In 1949, the U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory submitted a proposal for an improved model of the anthropomorphic dummy.[35] This request was originated by the renowned Air Force scientist and physician John P. Stapp, now a retired Colonel, who conducted a series of landmark experiments at Muroc (now Edwards) AFB, Calif., to measure the effects of acceleration and deceleration during high-speed aircraft ejections.[36] Stapp required a dummy that had the same center of gravity and articulation as a human, but, unlike the Ted Smith dummy, was more human in appearance. A more accurate external appearance was required to provide for the proper fit of helmets, oxygen masks, and other equipment used during the tests. Stapp requested the Anthropology Branch of the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright Field to review anthropological, orthopedic, and engineering literature to prepare specifications for the new dummy.[37] Plaster casts of the torso, legs, and arms of an Air Force pilot were also taken to assure accuracy.[38] The result was a proposed dummy that stood 72 inches tall, weighed 200 pounds, had provisions for mounting instrumentation, and could withstand up to 100 times the force of gravity or 100Gs. In 1949, a contract was awarded to Sierra Engineering Company of Sierra Madre, Calif., and deliveries began in 1950.[39] This dummy quickly became known as “Sierra Sam.” In 1952, a contract for anthropomorphic dummies was awarded to Alderson Research Laboratories, Inc., of New York City.[40] Dummies constructed by both companies possessed the same basic characteristics: a skeleton of aluminum or steel, latex or plastic skin, a cast aluminum skull, and an instrument cavity in the torso and head for the mounting of strain gauges, accelerometers, transducers, and rate gyros.[41] Models used by the Air Force were primarily parachute drop and ejection seat versions with center of gravity tolerances within one quarter inch. Over the next several years the two companies improved and redesigned internal structures and instrumentation, but the basic external appearance of the dummies remained relatively constant from the mid 1950s to the late 1960s. Dummies of these types were most likely the “aliens” associated with the “Roswell Incident.” [Illustration: Figs. 21 & 22. Examples of a “Sierra Sam” (_left_) and Alderson Laboratories anthropomorphic dummies (_right_) of the type dropped from balloons at off-range locations throughout New Mexico during the 1950s. (_U.S. Air Force photos_)] 1.2 High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops From 1953 to 1959, anthropomorphic dummies were used by the U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory as part of the high altitude aircraft escape projects HIGH DIVE and EXCELSIOR.[42] The object of these studies was to devise a method to return a pilot or astronaut to earth by parachute, if forced to escape at extreme altitudes.[43]