Psychology of Space Exploration
space medicine in the 1940s.^17 Research to support pilots flying very fast and very high
provided a basis for sending astronauts into space. The first conference with “space” in
the title was prior to 1950, notes Weitekamp, but some space-oriented research was
clandestine or integrated into aviation medicine and psychology in order to avoid
the wrath of superiors who thought it wasteful to study “Buck Rogers” issues. In 1961,
Bernard Flaherty edited Psychophysiological Aspects of Space Flight, which focused on
the sensory and biotechnical aspects of spaceflight and simulations, as well as address-
ing issues of human durability.^18 Human Factors in Jet and Space Travel also appeared
that year.^19 The latter was edited by Saul B. Sells, a NASA consultant who first wrote
about astronaut selection and training in 1957, and Charles A. Berry, at one time
NASA Director of Life Science and physician to the astronauts. They dealt with per-
formance under conditions of acceleration and deceleration, as well as human adap-
tation to space. In 1967, Joseph Kubis, along with Edward J. McLaughlin, specifically
addressed the psychological aspects of spaceflight.^20 They noted that whereas short-
term spaceflight did not have adverse effects on functioning, factors such as emotional
stability and group dynamics could prove important in future missions. As would
many other writers, they illustrated their points with studies of psychological reac-
tions to isolation and confinement in terrestrial settings.
In the early 1970s, Joseph Kubis addressed issues of group dynamics: group
composition, leadership, and teamwork.^21 In 1971, Air Force psychiatrist Nick
Kanas, in collaboration with William E. Fedderson, released an outline of many
of the psychological and psychiatric issues that have filtered down and influence
discussions today.^22
- M. A. Weitekamp, Right Stuff Wrong Sex: America’s First Women in Space Program
(Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004). - B. E. Flaherty, Psychophysiological Aspects of Space Flight (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1961). - S. B. Sells and C. A. Berry, eds., Human Factors in Space and Jet Travel: A Medical-
Psychological Analysis (New York: Ronald Press, 1961). - J. F. Kubis and E. J. McLaughlin, “Psychological Aspects of Spaceflight,” Transactions of the
New York Academy of Sciences 30, no. 2 (1967): 320–330. - J. F. Kubis, “Isolation, Confinement, and Group Dynamics in Long Duration Spaceflight,”
Acta Astronautica 17 (1972): 45–72. - N. Kanas and W. E. Fedderson, Behavioral, Psychiatric, and Sociological Problems of Long
Duration Missions (Washington, DC: NASA Technical Memorandum X-58067, 1971).