Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Hordinsky, J. R..
One of several reports that were prepared to document the results of the Spacelab Mission Development Test 3 is presented. This report covers clinical support to the crew as well as assistance and counsel to others in crew selection, health stabilization of the crew and the laboratory animals, and habitability and duty schedules.
Medical examinations and treatment of crewmen preflight, during Skylab missions, and postflight periods are outlined. From a clinical point of view, all of the physiological responses noted in the various missions were either self-limiting or represented work-around problems requiring minimal counteraction. As such, these changes do not preclude extending man's duration in zero-gravity for longer periods of time.
Postflight measurements of Achilles tendon reflex duration on Skylab crewmen indicate a state of disequilibrium between the flexor and extensor muscle groups with an initial decrease in reflex duration. As the muscles regain strength and mass there occurs an overcompensation reflected by increased reflex duration. Finally, when a normal neuromuscular state is reached the reflex duration returns to baseline value.
All three manned Skylab missions were supported by a cadre of medical personnel who were responsible not only for the management and conduct of the medical experiments but also for the operational planning and crew health. The day-to-day medical care of the crewmen and their families was left to a team of flight surgeons who were responsible for the health care during all phases of the mission, as well as the development and use of the inflight medical support system. The preventive medicine aspects of the preflight and postflight health stabilization program are discussed. The clinical problems encountered are identified and the significance of these medical entities are reviewed. The inflight physiological changes of a clinical nature are discussed in light of the significance of these changes as result of the space environment.
The Skylab program established the opportunity for the first time to perform extensive medical experimentation on man in a long-term zero-g environment. This experimentation involved metabolic studies, cardiovascular systems, nutrition and mineral balance, hematology, vestibular function, and many other related investigations. This report presents an overview of the significant results of the medical experiments performed during the program and a summary of the medical observations gathered by the team of life scientists.