Hypoxia, decompression sickness, gas expanding, body fluids boiling from the inside out are just a few of the things that can go wrong when you go to the edge of space and dance with death. But this doesn't keep the U-2 Dragon Lady pilots from flying into the unknown. But prior to ascending to the stars, each Dragon tamer has to go through the Chamber and deal with life in a Ziploc Bag. From overcoming psychological dangers, claustrophobia, learning to eat and drink from a tube, going to the bathroom, to dealing with emergencies such as an explosive decompression, pilots need to know how to handle anything because you are all alone up there.
This video is a brief overview of the Full Pressure Suit (FPS) High Altitude Chamber training needed to be a passenger in the U-2 Dragon Lady. From an in-depth class room session outlining operational use of the FPS and human physiology, to the intricacies of getting suited up in the FPS. The video then shows the rigors of testing the suit to ensure nothing goes wrong as the applicant is taken to 75,000 feet. Once inside the chamber, half a dozen Airmen from the 9th Physiological Support Squadron at Beale AFB, make sure that Sagar Pathak successfully demonstrates the proper techniques and emergency procedures needed to survive a flight in the U-2.
At the 3 minute mark in the video, as the altitude passes "Armstrong's Line" and exposed fluid boils. If Sagar was not in a pressure suit, he would die within moments.
At the 3 minute 35 second mark in the video, watch Sagar's react to a simulated explosive rapid decompression while descending from FL650 to FL295. This is to simulate a loss of cabin pressure at a high altitude and the suit inflating to compensate for the lack of pressure externally.
A special thanks to the men and women of the 9th Physiological Support Squadron at Beale AFB for keeping me safe during my flight.
Video created by WalterColby.com
