Show for the 1970’s ' is ‘ familiar as Apollo ’ Saturn V rocket the same one that has been sending our Apollos to the moon The Station will be a kind of mini-cit- y in space with working and living areas flaring off from a vertical axis that separates them from the nuclear power plan Long-terexperiments and projects in astronomy biology chemistry physics aerospace medicine space manufacturing and metallurgy and space engineering will take place on the Station But while its laboratories and work areas are being carefully designed much thought is also going into the design of the crews quarters to ease the psychological stress of living for as long as a year in cramped space and isolation (The size of the station can be increased merely by adding on modular units) two-sta- ge four-deck- ed m tle Today the Saturn rockets that boost the Apollo capsules into space are not recoverable The capsules themselves must be fished out of the oceans The idea behind the Shuttle is that it would fly back to earth and land at an airport and thus be able to make scores of round-trip- s from earth to the Space Station and back again SPACE SHUTTLE high-pressu- re high-vacuu- ! m rom previous experience with men F submarines or at Polar stationed in 3 u i r T c By BEN KOOVAR re- search stations scientists have learned a great deal about how men and women react to crowding and to alone ness Since psychologists know that one of the greatest sources of irritation is a lack of privacy every man and woman — for it is planned that women scientists will be aboard the Station —will have his or her own room In addition the lighting and temperature will be regulated to approximate the changes experienced on earth the decorative scheme will be colorful there will be ample space for recreation there will be a gym there will be a space kitchen capable of turning out a varied diet But what will ifiake the Space Station possible is perhaps the most amazing development of all — the Space Shut 24-ho- ur The basic plan for the Shuttle involves giving the "orbiter” —a craft the size of a Boeing 707 aiiplane — a "piggyback” ride on the "booster” —which will bo the size of a 747 Booster will take Orbifer up about 40 miles and release it there Then while Booster flies back to earth to land like a airplane Orbiter will continue its mission of ferrying men and materials to and from the Space Station Orbiter will also be capable of making space missions of its own before gliding engineless back to an airport-sized runway on land The Booster will have a crew of two the Orbiter will also have a two-macrew but will be able to carry a dozen also The Space Shuttle will theoretically not only improve the reliability of space travel but it should cut the enormous costs of getting men and material into orbit The promise is that the current cost of $1000 to put a pound into space will be reduced to $50 All these projects will cost great sums of money But the ultimate benefits may prove to be well worth the price The relatively small and simple satellites we now have in the sky are already giving us more effective international communications and weather forecasting Instruments that sense the location of rocket-power- two-wee- ed This sequence of sketches illustrates how Space Shuttle would work From I to r above the “piggy-backeOrbiter and booster craft poise cn launching pad blast off then separate when proper altitude h reached While Booster flies back to earth Orbiter performs midspace missions transfers supplies and passengers via movable cargo tube then heads bock to earth itself At right Orbiter makes landing approach and finally both craft are readied for another flight d” k n scientist-passenge- rs ocean currents are aiding the fishing industry others are pinpointing valuable new mineral deposits under the ground and the seas Space technology has spun off earthbound advances ranging from aluminized folding blankets that provide superinsulation to biological instruments for better medical diagnosis Space accelerometers are being used to study tremor patterns in disease victims and how injuries occur moonin car accidents A walking vehicle is being adapted as a walking chair for paraplegics But perhaps the most important spinoff is growing international coopera six-legg- ed tion For the great costs of space exploration are gradually making both America and the Soviet Union think about the advantages of cooperating on technical levels so that at the very least each nation’s astronauts could aid the others in a rescue mission Skyiab Space Station and Space Shuttle are all seemingly in the far future But at least one airline has already booked 50000 reservations for the first commercial space flight to our satellites and to the moon It expects to provide such service between 1985 and 2000 Indeed it may be sooner than you think I t 7 |