Comments by "Colonel K" (@Paladin1873) on "Mail via Missile: USPS expedited" video.

When I was a student at Georgia Tech in the 1970s, my advisor and Human Factors professor was Dr. Randall Chambers. He was the former head of NASA's human factors research during the formative years of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. With a little prodding he was always willing to regale us with anecdotes about the physical and psychological challenges faced by the chimpanzees and astronauts that his team was charged with testing. One such challenge was the ability of the human body to survive launch and landing when high G forces and sudden shock were involved. This led to the development of memory foam seats for NASA's cramped capsules. Professor Chambers had an original sample of one such seat, which was my first experience with the material. His research also resulted, perhaps indirectly, in an Army request to study the feasibility of launching shock troops into suborbital flight by rockets so they could land anywhere in the word within minutes. Dr. Chambers did not elaborate any further other than to say the request came to naught, but I would be interested in learning more about this intriguing idea which dates back at least to ancient China. With the advent of modern rockets that don't require high g forces and can land like a helicopter, perhaps the concept has some merit. The troops can always bring the mail bag with them. ;-)
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