NASTAR® Center Completes Fifth Suborbital Scientist Training

SOUTHAMPTON, Pa., July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The NASTAR® Center, the premier commercial aerospace training and research center in the world, completed another Suborbital Scientist Training Course for private astronauts that will conduct commercial space research missions on suborbital spaceflights. The fifth Suborbital Scientist class (SS Class #5) included 10 individuals, eight of which were Astronauts4Hire members interested in taking commercial payloads into space as a service for researchers. All participants successfully completed the training program.

"Centrifuge and high altitude training are core training elements that NASTAR provided to our members," remarked Astronauts4Hire Chief Operating Officer Dr. Jason Reimuller. "The very realistic mission simulation in NASTAR's centrifuge taught us how to physiologically adapt to rapidly changing G-forces, enabling us to anticipate these stresses in flight, adapt to them, and stay focused on our research tasks." Flight Member Alli Taylor added, "Training at the NASTAR Center gave me confidence in what to expect and how to perform on suborbital flights."

Mark Skarohlid, one of the trainees and an aerospace professional, said, "The NASTAR Center Suborbital Scientist Program provided a very practical and valuable understanding of how to best tailor my personal conditioning for those environments in future spaceflight opportunities."

The three-day NASTAR Suborbital Scientist course is designed to prepare individuals with the knowledge and skills to safely cope with the rigors of suborbital spaceflight. The highlight of the first day was a session in the NASTAR high-altitude chamber that simulated an ascent to 25,000 feet and allowed the trainees to experience the effects of oxygen-deprivation, or hypoxia, firsthand.

On the second day, G-tolerance flights in the NASTAR Phoenix STS-400 centrifuge subjected the trainees to maximum sustained loads of 3.5 times Earth's gravity oriented up-and-down (eyeballs-down) and 6 times Earth's gravity oriented front-to-back (eyeballs-in). These flights trained the Astronauts4Hire members to recognize and mitigate the symptoms of gravity-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC).

The course culminated on the third day with centrifuge runs simulating the complete suborbital flight profile of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicle. The participants also completed a distraction and time management exercise to introduce the need for teamwork, planning, and practice. This maximizes the chances mission success in the short and potentially stressful time available on suborbital flights.

Going forward, Astronauts4Hire and NASTAR will work together to refine and further develop curricula to prepare future scientist crews. "The Astronauts4Hire are a committed and focused group of individuals," says Brienna Henwood, Director of Space Training and Research Programs at the NASTAR Center. "They understood the curriculum, completed Altitude Physiology, and executed proper techniques during all spaceflight launch and reentry phases of training. NASTAR Center is proud to add the eight Astronauts4Hire members to our growing list of prepared commercial spaceflight trainees."

About Astronauts4Hire:  

Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at [email protected] or at (850) 685-2218.

About NASTAR Center: 

The National AeroSpace Training And Research (NASTAR®) Center is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC®). NASTAR Center is a state-of the art aerospace training, research, and educational facility dedicated to improving the health and safety of humans in extreme environments. NASTAR Center serves military aviation (fixed and rotary wing), civil aviation (fixed and rotary wing), space travel (government and private) and provides research support for component and human factors testing. For more information, please visit www.nastarcenter.com, or contact Director of Space Training and Research Brienna Henwood at [email protected] or at (215) 355-9100, ext 1504.

About Environmental Tectonics Corporation:

ETC (OTC Bulletin Board: ETCC:PK) ("ETC"), designs, manufactures and sells software driven products and services used to recreate and monitor the physiological effects of motion on humans and equipment and to control, modify, simulate and measure environmental conditions. These products include aircrew training systems (aeromedical, tactical combat and general), disaster management systems, sterilizers (steam and gas), environmental testing products and hyperbaric chambers and other products and services that involve similar manufacturing techniques and engineering technologies.  ETC's unique ability to offer complete systems, designed and produced to high technical standards, sets it apart from its competition. ETC is headquartered in Southampton, PA. For more information about ETC, visit http://www.etcusa.com/ or contact CFO Bob Laurent at Tel: 215-355-9100 ext. 1550

Forward-looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances. Words and expressions reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in "Risk Factors" included in the Company's most-recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE NASTAR Center