Skylab experiment M-171 "Metabolic Activity"--results of the first manned mission

The experiment was performed to ascertain whether man's ability to perform mechanical work would be altered as a result of exposure to the weightless environment. Skylab II crewmen were exercised on a bicycle ergometer at loads approximating 25%, 50%, and 75% of their maximum oxygen uptake while their physiological responses were monitored. The results of these tests indicate that the crewmen had no significant decrement in their response to exercise during their exposure to zero gravity. Immediately postflight, however, all crewmen demonstrated an inability to perform the programmed exercise with the same metabolic effectiveness as they did both preflight and inflight. The most significant changes were elevated heart rates for the same work load and oxygen consumption (decreased oxygen pulse), decreased stroke volume, and decreased cardiac output at the same oxygen consumption level. It is apparent that the changes occurred inflight, but did not manifest themselves until the crewmen attempted to readapt to the 1-G environment.     

The critical satellite technical issues of future pervasive broadband low-cost communication networks

Using a baseline design for a 30/20 GHz system, this paper addresses the critical technical issues of signal waveform design, projected spacecraft technology, satellite launch options and satellite cost. With DPCM (differential pulse-coded modulation) video signal encoding, 32 Mb/s user-to-user data rate per channel, 10% overhead, two orthogonal polarizations, and crosstalk loss limited to 1 dB, TFM (tamed frequency modulation—a type of QPSK) permits about 75 channels/GHz of frequency allocation, i.e. about twice the capacity possible with MSK or SFSK (types of QPSK). The BOM (beginning of mission) weight and power of a baseline 400-channel multi-beam satellite is about 1800 kg and 5000 W. Each 35 Mb/s channel can support 1–10 video channels depending on the signal processing at the ground terminals. These weight and power estimates assume hardened digital logic, composite material for a multibeam antenna structure, high-efficiency solar cells (45 W/kg), NiH₂ batteries and 10W/20 GHz power amplifiers. If more speculative late-1980s solar cell technology is assumed, then the BOM weight decreases about 10–15%. Using the Space Transportation System being developed by NASA, geosynchronous deployment options are shown as a function of communications capacity. Based on a cost model for large communication satellites, the total space segment cost of two active satellites and one spare would be about $485M. This system would have a peak capacity of 14 Gb/s or 400-35 Mb/s simultaneous one-way channels. Demonstration and/or initial system (ground plus space) costs would be significantly less. It is concluded that the above baseline satellite appears to be technically feasible in the late-1980s.     

Risk Factors of Negative Impact on Objects of the Environment upon Accidents during Launches of Rocket-Space Hardware

The probabilistic aspects of rocket accidents during their launching and the motion in the troposphere are discussed. Schemes of forming the probability damage fields of risk recipients (the environment objects) are given. As an example of a use of the developments obtained, probability fields of objects" damage from the impact of an air shock wave are calculated.     

Searching for the magic bullet

A powerful statistical tool, paired-comparison, was tested as a method to determine the relative value American people place on two possibly competing paradigms in the United States Space Program: “Space as a Place to Explore” and “Civil and Commercial Uses of Space”. A limitation of the results, but not the methodology, is the participants were college students, not “voting” adults. Reliability and validity of items were developed and tested in two studies suggesting that the paired-comparison method is a reliable and powerful tool for measuring the relative value the public may place on programs within the US Space Program.     

The dynamics of blood biochemical parameters in cosmonauts during long-term space flights

Most of the previously obtained data on cosmonauts' metabolic state concerned certain stages of the postflight period. In this connection, all conclusions, as to metabolism peculiarities during the space flight, were to a large extent probabilistic. The purpose of this work was study of metabolism characteristics in cosmonauts directly during long-term space flights. In the capillary blood samples taken from a finger, by "Reflotron IV" biochemical analyzer, "Boehringer Mannheim" GmbH, Germany, adapted to weightlessness environments, the activity of GOT, GPT, CK, gamma-GT, total and pancreatic amylase, as well as concentration of hemoglobin, glucose, total bilirubin, uric acid, urea, creatinine, total, HDL- and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides had been determined. HDL/LDL-cholesterol ratio also was computed. The crewmembers of 6 main missions to the "Mir" orbital station, a total of 17 cosmonauts, were examined. Biochemical tests were carried out 30-60 days before launch, and in the flights different stages between the 25-th and the 423-rd days of flights. In cosmonauts during space flight had been found tendency to increase, in compare with basal level, GOT, GPT, total amylase activity, glucose and total cholesterol concentration, and tendency to decrease of CK activity, hemoglobin, HDL-cholesterol concentration, and HDL/LDL - cholesterol ratio. Some definite trends in variations of other determined biochemical parameters had not been found. The same trends of mentioned biochemical parameters alterations observed in majority of tested cosmonauts, allows to suppose existence of connection between noted metabolic alterations with influence of space flight conditions upon cosmonaut's body. Variations of other studied blood biochemical parameters depends on, probably, pure individual causes.     

Application of the mechanical oscillator technique to the investigation of EVA decompression

The ultrasonic bubble detection technique has been used as a versatile tool in the investigation of hypobaric decompression procedures for the last two decades. However, this method can only detect relatively large bubbles > 30-50 micrometers (usually in venous blood) and not the very first stages of bubble formation. Recently, the mechanical oscillator technique has been applied in air diving trials in order to detect small blood density changes due to hypothetical fluid shifts. However, sharp density drops were found in the decompression process, and these have been attributed to gas bubble formation. In this study, this method was applied together with Doppler controls to a series of altitude decompressions to 300 and 500 hPa, which represents the range of EVA operational pressures currently used or planned. Six subjects participated in both series; the oscillator sample tube could be pressurized. By the application of pressure on a blood sample containing questionable gas bubbles, these are reduced in volume, like in recompression therapy, and thus the density of the sample is increased. This effect has been shown in all 6 subjects undergoing decompression to 300 hPa, whereas in the 500 hPa series only 3 out of 6 subjects corresponded with gas phase formation immediately after decompression. Typically, Doppler bubbles appeared only after some latency time between 20 and 60 min; after this time, the density effect had nearly vanished. It is concluded that the mechanical oscillator technique represents a complementary research instrument to the Doppler method, because it is able to deliver a quantitative resolution of the early stage of gas phase formation.     

Magnetotactic bacteria on Earth and on Mars

Continued interest in the possibility of evidence for life in the ALH84001 Martian meteorite has focused on the magnetite crystals. This review is structured around three related questions: is the magnetite in ALH84001 of biological or non-biological origin, or a mixture of both? does magnetite on Earth provide insight to the plausibility of biogenic magnetite on Mars? could magnetotaxis have developed on Mars? There are credible arguments for both the biological and non-biological origin of the magnetite in ALH84001, and we suggest that more studies of ALH84001, extensive laboratory simulations of non-biological magnetite formation, as well as further studies of magnetotactic bacteria on Earth will be required to further address this question. Magnetite grains produced by bacteria could provide one of the few inorganic traces of past bacterial life on Mars that could be recovered from surface soils and sediments. If there was biogenic magnetite on Mars in sufficient abundance to leave fossil remains in the volcanic rocks of ALH84001, then it is likely that better-preserved magnetite will be found in sedimentary deposits on Mars. Deposits in ancient lakebeds could contain well-preserved chains of magnetite clearly indicating a biogenic origin.     

Results of space experiment program "Interferon"

The results of the biological space experiment "Interferon" performed by two international cosmonaut teams (26 May 1980, and 16 May 1981) aboard space laboratory Solyut-6 are reported: (1) Human lymphocytes separated from blood of healthy donors and placed into "Interferon I" equipment could be kept for 7 days in suspension culture under spaceflight conditions. Interferon production could be induced in human lymphocytes by preparations of different origin: virus, synthetic polyribonucleotides, bacterial protein and plant pigment. An increased lymphocyte interferon production in space laboratory compared to ground control was observed. (2) Human interferon preparations and interferon inducers placed in space laboratory at room temperature for 7 days maintained their biological activity. (3) A decrease of induced interferon production and natural killer activity of lymphocytes isolated from peripheral blood of cosmonauts was observed on the 1st day on Earth after 7-days spaceflight.     

Precision bone and muscle loss measurements by advanced, multiple projection DEXA (AMPDXA) techniques for spaceflight applications.

An advanced, multiple projection, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (AMPDXA) scanner system is under development. The AMPDXA is designed to make precision bone and muscle loss measurements necessary to determine the deleterious effects of microgravity on astronauts as well as develop countermeasures to stem their bone and muscle loss. To date, a full size test system has been developed to verify principles and the results of computer simulations. Results indicate that accurate predictions of bone mechanical properties can be determined from as few as three projections, while more projections are needed for a complete, three-dimensional reconstruction.     

Envelope Threshold Detection in a Class of Non-Gaussian Interference

This paper considers the detection of a sinusoidal or chirp signal imbedded in wideband FM interference (as might be generated by some types of active jamming), such that after pulse compression or other integration, the interference can be approximated by a sum of sinusoids of independent phase. The detection probability in such non-Gaussian noise is compared to that for Gaussian noise, with the Gaussian result approached, as required, in the limit that the number of sinusoids in the sum increases without bound. For detection using a comparison of the envelope with a threshold which yields a given false-alarm probability (CFAR detection), the detection probability is improved over the case of Gaussian noise, so that the usual approach basing the design on Gaussian noise would be conservative. Using a threshold determined from the envelope mean, the FM interference yields a lower false-alarm probability than for Gaussian noise, with detection probability only slightly degraded.