The Roswell Report: Case Closed

Fig. 33. The first "space doctor,"
Lt. Col. John P. Stapp (now a
retired Colonel) being strapped
into the rocket sled Sonic Wind
NQ 1, on December 10, 1954,
at Holloman AFB, N.M.
Courageously, Stapp was his
own volunteer subject on 29
rocket sled tests and earned
two awards of the Legion of
Merit and the Cheney Award
for valor and self-sacrifice.
(U.S. Air Force photo)
On a typical flight the dummies were separated from the balloon by radio
command and descended by parachute. 57 Prompt recovery of the dummies
and their suspension racks, which usually did not land in the same location
resulting in extensive ground and air searches, was essential for researchers
to evaluate information collected by the instrumentation and cameras. To
assist the recovery personnel, a variety of methods were used to enhance
the visibility of the dummies: smoke grenades, pigment powder, and
brightly colored parachute canopies. 58 Also, recovery notices promising
a $25 reward were taped to an exposed portion of a dummy. 59 Local
newspapers and radio stations were contacted when equipment was lost. 60
================~~£F================
The Bravest Man
America was introduced to Col. John Paul Stapp on December 10,
1954, when he became known as both the "the bravest" and "the fastest"
man on earth. Stapp earned these titles following a rocket sled test that
accelerated him to 632 miles per hour. He reached this speed in just five
seconds-faster than a .45 caliber bullet-and was decelerated to a stop in
1.4 seconds, subjecting his body to more than 42 times the force of gravity!
While this was America's introduction to Col. Stapp, the 1954 rocket sled
test that examined aircraft restraint devices and human responses to
accelerative/decelerative forces and windblast, was just one of many
achievements of this legendary Air Force physician.
Born in Bahia, Brazil to American missionary parents, Stapp sold
pots and pans door to door during the Depression while he earned both
undergraduate and graduate degrees in zoology and chemistry at Baylor
University. He went on to earn a doctorate in biophysics from the University
of Texas, and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Minnesota.
In 1944 Stapp entered the U.S. Army Air Forces and became a flight
surgeon. From 1946 to 1963, due to his unique qualifications in biophysics
and medicine, he conducted a series of acceleration/deceleration experiments
on the high-speed track at Muroc (now Edwards AFB), Calif., 61 and later at
Holloman AFB, N.M. Developments from these and other studies resulted
31