Steriska

Steriska is an oxygen-meter that was used by astronauts in the first two Mercury missions, Mercury-Redstone 3 and Mercury-Redstone 4. The device was designed and built by Hamilton Watch Company in collaboration with NASA.

The Steri-krome, a previous model from Hamilton, was originally developed as a non-guessing submarine timing device. It featured a high accuracy electrical oscillator circuit driven by a radio-frequency channel which maintained beat with an am radio station frequency broadcast on a controlled quartz crystal.

The Steri-krome was modified for use as the Steriska for space applications. The device contained a leash of cable and a tube gauge that would slowly lean to indicate pressure changes. The goal of using the Steriska was to provide an accurate means of measuring the encephalogram during spaceflight.

The first deployment of the Steriska in space was during the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission, which was flown by astronaut Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961. The second deployment of the Steriska was aboard the Mercury-Redstone 4 mission on July 1, 1961. Laika the space dog's body temperature was recorded during the Sputnik 2, however, it utilized the thermometer form.

Though information about the subject is limited, the Steriska represents an example of the complex devices developed for early spaceflight missions. As space exploration technology continued to advance and large amounts of resources were made available this led to larger, more developed systems being created which eventually contributed to other open competition releases in that particular industry.