Individual differences in susceptibility to motion sickness among six Skylab astronauts

One of the Skylab experiments dealt with motion sickness, comparing susceptibility in the workshop aloft with susceptibility preflight and postflight. Tests were conducted on and after mission-day 8 (MD 8) by which time the astronauts were adapted to working conditions. Stressful accelerations were generated by requiring the astronauts, with eyes covered, to execute standardized head movements (front, back, left, and right) while in a chair that could be rotated at angular velocities up to 30 rpm. The selected endpoint was either 150 discrete head movements or a very mild level of motion sickness. In all rotation experiments aloft, the five astronauts tested (astronaut 1 did not participate) were virtually symptom free, thus demonstrating lower susceptibility aloft than in preflight and postflight tests on the ground when symptoms were always elicited. Inasmuch as the eyes were covered and the canalicular stimuli were the same aloft as on the ground, it would appear that lifting the stimulus to the otolith organs due to gravity was an important factor in reducing susceptibility to motion sickness even though the transient stimuli generated under the test conditions were substantial and abnormal in pattern. Some of the astronauts experienced motion sickness under operational conditions aloft or after splashdown, but attention is centered chiefly on symptoms manifested in zero gravity. None of the Skylab-II crew (astronauts 1 to 3) was motion sick aloft. Astronaut 6 of the Skylab-III crew (astronauts 4 to 6) experienced motion sickness within an hour after transition into orbit; this constitutes the earliest such diagnosis on record under orbital flight conditions. The eliciting stimuli were associated with head and body movements, and astronaut 6 obtained relief by avoiding such movements and by one dose of the drug combination 1-scopolamine 0.35 mg + d-amphetamine 5.0 mg. All three astronauts of Skylab-III experienced motion sickness in the workshop where astronaut 6 was most susceptible and astronaut 4, least susceptible. The higher susceptibility of SL-III crewmen in the workshop, as compared with SL-II crewmen, may be attributable to the fact that they were based in the command module less than one-third as long as SL-II crewmen. The unnatural movements, often resembling acrobatics, permitted in the open spaces of the workshop revealed the great potentialities in weightlessness for generating complex interactions of abnormal or unusual vestibular and visual stimuli. Symptoms were controlled by body restraint and by drugs, but high susceptibility to motion sickness persisted for 3 days and probably much longer; restoration was complete on MD 7. From the foregoing statements it is clear that on and after MD 8 the susceptibility of SL-II and SL-III crewmen to motion sickness under experimental conditions was indistinguishable. The role played by the acquisition of adaptation effects prior to MD 8 is less clear and is a subject to be discussed.     

Subatmospheric decompression: neurological and behavioural studies

Several studies in animals over the past decade have shown that prolonged exposures to pressures within the range 226 mm Hg to 160 mm Hg (30,000 to 37,500 ft) are likely to lead to brain damage. This often results in neurological and behavioural disturbance, which may be subtle and reversible or gross and ultimately fatal. The appearance of these impairments is often delayed until several hours or even days after exposure. Immediate survival does not necessarily ensure recovery. In contrast, decompression to pressures below 160 mm Hg or above 226 mm Hg are unlikely to have adverse effects if the exposure is survived. The most probable outcomes of such decompressions are death or uneventful recovery.     

Mineralogical biosignatures and the search for life on Mars

If life ever existed, or still exists, on Mars, its record is likely to be found in minerals formed by, or in association with, microorganisms. An important concept regarding interpretation of the mineralogical record for evidence of life is that, broadly defined, life perturbs disequilibria that arise due to kinetic barriers and can impart unexpected structure to an abiotic system. Many features of minerals and mineral assemblages may serve as biosignatures even if life does not have a familiar terrestrial chemical basis. Biological impacts on minerals and mineral assemblages may be direct or indirect. Crystalline or amorphous biominerals, an important category of mineralogical biosignatures, precipitate under direct cellular control as part of the life cycle of the organism (shells, tests, phytoliths) or indirectly when cell surface layers provide sites for heterogeneous nucleation. Biominerals also form indirectly as by-products of metabolism due to changing mineral solubility. Mineralogical biosignatures include distinctive mineral surface structures or chemistry that arise when dissolution and/or crystal growth kinetics are influenced by metabolic by-products. Mineral assemblages themselves may be diagnostic of the prior activity of organisms where barriers to precipitation or dissolution of specific phases have been overcome. Critical to resolving the question of whether life exists, or existed, on Mars is knowing how to distinguish biologically induced structure and organization patterns from inorganic phenomena and inorganic self-organization. This task assumes special significance when it is acknowledged that the majority of, and perhaps the only, material to be returned from Mars will be mineralogical.     

MX导弹喷管用先进材料评论 Ⅱ 第一级喷管的先进材料

本文是评论MX导弹喷管先进材料的三篇文章中的第二篇。第一篇文章于1977年4月在SAMPE季刊中发表(译文见“固体火箭技术”1978年第二期第99—105页),综述了MX导弹喷管对材料的要求,叙述了石墨材料的结构、性质和性能之间的关系。本文继续对MX的第一级和第二级发动机喷管所用先进材料进一步进行评价。     

欧洲同步科学卫星用的远地点发动机

意大利斯尼亚粘胶公司和法国“欧洲推进公司”于1973年5月开始联合研制“GEOS”欧洲同步科学卫星的远地点发动机,前者负责计划管理,发动机设计,推进剂和绝热层研制,发动机的装配和试验;后者负责壳体、喷管和点火器的设计、制造和试验。计划于1976年1月完成,将成为欧洲首创的远地点发动机。发动机长1130毫米,直径684毫米,装端羧聚丁二烯推进剂267公斤,壳体材料用 Ti—6A1—4V 钛合金,绝热层用石棉乙丙橡胶,采用半潜入喷管,喉径67毫米,膨胀比37,高密度石墨喉衬,碳布缠绕扩散段。发动机总重303公斤,燃烧室平均压力23公斤/厘米~2,真空最大推力2360公斤,真空比冲286秒,使用温度范围-10~℃～+40℃,相应的燃烧时间为51和47秒。研制工作分初步设计、金属件设计,组件鉴定,研制试验,鉴定试验和验收试验六个阶段。研制、鉴定试验中全尺寸发动机试车4发,验收批4发,其中试车2发,交货2发,提出这个报告时,正进行鉴定试验工作,已经取得的试验结果都很好,但研制试验有一台发动机经 X 射线检查,发现装药有缺陷而未进行试车。     

航天飞机用的液体火箭助推器

用液体火箭发动机作为航天飞机助推器的设想虽然很早有人提出过,但被人们搁置了达20年之久.美国肮天局早期的结论认为液体火箭发动机不能承受海水浸渍.但自从“挑战者”号航天飞机固体助推器发生故障而导致灾难性事故之后,美国航天局又重新对液体助推器方案进行了考查,以了解这种方案能否对安全飞行有所改善,以及能否增加有效载荷.这段时间美国肮天局及其承包公司进行了论证,发现液体助推器有不少好处,例如一旦出现故障,实现中止飞行的可信度较高;可增加有效载荷,对低地球轨道     

导引头实物仿真技术

讨论了美国陆军导弹司令部在研制面空导弹时采用的导引头实物仿真技术.目前在导弹系统的研制过程中,人们受到很多限制,例如经费有限,需要进行可靠的系统试验,要求在逼真的环境,包括电磁干扰和抗干扰环境中评价系统等.导引头实物仿真试验能为解决上述问题发挥重要作用.介绍和讨论了射频、非红外成像和电-光波段的现有仿真设备及其性能;举例介绍了最近完成的仿真试验结果及其对降低导弹系统研制成本所起的作用.最后介绍了主要的仿真技术和美国陆军提高仿真器能力的未来计划.     

固体推进剂发动机的比冲予示

实际比冲的理论予示方法大家是比较熟悉的.这些方法包括计算由于两相流、扩散、边界层、动能、喷管潜入和不完全燃烧造成的损失。在典型的加铝推进剂中最大的计算损失是两相流损失;由于粒子的大小和分布是不能精确知道的,因此这种计算也就具有最大的不精确性.本文中把由试验数据获得的平均粒子直径与喉径的关系用在固体火箭性能予示程序(SPP)方面,以便予示一系列发动机的推进剂比冲。这些予示与试验结果进行比较。结果指出比冲效率可认为与推进剂的本质有关.此外,试验比冲和比冲效率对发动机和推进剂变量是统计地相关的。这些相关性与较复杂的、较昂贵的理论分析一样准确.除比冲予示外,相关方程在发动机设计最佳化中是有用的。     

深度节流补燃循环发动机系统稳定性研究

补燃循环发动机深度节流过程中,系统参数大范围变化,低工况时喷注器压降和供应系统节流元件压降较低,容易出现推进剂供应系统与热力组件耦合的不稳定问题。针对10∶1深度节流富氧补燃循环发动机,通过Nyquist稳定性分析方法,对发动机全工况范围内泵后供应系统和燃气系统耦合稳定性进行仿真研究。结果表明:富氧补燃循环发动机燃料供应路与燃气路形成的闭环系统在低工况时,稳定裕度较低,改善燃气发生器喷雾燃烧效果以缩短时滞、增加燃气停留时间、在靠近燃气发生器位置增加供应系统压降能提高系统稳定裕度。     

FY-2气象卫星在轨管理工程测控关键技术(上)

介绍了风云二号(FY—2)地球静止轨道自旋气象卫星工程测控的关键技术。分析了位置保持、姿态确定、星蚀和日凌的原理，给出了位置保持、姿态控制策略和地影、月影、日凌预报算法。并提出了一种检验定姿结果正确性的方法，提供了相应的工程计算参数。这些策略都已成功地用于FY—2卫星的在轨管理工程测控。