ASTRONAUT GETS CARRIED AWAY FOR SCIENCE.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Astronaut John Blaha returned to Earth on Wednesday after a punishing four months aboard the Russian space station Mir, and instead of playing the hero, allowed himself to be carried off shuttle Atlantis on a stretcher stretcher /stretch·er/ (strech´er) a contrivance for carrying the sick or wounded. stretch·er n. . It was the first time an astronaut agreed to be carried off after a long spaceflight. The decision delighted NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. doctors, who wanted to gauge immediately the effects of long-term weightlessness weightlessness, the absence of any observable effects of gravitation. This condition is experienced by an observer when he and his immediate surroundings are allowed to move freely in the local gravitational field. on the body, including dizziness and weakened bones and muscles. Paramedics gently carried the weak Blaha onto an airport-style people-mover minutes after Atlantis landed with its crew of six. He was greeted by hugs and kisses For the XML format, see . Hugs and Kisses is a term for a sequence of the letters X and O, e.g. XOXO, typically used to express affection or good friendship at the end of a written letter or email. from his wife of 30 years, Brenda, and their 23-year-old daughter, Carolyn. The 54-year-old former combat and test pilot said he was ``absolutely stunned'' at how heavy he felt when Atlantis landed and how wobbly he still felt several hours later. ``I mean, it's like I can't believe it. I feel very wobbly. I don't feel like I'm capable of walking very good,'' said the five-time space flier. ``I've improved a little bit. But right after wheels stop, when the orbiter stopped, I couldn't even raise my leg an inch. It wouldn't even move. It felt very heavy.'' He didn't mind shedding his ``Right Stuff'' image for the sake of science. ``That was totally John's decision'' to be carried out, said astronaut John Grunsfeld. ``He was very much into understanding long-term effects of spaceflight and wanted the doctors to get the best possible data they could. I think he's a real trouper.'' Blaha's two predecessors on Mir - including biochemist Shannon Lucid Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid (born January 14, 1943) is an American astronaut who previously held the record for the longest duration stay in space by a woman. She has flown in space five times including a prolonged mission aboard the Mir space station. , who was up a record six months, shunned stretchers and walked off the shuttle even though doctors preferred they didn't. |
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