Aug 22 1980
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
JSC reported on its new water-immersion facility (WIF) for Shuttle crew training. MSFC would furnish some payload training mock-ups; JSC would build others including a full-sized Shuttle bay. The new pool, measuring 33 x 78 x 25 feet and located in a building formerly housing an Apollo manned centrifuge, would hold half a million gallons-as much water as 25 average backyard swimming pools-heated to a constant 85°F for diver comfort over long periods of time. It would replace a 25-foot-diameter tank built in the mid-1960s for Gemini and Apollo emergency training.
Filter and chemical systems would reduce bacteria and provide a clear medium needed for underwater photography. Six submersible television cameras, two operated by divers and four mounted under water, would follow the training operations, with pan, tilt, and zoom operated from a console at the pool edge. The facility would include a 5-ton air-powered overhead crane to lift trainers and mock-ups out of the water (and eliminate electrical shock), as well as air compressors to fill scuba tanks. (JSC Roundup, Aug 22/80, 1)
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