QUESTION:
What happens if yu you run out of oxygen?

ANSWER from Kurt Richter on November 11, 1995:
Before our flight, each of us was fitted with an Oxygen mask.  We flew as
high as 41,000 feet to make our final observations on our night flight.
The Oxygen at that altitude is pretty thin.  We were warned to REMEMBER
where our Oxygen masks were at all times, because they told us that we
would have 15 seconds of breathing that thin air before we would pass out.
The pilots always had their Oxygen masks ready so that they would be the
first to put theirs on if the cabin lost pressure.  Then it would be their
job to bring the plane down to around 10,000 feet where we should have
enough 0xygen to revive even those who didn't reach their Oxygen masks.

We had to sign a paper that relieved NASA of the responsibility in the
event of loss of cabin pressure or any other major problem.  That was a
little frightening, but the good news is that they have only lost cabin
pressure two times in the 20+ years they have flown the KAO.

Our flight was fun and I'd love to go back to the statosphere.  Thanks for
your question.

Sincerely,

Kurt Richter