posted 04-06-2010 10:32 PM               

Col. David Simons, MD, MC USAF was involved in many high altitude balloon experiments and was heavily involved in the suit testing for high altitude suits that were forerunners of the Mercury program.

posted 04-06-2010 10:33 PM               

From 1953 to 1959, Major Simons was Chief of Space Biology at the Air Force Missile Development Center at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. During that time, he was Project Officer on Project 7851, "Human Factors of Space Flight." This program included 60 high altitude balloon flight experiments studying cosmic radiation effects, weightlessness and space equivalent conditions. In 1957, Simons would take part in the Manhigh project, a series of balloon flights to record altitudes to study the effects of a near-space environment on human physiology.

On August 19 and 20, 1957, Dr. Simons piloted a 32-hour balloon flight to a then-record altitude of 101,516 feet during the Manhigh II mission. Just before dawn on August 19, 1957, Major Simons, wearing a pressure suit, sat in enclosed gondola beneath the Manhigh II balloon as it rose above Crosby, Minnesota. The balloon ascended rapidly and after two hours and eighteen minutes, it reached almost 100,000 feet.

The balloon was expected to drift westward into Montana, but it was slower than anticipated and never got beyond the eastern part of the Dakotas. The flight was also supposed to last just 24 hours but dragged on almost a half day longer, as Simons in his balloon capsule and tracking parties on the ground looked for a suitable opening in the cloud cover through which to descend. In the afternoon of August 20, Dr. Simons was able to begin a steady rate of descent and finally landed near Frederick, South Dakota.

The Manhigh II flight had lasted thirty-two hours and ten minutes, but Simons had actually been forty-four hours in the cramped capsule, including the time spent before launch. The delay in ending the flight had led to several problems in capsule environment. The effectiveness of chemicals in the air regeneration system began to decline, carbon dioxide was not absorbed fast enough, and at regular intervals Major Simons had to use a facemask for breathing. With power supply also running low, it was necessary to cut off the capsule cooling system, and temperature rose to eighty-four degrees, a situation extremely uncomfortable due to the pressure suit. Despite these problems, Major Simons emerged from the ordeal in good shape and the mission was a great success. In words of Colonel John Stapp "Human performance in an environment equivalent to space is now known to be possible."

posted 04-06-2010 10:46 PM               

The David Simons care team has reported to me that this former USAF flight surgeon, my hero from our days of space medicine research, is near death.

Pneumonia and kidney failure soon will take what life remains in this remarkable man who established himself with a 30 hour balloon trip to the edge of space to study galactic cosmic radiation.

This is the man who personally designed and fabricated his gondola and engineered every detail of his environmental support system to permit him and his experimental mice reasonable comfort 20 miles above the surface of Earth for 30 hours.

This was August 1957, six weeks before the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite.

Dave showed me his salt and pepper mice after his return from his historic flight. These black mice told me the story of their bodies being pierced many times by these unseen cosmic darts but only the ones to the brain would be important. Dave was a visionary always looking just over the horizon to see what was coming.

When I first met Dave, I was a newcomer to the field of space medicine and was making the rounds at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, meeting with those who already had established themselves in this new field of medicine.

I had just vacated the office of Hubertus Strughold MD, known by all as the grandfather of space medicine. He had come over with the German contingent as part of Von Braun's team and was now a dignitary at the School. "You must see Doctor Simons' mice," he counseled me. "This young man is looking way into the future. He has already been to space."

If I had ever had an older brother, Dave Simons was the way I would have wanted him to look. He was tall and slim with body motion radiating warmth but his eyes really got you - they were looking through you.

Farewell, Dave, a friend and mentor. A true pioneering hero.

posted 04-07-2010 06:17 PM               

Only later did I realize that he was also involved in some research in muscle pain trigger points (which has been helpful to me).

posted 04-09-2010 02:58 PM               

This is when I met my very first astronaut, Wally Schirra. Besides Schirra, I met many other astronauts for the first time too, the first of many times to come.

Being new to all of this at the time, I had no photos to get signed so I opted for getting mission pages signed in Lattimer's book 'All We Did Was Fly To The Moon'. Not having any photos of his balloon flight either, I had decided to get Dr. Simons to sign the inside back cover of the book, if I could.

At some point I was making my way out to my car from the visitor complex when I noticed a gentleman arranging items in his car trunk. He was parked but a few spaces from me and it turned out to be Dr. Simons. I said hello and explained that I didn't have a proper photo of him to sign and asked if he would mind signing the inside back cover of the book. He said he'd be glad to and then did so with a smile -

David G. Simons MD
Manhigh Flight 1957
11-10-'01