[Col. (Dr.) John Stapp,] Edwards aerospace pioneer dies (Forwarded)
Andrew Yee
Released: 22 Nov 1999
Edwards aerospace pioneer dies
By Ray Johnson, Air Force Flight Test Center Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- Aerospace medical pioneer Col.
(Dr.) John Stapp died Nov. 13 at his home in Alamagordo, N.M, at age 89.
Stapp, renowned for his research on high-velocity ejections, developed the
concept of measuring deceleration forces. Time and again during the late
1940s and early 50s, he was strapped into rocket-powered sleds to use
himself as a subject to study the human body's tolerance for gravity
forces and to develop various safety devices.
On June 1, 1951, Stapp sat in a sled at Edwards that was poised on a
2,000-foot deceleration track. Moments later, 40,000 pounds of rocket
thrust blasted him down the track and into a braking system.
For a brief instant, Stapp endured 48 times the force of gravity, or Gs,
with a rate of onset at roughly 500 Gs per second. In other words, his
body absorbed an impact of more than four tons.
As his own volunteer subject, the colonel became known as the world's
fastest man Dec. 10, 1954, when he took a bone-and-tissue-punishing
2,750-foot sled ride at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. In less than a
tenth of a second, rockets on back of the sled sent the vehicle at 19 Gs
with 40,000 pounds of thrust.
Stapp's ride hit 632 mph -- nearly supersonic speeds -- before coming to
a dead stop in 1.4 seconds, pushing him to 40 Gs. And, for an instant,
his 168-pound body weighed 6,720 pounds.
The colonel literally saw red for eight minutes as his eyeballs pushed
against upper eyelids, tugging at their attachments. He also suffered
double vision for 20 minutes.
"It was like a dental extraction without anesthetic," he said in an
article last year for "Airman" magazine
[http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0498/sled.htm].
Through these stress tests, Stapp personally identified and diagnosed the
effects of extremely high Gs on humans. His analyses supplied data for
aircraft, space cabin and ground vehicle crash protection design.
Though black eyes, retinal hemorrhages, cracked ribs and broken bones were
frequently Stapp's reward for his labors, he came away from these ordeals
with the knowledge that countless lives would be saved by his efforts.
Those lives saved included more than just aircrews. His research for the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration led to the standard use of
seatbelts and airbags in cars and trucks.
"Today, everyone who flies in an airplane or rides in an automobile is
safer because of his tremendous contributions," said Dr. Jim Young, Air
Force Flight Test Center chief historian. "Although he never piloted an
airplane, Colonel Stapp was a true aerospace hero."
Some of Stapp's honors include: National Aviation Hall of Fame; Jet
Pioneers of America; International Space Hall of Fame; Safety Health Hall
of Fame; Air Force Cheney Award for Valor; and the Lovelace Award from
NASA for aerospace medical research.
IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.af.mil:80/news/Nov1999/n19991118_992109.html]
Retired Col. (Dr.) John Stapp, who died Nov. 13 at 89, was renowned as a
rocket sled pioneer. In the late 1940s and early 50s, he was frequently
strapped into sleds and hurled down deceleration tracks to study the human
body's tolerance for gravity forces. (Air Force photo)
---
Andrew Yee
ay...@nova.astro.utoronto.ca