r/todayilearned • u/Spykryo • 1d ago

TIL that veteran astronaut John Young's heart rate when launching on top of the Saturn V was only 70 bpm, the normal resting heart rate; meanwhile, his rookie crewmate's heart rate was 144 bpm, more than double. Young later said his heart "was too old for it to go any faster".

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/01/06/legendary-astronaut-john-w-young-dies/
2.6k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

236

u/Prin_StropInAh 1d ago

John Young has an impressive record. Flying the first SpaceShuttle was a throw of the dice

117

u/0ttr 1d ago

Fun fact: the first shuttle launch had so many failures that Young said that had he understood what was happening, he would've aborted after launch. "The same overpressure wave also forced the orbiter body flap – an extension on the orbiter's underbelly that helps to control pitch during reentry – into an angle well beyond the point where cracking or rupture of its hydraulic system would have been expected. Such damage would have made a controlled descent impossible, with John Young later admitting that had the crew known about this, they would have flown the shuttle up to a safe altitude and ejected, causing Columbia to be lost on the first flight. Young had reservations about ejection as a safe abort mode due to the fact that the SRBs were firing throughout the ejection window, but he justified taking this risk because, in his view, an inoperative body flap would have made landing and descent "extremely difficult if not impossible." see all the things that went wrong during STS-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1

17

u/Prin_StropInAh 1d ago

Wow! Even more scary than I had understood

194

u/TacTurtle 1d ago

After the first couple launches it is just the morning commute.

69

u/0nieladb 1d ago

For a practical understanding, 70bpm is the rate in which you'd tap your foot to this song, while 144 is the rate you'd tap your foot to this song

72

u/Tiny-Sugar-8317 1d ago

Just to clarify; he was 42 and very healthy so his heart definitely had the ability to safely beat at 144bpm. Dude probably just didn't feel fear the way normal people do.

26

u/Squippyfood 1d ago

120-140 is the speed your ticker goes before a class presentation. Enough so you feel it in your chest but can't distract you from shit.

38

u/ShutterBun 1d ago

70bpm was probably high for him. Ever watch an interview with John Young? His energy level is like a 1 the whole time.

38

u/FaultySage 1d ago

"What's there to be nervous about, either the rocket works, and we make it, or the rocket doesn't work, and I don't have to worry about it anymore."

10

u/slayer_f-150 20h ago

Like the EOD tech saying: "either I'm right or suddenly it's not my problem anymore "

6

u/lakerdave 20h ago

He's the only person to have flown in an Apollo mission and a space shuttle, wildly different eras. He's also the 9th person to have stepped foot on the moon.

14

u/akhgar 1d ago

It’s like that scene in big bang theory. Howard is all stressed about going to space but other veteran astronauts talk about their personal problems or having a dog.

3

u/Blackhawk510 1d ago

"IGNITION!!!! I LOVE THIS PAAAAAART!!!!!"

6

u/THUORN 1d ago

Thats weird, since he definitely had a Young heart.

4

u/rabidmidget8804 1d ago

Great joke, Dad.