Jan 19 1972
From The Space Library
NASA announced selection of flight crews for Skylab missions. Prime crewmen for first, 28-day flight were Charles Conrad, Jr. (commander), Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin (science pilot), and Paul J. Weitz (pilot) . Backup crewmen were Russell L. Schweickart, Dr. Story Musgrave, and Bruce McCandless II. Crewmen for second, 56-day mission were Alan L. Bean, Dr. Owen K. Garriott, and Jack R. Lousma. Third mission, for 56 days, would be flown by Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue. Backup crew for second and third missions was Vance D. Brand, Dr. William B. Lenoir, and Dr. Don L. Lind. (NASA Release 72-12)
Skylab crew press conference, with prime and backup crewmen, was held at Manned Spacecraft Center. Astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr., said preparations were on schedule for April 1973 launch. Contractor checkouts and tests of hardware were expected to be completed for delivery to Kennedy Space Center in July. Skylab would carry some 20 000 pieces of stowage equipment on board to provide life support for nine men for 140 days. "So it all goes up at one time, and we've got a great deal of work to do, not only to learn how to operate this vehicle but also all the experiments in it. It became apparent that we could not be 100 per-cent cross-trained as we had been in Apollo, so we've . . . defined some areas for each guy to become expert in ... That allowed us to balance out the training hours. Right now . . . we have some 2000 training hours per man defined. We've been working on the basic training for the past year." Training hardware would be available about February 1. Commander would have overall responsibility for mission and would be command and service module expert. Science pilot would be expert in all medical equipment and in Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) and its associated hardware. Pilot would be expert in Orbital Workshop systems and electrical systems. Remaining experiments would be divided among crewmembers according to availability and choice. Astronaut Alan L. Bean said photographic data returned from Skylab would be "far superior" to previous data because actual film would be returned to earth. To return film, crews would conduct two extra-vehicular activities (EvAs) on first mission, three on second, and two on third. "We're going to be moving ... 240 pounds [109 kg] worth of film, in canisters, magazines, in and out of the cameras. We'll have to remove the used exposed film and replace it with new film. It's going to take about 3 hours." Experiments were described by Astronaut Gerald P. Carr. They included EREP earth resources experiment containing five sensors to calibrate earth's atmosphere, corollary experiments submitted by high school students, engineering experiments to study effects of zero g on metal alloys and flammability of certain items, habitability experiments to study noise levels and atmospheric composition, and scientific experiments. Scientific experiments would include studies of effect of zero g on single human cells, studies of circadian rhythm of pocket mice and vinegar gnats, ultraviolet stellar astronomy and x-ray astronomy. Technological experiments would include crew vehicle disturbances, manual navigation sightings, and "a study of the little contamination cloud that we carry around with us . . . kind of like Pigpen in Peanuts." In response to question on illness during missions, Astronaut Joseph P. Kerwin said NASA would provide equipment and training on board to take care of most illnesses and injuries that could be handled in a doctor's office. Science pilot would be able to provide emergency care for illnesses "up to and including quite severe. We have quite a pack-age of drugs on board, administrable by all routes; we have tracheotomy equipment and equipment for maintaining an airway for stopping bleeding. We are attempting to develop in time for the flight intravenous fluids. We feel that, almost regardless of the severity of the injury, we will at least be able to stabilize the patient." (Transcript)
NASA Convair 990 aircraft was being used for scientific probe of high- altitude cloud formations up to 14 000 m (45 000 ft) in attempt to identify and measure ice and water particles with remote sensing de-vices, Ames Research Center announced. Goddard Space FIight Center scientist Dr. Warren A. Hovis and team of scientists from NASA, Univ. of Arizona, and Arthur D. Little Co. were conducting experiment to improve short-term weather forecasting and to transfer technology to weather satellites. (NASA Release 72-14)
January 19-20: NASA Office of Space Science held semiannual Spacecraft Sterilization Seminar at Kennedy Space Center to review progress made on research tasks of NASA and academic prime investigators, inform American Institute of Biological Sciences' Planetary Quarantine Advisory Panel of this progress, and to foster interchange of recent developments in spacecraft sterilization concepts. (KSC Release 9-72; KSC No)
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