posted 03-13-2018 06:55 PM               

Space Cover 458: Shuttle Bedrest Tests

This Space Cover of the Week commemorates the shuttle bedrest tests, a 27-day schedule of rigorous and demanding medical tests in the research program titled "Shuttle Reentry Acceleration Tolerances" in male and female subjects before and after bed rest.

The rational for using bed rest to measure bodily responses is that prolonged bed rest is one way which a physiological approximation of zero gravity experienced in space can be achieved on earth. Bodily changes begin within 24 to 48 hours after total bed rest begins and continues to develop throughout the next 7 days.

Once zero gravity has been approximated, medical researchers can study human responses to the introduction of both normal and abnormal shuttle reentry gravity forces. Other tests assess the value of anti-gravity suits as a protection against the stresses expierenced during reentry.

NASA conducted two bedrest studies on April 14 to May 11, 1977 and February 2 to 28, 1978 at Ames Research Center. The covers shown were autographed by the test participants.

posted 03-15-2018 02:24 PM               

I believe that there were six of these bedrest studies conducted, with three groups of male and three groups of female test subjects participating.

Official NASA/ARC cacheted cover for test #3 and a test group #3 autographed cover canceled during the testing phase.

The first test group was comprised of twelve female USAF nurses in 1973, and the last test group in 1981 was comprised of nine females between 55-65 years old.

At least two types of NASA/Ames official cachets were provided for these tests, with one for the 3rd testing session in February 1978 and another for the final test in April 1981.

Autographs of the test subjects were easy to obtain, as they were a captive audience and probably had little else to do.

Official NASA/ARC cacheted cover for the final test group in 1981 and autographed by all nine subjects.

posted 03-15-2018 04:52 PM               

Included in the covers depicted here are a couple of joint US/USSR simulated weightlessness study covers in 1979 as well.

It appears that the bedrest test series, which were always conducted at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA, didn't end during the early 1980s. There was another call from Ames in January 2002 for human test subjects to participate in a month-long bedrest research study of how long-term spaceflight affects the human body.

Did anyone note that two of the covers illustrated above were cover cachets produced by the elusive Stan Henderson (3-Muscateers) of Rodeo, CA. Stan had been an active space cover producer throughout most of the 1970s, however, he had completely dropped out of the scene, and to my knowledge, no one has heard from him ever since.

My thanks to John in sharing the topic and a big thanks to Bob for providing me with some of his extra bedrest test covers.

posted 03-15-2018 05:03 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
...were always conducted at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA, didn't end during the early 1980s.

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posted 06-19-2018 01:59 PM               

Participant's names are quoted in the cover that is not signed as previous ones.

And even an earlier cover; the pre-selection of 24 women prior to decide the final 10.