Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] FWD: CNN Breaking News/OT

[William Alford <walford@dbtech.net>]

At 02:21 PM 2/2/2003 -0500, Michael B Holt wrote:
>On Sun, 2 Feb 2003 15:23:09 +0100 "Peter Madsen" writes:

>>... I would feal a lot more safe in a Mercury capsule
>Have you ever looked at the design of the interior of the space capsules?

I have actually sat in the very seat that John Glenn sat in during his
historic flight. I would *not* feel very safe falling from the heavens in it!

I visited the Huntsville, Alabama Space Museum way back in the late 70's
before the capsule was moved from there to the Smithsonian. Back then the
capsule just sat open on a platform in the middle of the floor and gangs of
schoolchildren would climb through it and play on it. I couldn't resist
experiencing what one of my heros did and climbed in myself. It was
incredibly *tiny* (really "spam in a can" as the Mercury astronauts said)
and the seat was just a steel sheet, no padding at all on back or seat.
Clunky switches and small windows. The capsule wall was remarkably thin to
be able protect from the vacuum and radiation of space and the heat of
re-entry. Remember that during Glenn's flight, the heat shields began to
burn away and mission control thought he would be lost. He knew the
situation and yet during the re-entry ordeal the telemetry showed that his
heart rate increased by only 1 beat. Truly "the Right Stuff"! Now all the
stuff in the Huntsville museum and Smithsonian are in plexiglas cages for
protection-- can look but don't touch. I treasure the memory of sitting in
the seat and fiddling with the switches.

BTW the first American in space was in residence at the museam back then--
the monkey who was shot into space before the astronauts. By some
circumstance he lived to about 28 (? something like that), about twice
normal lifespan. He was in a cage in the same room as the Glenn capsule.

William Alford
walford@dbtech.net

Tout comprendre c'est tout pardonner