The first flight, in which three crew members stayed for four weeks on the station, managed to experience all the malfunctions, which on the International Space Station - a few decades later - took years to occur
In view of the dangers involved in a prolonged flight in space and the multiple medical experiments on this flight, Kerwin, Konrad Weitz entered a 21-day isolation period before the original flight date of May 15. The person responsible for the medical experiments during the flight is Kervin - a doctor by profession.
The astronauts were equipped with three awnings and tools. The canopies are identical to the material that covered the moon landings. They are made of aluminum covered with a plastic sheath. The awnings are:
A. Trapezoidal awning. The length of its large base is 12.6 meters, its small base is 4 meters and its length is 4 meters. The installation is done from the spacecraft while in motion. One of the astronauts is standing at the entrance of the spacecraft. First, the awning is attached to two clamps in the laboratory itself and the third to one of the telescope shields.
B. An awning measuring 6 meters by 6.9 meters with a deployment handle. The spacecraft must connect to the lab. The astronauts exit the air barrier chamber and deploy the canopy. The awning is connected to two clamps in the laboratory itself and the third to a 14.4 meter long pole to one of the telescope's electrical conductors. When the installation is finished, the awning and the pole take on a T shape.
third. An umbrella-shaped opening awning. The awning is made of a nylon sheet in the form of a folded umbrella around a rod that can be screwed through a special air-tight opening, set in the wall of the laboratory for scientific experiments, and then spread the rod in until the deployed awning adheres to the laboratory. The advantage of this awning is the possibility to install it without extra-vehicle activity.
The first canopy can be installed as soon as the spacecraft arrives, but this involves extremely delicate and complicated maneuvers to avoid collision. They may be damaged by the spacecraft's engines during maneuvers. Deciding which of the awnings to use is up to the astronauts. For the installation itself, several tools must be used:
1. 0.6 meter long scissors.
2. Rods for extending the scissors.
3. Ropes.
4. A TV camera to transmit photographs of defects and the repair process itself to the control center. 100 mm telephoto lenses can be mounted on the camera.
5. Binoculars for performing damage assessment.
During the repairs, the spacecraft can be connected to the laboratory, disconnected from it three times and soft connected using three of the laboratory's switches, a large number of times.
The week from May 25 to May 31
May 25 - a few hours before takeoff, the color of the three awnings that were in the spaceship began to fade and they were painted quickly. Two and a half hours after launch, the spacecraft began a series of maneuvers for docking. These maneuvers were conducted 7 hours and 40 minutes after takeoff. For over an hour the astronauts circled the laboratory in the Apollo spacecraft to check it and repair it if possible. The test results were not encouraging. One sun shelf was lost and the lid of the second shelf only opened 15 degrees. A piece of aluminum got stuck between the lid of the shelf and the wall of the laboratory. One part of the awning was lost and another part got wrapped around some of the sun racks and interfered with their operation. Apollo docked with the lab for a few hours, during which time the astronauts ate and made all the necessary preparations for the repairs. In the Apollo spaceship there is a supply for five days.
May 26 - the spacecraft detached itself from the laboratory, approached the solar shelves, Weitz got out of the spacecraft and for an hour made six attempts to remove the piece of aluminum from the shelf, but he was unsuccessful. Weitz did not approach the shelf, but stood at the entrance of the spaceship with a 3 meter long aluminum rod in his hand to remove the piece of aluminum.
After these failed attempts, Apollo began new maneuvers towards her connection with the laboratory. After the third fall attempt the astronauts put on their spacesuits, exited the spacecraft and removed the damaged part of the attachment mechanism and reattached to the laboratory. This maneuver lasted two hours. In total they worked 21 hours to fix this fault. Upon entering the spacecraft they fell asleep for a few hours. They woke up after 8 hours, put on gas masks, equipped themselves with devices to detect toxic gases and entered the laboratory. It turned out there was no leak. They quickly brought order to the laboratory. All that was floating in it were a screwdriver, a nut and an electrical wire. The temperature in the docking dock is 10 degrees and in the rest of the places it is very hot.
May 27 - The astronauts left the laboratory to install the canopy. For 5 hours they worked on installing the device and had almost complete success. The awning deployed as planned, but it did not fully deploy. Three folds were not opened. The awning took the shape of a trapezoid instead of a rectangle. Instead of being deployed in its full 49 square meters, it is deployed only in the scope of 28 square meters. Nevertheless, he acted. The awning covers the living and working rooms. The temperature that reached 43.3 degrees dropped to 37.7 degrees. If they didn't succeed in deploying the awning, they would probably return to Israel. After work, the astronauts returned to the spacecraft and fell asleep. The awning is originally rectangular and opens with a spring. It is connected with clamps, one to the telescope - and two to the wall of the laboratory.
May 28 - the temperature in the laboratory dropped as expected. The water tanks were the only hot spot. A lot of heat was stored inside the tanks and they emitted a substance like an oven. Their cold lasted for several days. The astronauts completed unloading the cargo, storing it and testing the medical scientific instruments. Weitz notices that the bike is broken. Because of the heat, the straps stretched and the pedals looked like they had been used. Due to lack of choice, he disconnected the device from all medical experiments.
The problem of the electricity supply was solved thanks to improvisations. Part of the power supply was borrowed from the Apollo command center with the work schedule changing from time to time so as not to consume too much power at once. Konrad suggested opening the closed shelf on May 19, towards the end of your stay in the lab. If they are unsuccessful, the space engineers prepare a more sophisticated set of tools for the next crew.
This day is the first day when the astronauts started their routine work. First they performed a blood test and then moved on to calisthenics. Despite the arduous work they went through in the repair work, their health was normal, although the doctors did not have accurate data because the team doctor, Dr. Kerwin, forgot to connect the electrodes to one of his colleagues. Starting today, the astronauts sleep in their own rooms in the laboratory.
May 29 - One of the engines of the Apollo spacecraft was activated and raised the laboratory to a higher orbit. With the resolution of the problems, a press conference was held and the astronauts began the scientific observations. The telescope was pointed towards the sun, where many eruptions were visible at the time. The astronauts hoped to use them to understand the nuclear processes occurring on the surface of the sun. A total of 400 photographs of the sun were broadcast that day.
The temperature in the laboratory ranges from 26 to 32 degrees and it continued to drop. Before sleeping, the electrodes were attached to Carvin's body, but the device stopped working about an hour after the attachment. The interruption of the measurements was due to the drying of the electrodes and their falling off. Konrad had a secret conversation with the control center. This conversation caused much speculation among the public about the fate of the flight. The person in charge of the astronauts announced that the subject of the conversation was technical problems and the use of the ergometer. However, he claimed that it was a mistake to use the confidential channel for this conversation.
May 30 - After waking up from sleep, Kervin took blood samples from his flock and they began the scientific observations to discover minerals, weather fluctuations, volcanic activity and more, in the area between Oregon - USA and Brazil. The temperature rose to 27 degrees and some medical experiments were canceled. Weitz stayed as planned in the cardiovascular system. They hoped that the temperature would drop to 21 degrees, but this hope was disappointed.
May 31 - energy problems arose again. Another solar shelf stopped working and two mineral observation experiments were postponed. It has been suggested that one of the astronauts left the laboratory to release a small device designed to absorb power from the sun. The astronauts did running exercises around the water tanks. In this run they created a centrifugal force strong enough to create a weak gravitational force.
Second week from June 7st to June XNUMXth
June 1 - After performing the experiments planned for this day, the astronauts showered, cleaned the laboratory and began their rest day.
June 2 - At the end of the rest day, the astronauts returned to work. Due to the energy problems, the possibility of advancing the launch of Skylab 2 by 12 days was considered to prevent activity outside the laboratory.
June 3 - The geological photographs were concentrated between California and Mexico with the aim of discovering volcanic activity and hot areas. The space scientists considered extending the astronauts' stay by an additional 10 days to get the most out of the laboratory, as a substitute for repairs outside it. They hoped that during the extended stay the laboratory would be facing the sun, so that it would be possible to use the wall more efficiently.
June 4 - they photographed North America, especially Mexico to discover oil and coal fields. Today an important meeting was held in the control center regarding the problem of repairing the sun shelf. The question was whether to carry out the repair and who would do it. It was decided to carry out the repairs despite everything. The final decision was left to the commander of Skylab 2. It was finally decided that Konrad and Kervin left the lab to carry out the repairs. The task is carried out on June 6 or 7. If the attempt fails, the astronauts must cancel the major experiments in the remaining eight days of their stay in the laboratory.
June 5 - In one of the gymnastics exercises, an irregularity in the rhythm of Konrad's heartbeat was discovered. This defect did not prevent the space doctors from his "repair trip" on June 7.
June 6 - Konrad and Kervin practice the "Repair Journey". Meanwhile, another solar shelf has weakened.
June 7 - Konrad was the first to leave the lab, followed by Carvin when he handed him the tools. Most of the lights in the laboratory were turned off to provide full illumination for the astronauts during their work. They connected five poles to one 7.5 meter long pole and connected this tool to a 0.6 meter long pair of scissors. Konrad and Kervin loosened and extended the tube that supplies them with oxygen and is used for communication. With the "rise" of the sun, they climbed the laboratory and reached the sun ledge. At the same time Kerwin's pulse reached 150 and Konrad's pulse reached 110. When Conrad attached a rope to the scissors, (one end of the scissors is attached to the pole and the other end to the rope.) Kerwin tried to orient the pole to the piece of aluminum so that its broad side would catch in the metal. He complained that he was losing his stability and was unable to grasp the metal with the tools in his hand. A few minutes before the laboratory moved to the dark side of the country, he managed to grab the metal and open the lid another 60 cm. In order for the lid to line up and make a 90 degree angle with the lab, Konrad deployed it by hand. Attach a rope to the open end of the lid and wrap it around the air barrier chamber. Then he threaded himself between the cell wall and the rope itself and stretched himself so that the rope stretched and the shelf lid opened. Expect the lid hinge to freeze as it deploys, so the shelves deploy automatically. Hydraulic fluid in the shelf springs hardened due to the cold prevailing in space and prevented its full deployment. Two more parts were deployed by only 40% more and the third by 30%.
The laboratory was tilted 45 degrees towards the sun. until 9.6. The liquid has heated sufficiently and the shelf is deployed to its full length. The partial layout was enough to charge the eight shelf batteries. With the repairs completed Kerwin and Conrad returned to the lab safely. They stayed outside the lab for two and a half hours. Most of the work was done during the hour when the laboratory had no contact with the control center.
It turned out that the piece of aluminum from the torn shield penetrated the shelf cover and prevented its operation. The astronauts embarked on the "repair journey" only after many experiments were conducted with various techniques such as cutting and sawing in the laboratory itself and on the ground. The terrestrial experiments under dummy conditions (in a huge water tank) were carried out by the astronauts Russell Schweickart and Edward Gibson. Only after they announced that the "repair mission" was feasible, the Skylab pilots were given the green light.
One of the worst complaints that astronauts have every day is the complete disconnection from news on Earth. Every time Conrad asked for a report on the news, he was told that everything was so bad and boring that it was not worth reporting on.
interim assessment
While eating, more than once, the food slipped from their hands and began to float in the laboratory. It was necessary to devote 90 minutes every day to cleaning the laboratory of food remains. The laboratory is cleaned throughout the flight. Due to the heat that prevailed in the laboratory, some of the equipment broke down, in particular various ointments. 2/3 of the toothpaste tubes and creams for applying to the skin are designed to solve the dryness problems in the laboratory. The bathrooms worked flawlessly.
The low atmospheric pressure caused communication disturbances inside the laboratory. The astronauts did not clearly hear each other. They had to talk loudly until they were sick. Quite a few whistles were an almost constant phenomenon. The solution to this came from Weitz. He suggested tilting his lips to the side. During the ergometer experiments, the heart rate increased. The doctors did not attach any importance to this since this also happens in the country. What bothered the doctors were the contractions in the body. The circumference of the calves is much smaller than expected.
Third week - from June 8 to June 14
June 8 - Konrad cancels the day of rest and increases the number of daily work hours in order to catch up as best as possible with the experiments that were canceled due to the lack of electricity.
June 9 - For the first time, the astronauts bathe in hot water and eat hot meals thanks to the repaired solar shelf. Small malfunctions such as the floating of various accessories accompanied the astronauts, but they were not easily resolved. It was decided that on June 19, in addition to returning the film, the astronauts would install another awning.
The prolonged experiments being conducted today are observations towards the sun and photographing North America to discover minerals. Kerwin then performed medical tests on his friends. A new malfunction was discovered in the laboratory. One of the regulators of the cooling system got stuck, and the temperature near the equipment systems dropped to 4 degrees. The temperatures in the living rooms also dropped. The control system woke the astronauts from their sleep.
June 10 - the fault was fixed by the control center by increasing the pressure of the water flow. The astronauts then repaired instruments of secondary importance. The observations and studies continued as usual. The health of the astronauts is good.
June 11 - Observations were made on the effluents flowing into the Iri Basin. The astronauts surveyed the air pollution in the skies of the cities of Pittsburgh, Washington and investigated whether minerals exist in the north and center of the USA and on the east coast of the country.
June 12 - filmed the western USA and a tornado that raged in the country. For the first time, technological experiments were conducted. Konrad welded metals.
June 14 - the prolonged stay in space began to give its signals. Weitz and Kerwin, were unable to perform any experiments at all. However, their health is good. Konrad continued the technological experiments and failed in one of them. Today, more photos were taken of the USA. This time in the northwest direction (from the Pacific Ocean) and southeast and photographing the sun.
Fourth week, from June 15 to June 21
June 15 - The astronauts cleaned the laboratory and began preparations for the return to Israel and preparations for the launch of the replacement crew. Due to the long stay in space, the astronauts' hearts weakened, but according to Kerwin's report, their health is normal. The space engineers reached a final decision that another awning will be installed on top of the first awning. Weitz photographed sunspots.
June 16 - Konrad and Carvin photographed the sun and its spots.
June 17 - Part of the day the astronauts spent in the spacecraft itself and transferring equipment from the laboratory to it in preparation for their return to Israel.
June 18 - observations towards the sun.
June 19 - Weitz and Konrad left the laboratory, returned photographic films and made small repairs. In total they worked one hour and 36 minutes instead of three as planned. During this time Konrad restored one of the telescope batteries that had broken down to normal operation. He hit the battery with a hammer. Blobs of paint flew everywhere, the battery power switch released and it started working. Conrad also removed a wire sitting on the coronagraph lens. The most difficult job for him was tying metal similar in assembly to that of the sunshade to support the telescope. This rod is part of an experiment by the replacement team. The astronauts had to verify how long a plastic material could be exposed to the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Despite the difficulties Konrad encountered in his work, he managed to install the metal rod. His blood pressure reached 150.
June 20 - Kervin announced at a press conference that their state of health is excellent and that apparently they were not harmed by their 26 days in space, but nevertheless he said: "I guess it is better that we wait until we return to Israel, we will look at the data before we come to hasty conclusions. However, I am very encouraged medically and subjectively. The good feeling is a pleasant surprise." Konrad retrieved photographic films from the telescope and installed the second awning.
June 21 - In final tests of the laboratory, in preparation for its evacuation, the astronauts found that 90% of its systems were working properly. At least 80% of the planned experiments were carried out. The astronauts disinfected the kitchen and the amenity area. Their belongings and dirty clothes were packed and transferred to the spaceship. They turned off the non-essential lights, stopped the operation of many devices that are not essential and useful when the laboratory is unmanned. Stop the operation of the devices in the air barrier chamber, reduce the pressure in it to 0 and move to the spaceship. Although a malfunction was discovered in the food refrigerators before they left the laboratory and it was quickly repaired. The laboratory's runway height was lowered by 96 km to allow a comfortable landing runway.
June 22, landing day
Half an hour before the spacecraft was detached from the laboratory, its gyroscopic compass malfunctioned. The astronauts were instructed not to land, but the fault was fixed. After disconnecting from the laboratory, the spaceship circled her for an hour to check her condition for the final time. 3 hours and 40 minutes later, the spacecraft landed 1,335 km southwest of San Diego, California. The landing was 13 minutes late. The reason for the delay was an order that the astronauts had received to tilt the laboratory so that it would be closer to the sun to avoid overcooling. Weather conditions at the time of landing were satisfactory. In total, the astronauts stayed in the laboratory for 28 days and 50 minutes. The aircraft carrier Ticonderoga picked up the astronauts. During the flight, the astronauts had 82 hours of sunlight and photographed an area of 6.4 million square kilometers of the Earth. They performed 11 of the 16 national trials. All 16 medical trials were completed in full.
The medical condition of the astronauts after landing
Carvin said before landing that their health is good. Upon landing Kerwin took blood samples from himself and his colleagues, although the vibrations of the spacecraft weighed on him. A few minutes later, the astronauts were brought up to the aircraft carrier while inside the spacecraft. They felt nauseous and dizzy. They had difficulties in walking and defects in blood circulation and heart. Konrad, who is on his fourth flight, was back with us within two hours. Weitz also quickly returned to our company. For Kervin, the difficulties of adapting to earthly conditions were the most difficult. The concentration of blood in his legs was so high that he had to wear a pressure suit before being put on the aircraft carrier. In addition, he was not able to perform gymnastics exercises that his friends did. After a good night's sleep there was a marked improvement in his condition. After landing, the three astronauts wore a special garment, similar to long underwear, with the help of which the blood can be returned from the legs to the heart and other parts of the body.
Shortly after landing, the astronauts were tested to withstand the immediate effects of going from 0 acceleration to Earth's gravity. He was then transferred to a semi-medical quarantine of 18 days, a period during which they continued to live in the framework to which they were accustomed during their stay in the laboratory. They ate the same food. The people they met wore masks on their faces. Although they met with their wives every evening, the children were kept away from them during the isolation. This isolation comes to prevent mundane effects such as infectious diseases which may harm them when their resistance is small and may burden and possibly prevent any monitoring of the results of the prolonged stay in space on the bodies and health of the astronauts.
In the first hours after landing, they showed a higher than usual resistance to "walking sickness". Probably due to the long exposure of the mechanical balance in the inner ear. The doctors said that this phenomenon is temporary. If the Apollo pilots returned to their normal health 48 hours after landing, for the Skylab pilots especially Kerwin the return to health took a few days as expected. Their general state of health was better than expected. The medical examinations continued at times even after their release from isolation. Defects in circulatory activity have been noted in previous astronauts, in particular in the Russians.
During the first phase of the flight, the astronauts lost 14% of their red blood cells. By the end of the flight, the loss of red blood cells ranges from 6% to 20%. The decrease in red blood cells is probably due to less production in the bone marrow. From the moment of landing, it takes one to five weeks until the red blood cells return to full production.
The number of muscle fibers is small to the extent that the contractions of the hips and calves occurred. In the tests done after the landing, it became clear that a critical calcium deficiency was evident in the muscles and bones. Each of the astronauts lost 4 kg of their weight. Each, as a lesson from their adaptation to Earth conditions, offered ergometer practice to those who would fly after them to the space laboratory.
the laboratory after her departure
After landing it turned out that the cooling system had warmed from 23.3 degrees below zero to 7.2 degrees below zero. It was estimated that a valve was stuck so that the coolant did not flow properly or that a foreign material opened the valve and caused the cold to flow too quickly. The nose of the laboratory was pointed at 45 degrees towards the sun to generate heat in the radiator in the hope of melting the same material if it does exist. Within a few days there was an improvement in the situation and the temperature dropped to the desired level.
the source of the faults
A NASA investigative committee discovered that the tears in the awning and one of the sun racks were the product of poor design of the awning. The engineers of the space laboratory did not take advantage of their knowledge of metallurgy and that the main team of laboratory planners was not alert enough to this problem in the ample time they had at their disposal. The awning was probably torn due to aerodynamic loads that were not taken into account during the construction of the laboratory. Not fully deploying the awning created pressure between it and the wall of the laboratory and led to its tearing. The awning itself was exposed to an air flow with a strength of over Mach 1. As a result, one of the connecting links of one of the sun racks broke. Activating the lab's navigation engines completely tore this shelf from the lab's wall.
For the first part of the series on Skylab.
