Earth & Space

P:In a sealed space craft, what becomes of the body heat generated by a passenger? A guinea pig wrapped in a plastic bag would boil to death in its own heat in 15 minutes. And a man in an airtight capsule would cook himself in seven minutes. Last week Project Mercury researchers reported they had found a solution to the problem. The spaceman's body heat will be absorbed by a circulating water system. The water will boil, and the steam will be vented into space in a long, thin, man-made vapor trail.

P: The Army has ordered a device that will print photographs on the ground moments after they are taken by a reconnaissance plane in the air. Made by Fairchild Camera & Instrument Corp., the airborne unit is basically an instant-processing device, which produces negatives seconds after the camera's shutter has clicked, and a telemetry scanner, which transmits the negative to the ground--all contained in a 45-lb. package about the size of two shoe boxes. The ground unit picks up the televised signal, produces a finished photograph in less than one minute after the signal is received. P: A two-stage Thor-Able rocket rose from Florida's Cape Canaveral, blazed its way out of the atmosphere and 6,000 miles downrange toward the South Atlantic. There a squadron of C-54 transport planes treaded expectantly in the lower air. Soon one of the crews saw the bright glow made by the nose cone's reentry into the atmosphere. A parachute opened, and the cone drifted down to the sea. When it hit the surface, a small balloon inflated automatically, keeping the cone afloat. Guided by the C-545 and a homing transmitter in the cone itself, a destroyer fished the cone out of the water. It was the second consecutive nose-cone recovery after a shot of intercontinental range, providing data on re-entry protection for both men and weapons. The Air Force's description of the shot's accuracy: "Right down the rifle barrel."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.