The planning of the laboratory began long before landing a man on the moon. The idea of using one of the stages of a launcher as a place to live for astronauts has existed for several years at NASA, and Skylab was the first opportunity to test it
With the end of the Apollo program, the fourth US manned space program was to place a manned laboratory in orbit around the Earth. The fate was that after the end of the Apollo program, a new phase would begin in the exploration of the moon or in another challenging field - landing a man on Mars. Public opinion and part of the administration wanted otherwise. The result was the cancellation of the last Apollo flights and the launch of Skylab (the acronym for Sky Laboratory) in 1973. The launch date of the laboratory was 1972, but due to cuts in the NASA budget, the launch was postponed for a year. The Space Laboratory It was an economical research instrument with a total value of 2.6 billion dollars, yet efficient and compact.
The planning of the laboratory began long before landing a man on the moon. The idea of using one of the stages of a launcher as a place to live for astronauts has existed for several years in NASA. In November 1962, the McDonald Douglas company submitted a report to NASA regarding the utilization of the S-IV-B stage as a space laboratory. The American space agency accepted this idea and shortly before the launch of Apollo 8, the plan to establish an orbital laboratory for skin and tendons began.
Initially, there was talk of establishing the laboratory in stages. The establishment of the laboratory required 5 launches of S-IB - including the launch of the laboratory itself. The laboratory is equipped with the engine of the stage itself because the launcher does not have the power to put it into orbit. The first team is launched the day after the launch of the lab and assembles the parts of the lab together. The second team is launched 4 months after the landing of the first team and the third team 6-5 months after the landing of the second team. The telescope, based on its chassis and structure on the lunar lander, is launched the next day by Saturn S-IB and attaches to the second attachment port of the laboratory.
This plan was shelved and in its place there was talk of establishing the laboratory with a smaller number of launches. First the lab is launched. In the second phase, the first team is launched with the telescope and in space they assemble the laboratory. In 1969 this program was also shelved and the number of launches was reduced to one. According to this plan, the laboratory is launched in its entirety by the Saturn 5 launcher and a day later the first crew is launched.
budgeting
The value of the space laboratory is, as mentioned, 2.6 billion dollars, of which 2 billion is for development and the rest for ongoing operations. A flight day of the laboratory whether it is manned or not costs a million dollars. NASA had another plan to launch a second laboratory with a total budget of 950 million dollars (600 million dollars for the construction of the laboratory and 350 million for the equipment). The preparation of the laboratory lasts 12-15 months. Due to congressional cuts, this program was dropped from the chapter.
The goals of the program
1. a. To conduct biomedical experiments to test the human body's ability to withstand sudden changes in gravity, and its ability to perform complex operations in weightless conditions over time. The emphasis was placed on the behavior of the person and the various influences that act on him more than on the flight technique, the propulsion systems and the operation of the various devices. The importance of these experiments is in accumulating knowledge suitable for various interstellar flights.
B. Expand knowledge on the development and behavior of various animals from simple cells to humans. Among other things, check the development of bacterial colonies at zero acceleration.
2. Conduct research in the fields of ecology, oceanography, agriculture (including the discovery of poppy fields - hashish), forestry, fishing (discovery of large schools of fish), geology (discovery of metal deposits) and geography.
3. Astronomy - the intensity of the appearance of solar flares, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, photography of the sun's atmosphere and the halo of white light around its disk.
4. Astrophysics - the solar system and bodies that are outside of it and this includes tracking particles, absorbing or photographing them, photographing the ultraviolet radiation from the stars and the Gaggensheen. (Gegenscheein) – sunlight reflected from dust in the solar system. Most of this dust surrounds the sun in the ecliptic plane and a concentration of this dust can also be formed at the Lagrange point 2. The measuring devices are in the opening on the wall of the laboratory.
5. To test certain production processes using emptiness (vacuum) and weightlessness. These experiments included welding using an electron beam and the use of molten materials to produce metals of rare strength such as sponge steel (steel as light as a sponge and as strong as steel of the finest type), the production of perfect ball bearings, the production of sophisticated lenses, pure chemical compounds and more. test the effect of weightlessness on molten metals.
6. Engineering and technology planning - optimal utilization of the parts of the laboratory such as the crew quarters and the adaptation of the quarters for the astronauts, the astronauts' activities and the testing of the mobile equipment, the internal environment of the laboratory, the inspection of the coating of the heat regulators and the measurement of the accumulated dirt on the telescope.
7. Space suits - the laboratory staff is equipped with new models of space suits. The uniqueness of these suits is in their propulsion system that allows the astronaut to monitor his movements and direct his movement. The operation is possible manually with the help of nitrogen streams or a foot. This type of drive frees the hands for more essential operations. The astronauts must test the suit's propulsion devices.
8. Experiments to save astronauts - distinguish between two types of emergencies.
A. Rescuing the laboratory team - in the event that the team cannot disconnect the spacecraft, it returns to the laboratory and within 22 days a rescue spacecraft is launched that sticks to the other entrance of the laboratory.
B. Astronauts who are in space and cannot return to Earth due to malfunctions in the spacecraft, are directed towards the laboratory or vice versa where they wait until the launch of a rescue vehicle.
A total of 287 experiments were planned with the help of 54 scientific and medical devices and they are divided as follows:
1. 140 experiments in the search for minerals in the soil.
2. 25 experiments in the study of the sun.
3. 28 experiments in medicine and life sciences - for this purpose 19 devices were used.
4. 24 experiments in astrophysics - for this purpose 14 instruments were used.
5. 18 experiments in technology and space industry.
6. 13 experiments in management and production engineering.
7. 19 experiments designed by high school students - the idea of high school students participating in space exploration was brought up by NASA in 1969 after a man landed on the moon. The space program began to suffer a setback. The American National Science Teachers Association organized the competition, selected judges and ensured that there was a fair geographical distribution of the winners. 3,400 proposals were submitted to NASA, of which 25 were selected. Six experiments required an extremely large budget, special equipment and a lot of time from the astronauts. Only 19 experiments remained, including an experiment with spiders (Skylab 3) and an attempt to test the motor skills of the astronauts during the flight (Skylab 4).
The structure of the laboratory
As mentioned, the space laboratory was not built according to new technologies. The main component of the laboratory is the third stage of the Saturn 5 launcher. The weight of the entire laboratory is 90.607 tons and the volume is 349 cubic meters. Its length is 36 meters. The lab has 4 parts:
1. The laboratory - Orbital Workshop (OWS).
2. Airlock Module (AM).
3. Multiple Docking Adapter (NDA).
4. Telescope - Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM).
the laboratory
The laboratory is 14.6 meters long, 6.6 meters in diameter, weighs 38.380 tons and has a volume of 292 cubic meters. It provides the crew with a place to work and live while in space. It serves as a base for the large array of solar racks and a warehouse for cold gas, fuel for the direction control system, a supply warehouse, toilets and garbage. The laboratory which was originally used as the third stage of the Saturn 5 launcher is utilized in terms of the structure as it is. The hydrogen tank was converted to the two floors of the sections and the work and the liquid oxygen tank was converted to a garbage tank.
the trash can
The tank is divided into two. One with a volume of 62.5 cubic meters for solid waste and bags for liquids and the smaller part 7.4 cubic meters for liquids. Both parts of the tank are closed with metal lids to prevent leaks.
A floor
1. Kitchen - the area of the kitchen is 9.3 square meters and there is a dining table and food cabinets - the refrigerators. The table is divided into three individual trays to prevent unnecessary movement of opening and closing the refrigerators. All this comes to prevent food spillage. Each astronaut has a personal tray on which he prepares his meals. Also found in the kitchen are personal heaters for heating the food and a drinking faucet that allows for a one-ounce sip every time you want to drink. The water is pumped under pressure and a pumping device is activated at the bottom to remove it. There was an idea to equip the astronauts with wine, but it was shelved.
2. Sleeping chambers and living quarters - each astronaut has a personal sleeping chamber where he sleeps in a sort of hammock. The cells have lighting for reading. The area of the bedroom is 6.5 square meters.
3. Bathrooms - a. The astronaut bathes once a week with an allotted amount of water. The water is pumped into the shower under a vacuum. B. The toilet in the comfort room is equipped with internal air currents, the excrement is frozen and returned to the ground and the urine is tested every day. The bathrooms are separated from the other rooms so that unpleasant odors and parts that are able to move and float in the laboratory space are prevented from leaking.
4. Experiment and training room - this room occupies about half of the area of the first floor. Here is medical equipment: the cardiovascular system, the rotating chair and the ergometer. Of the 30 control panels, six are for experiments, seven for breaking the circuits and the rest for internal communication, fire alarm, ports for various devices.
In the 58 cabinets adjacent to the wall of the laboratory are food refrigerators, a voice recorder, cards, books, binoculars, darts, a shooting board and exercise equipment.
second floor
The research instruments found here are the scale, an ultrasonic panoramic measuring device. In the side of the floor there are openings with an area of 0.21 meters each to expose devices to the space. The 25 cabinets include food coolers, water, ropes, pipes, portable lamps, filters working on the principle of charcoal, fans and three types of pressure suits. The weight of the water coolers is 272 kg each. The astronauts have a 12 kg portable container.
The laboratory does not have an elevator and therefore many handles have been installed that allow moving from floor to floor. The floor is made of a special mesh to which the astronauts' shoes are attached. This is to prevent sudden and dangerous levitation. A multi-use entrance door replaced the one-time cover of the entrance that was in the front part of the dome of the liquid hydrogen tank. Another door is placed on the side of the laboratory to allow workers and technicians easy access to the interior during pre-launch testing.
The astronauts can look out through a window in the living quarters. The window is located in the middle of the cabin, its diameter is 54 cm and it is made of double glass with an arrangement for heating to protect against fog. In the ceiling of the living rooms there are lighting facilities that can be monitored separately. Portable lamps can also be used for additional lighting. The walls of the laboratory are protected from the inside with fireproof aluminum panels and from the outside with a protective sheath against meteorite impacts. The shield is made of a 0.6 mm thick aluminum plate attached to the laboratory during the launch. It is then separated from it by the explosion of connecting spring mechanisms and held at a distance of 12.7 cm from the laboratory walls.
The laboratory is air-conditioned and provides a comfortable environmental feeling at a temperature of 15.6-32.2 degrees. The atmosphere consists of 76% nitrogen and 24% nitrogen and a pressure of 0.35 atmospheres. Fans keep the air in constant motion to maintain a constant temperature. The laboratory is fed by two huge wings of solar racks spread out on both sides parallel to each other and 4 wings on the telescope designed to absorb the energy from the sun. They are built in a flexible way that allows them to absorb sudden loads and are able to generate a power of 22.8 kilowatts. The wings of the laboratory are 9.5 meters long and 8.3 meters wide each. The power of each wing is 6.2 kW and its weight is 1840 kg. The power is divided into four sub-units that feed 8 batteries of 33 amp/hour each shared by all two shelves.
In the laboratory, 3240 liters of water and more than 340 kg of food. This amount is 19% more than what is needed for a total stay of 140 days in space. The lab has 2 sets of 3 navigation engines each at the back end of the lab. The fuel is found in 22 spherical bodies. The 23rd body contains compressed gas. The thrust force of each engine is 12,600 kg/second. A special cone nose weighing 12 tons protects the delicate parts of the laboratory during takeoff and passage through the dense air layers of the atmosphere. The bow gives the laboratory an aerodynamic shape.
waste water and waste
A mechanism was installed in the laboratory to purify the waste water for reuse and to reduce the volume of waste. The weight of the mechanism is 400 kg and it is able to operate without maintenance or repairs for three years and with a continuous production of 1270 watts. The mechanism is activated by the radioactive isotope uranium 238 which provides it with energy. Any non-metallic material found in the laboratory is transferred to the garbage disposal system, including plastic materials, clothing, food remains and secretions. In the system, the liquids (7 liters per astronaut) are evaporated from the waste and purified from bacteria with a minimum loss of only 2% in each purification cycle. The solid waste is crushed, dried and burned to a volume that is only 1% of the original waste volume.
In the next chapter we will continue the description of the station structure
