Today was the be work day at he NASTAR Center. It was a nice small group of three two flight surgeons and the operators of this amazing G Force Centrifuge. We performed a combination of G Force maneuvers, the first dealing with the "Y" axis. The Y axis being straight up and down from your toes to your head. This is the one that can make you pass out! The blood can get pushed straight out of your brain which makes it very hard to think and see.
The flight doctors Tarah and Johnene got us hooked up (Literally) with sensors on our chests and back. There was a sports bra type apparatus the held another set of sensors. We had to carry around our leads looking something a bunch of lost robots looking to recharge.
Considering that this centrifuge; the Johnsville Centrifuge at one time was the state of the art.
Just down the street from where we are training now. The Johnsville Centrifuge was the G Force training center for the mercury seven astronauts.
We have been training on the amazing machine, which I would say is the Cadillac of G force trainers. I will ultimately have video of me in the cockpit getting spun around. The Y Axis was the toughest. We were only pulling 3 to 4 G's. Feeling that drop down feeling then tensing my legs and gluts to keep the blood in the upper part of my body. I didn't get tunnel vision but had to focus, I felt a very strange brain tickling sensation that was making me laugh. After a lunch break we all went again this time working on the "X" Axis straight from your front to your back. You don't get the pass out concern, this more like a heavy weight being laid on your chest. Controlled breathing is the key. It was 6 G's on the X Axis. It felt like my lungs were completely flat. But I still was able to breath and concentrate, even with the feeling that my brain was going to the back of my head, I couldn't imaging that there are people that have pulled 12 G's and more! Video tomorrow.
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