Repository: UIHistories Project: SWE - Proceedings of the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists [PAGE 278]

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In this project, heartbeats of the mice, Benji and Laska, were measured and telemetered to Earth. The launches provided information on the physiological effects of space flight and, because they were the first animal experiments above 100 miles in space, were direct historical forerunners of flights by American astronauts. The mid-1958 experiments disclosed that mice have normal heart rates during weightlessness periods of up to 40 minutes duration. On each flight, the mice traveled at speeds exceeding 15,000 miles per hour, reached record altitudes of 1400 miles, and withstood decelerations well over 60 g's and nose cone skin temperatures of several hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Although the nose cones were not located by recovery ships, telemetry records proved that the mice survived their flights into space and returned to Earth alive and well. This project typifies the type of experimentation which has special appeal to me, not only because of the numerous scientific disciplines which were involved but also because the basic concept was essentially a simple one which provided information from which future, more complex experiments could be developed. In other words, my basic philosophy of scientific research is not how to answer a specific question but rather to discover through experimentation what the right question would be to ask next. At the present time (but certainly not permanently) I am no longer active in the space industry as such. I do, however, have three major projects which keep my schedule very full indeed. The first of these is lecturing. I feel very strongly that one of the major obstacles to the success of our space program is a lack of understanding on the part of the general public of our objectives and the benefits which will result* To help with this problem, I address women's clubs, student groups, and any other audiences which will listen, in the hope of imparting some of my enthusiasm for this greatest of all mankind's adventures. My second occupation is Airport Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles, a post to which I was appointed in 1961. In this capacity, I have responsibility for the master planning, buildings, and engineering of the second and third busiest airports in the world representing a total value of 318 million dollars. This extremely challenging job is tremendously satisfying to me since it affords a unique opportunity to acquire knowledge in many fields which are foreign to my past experience. The third project, and one to which I plan to devote at least 48 hours a day for the rest of my life, is the raising of my two young sons, now 7 months and 22 months.

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