Advantages Of Life In The Space Age

Press, Volume C, Issue 29553, 30 June 1961, Page 2

Advantages Of Life In The Space Age

Radio pills, a new diagnostic device for medical practitioners, have been available in Christchurch for the last three months. The pills are a painless method of diagnosing a patient’s condition by radio waves. Thej r were described to a meeting of the Federation of University Women in Christchurch last evening by Mr C. S. Keay, of the physics department of the University of Canterbury. He was giving a talk entitled, “Life in the Space Age.”

The pills were about the size of a codein tablet, Mr Keay said. When one was swallowed by a patient, it sent radio ‘'messages'' from the body to a radio receiver set controlled by a doc'or. Mr Keay said money wisely spent on space programmes was not wasted, but if scientists used space they could do things that were impossible under the conditions of earth. One example was the use of weather satellites in making long-range weather forecasts. These satelh'es had revolutionised weather forecasting, he said

Three television satellites in appropriate orbits could televise the whole globe. Mr Keay said the first nation to put such satellites into orbit could control the language sooken throughout the whole world by the year 2000 This opinion was widely held, he said.

The cost ot inter-continen-tal telephone calls could be reduced from £1 a minute to 6d a minute. This meant that world trade and commerce would be accelerated tremendously. Several new space-age technical advances would affect day-to-day living. Examples were drugs, material for ovenwear, car lubricants, and thermo-electric cooling for refrigerators Mr Keay outlined scientific achievement and discovery since the start of the space age less than four years ago, when Russia put the first sputnik into orbit. "Major Gagarin’s feat has been the greatest in this time: more so than Commander Shepherd's. which was a ballistic, not an orbital achievement.” he said.

Ninety-five attempts had been made by Russia and the United States to put an object into orbit—an average of two a month, he said. At presen t four satellites were in orbit round the sun, and 27 round the earth. Fifty other objects were in orbit round the earth. “The traffic is getting rather dense out there." said Mr Keay. The United States was constantly tracking every one of the objects through a string of radar stations. In

the event of an enemy attack of satellites, bearing hydrogen bomb warheads and directed at any major American city. United States defence authorities would have only 15 minutes to act. he said. Six months ago. radar stations had picked up the moon coming into the earth's orbit, which they had not been supposed to recognise. “They almost predicted a catastrophe,” Mr Keay said.