种方法设计简单,从而可以降低推进系统的成本。BETTS用爆炸螺栓和挤压螺栓的组合代替连接喷管法兰和发动机壳体法兰的普通螺栓。接到指令后,爆炸螺栓立即打开,喷管循着挤压螺栓向后平移,发动机气体迅速排出,从而使推进剂熄火。挤压螺栓控制着喷管的移动速度和最大运动行程。以前根据NO.F04611—75—C—0044合同(CSD计划2549)曾成功地在缩比发动机上进行了BETTS热试和在飞行重量的“民兵”Ⅲ第三级发动机上进行了冷试。     

HTPB推进剂的老化及使用寿命

为了进行老化评价研究,选择和研制了三种不同固体含量的(88～91%)端羟基聚丁二烯(HTPB)推进剂。已经证实,88%固体含量的HTPB推进剂符合以前提出的老化模型。这种老化模型已成功地进一步用于较高固体含量的推进剂以及其它计划用的HTPB推进剂的实测力学性能老化数据。采用这种老化模型,根据加速热老化试验数据予测了长期力学性能,予测数据与六年实测老化数据相当一致。利用予测的推进剂破坏性能,结合火箭发动机的要求,来确定予先选定安全裕度的发动机药柱的使用寿命。本文列出了各种复合推进剂老化速率的比较数据。根据老化结果的分析,提出了一个宽范围老化行为的数学表达式。     

CELSS nutrition system utilizing snails

At the 40th IAF Congress in Malaga, a nutrition system for a lunar base CELSS was presented. A lunar base with a total of eight crew members was envisaged. In this paper, four species of plants--rice, soybean, lettuce and strawberry--were introduced to the system. These plants were sufficient to satisfy fundamental nutritional needs of the crew members. The supply of nutrition from plants and the human nutritional requirements could almost be balanced. Our study revealed that the necessary plant cultivation area per crew member would be nearly 40 m3 in the lunar base. The sources of nutrition considered in the study were energy, sugar, fat, amino acids, inorganic salt and vitamins; however, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin A and sodium were found to be lacking. Therefore, a subsystem to supply these elements is of considerable value. In this paper, we report on a study for breeding snails and utilizing meat as food. Nutrients supplied from snails are shown to compensate for the above mentioned lacking elements. We evaluate the snail breeder and the associated food supply system as a subsystem of closed ecological life support system.     

Leg venous hemodynamics and leg volumes during a 42 day -6 degrees head-down bedrest

Seven healthy subjects were submitted to a 42-day head down bedrest, where leg venous compliance (venous distensibity index VDI) and leg volumes were assessed by mercury strain gauge plethysmography with venous occlusion and optoelectronic plethysmography, respectively. Plethysmographic and volometric measurements were made, before, during (at days 1, 4, 7, 14, 21, 26, 34 and 41), and after bedrest (days 1, 4, 7, 11 and 30 of the recovery period). Results showed a continuous decrease in leg volumes throughout bedrest, when VDI increased until day 26 of bedrest, and then decreased afterwards. The recovery period was characterized by a rapid return of VDI to prebedrest levels while leg volumes progressively normalised. These results showed that leg venous compliance changes are not always dependant upon skeletal muscle changes, and that factors other than size of muscle compartment are able to determine increases in leg venous compliance during long-term bedrest.     

Spatial orientation during locomotion [correction of locomation] following space flight

To investigate changes in spatial orientation ability and walking performance following space flight, 7 astronaut subjects were asked pre- and post-flight to perform a goal directed locomotion paradigm which consisted of walking a triangular path with and without vision. This new paradigm, involving inputs from different sensory systems, allows quantification of several critical parameters, like orientation performance, walking velocities and postural stability, in a natural walking task. The paper presented here mainly focusses on spatial orientation performance quantified by the errors in walking the previously seen path without vision. Errors in length and reaching the corners did not change significantly from pre- to post-flight, while absolute angular errors slightly increased post-flight. The significant decrease in walking velocity and a change in head-trunk coordination while walking around the corners of the path observed post-flight may suggest that during re-adaptation to gravity the mechanisms which are necessary to perform the task have to be re-accomplished.     

Influence of graviceptives cues at different level of visual information processing: the effect of prolonged weightlessness

We evaluated the influence of prolonged weightlessness on the performance of visual tasks in the course of the Russian-French missions ANTARES, Post-ANTARES and ALTAIR aboard the MIR station. Eight cosmonauts were subjects in two experiments executed pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight sessions.

In the first experiment, cosmonauts performed a task of symmetry detection in 2-D polygons. The results indicate that this detection is locked in a head retinal reference frame rather than in an environmentally defined one as meridional orientations of symmetry axis (vertical and horizontal) elicited faster response times than oblique ones. However, in weightlessness the saliency of a retinally vertical axis of symmetry is no longer significantly different from an horizontal axis. In the second experiment, cosmonauts performed a mental rotation task in which they judged whether two 3-D objects presented in different orientations were identical. Performance on this task is basically identical in weightlessness and normal gravity.     

Lower body negative pressure (LBNP) as a countermeasure for long term spaceflight

The article presents the current status of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) as a countermeasure for preventing orthostatic intolerance after space flight or bed rest. Devices discussed include the Chibis vacuum suit, the Anthrorack device, a collapsible device, and an inflatable device. Two bed rest studies examined the effect of LBNP and exercise on orthostatic tolerance; plasma volume; vasopressin, plasma renin activity, and catecholamines; and side effects.