David Goodman Simons (June 7, 1922 – April 5, 2010) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

turned

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

lieutenant colonel who, as part of

Project Manhigh Project Manhigh was a pre-Space Age military project that took men in balloons to the middle layers of the stratosphere, funded as an aero-medical research program, though seen by its designers as a stepping stone to space. It was conducted by ...

, set a

high-altitude balloon High-altitude balloons are crewed or uncrewed balloons, usually filled with helium or hydrogen, that are released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between above sea level. In 2002, a balloon named BU60-1 reached a record altitude of . ...

flight record in 1957 at above the Earth in an aluminum capsule suspended from a

helium balloon A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent t ...

. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this record. Simons was shown on the cover of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' of September 2, 1957, issue. Simons went on to a distinguished career in academic medicine as an instructor at the VA Medical Center,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. He authored more than 200 publications on

trigger point Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs), also known as trigger points, are described as hyperirritable spots in the skeletal muscle. They are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. They are a topic of ongoing controversy, ...

s and related treatments for chronic

myofascial pain Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), also known as chronic myofascial pain (CMP), is a syndrome characterized by chronic pain in multiple myofascial trigger points ("knots") and fascial (connective tissue) constrictions. It can appear in any body part ...

. He co-authored the ''Trigger Point Manual'' with

Janet G. Travell Janet Graham Travell (December 17, 1901 – August 1, 1997) was an American physician and medical researcher. Early life and education She was born in 1901 to John Willard and Janet Eliza (Davidson) Travell. Heavily influenced by her father's p ...

. Originally published in 1983, it was considered a breakthrough, and remains a foundational work in the field.

Career

At the time of Project Manhigh, then-Major Simons was Chief, Space Biology Branch, Aero-Medical Laboratory, Holloman Air Development Center,

Alamogordo, New Mexico Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...

In popular culture

" Manhigh" was the name of the 2013 season one finale of the Showtime TV series ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography ''Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through t ...

'', and featured television coverage of Major Simons' mission and return to Earth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, David Goodman 1922 births 2010 deaths American balloonists Physicians from Pennsylvania Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) 20th-century American physicians United States Air Force officers