In the early 1960s a joint research project hosted by the U.S. Department of the Navy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sought out deaf men from Gallaudet College (now University) to participate in experiments on balance, motion sickness, and weightlessness.  Eleven men aged 25 - 48, most deaf from meningitis, joined the research project and remained involved for most of the decade.  They spun in centrifuges, stayed for days in a rotating room, participated in zero-gravity flights, and helped their country understand space survival.