bstempleton@watmath.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (11/26/83)
I was not aware of the number of such teams. Will there soon be a mission where both go up together? If so, I am sure I need not detail the interesting things that are possible. Of course, they have to go up before the TDRS network provides round the clock telemetry. How long are the radio gaps now? Do the mission specialists have body function monitors connected to them as was the case for the Apollo crews? Is there telemetry still, or is it just recorded? After all, if the team were married, I doubt even the Moral Majority could complain about what would perhaps be one of the most fascinating experiments of the space program. -- Brad Templeton - Waterloo, Ont. (519) 886-7304
kcarroll@utzoo.UUCP (Kieran A. Carroll) (11/28/83)
Well, Brad, while they haven't sent up any husband/wife teams yet, I believe that I remember hearing that the Soviets have already conducted "one of the most fascinating experiments of the space program," aboard their Salyut station sometime in the last couple of years. Also, keep in mind that the Shuttle is >awfully< small inside (except when Spacelab is attached), and that if there were two mission specialists aboard (I beleive the husband/wife teams are all airs of mission specialists), it'd be kind of hard to find any privacy on board. I don't know if there's even a hatch between the flight deck and the lower deck. This could present problems, especially for upstanding, all-american astronauts who would otherwise be willing to experiment. -Kieran A. Carroll (...decvax!utzoo!kcarroll)