DOCUMENT

AUTHOR Steinberg,. Mo ranTI LE Aboard the-Space

__INSTITUTION National AeronautWashington, /./NASA-U-169

.U6 -7

40p.: Ciontaip-.:drawings whic

RS-PORT:NOPUB DATENOTE

1

EDRS.PRICE HF01/PCO2-PDESCRIPTORS *Aerospace E

Astronomy:,E--Secondary-pamphletSecondarySciences

IDENTIFIERS.: Space Shut

ABSTRACTThis 32-p

detailed-diagrams mhichliving conditions aboardthe launch, the cabin, texercise, atmosphere, P(extra-vehicular activitspacelab, the space Bent

*********Reproductions

**********

E OLE

034- SO

s=aid Space,AdifnisteatiOn,Div. df-Public fairs.

camemayl

sous colored Plot° _a hs' andnot_reprioduce well.

Pos agecation :: *Aerospace Technblogy:men ary School Science; Elementary.mti 'if-Government-publications:- .--

sou ce Materials; Science Education:1 Science:: *Space Exploration; *spice

pamphlet contains color piLdiographs and*ustrate genetal descriptive comments about-e space shuttle. Described are details ofcondition of weightlessness, food, sleep,

onal1. hygiene, medicine, going EVAthe manipulator arm or !"space cra

dan retUrning home. (CS)

*** *supplied by

from the**********

*********************** ***EDRS are the best that can be maoriginal document.********************** *

e

**********

rOCIS-* TM.E/NOUCATION ATAP_ELf

KCUCATION-T

Tpti5r, OCuMENT flag likiEN F1E ko,_ OutE13 ExACT-L,y A.IRECiivetT F diro

THEPrusoN ort ciac,ANIzATioPioA itYP r *-0.117.5OF yi Oct OF,T, IONS '

,sTA Teo perAnir rAttssAML gPRE,iSENT OFFICIAL NATIONAIfINSTiTEOutA T ION POSITION OF POLt

Coyerr The cover shows a permanentspace operations centerThat hasbeen freighted piecemeal intolow Earth-orbit by the Shuttle andassembled by astronauts. Thertwo joined cylinders pontainliv-ng.quarteti apda laboratory;Below the.6ylinders, the servicemodules supply electrical power, .cdrnmunications,a dockingberth, guidance and control

'instruments and life support sys-tams, such as air and water.When,in operaM, the eight-person center 711. function ,s thekase for &hest-6f space pro-grams tb improve the qUality oflife $n EarthlIn time, the centercould lead to the development of

..largeitItatione, which could,beused to fabricate mammoth solarpower satellites in far-spacerequiring 500-man buildingcrews.

. Cover painting courtesyKentron International, Inc.

Floredbe S. Steinberg

Living in Space

Taking a Trip

The Launch

National Aeronautics andSpace Administratibn

Division of Public AffairsWashipgton, D.C.1980

Dedicated to Robert em n Whose as-provided the inspiration for th(s project.-'Bob'!- Tiernann died November 1, 1978.

Sea-Level Atmosphere in Space

Personal Hygiene

Medicine

Going EVA

The Heiptul Manipulator Arm

Spacelab

The Space Center

Returning Home 30

The Shuttle Orbiterwill lift off like arocket, orbit like aspiacecratt and re-nrn 10 Earth on a

landing strip like aglider or airplane.

In 1962, when John Glenn rocketed spaceward and orbited the Eanh, some scientistsfeared he would be unable to swallow ordigest the pureed fruit NASA had suppliedhim.-Their concern was unfounded. Fromthis simpleexperimeat_wlitheating in space,the menu for the comingtflights of the SpaceShuttle Orbiter has largerthan that inthe average restaurant and provides avariety ranging from shrimp', cocktail to

Isteak..- In 196p, when Neil Arm strong, Edwin

Aldrin and Michael Collins made their his-toric trip to the Moon aboard Apollo II, theyhad their Choice of steeping under th6seat,in it, or floating free.' ln.-sharP contrast, yoy-agers ortfhe Spaceshuttle will stretch outin sleepi g bags secured to punk beds. Theywill enjoy the luxury, of a light behind theirheads for readingin bed and side panels forprivacy. 1 - \

These are merely a few exampfes of thegiant strides pat

,

have been made toimprove the standard of living in orbit since

riithe space program began only 20 years ago.When the Shuti e_lifts off, its designers willhave built intdirts living arrangeMents all thelessons learned from Mercury, Gemini,Apollo and Skylab, plus t eir own- innova-tionstions; to make life as saf and comfort leas possible in weightlei nese.

This is especially important because,thanks to the Shuttle, there will be a remark-able increase in manned space travel in the1980s. So liar, 43 Americans have been inspace. Now, four ShuttlkOrbiters, each withaccommodations.for up to seven persons,are sch7duled. to make as many as 60 round

/

tripsa year to low Earth orbit and babk.Shaped like an airplane, the 37.2 meter-.(12g-foot) long Shuttle Orbiter will lift offlike a rockef, 'orbit like a spacecraft onseven to_3d-day.missions and return to_Earth_on,a_landing strip_likaa glider orairplane.

The livability aboard the Shuttle makesit.possible to add other people besidessuperbly healthy astronauts to the. list of-travelers. ten and women scientists, tech-nicians and others' in reasonably goodhealth-will also ride the Shuttle. As for theastronauts, these living arrangements willmake it easier for them to handle the heavywo ad on Shuttle trips.

The Shuttle will function as a--freight"carrier, delivering and launching satellites .

in spabe and bringing sorne back to Earthwithin its payload bay.' It will/also serve as atraveling repair shop for orbiting satellitesthat are ailing, d science lab for space _

experimentb and observations and as afactory for manufacturing products in zerogravity, such as perfect crystals. In addi-tion, the Shuttle could defter supplies toEarth ortlit.to construct future space

_stations.

The Shuttle pro-vides a shirt-sleeveenvironment fromthe start and a sea-level air-mixtureatmosphere.

At a height of 45 m (147 ft.) on-the Modifiedlaunch pad where Saturn V's carrying -1u

Apollo spacecraft lifted-off fol. the.Moon,-yebclimb through the Shuttle's hatch4or a voy-age into space. NASA specialists in space..

...medicine have checked to make sure you'-are healthy, free of conditions that,-couldtrigger physical peobtems or cause you tobecome disoriented, in weightlessness.,"

Yda in the otters lyiA3odown in theseats, apped in feet above head, as onthd e ly one-man Mercury, two-man Geminiand three-man Apollo lauficheg. But therethe similarity ends. For the Shuttle provides

a shirt-sleeve nvironmen from-the startand a sea-level air-mixture atmosphere: -

Nobody aboard at lift-off is burdened bytheiraditionafclurnsy, heavy space suitInstead, everyone'weaes a goodlooking,

cobalt blue, soft cotton, tiered zipper jacketand pants with y blue,cotton knit, short-ileeve shirt. You were allfitted "from the racks" at NASA's 4ohnsonSpace Centerbear Houston, the jac4et bychest size and sleeve fertgth and the pantsby waist size aHd leg length.

These flight suitahave-built-in safety(.features,Tbey are fitted-to be comfortable

=

but not sloppy. Loose clothes-can turncritical switches on or off Gy.mistake if theybrush against them. The material is alsotreated with a chemical soak to make itfireproof. A dozen closable pockets covermuch of the flight suit's exterior for storingsmall, useful items and to keep them fromsailing about dangerously later in weight-lessness. Stocked in specific pockets beforethe flight are felt-tip and pressurized ball-point pens, mechanical pencils, data books,sun glasses, a multi-purpose Swiss Armypocket knife and standard surgical scissors.

Left,: ransfer--,T\

van fro astro-naut he dquar-ters to the :launch tower(used on earlyflights) '-

Right: Micasion specialistastronaut AnnaL. Fisher, M.D.,in flight suitwith lift-offcommunica-tions headgearand helmet

`A major feature of tip Shuttle's lift-off isthat you will not undergo the Unpleasantgravity load which went ashigh as 8.1 g 'onearlier manned flights. (A "`g" is the weightor pull of Earth's gravity on your body at sealevel,Thus_80A would be.8.1 times thatforce,) Afterlyohhave listened to the sys-terns, checkout and the countdown throughthe -"BnocipY Hat styled headset under yourhelmet; ignition of the mighty rocliet.niotorsand engines brings a roar and-Makeethespacecraft shOdder,for a few. seconds whileit is still restrained;Powering the)ift-off aretwin 45.7 m- (150-ift:)long solid fuel rocketboosters, plus the Shuttle'S awn three rearengines fueled by a nuge attached liquid_hydrogen and oxygen tank.

These engines _can provide an rrtmense, swift thrust But by design, their,acceleration is deliberately reined in to_slowthem down and make them run fpr allongerperiod. This is done for_the_traveler's hene-fit, so that theiPull of-gravity toward. Earth,as opposed to h outwatd thrust of theengines, will nOtexceed 8.g on-the rise intoorbit. This is about the same level of dis-comfort you Woul4feefif-yoUldrned acorner much too fast-in an aUtorncrbile.

You will experience 3 g only twice. Thefirst time comes'andgdes quickly near thetwo-minute rnaikijust before the twosolidfuel rocket boosters burn out and drop by 7.

parachUte into the'Atlantic for-reuse on:.future Shuttle launchings. The final 3 g loadcomes five minutes later and lasts for aminute: It occurs about 185 kilometers (105miles) from Earth, shortly before the liquidfuel tankempties, separates and reenters

Less than ten min-utes from lift-off,you are in zerogravity and withoutyour restrainingstraps you will float

-

'the atmosphere. There it begins to disinte-grate and the remainder falls into a remoteocean erea.1\low.two other engines:ignite atthe rear of the Orbiter,-maneuver.the Space-ship in its further rise and insert it into thedesired orbiting path. Less than ten Tninutes

off, you are in zero gravity, andwithout yOur restraining straps you will float.

'Once in orbit, you will haVe time toserve your new surroundings At 277(172 M ) up end traveling at a speed of

28,160 km (17,500 mi..)iper, hour the Shuttleis cirdting the. Earth every 99 minutes. Notquite, half that timetaSpentin-darkness,while the Earth is betWeeh it and the Sun.Through' the window in the hatch; you willwatch entire oountriesispeed by Youwillseethe Shape of the A.ustraljan oon-tinent,_theCalifornia coast. You will raceacross the I.:ilted States in just 12 minutes,perhaps notice a hurridane over Cuba, orsight a sandstorm over a desert area

)

Shuttle in orbit,minus its twosolid rocket.boosters andfuel tank

`i

N'7

"aMkraaaa

6

Three levels ofthe cabin:Flight deck;mid-deck livingquarters; andsub-floor ffe-support andhousekeepingequipment

Your. home-al7oard th.o Shuttle is the mid-deck of the cabin arlhe forward end of thespaceship. Below the Mid-deck!s 'metal floorare storage containers and ducts that dis-

- tnbliteair and water. directly over the mid-deck is-the flight deck with six triple-panetherm_ al glass windows wrapped around thefront and sides for full visiomtwo morewindows overhead and two behind, over-Iddking the payload; or cargo bay.

Here on the flight deck, the commanderand pilot handle the vehicle's complicated.operations through an awesome number,of a.controls It is comforting to knoW they_have

had at Least three years of rigorous training,including 506 burs in a Shuttle missionsimulatokthat is an exact copy of the flightdeck. Also in the crew are two astronaut-scientists called mission specialists, whoare in charge of the payload data and the-housekeeping.".They, too,-have had exten-sive training. The primary reason for thevast number of controls is that for safety'ssake all critical Shuttle systems are in tripli-cate. Should the electrical system fail, asecond on takes, over.-If this should alsofail, a third electrical-agystem is available.

When it was,empty, your mid-deck

4

000 o

MIMMUNIMEN

Please open fold -,out left to tee a

display of theSpade Shuttle flightdeck.

Glow: -Above: Flightdeck seats after deck locations.the Shuttle's (Duplicate controls)N.lour test flights.Ladder at floor 1 kotational handlevel leads controllerbelow to,mid- 2 Translationaldeck band controller

3 Speed brake4 Attitude direc-. tion indicator:

An artifiEial hori-zon aroundbivk;and whiteball 'which tellswhich way is up.

5 Air speedandaltitude irfdicatorsKeyboard: Runsflight computer,-which iri turn runsautomatic pilot

7 . Cathode ray (TV)tubes providedisplays fromflight computers

B Radio panel9 Windows

(0

r------_ 10 a

0

For safety's sakeall critical Shuttlesysteins are intriplicate.

6

4

0

low: Mid-deckfloor plan

The amount of roomin the Shuttle cabinis a compromise be-tween that providedon early spacecraftand Skylab.

I Galley2 Hatch3 Toilet4 Ladder to flight

deck .5 Airlock.6 Avionics bay 17 -Avionics bay 28 Avionics bay 39 Lockers

10. Sleep stab11 Wall of lockFloor hatches12 Lithium hydrox-

ide changeoutLithium hydrox-ide storage

14 Wet trashstorage

ow: ,Mid-deck aft

Galley2 'Hatch3 Toilet4 Ladder_.tc

deckAirlock

horhe was a room Measuring 4 ni (13 ft,);in1-ength,- with a 3.7 ni-(12-ft.) rear width anda 2/ m-(9-ft.) _fronfwidth. But with all thenecessary equipment in place, you canhardly see-the 2.1 rrr-(7-ft.) high curved,white-painted aluminum and fiber glasswalls. To the left when, you fade forward isa private toilet, wash basin wi3h mirror anda galley with an oven. To your right aresome drawer-size lockers and the bunkbeds. Afiead is .a wall of more storage lock-

; erst some containing your food supply,arranged by dayand metal. Behind you iskametal ladder leading to the flight deck, plusthe large airlock that provides passage.forthe crew into the 18.3-m-(60-ft.y long pay-

...

load bay and thr outside of the Shuttle,:The,amount of room in the'Shuttle cabin

is a compromise between that provided on-early spacecraft and-Skylab, which was thehuge thirdestage of a Saturn rocket. On thefirst flights, the work and living.quarterswere so cramped that some described theMissions as "man in a can." Skylab, on .the other hand, had the dimensionS of asthall, three-bedroom house. Astronauts inthe Apollos that docked with Skylab for 28,596and 84 days found the air so thin insideSky$b that they had to shout to communi-cate across the big area. Even when they,did, their voices came dut highand squeaky.

I Mk

John W. Young,Car:Mande, ofthe Shuttle'smaiden flight,ccheckS out-some mid-deck.installations

Mid-deck forward

1 Storage lockers2 Sleep station

You will measure2.5 m to cm cone-to two

1i hes) taller,

for -e'discs bo-tween the vertebraeof your nolonger have thedownward pressureof gravity uponthem:

Far Right:Skylab 'astro-nauts :EdwardG. Gibson andGerald P. CarrdernonstralehoW much funweightldssnesscan be .

Above Right:Comparison ofnormal Earthposture andweightless pos-ture of space

12

On the Shuttle, as on eSrlier spacecraft, thekey word that controls living in space is"weightlessfiess.- There will be many sur-prises in an existence Where yore can pushaway from-a solid object with a finger andfloat. Look in the mirror above the wash.basin. Your eyes will seem smaller becauseyour face has grOwn fuller. This results fromthe shift of much blood normally in the lowerpart of your body to the upper part. If youhad wrinkles-or a double chin on Earth, theywill have disappeared. As a result of theblood shift, your waistline has shrunk 2.5 to5 centimeters (one to two inches), andyoumust tighten the bands of your pants. Yourleather bodtshave also become too loose,and you willihave to tighten the I e

As for ,your body , you will me sure 2.5cm to 5.cm (one to two inches) tal er, forthe disbs between the vertebrae yourbackbOneoo longer have the dow wardpressure of gravity upon them. To handleyour.new height, the flightWket was nudewith elasticized pleats that rain up each sideof the pack ailid over the shoulders,

Your posture, too, will be different, butnot for the better. Joints golo their midpointin zero gravity so that your .lips and knees

will be bent into a slight couch. Your armswill tend to float in front of you unless youconsciously hold them down. When you sitat a workbench, you will of course have tostrap yourself in place.Even so, your-seatedposture will be to lean back.

The way you handled tile, most ordinarytasks on Earth must be replaced by newtechniqueeto offset thte effectp of weight-.lessness. Eating is a primeexample. Forksand spoons will drift off uniessithey areanchoredieren you broke a slice of ryebread at hdme, you knew the crumbs woulddrop to your plate. In space, crumbs riseand float, presenting a menace if you inhalethem or, if they get inside equipm.ent. As aresult, bread has to be soft* it will notcrumble. Table salt sprinkled toward yourmeat will scatter inst9ad into the air.Spilled water does wit drip down, but movesupward to term fairly stationary, suspendedballs. Should these globulies hit a solidobject, however, they will spread like pan-: .-cake bane', cling stubbornly to the surface,and be ektreitiely.difficult to wipe away.

On Earth you depended on the reactingforce of4riction to help you do many jobs. Inzero gravity, you must do all the work your-

self,1/with extra that consume Muchene gy. Take the simple problem of openina hi hied floof plate in the mid-deck. lethe,Sh ttle.were on Earth, you would merelybend down and pull it open. But if you bentdown to do this irfspace, you wouldcon-

ue into endlesesomersaulfs until yoUnaged to stop yourself. What you-do

instead is to go first t9 stowage and-get aportable handhold with suction\cups. ThenYou position your body in a floating head:tand, reach down and press the hanclkoldgainst the floor. With your free hand, you

now pinch the opposing springloaded fast-

eners on the floclr plate together, and whenyou succeed it will come open, . Spilled water clops

L4Age amounts of energy are often not drip down, butpoured into efforts to coordinate the dif- moves upward toferent parts of a jOb in weightlesiness. form fairly station-Describing his frustration in trying to tighten ary, sospendeda connector to a plug on the outside of Sky- -balls.lab, astronaut. Jack Lousma said, "I would mwommormilmmx.get the tool all hooked up and by that time Iwould.either floafloose or the connectorhad floated loose'from the plug. I couldn't 4seem to get. everything all fixed into placeatat one time."

The four types Your daily food supply on the Shuttle takesof food packag- into accdunt such ex S5iVe use of energy.ing used on the It will total a high 3,000 alOries, plus snacks:Shuttle are dis- Besides this the mealS em t to corn -played on pensate for the body's ten cy to losepages 14 -15 essential minerals in zero graVity. pepletionCans,--hard of potassium, calcium, nitrogen and otherplastic contain- minerals can affect muscle tone, bone mass,ers for rehydra- ability to concentrate and your disposition,tion,- flex So your food will contain ample amounts ofpouches (flex- these minerals.ible, aluminum- -Shuttle ood must meet other standardsfoil-backed as well Your gals must have a minimum ofplastic tragsX-- roughage and °i ms that are hard to digest.and heavy The food mutt al o have a shelf life of sixMastic bag_ s months at 37:7a Celsius (100° Fahrenheit),

or it will not be taken into orbit. At the sameline, the Meals must be,attractive. Space

nutritionists have, the memory_of the earlymissions when astronauts had to suck theirmeal iq out of plastic' bags. Unable to seforsmell the food, they had little interest in s'

eating., Bite-size sandwiches and fruit cerealcubes coated with, gelatin are also lesspleasant relics of a bygone space era. To-day,-endless experimerpting and testing goon to Make the food-as Mouth-watering aspossible and allow you to see it and smellits aroma.

14

°after

To meet weight restrictions for theShuttle's lift-off, those of the 100-plus dif-ferent food items that can be dehydratedmust gd through this process..,They are laterrehydrated in orbit when ready to be eaten.Included cereals, vegetables, soups,spaghetti, beef patties, scrambled eggs,pananas, pears, strawberries and shrimp. Afre ze-dried strawberry remains full sizein utline with its color, texture and qualityintact. It can be rehydrated with mouthsaliva or by addingwater to the package.

Twenty varieties of drinks, including teaand coffee; are also dehydrated. But the listdoes not include pure orange and grapefruitjuice or whole milk. When water is addedtothe orange crystals, there is no mixture, onlyorange rocks in water; If whole milk is rehy-

. drated, the milk floats around in lumps andhas a disagseeable taste. So skimmed milkand synthetic' orange and - grapefruit juice

are used instead,-Some-Shuttle food items are brought

aboard in natural form while others are firstcooked at moderate temperatures andseale f in cans (therrnostabilized), irradiated,.ortr ted to the intermediate moisti.ftpr s, Natufal form. Shuttle foods includegraham crackers, pecan cookies, almond

Hard plasticcontainer fordehydratedfood .andsdrink

crunch bers,Teanut butter, nuts, hard candyand gum. Thermostabilized foods are,,,,,canned items on your grocer's shelf, sUchastuna fish and canned fruit in heavy syrup.Irradiated foods, or those preserved by ex-posure to ionizing radiation, include meatand breed. The dried apricots you buy onEarth are an diampele of the intermediatemoisture process. Tobaccb and liquor arebarred from the Shuttle.

The variety of food carried into orbit isso broad that travelers will enjoy a six-daymenu cycle. This means no meal will berepeated until the seventhday. The dinmenu your first evening is an example of thegood eatir)g.you-can expect throughoit.'your,-trio. It begins with shrimp cocktail in sauceanctgoes onto beefsteak and grevy, broc: ..coli au.gralin rice pilaf, fruit' cocktail,

, chocofate pudding and grape drink.With seven persons aboard, there will

pro6ably be two shifts of diners. A missionspecialist starts the kitchen chores half anhour before the meal..1-leor she takes the bigplastic overwrap marked "Day 1 Meal ,

whioh serves four, from the food lockers andattaches it to the work table that pulls out ofthe galley.-The galley is shaped like a bigdispensing machine, but it has an oven, hot

Meals attempt tocompensate for thebody's tendency tolose essential min-erals in zero gravity.

The galley

1 Light-2 Mirror3 Wash basin4 Soap dispenser5 likWr dispenser6 Foattpantry7 - Oven

Meal traysWater dls-pensets

10. Wet wipes11 Cups, pondi-

ments, hotpads, utensils

12 Miscellaneousstorage, waterheater

Mission spe-cialist astro-

, haul MjiheaSeddon, M.D.at the model ofthe galley

and cold water outlets, trays, hot pads,silverware, wet and dry wipes and a storagesection for liquid salt and pepper, catsup,mustard, barbecue sauce, hot Pepper sauceand mayonnaise.

Inside the overwrap are four smallerplastic overwraps,-each holding a bompletemeal of seven separate containers. The chefinjects the prescribed amount of waterthrough a narrow passageway into the plas-tic bowls of-dehydrated broccoli and rice,using a hollow needle attached to the hotwater outlet. He kneads them through their.flexible plastic tops and secures them in theoven along with thefour pre-cooked steaks.These steaks are packaged in fleXible, a u-minarn-backed plastic bags called "flexpouches,"The heat:maximunin the oven is

Celoilis--.(ABO'Fatirenheitl; which doesnot harnilhe-plastic containers A fan circu-lates the air so that_the food is heated evenly.

While these items are warming_in the>oven,:the mission specialist takes fourtraysfrom the galley and attaches them by mag-nets or clamps to a portable dining tablehooked to the lockers: He rehydrates thebowls of shrimpfdhdcolate pudding andgrape drink with cold- ater through. hehollow needle, and inserts a plastic,4trawwith a clamp on it into thepassagewaV-of the

i grape 'drink.-ThesecelcLitecrs, alongthe cans.of fruit 6o6kiail the ailverwareanda can opener, are then assembled on thetrays and restrained by magnets orsticking-tape.

When thChe4ted.foods are ready, youjoin the othertbrediners at the table. Youwill soon grow iccustomed to eating stand-!)

'Some meal ac,cessories: Can

salt

Below Right:Mission spa7-cialist Seddonwith food tray

Ind up with suction cup assemblies attachedto your boots to keep you in one place. Ifyou sat while you ate, you would lean backand not enjoy the meal.

With-the Surgical scissors you carry in aleg pocket, you cut off the tops of the food.containers and restrain them. The canopecner takes care of the fruit cocktail shouldthe easy open, flip-tbp lid fail. Early in-the,space program, it was believed, that any foodin an open bowl would fly.away; It waSahappy OisroVerY to find that :food in gravy or,thicksauce adhered to the container. Thismade passible the use of spoons and forks',because such foods cling to them as well.Buttif you eat with a regular-size spoon orfork, too large a portion cornea to yourmouth because the food sticks to the bottom-side as well as the top side of Siiverware:Theremedy i1to knodk the excess off against theInside rim of the food container, onto use athree-quarter size fork. You must aisoeat slowly and gracefully without suddenstarts or stops that.could jar food loose.With good food and company, mealtime inspace should be a pleasantpart of the day.

vs

Sleep Station

1. Top-'bunk2 Lower bunk

Bottom bun obacksideoflower bunk

4 Vertical bunk-5 Movable panels

Should ill seven ofyou decide to sleep,at the Barrie time,three of you will besleeping horizon-,tally (one face'down) and four willb* vertical.

As witheating, sleeping arrangements'abberd the 'Shuttle must also make peacewith weightlessness. Across the mid-deckfroniTheoalley:is whatappears to be atwo-tier bank. A'ctually,_it proVideS privatesleeping accommodations for four personspecausezero grevittt does not recognizn,up or a down the first person willthe topbunk; anotherthelowerbunk. Thethirdzieeper's bed on the backAicle of theiower bunk and faces the floor! Asforthe-fourth occupant, this person will sleepti ally in a bunk set aNinst one end of thetwo -level buunk.

It is time for the first shift of four to getsornesleep. The bunki are more than 1.8 m-(six feet) long and about .75 m (30 inches)

yvide..Each bed is a padded board with afireproof sleeping bag,attachedtaii.Thebag has dozens of perforations-for ventila-,

ravity, Our body sinks into' .

your mattress. the Shuttle, your bodybarelY feels the h rd bed base. Yet it isenough to giv e illusion of mattress andpillow. On past missions, when astronautsslept with:nothing kehind their sleepingbegS, Sleep was not restful..

You have the bottoM bunktonight, theoneone facing downward with yout back againstthe bed base above you When you growsleepy, you go to your bunk,, put your bootsand outer clothing in its personal Stowagecontainer and climb info the.sleeping bag.It has a long zipper in front that you -pullfrom your legs to your chest, leaving yourarms outside. Then you snap together thestrapb that encircle your waist: you wantprivacy, you can shut the side'panels. Also

Below: The Right: Skylabsleeping bag aatronaut

:,Owen. K:Garriott readyfor bed inhis sleepingbag hanging,onthe wall

, ..

available are _eyeshades an earmuffs toreduce outside and no_ e.. Before yOu .

16 to sleep; turn off the light behind your .

)head,:ad u st the airflow duct and slip yodr.L'hands un, er the waist straps so your arms -.wont rise in front of,;you whileyou sleep.-

Should all seven of you decideto,sliep;at the same time two members of the crewmust wear corn n'amicationgear tojeceivef:grpund cdlls and alarmS. With four of youin,the bunks, the otherthree will have to takesleeping i ,bagisfrom stowage and attach therrvertically to the lockers. the hard surfaceof the Idakers will provide the needed feel-ing'of fitinnetFbehMd the sleepers. So threeof yoU;Wilf be, gleePing:horizontally(oneface down),and four will-be.vertial;-;

e asResistance'exeroisis- nece ss aoper tot:Kt-emit steeple' Maintain your good;

aalth in zero graiit 'On Past MISSIC)11astronauts have suffertd Some bOne and

tittle deterioratiorides?itertheir hardhyical exertion inapace,,tiacaued_thell_

bodies were not getting the resNtance theyWere accustomed to in gravity,

To help offsitthiS, you. will walk atreadmill on the Shuttle..Flight physiciansrecommend at least 15Minytes daily on thetreadmill for tnissiops tasting from seven to14 dayapipp-dayrmissiohs, the time shouldbe exterrtied to 30 minutes. In addition tothe healthful affect on your bones and mus-les, ffwill help you readjust more quickly

to Earth gravity on your-returri home.Vhen net in use, the treadmill is kept'

in a locker.- Set near the hatch window soyou can.oVercome the monotony of theexercise by looking out occasionally on thepassing world. Or turn on some music. Thetreadmill consists of a teflon-coated alu-rhinum Sheet on a roller. Itsibottom- plugslock into the holes- in the floor to make itsecure. Straps comp from its base to tiearound yourWaist. The tighter the straps,the greater the resistance encountered dur-ing the workout Other straps attach fromd-bar in front of you to your waist. This letsyou exerciseyourarmaby,pushing upwardon the bar as you trudge...-.. _

Make sure the air is circulating wellabout you by turning up the duct close toyou Otherwise, when-your-perspire, yopmay he-creating a-nightmare. For the per-spiration will cling to your skin just as wateralways does to'a solid surface in zero

gravity, It does not drip off, but ,only growsthicker, On Skylab, astronauts used a hoseblower to get it off their skins.This createda new problem because the moisture cameOff in sheets. Finally, they were forced tousea vacuum cleaner to suck it out of the air:

2 7

The treadmuse _

The air, manufactur-ing and control sys-em has been work-

ing to provideyou_with:a steady sup-

ply of unpollutedair.

In the vacuum of space, there is almost nooxygen, moisture or air pressure. If your bodytwere exposed, your blood w Id boil and turnto gas. Inside theShUttle, th air manufactur-ing and control system has -been working toprovide yot.Lwith a steady supply of unpol-lute_d air. Even more, it has been keeping theair at the comfortable sea-level atmosphereof 6 66 kilograms (14.7 pounds) of pressureper square inch, with an air mix of 80 per-cent nitrogen and 20 percent oxygen.

2 8

This pressure is maintained by releas-ing More nitrogen and oxygen into the cabinatmosphere as they are lost. Nitrogen andoxygen leak overboard. Also, oxygendeclines-as it is inhaled and used byyour body. ShoUldthe.valve that measurescabin pressure show even the smajlest dropfrom 6.66 kg (14.7 lbs.) to 6.62 kg (14.6 lbs.),it-alerts an electronic "smart 00.x.-"-In turn,the smart.box" checks the three oxygensensors in the Cabin. If two agree about Hielevel of oxygen, the "smart box" acceptsthe majority opinion. It then signals-othervalvts near it to open and supply either moreoxygen or nitrogen, or both, from the storagearea at the rear of the Shuttle.

To keep the air clean, a fan-under themid-deck floor pulls it constantly through ascreen that catches debria,.such as lint, hairand crumbs. Then the air moves throughcanisters'of white, granular lithium hydrox-ide to_remove the carbon dioxide youexhale.,If it is not removed, it could causeheadaches. Large amounts of carbon diox-ide are poisonous. The canisters also con-tain a layer of charcoal to trap odors in theair. Following this, the air passes-throughanother valve that decides how much heatand humidity to subtract, and this is done.Finally the cleaned air is returned-to the car.

Air Revitalization 4 Heat and hu-System ,midityremover

"Smart Box"1 Air- filter screen and valves -that'2 Fan supply more air3 Lithium hydroxide in ceiling over

canisters toilet

21

The fuel cell:.The battery ofspace thatmakes purewater as a by-product

111t1)11101

You won't be able to shower on'the shuttle,-but-hot for want of water, The spacectfafqelectricity is produced by thmetuel cellsEach has 32 plates. When liquid,hydrogebis applied to one sfde of l'plate and ffquidoxygen to the other side, the plate puts out'oneypitaliactriaal power, or 3? 'troits perfuel Zeil:.:Tl* byproduct is water, as pure asdistilled, lade by the fuel cells at the rateof 6.,8 kg, (15 lbs) an hour.:1Thia is fourtimes the estinlated amount needed by

_seven persons on the Shuffle. The excess iSdumped overboard..

Skylab, with its larger ficilitieShad a_shower. While standing_ inside.a collapsib le,cylindfiCal cloth bag, an astronaut squirtedwarm wailer at himself from a Water gun andscrubbed with liquid soap. In theory_ , theshower was asticcess;- in practice, a failure.The reason: His two fellow astronauts hadtopend valuable time vacuuming escapingwater from the air and installatons..

You will be-restricted-lb sponge bathson-the ShuttleAocording to; training pro-cedures, this Should take about ten minutes.For privacy,,Iraw-the curtain from the bath=room door to the side of thegalley wherethe wash basin is recessed. Above the basinare a mirror and a light, and on the wall arestrips, f tape to attach towels, washcloths and perbonal hygiene items. The ,basin provides'warm water and a soapdispenser.

There is no need to use much raterbecause ft adheres so well to your skir-iinweigtitiesan6as, as clothe soapsuds.,YoUc,use one cloth to wash, another to rinse--yourself. At ttie red of the basin is a fan

,.)

that pulls the excess water toward a drainc that leads to the waste water tank under tfie-.floor. When the tank becomes full, an alarm

goes off and a mission specialist dumps,the water overboard. The wash cloths andtowels go into the bag hanging on thebathroom doer.

The bathroom on the Shuttle reflectsthe enormous effort made to provide a touchof home in space It is a_privaie room whenthe curtain Is drawn, with a regular-appear-ing toilet, &light Over the right shoulder toread by and the hatch window on the left tolook down at Earth,

But in important ways the Shuttle'stoilet is unique. To remain seated, the usermust insert hi boots into the toe holds of _

foot restraints and snap together the seat-belt waist restraints. There are alscrhand2holds. Instead of water to flush away solid

The toilet instowed posi-tion; ready foruse with-foot-rest down. Wettrash bag onthe door forUsed wash

-.411

96

.

wastes, this toilet relies on a fan that drawsaway the wastes from the user and-sends itto a compartment below, There it is driedAnd disinfected. Liquid wastes are drawninto &contoured cup and flexible hose by airflow, and the fluid is pumped into the wastewater tank under the floor. .

Before this type of toilet was developed,astronauts used an emesis bag'. This wasmuch like an aircraft emergency bag;withchemicals inside to disinfect the waste.

The personal hygiene gear in your ownlocker includes changes Of clothes and akit containing items such as toothpaste anda topthbrush, dental floss, razor and shavingcream, a naltblipper, and &comb and brush.The nail clipper will'not be necessary on ashort ton: On Earth, fingernails need trim-ming:once a week.-In space, they 'grow soslowly that once a month is enough.

36

cloths, towelsand garbage

The,bathropm onthe Shuttle reflectsthe enormous effort

_made to provide atouch of home Inspace.

r

ta:

.

In general; your health will be watched by amissionspecialist, some of whom are phy-sicians. Others are astronauts with para-medic training. They haveAquipment aboardto take eleetrbaardiograms, as well as amedicinechest with first aid kits and, drugsfor minor ailments; such as sinus congestionor inAornnia. In the past, 30 percent of ourastronauts suffered from motion sickfiesewith its: symptoms of dizziness, nausda, coldsweats; headaches and drowsiness. A drugis.available that prevents or ends it Forthose who prefer not to take the drug, theirmotion sicknesS can-be en/Wed to last forthree days. On a seven-day flight, -this isalmost half their trip. '

When the Shuttle Moved into its orbit, the -huge doors covering-the payload bay wereopened from the flight deck: But they mustbe examined to make certain they and theradiators on them are operating properlyand can be closed before the return to Earth.The heat shield, which-corsiets of thOtitandsof bonded silica tiles, must also be checked.r,This tile-Ohield must be intact' to protectaffected ;areas of the Shuttle's exterior fromheat as high as 1370°C (2,500°F) on reentry.

Only astronauts May go outside theShuttle to make these inspections and re-pairs, and handle the mission's scheduledworkload in space. EitraAiehicular Activity,or EVA, begins When an astronaut opensthe hatChof the airlock at the back end ofthe mid-deck and goes inside. OriOe hecloses the airlock hatch behind him, hemsinside a large metal drum 1.5 m (63 in.) indianieter and 2.1 m (7 ft.7 tall, with lights,handholds and foot restraints and the same-air,mix and pressure as the mid-deck.

Here in the airlobk, he changes into hisEVA geaF. First, he puts on a.pair of long-johns and a urine-collecting device. The

-Iongjohns have water-cooling tubes runningthrough them to keep him comfortable dur-ing the heavy outside work. Next he risesinto the top section of his two-piece spacesuit hanging on the wall and gets into thelower part. He has to align the many con -nections between the two parts so thatwater and air will be able to run from,the topto_the lower section and return. Then helocks the hard uppefarea of the bottom tothe hard upper torso of the sult.*Finally,heputs on the helmet and gloves, And locks

Left: Astro:neat withManned Ma-neuvering Uniton his back

both securely because the smallest expo-sure Of the body when outside the space-craft would be fatal.

The Shuttle space suit is a remarkablefeat of engineering. A buiA-in backpack in

its upper section contains a miniature of-.the life- support system in the Shuttle. Inthis backpack-are oxygen for circitlationthrough the helmet and the inside layer ofthe space suit, a fan to move the air, a small

elow; Wper- .-part of the .

Extra-VehicularActivity suitstowed on thewall of the air-lobk

id

0

lithium hydroxide canister with a layer of,charcoal to remove carbon dioxide andgases, water and a pump to dispatch-it -intothe tubes in thelongjohns, a unit to coolthe water and-get rid of the accumulatingheat, -and batteries to power it There iseven.-a waterpurifieri-so drinking water canbe sipped inside the-,helmet.

The suit is made in a series of layers.Its basic layer -is an inflatable-bladder that

111111111.11111.1.Only astronautsmay go outside theShuttle to make in-pections and re-airs, and handle

the workload inspace-

-.7

Asir:or:mut inEVA suit- readyfor woik out-side the Shuttle

is filled with oxygen to'create a steady, ringof pressure around the body of 1.58 kg (3.5lbs.) per square inch. This will prevent theblood from boiling in space. A restraintlayer of dacron-polyester over the bladderstops it from ballooning. Next are severallayers of fireproof fabric and flexible-metalto provide insulation against radiation andtemperature variations in space that canrange from 157 C° ( -250° F) to +121 ° C(+250°-F) in a short time spart. There is alsothe layer of hard metal to join the top andbottom sections of the space suit into a unit.

Ready now to exit the spacecraft thecrew member secures his flashlight andtools to his suit, opens the airlook hatch tothe outside, tethers himself and leaves forwork. The flashlight is a necessity becausehalf of a three-hour stay will be spent indarkness.

Ahchored in the payload bay i a 15.2 m(50-ft.) loyig metal manipulator arm calledthe "space crane." The arrn has a movableshoulder, elbow and, wrist, and a four-clawhand. Without the manipulator arm, astro-nauts on EVA duty would probably tire them-selves unduly trying to handle the Shuttle'sheavy schedule of duties. a

From the rear of the flight deck, astro-nauts will operate the arm with a set of con-trols similar to those in airoraft. The arm iscapable of removing a satellite from-the pay-1pad bay andreleasing it into orbit. The -armcan also be manipulated ;to capture satellitesneeding repairs and return them to the Piqy.--load bay,. ope worked on there or broughtback to kth. Inspection is another functionof the crane, or manipulator arm. The TVcamera on its wrist, for instance, can easilyphotograph the payload bay and, exteriorparts of the Shuttle Orbiter. Two TV receiv-ers on the flight deck have an instant, closeview.

Above: TheRemote Manip-ulator Arm-re-

,leasing a satpl-lite from thepayload bay forboosting intohigher orbit by..its attachedrocked

Left The 50-foot-long"space crane"in detail, show-ing -elbow"and "wrist"

celab, financedand built by tenEuropean countries;Is a completely turd

hod laboratory.A

AlthoUgh the Spaeelab Is not aboard the _ _

Shuttle this trip, it will be carried into spacein the paYload bay several times each yak:Spacelab, financed and. built by ten Euro-peen countries, is a completely furnishedlaboratory!.

It comes, in many-units that can beassembled in a variety of ways. Part of-itcan be a sealed, circular laboratory with thesame shirt-sleeve environment=al the Shut-tle -cabin. Other parte are outdo& units"'for work to be dbne in the vacuum of space.

`Ptople Who work in Spacelab arecalled payload specialists.- They are not'career astronauts, but are chosen bythe .

organizations getting reorn:in Spacelab asauthorities on their project.In their non, .

.working hours, payload specialists will live -.-with the crew and other passengers in themid-deck,,going and coming from Spacelab;through a connecting tunnel that also has ashirtsleeve environment.

In their work, the payload specialistswill be involved in many kinds of aped"-----'ments, observations and production that arebetter done in space than on Earth. Forexample, some will examine_the Earth as aunit from space for data on pollution, or thefish population. Others will be able to makeobservations of celestial bodies withoutatmospheric interference. Still others willengage in gravity-free manufacturing of newalloys, perfect crystals, and unusually pure

. vaccines:

Left: The aftend of the flight

where Dr.Ann L. Fisher .

and other mis-sion specialistsand payloadspecialists willreceive and

-control Space-lab data

Right: SpaceOperationsCenter

28 3

Technology-isready available toconstruct a Penne-nent eight-person

zrspace center in iowEarth orbit.

When you observe the Shuttle workhorseaction and the skill of the space craneoperators and the astron'auts on EVA duty,you are prompted to think 4but the possi--bilities Of broadening human-activities in

The technolo6/ is_already available toconstruct a permSnent eight-person spacecenter in low Earth orbit. in turn, this bas6would become the staging station to Sub-po

st of space programs important tonkind.

The Shuttle's role would-be tOcarryjnto-orbit two enormous ryliridel's and someservice units that, would be lifted_out of thepayload bay by the space crane andplugged together. The cylinders,-wiff7a.con-

,,,nectingpassageway, would serve as _

command control center, living guiders andlaboratory. The service modules would l.eset beloW-thecylinclers and would have the,life subpOrt systems, power unit, cornrnuni-!.4

rations opparatus, an aiiiockand a dockingberth for the Shuttle.

Scientists see thespace center as thebuilding block lead-ing to The construc-tion of mammothsolar power stationsin far space.sinoaimiormia

As in Skylab, the space center's powerwill come from inexhaustible solar energy.The ShOttle will provide its initial supply of -water. For its ai'r; some of this water will bebroken down into oxygen by a reverse proc-ess of thefuel bell. Both air and water willbe continually cleaned and reused. As forfood, the space-center is expected to_experiment with filling part of its needs fromiitsown soilless'hydroponic agriculture.

Another task for theShuttle wtil be to.

transport residents to the space-center and,.(return them to Earth et the completion oftheir stay. No person wilt be permitted tolive-on the base for` more` than three monthsat a time

Looking even farther ahead, scientistssae the Shuttle serviced space center as 7

the building block leSding to the constitc-tion-of mammoth solar power stations in farspace. They are convinced that shortly intothe next century these Solar power,satellitescould be providing Earth With an importantshare-ofthe energy -it,will require.

Above; Solarenergy beingbeamed toEarth from farspace.

OndayS:60h of yogi trip aboard the Shut-..the time comes toA1!it:11' to_Earth. About

6I/2 hours before the sahedpiedlanding, thecrew begins to ready PO:ace-Craft for itsreentry with a thorough chebk of the fligi*-;contfol6system, The items not to be used go

--intostc4age, seats come out of storage tobe attached to the mid-deck floor, and thepayload bay doos are cldsed. --

You have a. final snack and put on thespecial gear forieentry.These are the anti-gravity suit and the helmet with the born-mUnications headset. The anti-gravity suitisreally an inflatable pair of pants that goeson overyOur underwear. It has a valve tohelp you fill it with oxygen from a bottle.Without the A-G Suit, your blood weuld_poolin the lower part of your body on the returnfrOm weightlessness to Earth gravity; iscould cause you to black out The pres ure,of the suit -on the legs and: bdomen pvents. pooling of blood.

TwO hourS'befordlandligg, the crew_

and passengers strap themselves.into theirseats. The crew then goes through thePrebum checklist, a jobthat takes 30 min-utes. one hour before landing, the descent-.ttarts.with a reduction in the Shuttle's128,160 krn (17 500 rn.P.h)-erbitingspeed...The pilot does this by turning the spacecreftaround so that it is traveling backward. Nowthe two small engines with their powerfulforward thrust ignite. This burn takes theShuttle out of its orbit, and it begins tdclidWhile it falls, the pilot turns it back againWO its original, direction and pulls its noseu6 high.

A half hour later the Shuttle has-

O.

dal% hoursbefore the sched-uled landing, thecrew begins to ,tready the space-craft for ills reentry.

-

141 r

.6

Pivotal points inthe Shuttle'sn,.

retliPti from kilade4k

The anti-gravitysdit with instru-mentation to-inflate it

dropped halfway to th and enters`therartfied atmosphere at a itude of121,920 m (400,000 ft.): At this point, thespacecraft is committed by computers to aflightpath that will cover ground distance of0,400 km (4,000 mr) horizontally and a dropof about 120 km (75 mi.) during the next 30minutes to deliver it to a runway at_theKennedy Space Center in Florida.

A communications.blackout occurs!shortly after theShuttle re-yenters-E,Irth!s4atmosphere. Intense heat readhing almost -+1,650° C (+3,000° F.) hits the protedtedsurfaces of the nose and leading edges ofthe wings and tail, and temperatures as highas +1,370° C (+2,500° F.) on the heatshield covering the bottom. You do not feelany of it in the mid-deck.

The communications;bledkaut disap-pears.`iirid the heat easee Oliloilethe Shuttlegoes through a series of maneuvers to cor-rect errors in its flight path arid speed. At22,900 m (75,000 ft.) and traveling4times the speed of sound, the Shuttle should.

After about twoweeks of inspectionA.nrintepa4eneryice andping, the - Shutt

. spacecraft will bready to lilt off

° Snuffleappretaches thirunkvay

noW be lined.up correctly,With the landing

.-,,The approach steels at abput 4,270 m14,000 ft) altitude,Tnere has beenno 'motor

noise becaUse the Shuttle is landingglider, without operatfrig engines, yi;t1fS'---.speed is 530 km (330 mi,) perhourind,fts-descent angle is seven times7as-Steepthat of a coMmercial,airplane:'Sut at 520 m(1,700 ft.), it levels off, the landing whepls

.....:Come do n at, analtitlide of 90 m (300 ft.)7and'seb ds later yoU4nd_ar about 320 km(200"mi.). er hour.

AI oat before you realize you are babk.n Ea 11, the mid-deck hatch owns. The'

grou d crew has driven agUck to theShu _le. The truck has a stairway with anencl sure at the top that is placed-against

the side of the ShuttleNou cross-into theentiosure arid the truck takes you to thenearby medicatfacility for; p phyeicel,checkup by flight surgeons, Not until You

',are, lying down do you ranioVe your antigravity suit. You will probably remain for -afew days in the astronebt living ouartere

til you have become readjusted to living inravity,

meanwhile the Shuttle Orbiter has beeptbwed from the runway to a building,resem;'bling an aircraft hangar which is ablphandle two Shuttles at one, time After abouttwo weeks of inspection, -maintenance seri-ice and re-equipping, theme shuttle space_-__o aft will be ready to lift off again, With anew drew on the flight dedkand new pas-sengers in the mid-deck.

_rr

Astronaut Crew.

1 Commander and Pilot.2. Mission Specialists. Astronaut-spien- .

fists responsible for experiment dataand, housekeeping;-,alsobelp coin

...man der and pilot :perforinside the Shuttle.

4;P ayload_Specialists.

Non-astronauts, experts on 'specificexperiments undertaken -in Spacelabduring flight of the Shuttle.

Abdut the Author:

Florence S,Steinberg (nee Schoenberg)crew_ up in Minnesota and graduated PhiBeta-KappatroM the University-of Minne-sota. For Many years she hatveollaboratedwith her husband; AlfractgOberg, on

books and magazine aitidits. She has'a sonand two daughters who are a Ph.D.16-music,a laWyer and an M.D., respectively. currentlyshe is writing a Pamphlet for NASA on Space-

.lab, the portable laboratory..that will fly in theShUttle: Her ambition is_to be the first "olderperson (non-astronaut) in reaspnable good'health to go into space.

NASA:EP-169