About this Book: |
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This book chronicles the lives of a small group of men working as altitude test technicians and volunteer test subjects at NASA-JSC in Houston, Texas during the Apollo Program. Test subjects provided scientific, engineering and medical data necessary for the design, development and modification of reliable and efficient life support systems required for space flight. Most of these tests were carried out in vacuum chambers that furnished realistic conditions of outer space and the surface of the moon or in a centrifuge that produced the G-forces of spacecraft launch and re-entry.
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About the Author: |
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Tom Wilks began working as an altitude test technician at the NASA Johnson Space Center when he was 23 years old. He acted as a rescue tech during astronaut training inside vacuum chambers and as a safety diver during underwater training. He also served as a test subject during the Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs. He participated in centrifuge tests, underwater, and vacuum chamber testing of space suits; liquid cooling garment development; astronaut recovery basket; Apollo thermal glove tests; Skylab zero-G foot restraints; Apollo-Soyuz Docking Module tests; and Space Shuttle emergency escape procedures. He, and others in his group, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Certificate for development and testing of the carbon dioxide control adapter required during the Apollo 13 emergency. He later worked for Lockheed Martin as the Space Environment Activity Training Coordinator for the Crew and Thermal Systems Division at JSC, retiring in 2005.
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