Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test (SMEAT)

 

Dr. Thornton was a physician crew member on the Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test (SMEAT). SMEAT was a 56-day simulation of a Skylab mission enabling crewmen to collect medical experiments baseline data and evaluate equipment, operations, and procedures.

Along with pilot Karol "Bo" Bobko and commander Bob Crippen, Dr. Thornton conducted various tests in a 20-foot altitude chamber at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in order to determine how the human body and machinery would react to the long-term weightlessness that would be experienced in Skylab, America's first space station.

Dr. Thornton later transferred some of his photos and documents from SMEAT onto 35 mm slides for use in teaching and presenting. These slides have now been scanned and are available here as high-resolution images.

Recent Submissions

  • Fluid Pressure and Volume Changes 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Image depicting the differences in fluid pressure/volume in the human body in 1 g (standard gravity) and 0 g (weightlessness).

  • Fluid Shifts, Tissue 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Description of the way fluids in the human body's tissues are affected by weightlessness.

  • Fluid Shifts, Blood - Exposure to Weightlessness 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Description of the way fluid (blood) in the body shifts during weightlessness.

  • Fluid Shifts, Blood - Reexposure to 1 g 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Description of the way fluid (blood) in the body shifts during the return to standard gravity (1 g) after weightlessness.

  • Change in Left Limb Volumes, SL-4 PLT 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the left arm and leg volumes during weightlessness and recovery for the SL-4 mission "PLT" (Simulation Pilot, Bo Bobko).

  • Change in Left Limb Volumes, SL-4 CDR 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the left arm and leg volumes during weightlessness and recovery for the SL-4 mission "CDR" (Simulation Commander, Bob Crippen).

  • Change in Left Limb Volumes, SL-4 SPT 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the left arm and leg volumes during weightlessness and recovery for the SL-4 mission "SPT" (Simulation Support, Dr. William Thornton).

  • Anthropometric Changes, Truncal 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Truncal anthropometric changes during weightlessness, and their probable causes and effects.

  • Postural Changes 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Postural changes during weightlessness, and their probable causes and effects.

  • Center of Gravity/Center of Mass, SL-4 PLT 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the change in the CG/M from soles of feet for "PLT" (Simulation Pilot, Bo Bobko) throughout the SL-4 mission.

  • Anthropometric Measurements of Skylab Crewmen 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Image depicting the types of measurements that were taken of SMEAT crew members in order to determine the effects of space flight on the human body.

  • Anthropometric Changes, SL-4 SPT 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the height and body circumference changes during the SMEAT SL-4 test for "SPT" (Simulation Support, Dr. William Thornton).

  • Anthropometric Changes, SL-4 PLT 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the height and body circumference changes during the SMEAT SL-4 test for "PLT" (Simulation Pilot, Bo Bobko).

  • Anthropometric Changes, SL-4 CDR 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the height and body circumference changes during the SMEAT SL-4 test for "CDR" (Simulation Commander, Bob Crippen).

  • Postural Changes, SL-4 SPT Concluded 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Image depicting the SL-4 pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight postures of "SPT" (Simulation Support, Dr. William Thornton).

  • Postural Changes, SL-4 SPT 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Image depicting the SL-4 pre-flight and in-flight postures of "SPT" (Simulation Support, Dr. William Thornton).

  • Measurements Used in Center of Gravity and Center of Mass Determinations 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Image depicting the method of measuring SMEAT crew members' bodies in order to determine the changes in their center of gravity and center of mass during weightlessness.

  • Figure 2.4.1-9 Average Peak Forces of 10 Repetitions Preflight and Post Flight for SL-3 SPT 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the average peak forces on the SL-3 SPT crewmember's right leg flexed, right leg extended, right arm flexed, and right arm extended.

  • Figure 2.4.3-1 Leg Volumes of SL Crewmen 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Graph depicting the pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight leg volumes for each of the 3 SMEAT crew members during the SL 1/2 and SL-3 tests.

  • Unnamed engineer at Southwest Research Institute with SMMD 

    Thornton, William E. (William Edgar), 1929- (1972)
    Photograph of an unnamed engineer testing the "SMMD" (Specimen Mass Measurement Device) that was used to gather measurements of the human body's response to weightlessness during the SMEAT Skylab simulations.

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