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Show Space Kitchen Impresses Rocket Expert r -' " ? " . , 1 Benton Harbor, Mich. America's foremost rocket expert is "quite surprised" at the compactness of this country's first experimental space kitchen. Dr. Wernher Von Braun, (left) director of the George C. Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., expressed this reaction on seeing the experimental kitchen for the first time during a recent visit to Whirlpool Corporation's research laboratories here, where it is under development. He is shown here examining a miniature water heater that will be installed in the kitchen. The space kitchen is approximately half completed for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in May of this year. It is designed de-signed to store and dispense all foods and beverages required by three astronauts on a 14-day space mission. onown a numDer ol Kitcnen devices already completed, Dr. Von Braun was particularly particu-larly impressed by the minia- ture water heater that, unlike un-like its bulkier household counterpart, is only 17V4 inches from top to bottom and 5 inches in diameter. Three pints of 170 degree water can be drawn from the miniature tank every two hours. Two separate heating elements are utilized to forestall complete operating breakdown in the event of failure in one of the elements. Though designing and building the tank and heating elements sounds relatively rela-tively easy described in these terms, say Whirlpool scientists, scien-tists, months of research arid testing were required to devise de-vise an operative unit workable work-able under zero gravity conditions. con-ditions. Astronauts will draw water from the air-free system by pumping the handle on a posi- Mrs. LuDean Lund and two children will spend this week end in Salt Lake with her husband Phil, who is now employed in the Capitol City. Mr. and Mrs. Ben Cooper were in Salt Lake receiving medical care and calling on their son in law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Brinkman and baby. ; tive displacement pressure pump, meantime grasping a support bar with the free hand. Without something to grasp, they would push themselves them-selves across the kitchen ev-erytime ev-erytime they tried to move the handle, since there is no such thing as measurable weight at zero gravity. Improved weather forecast- inff made possible by data collected from U.S. satellites now in orbit could reduce by half the $2-bUlion losses imposed im-posed annually by unwarned storms, the German-born rocket pioneer believes. "This," he added, "would in itself pay for the nation's $l-billion a year space pro-grafn." pro-grafn." Von Braun said that although al-though the Russians have launched heavier payloads in the space race, "we have collected col-lected greater knowledge of space from our satellites." Mrs. Lena Morris, accompanied by her son and daughter in law, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Morris and daughter Claudia, motored to Milford from Los Angeles where Mrs. Morris spent four months with the Claude Morris family and a son in law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Tanner. The Morrises will return to their |