Guest: Dr. Erik Seedhouse. Topics: Dr. Seedhouse talked about his new book, "Pulling G: Human Responses to High and Low Gravity." Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Erik Seedhouse back to discuss his latest book, "Pulling G: Human Responses to High and Low Gravity. I strongly recommend this book as it is a terrific resource on the subject of G-force on the human body. If you buy it using this URL from Amazon, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show: http://www.amazon.com/Pulling-Responses-Gravity-Springer-Popular/dp/146…. Our 1 hour 42 minute discussion was in two segments but as our topics overlapped segments, there will be no part one and part two for today's program summary. Dr. Seedhouse began the discussion talking about the different types and sources of gravity on the human body. This included acceleration, lateral, reentry, vibrational, and more. We talked about helmet restraint issues, Formula One race cars and taking corners at high speed producing a high lateral G force, jet fighters, rocket flight, roller coasters, and more. Erik went over the proposed flight profile in g terms for Virgin Galactic and other proposed vehicles. He also talked about centrifuge research and findings with the general public at the NASTAR facility. He then switched to g-load force, fighter pilots and the Anti-G straining maneuver and breathing that they do to help counter excessive g's. Suborbital flight came up and here, Dr. Seedhouse had much to say given the small amount of suborbital human spaceflight history. We also talked about bone loss and density issues, osteoporosis, and obesity. Erik said the best physical profile for resisting high g force was short and stocky. The worst was tall and thin. Don't miss his explanation for this. He also said smokers do better in high g's over nonsmokers. Erik got lots of question about the Bill Weaver SR-71 ejection. Then he mentioned the Armstrong Line and said above that point, blood boils without a pressure suit. Erik also talked about orthostatic intolerance (OI) in the context of g tolerance. He talked about professional astronaut training for suborbital missions such as with Astronauts4Hire. We then discussed the financial problems hitting the Canadian aerospace industry with layoffs, closures, and the possible sale of valuable space hardware. Listeners wanted to know about anti g countermeasures, if any, and laser eye surgery was discussed although Erik said it was no longer a problem. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Dr. Seedhouse through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com
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