Apollo Experience Report Crew Provisions and Equipment Subsystem

8/8/2019 Apollo Experience Report Crew Provisions and Equipment Subsystem

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N A S A T E C H N I C A L N O T E

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APOLLO EXPERIENCE REPORT -CREW PROVISIONSAND EQUIPMENT SUBSYSTEM

by Fred A. McAllisterMmtzed Spacecraft CeaterHoustoa, Texas 77058

N AT I O N A L A E R ON A U TI C S A N D S PA CE A D M I N I S T R AT I O N WA S H I N G TO N , D .C. M A R C H1972


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1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.

11 . Contract or Grant No.I

NASA D-6737 I4. Title and Subtitle

APOLLO EXPERIENCE REPORT 'CREW PROVISIONS AND EQUIPMENT SUBSYSTEM

5. iieport Date

,March 19726. Performing Organization Code

6. Abstract

A desc ripti on of the co nstruction and us e of crew provisions and equipment subsystem item s forthe Apollo Program is presented. The subsystem is composed principa lly of survival equip-ment, bioinstrumen tation devic es, medical components and acc ess ori es, wate r- and waste-management equipment, personal-hygiene articles, docking aids, flight garm ent s (excluding thepre ssur e ga rment assembly), and various other crew-related a ccessories. Particular attentionis given to ite ms and assem bli es that presente d design, development, o r performanc e problems:the crew optical alinement sight system, the metering water dis penser, and the waste?management syst em. Changes made in design and mat eri als to improve the fire safet y of thehardware ar e discussed.

~

7. Authorb)

Fre d A. McAllister, MSC~

9. Performi ng Organization Name and Address

8 . pa - - - : n--.. ._-..t ,,mj v l w p l l ; L . L ; ~ i i epix: ?!o.MSC S-290

10. Work Unit No.

9 14- 50- 80- 04- 72

2. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Washington, D. C. 20546National Aeronautic s and Space Administrati on

13. Type of Repor t and Period Covered

Technical Note

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

17. Key Words (Suggested by Aut hor(s ) )

Apollo * Bioinstrumentation System' Crew Equipment' Crew Provisions* Crewman- Restrai nt Syste ms' Optical Docking Aids

' Survival Equipment

-18. Distribution Statement

19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Claaif. (of this page) 21. NO. of pages

None None 59

22. Price'

$3 00


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CONTENTS

Section Page

SVM*'MARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .NTRODUCTION 1

EQUIPMENT SYNOPSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1CREWMAN-RESTRAINTSYSTEMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Headrest-Pad Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '2Heel- Res trai nt Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Crewman Sleep Restrain ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Handholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Velcro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .unar Module Crewman- Res traint System 4OPTICAL DOCKING AIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5WATER-MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8WASTE-MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Fecal- Collection Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Waste-Stowage Vent System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Urine Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Lunar Module Po rtab le Life Support System Condensate-Collection

S y s t e m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I3CREW ACCESSORIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

*

Crewman Toolset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Lunar Module Window Shades and Glare Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Mir ro r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Command Module Oxygen Umbilicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Crewman Communications Umbilical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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Section Page

Decontamination Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Tissue Dispensers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Utility-Towel Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Penlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Scissors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

EyePatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1

Lunar Module Ceilings and Covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Apollo Lunar- Equipment Conveyor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

MEDICAL COMPONENTS AND ACCESSORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IOINSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM 23SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Rucksacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Combination Survival-Light Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Desalter K i t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Sunglasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Machete and Sheath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Water Containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Skin Protection Lotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Three-Man Liferaft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Sea-Dye Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Radio Beacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Lanyard System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Lifevest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

U t i l i t y Netting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Survival Blanket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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Section Page

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .unbonnet 33Survival Knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

CREW EQUIPMENT STOWAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Command Module Stowage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Lunar Module Stowage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

FLIGHT GARMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Inflight C overall Garments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

*

Constant-Wear Garments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Biological-Isolation Garment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Interface Contrnl Docum-ent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

MockupReviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Bench Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Crew-Compartment Fit and Function Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

CONCLUDING REMARKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

APPENDIX A -ALPHABETICAL LISTING O F EQUIPMENT 47

APPENDIX B.

BBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51. . . . . . . . . . .

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FIGURES

Figure Page

3Sleep-station re st ra int s in the CM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Crewman-restraint system in the LM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 The COAS docking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The LM active docking ta rg et . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

75 Predocking condition of the COAS and ta rg et . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Gemini water metering device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Apollo wate r/gas separ ation equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

8

8

9

10

1 1

12

13

14

15

16

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1

18

19

20

The CM waste-management sy st em . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Waste- stowage vent sy st em . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Crewman toolset components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oxygen-hose assembly and acc es so ri es . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . .Electrical umbilical assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vacuum-brush assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Decontamination con tai ner s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bioinstrumentation belt assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . .Components of t he sur viva l kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The CM stowage for aft bulkhead, lower equipment bay, and right-

hand equipment bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Th e C M towage fo r aft bulkhead, upper equipment bay, and left-hand

equipment bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The CM stowage fo r cre wman couches and as soc iat ed equipment . . . .Location of SC-107 stowed it em s in left-hand and right-hand

equipment bays

(a) Left-hand equipment bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(b) Right-hand equipment bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

10

15

17

18

19

20

24

28

34

35

36

3738

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F i g u p

21 Location of stowed it ems in lower equipment bay and aft bulkhead

Page

(a) Lower equipment bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39(b) Aftbulkhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

22 Location of stowed item s in LM, looking forward . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

2 3 Location of stowed items in LM, looking aft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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APOLLO EXPERI EiC E REPORT

CREW PR OV ISIO NS AND EQUIPMENT SUBSYSTEM

By Fred A. M cA Il is te rMa nne d Spacecra ft Cen te r

S U M M A RY

A des cription of equipment and experi ence gained during development of the c rewprovisions and equipment subsystem i tem s for the Apollo Pr ogra m i s presented in thisdocument. Details and understanding about the crew-rel ated sys tem s used on the Apol-lo 11 missi on and about the individual equipment and equipment-related pro ble ms a r epres ented . The ration ale fo r selection of ma te ri al s and design philosophy is discussed.Also, sev era l recommendations are presented for future improvement of spacecrafthardwar e.

INTRODUCTION

This report is a discu ssion of the Apollo cre w equipment ite ms used on the com-mand module (CM) and luna r module (LM). These cr ew equipment it em s include there st ra in t syst ems, docking aids, water- management syste ms, waste- management sys-tems, crew acce sso rie s, medical components, bioinstrumentation, survival equipment,stowage, and flight gar men ts. System changes have been made fo r Apollo flight s sub-sequent to the Apollo 11 mission, but only a few are ref ere nce d in thi s document. Analphabetical lis ting of the equipment discussed in th is document is prese nted in appen-dix A. Acronyms used are lis ted in appendix B.

Valuable contributions to this document have been made by Maxwe l l W. Lippitt,J r. , Willi am L. Burton, J r. , James H. Barnett, Ralph J. Marak, Thomas F.Gallagher, William F. Reveley, and Richa rd S. Se rp as of the NASA Manned Spacec raf tCenter; and Kevin J. Gravois, Eliza beth W. Gauldin, and Rober t C. Hill of the Genera lElec tr ic Company, Houston, Texas.

EQUIPMENT SYNOPSI

The probl ems a sso cia ted with the development of the s pac ec raf t (SC) crew provi-sions and equipment ite ms we re discovered from us e and comments by crewmen. Theinitia l design of ite ms often is not discernible in the evolved product. Pr io r to the ap-proval of a design for flight, the it ems we re subjected to hardware design reviews,


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bench evaluations, mockup evaluations, ze ro -g ra vi ty .water tests, high-fidelity fi t andfunction tests , and finally manned- chamb er evaluation under simul ated altitude condi-tions. During the ear ly crew -inte rface tests, the desig n rema ined fluid and changed,as required, with each review.

As experience fro m tests and mockup revi ews increase d, changes to the equip-ment decreased. Designers were better able to anticipate the requirements of theApollo missions. Eventually, a point of minimum change and maximum effic iency wasattained, this being a fine blend of design intuition and c rewma n particip ation in the de-velopment effort (ref. l ) . Thi s sa me g ene ral philosophy of development was applied tothe LM restraint system, the docking aids, and the mo re pe rsona l equipment and pro-vision i t e m s , such as the waste-management system s.

Crew equipment engin eers lea rned to rem ain closely involved with the equipmentf ro m the time of init ial design concept until completion of th e postflight ana lys is. A f t e rthe Apollo fire, it became mandatory to make SC cabin materials less flammable. Thisnew emphasis completely changed the design philosophy of the c rew equipment. Thedesign pro ce ss (as descri bed) began with new ground rules and new restrictions thatreq uir ed the us e of nonflammable mat eri als . Yet, few major crew equipment changeswere made after the Apollo 7, 8, and 9 missions. This fact is a credit to the successand efficiency of the des ign effor t.

There have been continuous reevaluations in the ca te go ri es of wast e managementand bioinstrumentation. These grou ps of p ers ona l equipment and prov ision ite ms areus ed by the crewmen, who offer sug gesti ons fo r improvement.

CREWMAN-RESTRAI NT SYSTEMS

Crewman restr ain ts for all mission modes are provided in Apollo vehic les. Thepri mar y systems ar e the CM couch-harness assembly and the LM "standup" r es tr ai n thardware. These systems are designed to provide stability and safety duringph ases of ear th and luna r launch and landing. Handholds, Velc ro att ach men ts, ands leep res t ra in ts are used also fo r inflight tasks and gen era l mobility. The sleep -res tra int assembly provides the crewm en with a comfortable sleeping en closure fo rus e in zero-gravity environment. These items, general access ory items, and specialequipment designed to allow unsuited en tr y are discussed in this section.

Headrest-Pad Assembly

The headr est pad, which is attached to the couch headrest in the Apollo CM, isused to creat e stability and acts as a buffer for the crewman's head during unsuitedentr y mission modes. The assemb ly must mate with and enclose the couch headrest.Thus, fi rm cushioning is provided fo r the unsuited crewman's head during entry vibra-tion and shock. To satisfy SC flammability req uir eme nts , the headrest-pad assemblyis made of a fi r m Fluorel outer case filled with an inn er Fluorel-fo am cushioning sec-tion. Fluorel is used because of its strength, wear, and flammability chara cteri stics.The outer Fluorel case is molded to f i t the con tou rs of the couch headrest.

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Heel- Re str ain t Assembly

The heel res t ra in t is used to secu re the crewman's feet in a fixed position in theC M during entry. The restrai nt is designed to be s tra ppe d over the coverall boot as-sembly and is used only during the porti on of entry in which the press ure garment as-sembly (PGA) is zot wcrn by the crewman. A simple design is nece ssary to allow easy

attachment to the foot befor e entry. The heel must be const ructe d of a durable materia lthat will ma te in a locked position with the SC .heel-locking device.

The assembly co nsist s of two subassemblies: an aluminum heel and a s t r ap as-sembly. The aluminum heel is constructed with three slot openings to perm it s tr appassage. The straps are cons truc ted of polybenzimidazole (PBI) webbing and pa ssthrough the aluminum heel and around the ankle. The PBI is used because it possessesdesirable struct ural- strength and flammability characteristics. Velcro str ips on thestraps faste n around the crewman's ankle to hold the heel firmly in place. The metalheel is slotted to fit directly into the SC heel-locking dev ice (as the PGA boot does).Heel-restraint assemblies have been used successfully on each Apollo flight.

Crewm an Sleep Restraints

The "sleeping bag" si ee p- re sh ti nt eiicloaiire provided i n the C M restraim t h ecrewman in the sieep station during zero-gravity eiiviroiment. The sleep restraintsals o provide warmth during sleep, and perforated cloth construction provides aeration.

The three sleep restraints (fig. 1)co ns is t of 64-inch-long by approximate-ly 21-inch-wide bags equipped withlongitudinal-axis zippe rs. Each bag hasa neck opening and is con str uct ed of per -

for ate d Teflon-coated,Be ta cloth. "Dogleashes" are used to attach one bag underthe right couch and anoth er under the leftcouch. The right couch ha rn es s con-st ra in s the other bag, which is on top ofthe rig ht couch. Crewmen en te r the sleepre st ra int s through the z ipper openings.

Teflon-coated Beta cloth w a s chosenfo r the sleeping bags be cause t h i s materialhas good abrasion re sista nce and meets thefire- retar dation re quirements of the poten-tially dangerous cabin atmosphere.

Several controlled environment testswe re evaluated by cre wmen and contra ctorpersonnel to de termine the number andsi ze of t he perfora tions needed fo r maxi-mum crew comfort. Thes e tests indicatedthat perfo ratio ns which have a 0.060-inch

Flight p o s i t i o n 1

Figure 1. - Sleep-station re str ain ts inthe CM.

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diameter and are on 2-inch c en te rs provide maximum crewman comfort. Blankets,ra th er than sleeping bags, wer e considered but never used. Stiffeners were added, ac-cording to crew man recommendations, in the lower-tor so area to provide leg supportwhile in the sleep restra ints.

H a n dh o l d s

Handholds are provided to assist crewman ingr ess and egr es s from the CM sidehatch and fo r per iods of gravity loads. Two aluminum handholds are provided to aidcrewmen in the CM. These handholds are located by the side windows, ne ar the maindisplay console (MDC). A handbar is provided on the MDC near the side hatch as an aidto ingres s and egr ess . The handbar can be stowed o r extended. Five handstraps, lo-cate d behind the MDC, plus another ha ndstra p over the environme ntal control s yst em(ECS) acc es s panel, are maneuverability aids. Thes e handst raps are const ructe d ofViton material with metal-reinforced interiors.

Ve l c r o

Velcro (H549 hook with P537 pile) provides a simple way to prevent floating ofsmall objects in a zero-gravity environment and is used extensively throughout the crewcompa rtmen t of the CM fo r tempo rar y inflight stowage of loose cr ew equipment item s.Patches of Velcro hooks are bonded at convenient locations on the SC structure, andVelcro pile is fastened to most of the loose cre w equipment ite ms. It em s may be at-tached, at any location in the SC whe re Velcro is available, by using hand pressure.

An inter face control document (ICD) was originated to esta blish t he Velcro loca-tions within the SC. The ICD is reviewed and updated periodically because crewmanpreference may dictate many changes in Velcro location.

L u n a r M o due Crewm an- Res t ra int System

The LM crewma n-res train t syste m re st ra in s the crewmen during powered flight,ze ro gravity, and the shock of lun ar landing. The sys te m must function without seri-ously reducing the mobility, visibility, o r dexte rity of the crewmen. The sys tem mustals o maintain proper pilot orientation, with respec t to instr uments and controls, duringpowered flight and zero- gravit y environment. During landing, the syste m must preve ntthe crewmen fro m striking adjacent stru ctu res and must facilitate absorption of the im-pact shock.

The development of the re st ra in t sys tem involved th re e phases: zero- gravit ytests using ai rc ra ft , ground-based tests using acce lera tion rigs, and manned drop testsof the lunar test article (LTA-3) vehicle.

The initial landing-acceleration limits at the LM crew station were formulatedduring October 1965. The landing conditions con sidere d were within 10 ft/sec verticalat a O-ft/sec horizontal velocity and within 7 f t /sec vert ical at a 4-ft/sec horizontalvelocity. Landing conditions were lim ite d by the kinematic capability of th e landinggea r. The landing gea r w a s considered to be elastic and the LM, rigid.

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Zero-gravity test planning was conducted (1) to de termin e the effectiveness ofproposed foot re st ra in ts and of dev ices to stabiiize the crewinen at the crew station and(2) to d ete rmi ne the b est locations and configurations f or handholds and handgrips. AKC-135 jet aircraft w a s used i n the zero-gravity tests. The landing-shock te st prog raminvolved the u se of manned shock ri gs to simulate the accel era tion envelope.

The restraint system that evolved (fig. 2 ) includes (1) Velcro on the boot solesand the LM floor, (2) restrai nt cables (from a constant-force re el) attached to the crew-man to produce a constant 15-pound down-ward f or ce on each side of the crewman,and (3) a se t of ar mr es ts to absorb loadsfr om the crewman's upper torso. Therest r ain t a rm res t s are equipped with hy-drauli c damp ers fo r energy absorption.Downward forces from the middle andlower torso are intentionally ab sorbed bythe crewman's legs. The panel handholdsand the armres ts are designed to supplylateral support. The constant-force reelis equipped with a cable lock to restrainthe upward motion of the crewman duringthe lunar ianciing.

Figure 2. - Crewman-restraint systemDifficulties were encountered with in the LM.

the armrest hydraulic damper during com-ponent design. The magnesium damper as-sembly that was developed in a weight-reduction pro gra m did not operate properly; themagnesium did not provide adequate piston-chamber sur fac e hardn ess to protec t thesliding seal on the piston. Various cor re cti ve approaches, including coating techniques,wer e tried. Schedule difficulties and lack of succ ess result ed in changing the design toaluminum, and no fur th er difficulties were encountered.

The constant-force reel involved unique design req uir emen ts: the unit had to bemobile, lightweight, and lockable. Th re e negator spr ing s a r e used to rol l and unrol l acent ral (takeup) drum that d ri ve s one of two restraint cables operated by the reel.

Changes in mate ria l types occu rre d during hardw are development. Flammableplastic par ts were replaced with flame- resista nt Teflon o r metal parts. The synthetic-fib er r ope assembly was replaced with a Teflon-coated, braided steel cable. The Vel-cro. was replaced with a better, flame-resistant variety.

The adequacy of the LM restraint design is demonstrated by the flight progr am.

Crewmen indicated that it would be desi rab le to make the restr aint-r eel force variable,thereby allowing adjustment f o r the various mission phases; however, thi s change isnot critical.

OPTICALDOCKINGA I D S

Equipment was developed to enable the crewmen to m eet the Apollo Pro gr am re-quirement that the LM and the CM rendezvous and dock in earth and lunar orbits.

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Tracking and running lights a r e on both vehicles; however, the prim e docking aid is th ecrew optical alinement sight (COAS) system (fig. 3) and the respective COAS systemtargets f o r the LM (fig. 4) nd CM. The COAS system is versatile enough to supply

range, range-rate, and attitude informa-tion as navigation aids and as a supplementto docking information. The pr oc es s ofrendezvous and docking is a relativelysimple series of maneuvers w i t h the useof this system.

Figure 3. - The COAS docking aid.

Early in the Apollo Program planningstage, the need fo r a device in the CM toprovide range and range-rate data neededby the crewmen for the ter min al pa rt of therendezvous and docking phas es of th e mis -sion was evident. An ai rc ra ft gunsight

Figure 4. - The LM active docking target.

design concept was modified to meet thi s require ment. The resul t, the COAS syste m,w a s installed i n the CM as a docking aid. Basically , the COAS syst em is a collimatordevice consisting of a n intensity control, a reticle, a barrel-shaped housing, a com-biner assembly, a power receptacle, a clip-on filter, and a mount.

An active LM mode w a s req uir ed during rendezvous; however, a COAS systemw a s not requir ed fo r the LM because, in this mode, use of the LM docking po rt as theforward hatch w a s sufficient. Thus, the crew men can direc tly obser ve and contro l thedocking operation. No auxiliary devices are needed. In the pr oc es s of LM develop-ment, the docking por t w a s changed to become the overhead hatch, not dire ctl y visib leto the LM pilot. A device similar to the CM COAS system w a s obviously needed in theLM; thus, the C M COAS system was modified to be compatible with LM design require-ments. The device modified fo r the LM provid es range, range -rate , and attitude in-formation to the LM pilot during docking. A second function of the LM COAS sys te m isto provide the crewmen with a fixed line-of-sight attitu de-re feren ce image which, whenviewed through the combiner lens, ap pe ar s to be super impose d on a lighted targe t

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located in the CM right rendezvous window. Thi s ima ge is boresighted parallelto the X - a x e s of the L M and the CM (fig. 5).the exterior of the LM, adjacent to theoverhead hatch, for use with the CMCOAS system during the CM active dockingmanewer.

During development of the COAS sys-tem, an ini tia l problem was that of obtain-ing a 28-volt bulb which would survive therequired temperature-environment testing.The use of a heat-sink bulb satisfies therequirements.

After production of the COAS system,us e in the field revealed a combiner glass-frang ibilit y problem, which wa s solved byusing a toughened Chemcor glass in the

combiner. Also, the electrical-connectorma te ri al (diallylphthalate) use d in both thesight and the mount assemblies crackedand otherwise iaiied mechanically aftercontinued use . Tiiis material was replacedwith Lexan plastic, and no furth er failu resoccurred.

A simila r but larger target is iocated on

reticleimage

7 s . .

I -a

! -2

target

During the L M - 3 crew-compartmentf i t and function (CCFF) test, an err at i c in-tensity control of the flight COAS systemwas discovered. Failur e analysis indicated

Figure 5. - Predocking condition of theCOAS and target.

that a circuit t ransistor caused the difficulty. The failu re was not re st ri ct ed to a singleunit. The faulty tra ns is to r w as not compatible with the design of the intensity control;therefore, all COAS system units that we re equipped with th i s t ransistor in th e intensitycontrol were returned to the manufacturer for rework. The defective tr an si st or s werereplaced with a more s atisf actor y type, and err ati c intensity controls ceas ed to be aproblem.

To establish the approp riate range of reticle brightness, the crewmen visited themanufacturer to view a fifth-magnitude star under lab ora tory conditions. An in te rnalneutral-density filter wa s added to the COAS sys tem to reduc e the bri ght nes s of theretic le. However, se ve re difficulty w a s encountered duri ng the Apollo 9 docking phase;high ambien t lighting conditions cau sed a washout of the retic le image on the combiner

glass . Thi s problem subsequently resul ted i n removal of the internal neutral-densityfilter f rom the COAS system, allowing t h e original high- ret icl e-b rig htn ess capability ofthe COAS sy st em to be used. The ability to sight on a fifth-magnitude star was retainedthrough addition of an external clip-on filter. The Apollo 9 docking difficulty also re-sulted in the decision that the CM would be the ac tive docking vehicle. SubsequentApollo mis sions w ere flown without docking difficulties. U s e of the COAS sy st em inboth the LM and the CM has been nominal, and no further design changes are consid-ered necessary or desirable.

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WATER-MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The metering water dispenser (MWD) and the water dis penser /fire extinguisher(WD/FE) ar e both pistol-shaped d evices that di spense potable wate r fo r drinking, foodreconstitution, and fi re extinguishing.

The initial dispenser was a modified Gemini wat er meteri ng device (fig. 6) .

metered 1 5 mill i l i ters (+ 10 percen t) of w ater fo r each trigg er cycle and recorded theModification made the device compatible with t he Apollo SC requirements.

number of trigger cycles on an inte gra l mechanical counter. The MWD (initial config-

The device

urati on) was cycled-20 000 time s more thannece ssa ry to m eet Apollo qualification re-quirements. Because an anomaly occu rre dduring the Apollo 7 mission (SC- lOl) , aseries of tests w a s performed to determinethe compatib ility of the MWD O- ri ng s withthe excessi ve chlorine content of t he CMpotable water. Thes e tests, in which chlo-

rin e concentrations of 2 to 5000 ppm anddurat ions up to 1 6 days wer e involved, re -vealed that a change was requi red in thematerial of the forward plunger o r meter-ing O-ring of the MWD. This O-ring waschanged from neop rene to ethylene propyl-ene, resulting in the 05 configurationMWD, which wa s used succ ess ful ly on theApollo 8 and 9 missions (SC-103 andSC-104) .

The Apollo MWD was intended for

use in both the C M and th e LM. How-ever, before the first manned Apollo flight,a requirement w a s included that thewater dispenser used in the L M shouldhave the additional capability of dispensinga continuous cone-shaped sp ra y of waterfo r firefighting purposes. To meet thi srequirement, an ear ly Gemini continuous-flow wat er dispen ser was redesigned. Themodified WD/FE unit w a s selected fo r LMus e on the Apollo 9 (LM-3) and subsequentmissio ns, and fo r CM use on the Apollo 10

(SC-106) and subsequent missio ns. Opera-tion of the water /gas separa tion equipmentwas simplified significantly by using t hemodified WD/FE i n the CM (fig. 7). TheWD/FE a l s o provided the cre wmen withdrinking water that was relatively free ofex ce ss hydrogen.

Figure 6. - Gemini water meteri ngdevice.

Figure 7. - Apollo water/gas separationequipment.

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A bacterial filter ha s been designed that can be ma ted to the WD/FE by means ofthe existing WD/FE wat er- inle t quick-disconnect fitting. This filter ensure s that thedrinking and food-reconstitution water dispensed by the unit is fr ee of bacte ria . Awater-gas sepa rato r can be attached to the WD/FE outlet (in the CM ) to ensu re that thedrinking and food-reconstitution water dispensed by the unit is fr ee of e ntrained gas.

WASTE-MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

To rem ove and dispose of c rewma n waste matte r, var ious waste-managementsys te ms we re developed fo r the Apollo Progra m. Separate systems, for us e in both theCM and the LM, we re designed fo r management of fe ce s and urine. The C M waste-management system is shown in figu re 8. The LM waste-management s yst em is simi-la r to th at of the CM.

Fecalcollection

Figure 8. - The CM waste-management s ystem.

Fecal-Collect ion SystemsThe Apollo fecal-collection sys tem cons ists of the fecal-collection as sem bly (FCA)

on the CM and the defecation-col lection device (DCD) on the LM. The design and ope ra-tion of th e DCD are si mi la r to the design and operation of the FCA. The F C A providesa method of collecting, inactivating, and stowing fe ce s for 14-day mis sions with a mini-mum of cre wma n effor t. The F C A consists of an inner fecal/emesis bag, a germicidepouch, an outer fec al bag, and a wrapper. A waste compartment with an overboardvent syste m fo r odor removal is provided in the SC cabin fo r stowage of the used fecal

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bags. The outer fecal bag and the inner fec al/ emes is bag are constructed of a heat-sealed laminate film. The germici de is added to the fece s to prevent o r reduce ga s andbacteria.

To use the FCA, the crewman attaches the outer fecal bag properly and proceedswith fecal elimination. Upon completion of the action and subsequ ent sa ni ta ry cleans ing,the tissues and refuse are placed in the inner fecal/emesis bag. The crewman then re -moves the germic ide pouch, cut s the outer protec tive seal, and places it in the innerbag. Finally, al l i tems are placed into the out er fecal bag, the bag is sealed, the ger-micide pouch is ruptured by hand pr ess ur e, the bag is kneaded, and the contents arestowed in th e waste-stowage compartment.

Although the Apollo fecal-collection system is the same as that used in the GeminiPr og ra m, many new concepts and design s were investigated and tested. Variou s typesof ca ni st er s, with and without air blowers, we re developed with some su cce ss. In allcases, the pri mar y problem has been the separation, in a weightless environment, ofthe fecal wastes fr om the crewmen. Nothing ha s proved more effective than the curr en tsystem, which has proved adequate fo r all flights, although the crewmen have expr esse ddislike fo r it. Other methods are being investigated, and exper iments will be conductedon future missions. A better method of collecting fecal wastes must be found fo r futur eflights, partic ularl y those of longer duration. Many promisi ng design s are being inves-tigated and may be incorporated into future sp ace vehicles.

Waste-Stowage Vent System

The waste-stowage vent system isshown in figure 9. If any fecal bags wereto ruptur e during the mission, the waste-stowage compartment could emit fecalodors. Therefore, a bladder and an over-board vent s yste m have been placed in thecompartment. The syst em contains a215-micron filter, a check-relief valve,and a vent valve to the urine overboard-dump line .

During boost, the waste- stowage ventvalve is opened to purge nitrogen wastesfrom the crew compartment. A checkvalve vents into the crew compartment at adifferential pre ss ur e of 2 psi. After thevent valve h a s been closed during a mis-sion, the check valve vents if ruptured fe-cal bags create a pre ssur e of 2 psi. Then,the crewmen, aler ted by the fecal odor,can position the waste-stowage valve tovent the odor overboard at periodicintervals.

Waste-stowage

compartmentwith b l w r

Fecal-stowagevent valve ':-

Launch - Stowage compartment overpressurevented in to crew compartment

Mission - Stowage compartment odors ventedoverboard

Entry - Crew compartment overpressurevented Into stowage compartment

Figure 9. - Waste- stowage vent sys tem.

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Urine Systems

The Apollo urine systems consist of the urine-collection/transfer assembly(UCTA), the LM waste-management sys tem, and the ur ine- tr ansfer syst em (UTS).

Uri3e-collpction/transfer assembly. - The UCTA is a flexible container with a950-cubic-centimeter capacity that is worn by the cr ewman while he is i n his PGA. TheUCTA, which is held in place by means of a n adjustable el ast ic harne ss, con sis ts of adetachable roll-on cuff, a flexible rubber-coated fabr ic bag, and a quick-disconnect fit-ting f or attachment to the P G A transfer-hose assembly.

The crewman can void the UCTA bag during urinat ion o r later. The voiding pro-cedure is to d ra in the uri ne i nto stowage bags (LM) o r overboard (CM) through the SCuri ne hose. The dra in operation can be accomplished while the crewman is in either apressurized o r an unpressurized suit.

The UCTA is a design outgrowth of the Gemini in-sui t urine-col lec tion device.However, the Gemini device was intended as a one-time-use ite m for collection andsto rag e of ur in e during the launch phase, where as the Apollo requirement w a s for anin- suit urine-collection and tempor ary- stor age device that could be donned and doffedin flight. The UCTA is designed for us e during extravehicular activity (EVA) on thelunar surface. in additioii, it is nzzessary *-at_ the UCTA have drainage capabilitywhile worn inside the PGA, zffter lmnch, 8r fnr contingency-mode suit requirements.The se re qui rement s w er e met by redesigning and modifying the Gemini device with thefollowing:

1. A quick-disconnect roll-on cuff and flange at the UCTA/crewman int erf ace

2. A dr ai n hose and quick-disconnect fitting for attachment to the P G A drainfitting

3. An adjustable ela sti c har ne ss to maintain the device in prope r position on thecrewman

4. A relief valve to prevent discomfort and physical damage to the cre wman asthe result of exposure to excessive pres su re differentials during urine- transf eroperations

In addition, the UCTA is shaped to fit into the space allocated within the PGA, withouthampering crewman mobility. The UCTA is qualified as a component of the Apolloextra vehicu lar mobility unit.

Although the per form anc e of the UCTA has been sat isf act ory, minor proble ms de-veloped with the cuffs, but the se deficiencies were corrected . Each crewman is pro-vided with a va riety of cuff si ze s, and he may apply a coating of powder t o the cuffs toprevent sticking. The UCTA ha s satis fied the Apollo Pr ogr am req uireme nt to collectthe ur ine voided by a crewman within a pressure suit.

Lunar module waste-management system. - To prevent contamination on the lunarsurface, the LM waste- management system uses a pressure-operated urine-collectionsystem . In accor dance with the us e of thi s system, a prime urine-transfer design

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constraint fo r the LM was that the crewme n would b e prote cted at al l t imes f r om pres-su re differentials. The system us es a di re ct dump, fr om the UCTA inside the suit,through the su it wal l by way of a quick-disconnect fitting, and then to a pressure-sensiti ve shutoff valve mounted on the +Z27 bulkhead behind the comman der. The ur in ethen passes through another s hor t section of l ine to a 7-lit er collapsible bag. The driv-ing for ce f o r tran sfe r of fluid is the inside-outside p re ss ur e differential of the PGA.Normally, the pre ss ur e differential would be pre sent in a cabin-evacuated condition.However, it can be obtained by pressurizing the PGA from the LM ECS in a cabin-pressurized condition.

Difficulties with valve chatte r in the pr es su re - sen siti ve pa rt of the shutoff valvewere encountered from the outset. This par t of the valve was designed to prevent thecrewmen fro m experiencing a vacuum or a reduce d pr es su re on the insi de of the UCTA.Although the valve action was much improved, hy st er es is w a s never fully eliminatedwith the use of the pr es su re -s en si ti ve pa r t of the shutoff valve. An oxygen-bleed valvewas added to the UCTA to pr ovide a pressur e-prot ection function, and the pr ess ur e-sensit ive pa rt was removed. The shutoff valve now functions prope rly.

The one-bag urine-collection sys tem was rep laced on the Apollo 12 mission

(LM-6) by six smal l 900-cubic-centimeter uri ne bag s designed to connect direct ly to aPG A by means of a quick-disconnect fitting. Although the tr an sf er valve, the la rg e7-l ite r bag, and the dra in lin es were provided on the Apollo 11 mission (LM-5), thecrewmen chose to use smal l urine-collection assembli es. The change to the us e of sixsma ll bags was made to achieve lower weight and higher reliab ility .

Although the s mal l bag s have been adequate fo r the initial LM missions, th is de-sign will not be adequate fo r 2- to 3-day lunar mi ssions. Accordingly, the uri ne-collection sy ste m to be used on the Apollo 1 5 mission (LM-10) and on subsequentmissions w i l l incorporate a la rg e vented tank in the descent st age, into which bothuri ne and portable life support syst em (PLSS) condensate will be transf err ed. The us eof a tank rath er than many sma ll bags provides a weight saving for extended missions.The LM urine-collection syst em has performed satisfactorily, with all bag sizes andquantities.

Urine-transfer system. - Stowed in the CM, the UTS recei ves, tem pora ri lysto re s, and tr ans fe rs to the CM waste-management s yste m all ur in e voided by an un-sui ted crewman. The UTS co ns is ts of a roll-on-cuff receiver, a valve, a flexiblerubber-coated fab ric bag, and a quick-disconnect outlet for attachment to the CM waste-management sys tem by way of the uri ne- tra nsf er hose. Urine fr om a crewman can betransferred to the CM waste-management syst em di rectly during urination or af tertempor ary st or ag e in the UTS. Th re e of the se sys te ms (one pe r crewma n) and onesp ar e UTS receiv er assembl y are stowed on each CM; thi s procedu re was used on theApollo 7 spacecraft (SC-101) and is being followed on al l Apollo missions.

The UTS w a s designed to sa ti sfy the Apollo CM req uir emen t for col lection anddi spo sal of ur in e voided by an unsuited crewman. Basically, thi s syst em is a redesignof the Gemini roll-on-cuff-receiver ur in e-t ra ns fe r assembly . Two differences betweenthe Gemini and Apollo systems are the addition of an impr oved and simp lified line valveand the addition of a re ce ive r pr ess ur e- re li ef valve. Operation of the Apollo syst em isidentical t o operat ion of the Gemini syst em, except that the Apollo sys te m provi des acapability fo r the CM crewmen to tr an sfe r uri ne direct ly to the CM waste-managementsyst em during urination.

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The performan ce of th e UTS has be m satisfactory during all Apollo mi ssions .Minor problems have developed with the UTS cdfs, h t hese deficiencies have beencorre cted. Each crewman is provided with a variety of cuff sizes, and he may apply acoating of powder to the cuffs to prevent sticking. The UTS w a s qualified by a delta-qualification test program. (The syste m was subjected to a 504-cycle life test and tothe expected Apollo mission vibration and shock levels. ) This unit was adopted forApollo Pr ogr am use as a "stopgap" method when the original system design w a s foundto be unacceptable. The most desira ble method for urine collection would be to us e amilitary-aircraft-type pilot-relief tube. Such a syste m ha s been designed and is beingtested for compatibility with the crewmen and the CM.

L u n a r M o d u l e P o r ta b le L ifeSupport SystemCondensate-Cot tect ion Systems

The LM PLSS condensate-collection sys tems consis t of the feedwater-collectionbag and the condensate-transfer assembly.

Portable life support s yst em feedwater-collection bag. - The PLSS feedwater-collection bag is use d by the cr ewmen in the LM to deter mine the amount of feedwaterremzit'ing in the PLSS after EVA. This procedure perm it s measurem ent of the crew-x m ' s mehbolic rate during EVA.

The PLSS feedwater-collec tion device is const ructed of a n inner and an outer bag.The inner bag is made of rubberized cloth, and the oute r bag, which is used as a re-straining cover, is made of Nomex. A vehicle recha rge connector, which is attachedto the open end of the bags, ma te s dir ect ly with the PLSS to rec eive the PLSS feed-water. A water-fill connector is attached by a pushbutton indicator lanyard to the ve-hicle rec har ge connector to vent the bag when it is not i n use.

To dete rmine the amount of wate r consumption, the PLSS feedwater- collectionbag is weighed after termination of lunar- sur fac e operation. The scale used to accom-plish the weighing is a standa rd spring-loaded sca le that can be adjusted to obtain tareweights of obje cts on the lunar surf ace. When not in use , th is scale is stored in asize d pocket on the re st ra in t lay er of the bag. The bag and scale were used success-fully on the Apollo 11 mission.

Portab le life support system condensate-transfer assembly. - During the PLSS-rec har ge oper ation in the LM on the lunar surface, vehicle st ora ge provisions fo r han-dling condensate drained from the backpack were required. The condensate- tr an sf erassembly was designed to fulfill this requirement. A simple design employed a line, aflexible container with a relief valve, and an enclosing and supporting box. The reliefvalve was ca librat ed to open between 2.2 and 2.8 psid and to reseat with less than1. 5 psid. Thus, gas is vented selectively and the sys tem volume is minimized. Thesystem w a s used first on the Apollo 1 2 mission (LM-6) and will be replaced by a moreinte gra ted waste-management sy st em on the Apollo 15 mission (LM-10) and subsequentmissions. No changes to the c urrent system a re deemed necessary.

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CREWACCESSORIES

The Apollo Program h a s gener ated many ite ms unique to c rewma n habitability andemergency requirements. These acc ess orie s were provided for aid in the performanceof designated tasks, for personal hygiene, and fo r spe cial mission requireme nts o r nec-es sa ry crewman/SC inte rfa ces . The following it em s are discus sed in this section:

1. The crewman toolset

2. The L M window shades and gl ar e s hields

3. The mir r ors

4. The C M oxygen umbilicals

5. The communications umbilical

6 . The decontamination item s

7. The tissue dispensers

8. The utility- towel assembly

9. The penlights

10. The sc i s so r s

11. The eye patch

12. The LM ceilings and cover s

1 3. The lunar- equipment conveyor

CrewmanToolset

Multipurpose handtools o r attachments f or u se during mission acti vities are re-quired fo r each Apollo crewman. The se tools and attac hments are designed fo r us ewith a PGA glove to make inflight re pa ir s o r adjustment s. An additional tool is neededfo r contingency EVA in gr es s through the C M ide hatch. The crewman tocl sel was de-signed to meet these requirements. The toolset cons ists of seven tools, three jack-screws, a tether, and a pouch. Each tool ha s a tether ring and is designated with aletter of the alphabet. After the Apollo 8 mission, the crewmen reque sted additionaltoo ls for dis assem bling the SC probe and drogue fo r contingency ope rations. Accord-ingly, five additional ite ms were added to the toolse t. Components of the tool set areshown in fig ure 10. Tolerance-control difficulties we re experienced in the ea rly stagesof tool production. Pa rt ic ul ar difficulty w a s experi enced with the B tool, an emer gencywrench that is used fo r side-hatch ingress. Because the toler anc es of the tool re cep -tacle and the side-hatch receptacle are quite close, stringe nt dimensional inspe ctionswe re re quired for prop er mating.

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Figure 10. - Crewman toolset components.

Lu na r Module Window Shades and Gla re Sh ie lds

The forward and overhead L M window shades a r e unique. Special surfac e mate-rials are required for specific thermal-emissivity characteristics. Requirements fo rmaterials are met by th e us e of a heat-tempered Aclar film that could be formed into aroll. The finished shade can be unrolled, relea sed, and rolle d up again. Velcr o is

used to retain tne shade in the unr oll ed position. A vacuum deposition of Inconel on theoutside surface provided the nece ssar y thermal characteristics. Difficulties with ligh tleakage were encountered early in the development cycles . Inconel is susceptible toscratching, and a light streak is produced at each scrat ch. To minimize scratchi ng,the decision w a s made to change the shade material.

During the Apollo 9 mission (LM-3), the LM crewmen reported that the integralwindow heaters caused shade temperatures higher than the forming temperature; thus,the cur l in the shades was lost. The situation was co rr ec ted by changing the flight pro-ce du re s fo r us e of window heaters.

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During the Apollo 11 missi on (LM-5), the crew men repor ted that th e amount oflight which leaked through the shad es into the cabin int erf ere d with sleeping. Thi s con-dition will be corr ected fo r the Apollo 12 mission (LM-6). A la ye r of car boxy-nitrosorubb er (CNR) cloth will be sewn insi de the sh ades, and light leakage wi l l be reduced toan acceptable level.

Two lateral slats, o r gla re shields, were designed to protect the forward instru-ment panels from external light impingement. The slats were constructed fr om layer sof Beta mate ria l coa ted with CNR. The slat design ha s been used successfully, withoutmodification, on all Apollo missions.

Mirrors

Various mirrors are provided throughout the CM to assist crewmen in observingcerta in crewman activities and events. Originally, the mi r ro r s were designed to aidthe crewman in adjusting hi s couch re str ain t, in observing the MDC when the cr ewmanis in the lower equipment bay, and in verifying parach ute deployment during the ent ryphase of the mission. The CM was originally provided with five mi r r o r s that were des-ignated as external and inte rnal viewing mi rr or s. However, after sev era l flights, onlyth ree mi r ro r s were deemed necessary. Each mi rr or assembly consists of a mountingbase, a two-segmented a rm , and a mirror. The mir ror is 4.25 by 3.5 inches and isconstructed of flat steel with an aluminized surface.

The mirror-qualification prog ram disclosed some problems. Sometimes, themi rr or did not pos ses s the desired reflectivity (at least 75-percent reflectivity), and atother times, the mi rr or would not pass the corrosive-contaminan ts, oxygen-and-humidity tes ts. However, after sev era l modifications, the aluminized- sur fac e steelm i r r o r proved highly eff ective and ha s been flown on al l Apollo missions .

A single metal mi rr or assembly w a s used in the LM. This mi rr or assembly dif-fered f rom th e CM design in that the m ir ro r was nickel-plated aluminum with the re -flecting surface form ed by aluminum vacuum deposit. During the polishing operatio n,difficulties ar os e because the blank mate rial warped. The lightweight design of themi r ro r caused the warping, which w a s eliminated by changing the polishing technique.

Command Module Oxygen Umbilicals

Thr ee oxygen umbilical ass emb lie s are used in the CM to conduct press uri zedoxygen to PGA-suited crewmen (fig. 11). The ECS prov ides the oxygen, and exhaledor odor-causing products are ret urn ed to the ECS. The umbi lical s may be use d to di-re ct oxygen to localized cabin a r e a s when the PG A suits are doffed.

The umbilicals (two separ ate hoses) have (1) ndividual interfac es at the PG A in -let, (2) outlet connectors, and (3 ) a common DD-type connecto r at th e wal l panel. Thehoses are constructed of silicone rubber with convoluted w i r e reinforcement coils.Each hose has a smooth bor e of 1 .2 5 inches (inside diameter). The left, center, andright assemblies measure 72, 72, and 119 inch es in length, respectively . Two l aye r sof Teflon- coated Beta cloth provide fire- retardation protection fo r each hose assembly.Straps are used at 12-inch int erva ls to fast en the two hos es of each assembly together.

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0, hose is

Hose lengthsLeft - 12 in.Center - 12 in.

uight - 119 in.

Figure 11. - Oxygen-iiose assemb!y and accessories.

The umbilicals - hich are flexible, strong, nonrestrictive, nonflammablehoses - rovide sufficient oxygen at a prop er t emper atur e and within a proper pres-su re range. Silicone mater ial is very flexible at low- and medium-range temperatures;however, the material is highly flamm abl e in the pr esence of p ur e oxygen. Two othermat eri als , Viton and Fluor el, have been developed to reduce the fire hazar d, but both

re st ri ct the hose flexibility; furt her development to inc rea se the flexibility of mat eri als 'at low temperat ures is in progr ess. Fluorel w a s used in hose ass emb li es on SC-103(Apollo 8) and LM-3 (Apollo 9).

Cur ren t experimentation involves use of a different convolute construction tha tincludes a Teflon-impregnated outer cover of B e t a cloth. Pre sen t investigations maylead to a mo re flexible, stron ger hose that has bette r fire-re tarda tion qualities.

The hose assem bly (including hard ware) w i l l withstand a 200-pound compressionload and a 250-pound tension forc e. These loads requ ired Nomex reinfor cemen t sle eve sin the hoses and tie wires at the cuff-to-hardware flange inte rface ; also, a DD-type con-nector flange has been reinforced. The hose assembly is illustrated in figure 11.

The oxygen-hose interconnect and the screen cap constitute the hardware inter-faces. The interconnect (a double assembly) h a s two purposes: to prevent fr es h oxygenfr om ret urnin g to the ECS by way of the umbilical while the s uit- circu it re tu rn valve isopen, and to seal both nozzles during cabin depressurization, when the hose assemblyis not in use . The oxygen-hose sc re en cap s (fig. 11) provide a f i l ter for the return-hose nozzle. This assemb ly can be used as a vacuum fo r collection of any sma ll cabindebri s. The interconnect is made of aluminum, and the ca ps ar e made of Flu ore l witha Monel sc reen of 30 mesh.

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Crewm an Comm unicat ions Umbil ica l

The crewman comm unications umbilical (CCU) co ns is ts of a cable and a control-head assembly, which tr an sm it s voice communications, bioinstrumentat ion signals, andthe warning-system al ar m signals to and fro m the suited o r unsuited crewmen. Whenthe crewman is in the PGA, the CCU assembly interfaces with the PGA suit connectors.When the crewman is out of the PGA, the CCU asse mbly int erf ace s with th e constant-wear garment (CWG) electrical adapter. The umbilical assemb ly lengths are 74, 74,and 121 inches fo r left, cente r, and right positions, respectively. A 121-inch sp ar eassembly is provided in the CM. The ele ctr ica l umbilical assembly is shown infigure 12.

Biomedical preamplifiers

Figure 12. - Elect rical umbilical assembly.

Originally, both the CCU cab le and the c ontr ol head we re fabricated from siliconematerial with Teflon-coated Beta-cloth sle eve s fo r fire retardation. Fluorel replacedthe silicone-extruded outer cover of the CCU. The desig n was changed to prov ide amore flexible, flame -resi stant cable. Because the head is of molded construct ion , fab-ricat ion of the control head is res tri cte d to silicone.

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Control heads are cons tructed of 21 wires (22 gage), encqxmlated in molded sili-cone fo r flexibility and wear. Microdot (61-pin) and Airlock housing connectors inter-face with the PGA and the CCU. The control head has an ele ctr ica l rocker-type switchthat may be used to select either interna l o r external vehicle transmis sion. The switchhoiising is made nf aliiminum. The cont rol head h a s a Teflon-coated Beta-cloth sleeve.

The requ irement fo r the use of twisted wires in construction of the CCU controlhead and cable is very import ant fo r the following reason. When straight wire s areused, fractures result from repeated flexing. A minimum of two twists pe r inch ofwire is required. The CCU cable is constructed of twisted wire, but the outer cover ismade of an extruded Fluo rel material. The connecto rs are potted i n silicone and havea Fluorel outer covering.

In addition to w i r e breakage , bent pins and separat ion of ma te ri al s at the metalconnecto rs have been CCU design problems . The connector installation at the CM panelis unique. An Airlock connector housing (a lock-lock device) is combined with a Micro-dot female cwne cto r ins ert to for m the connector. Basic requirements stipulated that

no elect ric al power be on exposed pins, and because no female-type connector withproper bulkhead attachment w a s available to meet Apollo Pro gr am requ irements, thisunique connector was developed. However, extr eme ca re w a s nece ssa ry to avoid pindamage. Tine Microcbt zmuiectsr wit!^ the compatible Airlock housing is designed topreclude pins touching the block in the mating half pr io r to keying. However, not allconnectors are in tolerance , nor is the pin height always co rr ec t. Separation of maie-rial at the metal connectors w a s caused by improper bonding techniques and by tensions tr es s es fabricated into the material. These difficulties were avoided either by adjust-ing the tolerance specifications or by reworking defective connectors.

Decontamination I tems

Decontamination items were provided for the Apollo 11 mission to prevent thecontamination of SC har dware by lunar dust.sequent Apollo missions.

Vacuum-brush assembly. - Thevacuum-brush assembly (fig. 13) is amolded housing with attached bristles.When connected with the vacuum cleaninghose, the vacuum brus h removes lunar-surface contaminants from lunar equip-ment. Therefore, the bri st les must bestrong and flexible and must r emain fi rmlyattached to the housing during use. Afilter is provided to prevent entry of l ar gepart icle s into the L M ECS, which providesthe vacuum.

Brist le type and arrangement areprim e fact ors in the vacuum-brush de-sign. Teflon br ist les were arranged in a

These items will be provided fo r all sub-

/J

eVacuum cleaning hose

Figure 13. - Vacuum-brush assembly.

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concentric rin g around a Fluorel elastom er housing in a manner to sati sfy flammabilityrequirements. A 20-mesh filter screen is positioned into the molded housing and heldin place by epoxy cement. A metal ring containing the Teflon fibers is attached to aTeflon ring, and the integrated rin g section is inserted into the brush housing. Carew a s taken to avoid sharp edges o r b u r r s that might damage delicate equipment. Thevacuum brush int er fac es direc tly with the vacuum cleaning hose, which is attached to

the LM ECS. The vacuum brus h per for med s atis fac tor ily during the Apollo 11 mission,removing loose pa rticles and contaminants f ro m equipment to be tran sfe rre d fro m theLM to the CM.

Decontamination containers. - Pr io r to the Apollo 11 launch, the requir ement toclean and bag all equipment exposed to the lunar surface w a s established. This requir ement w a s to prevent any contamination of the e ar th environment by lunar mat er ial .Beta-cloth bags were provided to cover each item exposed to the lunar environment(fig. 14). The vacuum hose and brus h we reused to remove any loose dust o r lunarparticl es from the i tem s to be bagged.

T iss ue Dispensers

Seven tissue-dispenser assemb liesare provided in the CM , one of which istra nsf err ed to the LM. The assemb ly in-cludes a woven Teflon-coated Beta-cloth-layup bag that is 5 by 3 by 8 inches. Thisbag contains 55 nonlinting ti ssues. (Eachtissue is 7-1/2 by 17-1/2 inches.) Thetissue dispenser, which w a s designedduring the Gemini Program, w a s fabricatedfrom nylon and had an exposed opening inthe top for the removal of the ti ssues. Topreclude th e possibility of fire, the Apollomodel w a s changed to a Teflon-coatedBeta-cloth-layup bag that had a cover overthe opening. The tissue dispenser is avery functional item and will continue to beused in future missions.

Closeup camera cassettedecontamination c ontainer

Lunar sample retu rn (rockbox)decontamination container (large)

\Lunar sample ret urndecontamination c ontainer

Figure 14. - Decontaminationcontainers.

Utility-Towel Assembly

The utility- towel assembly provides the crewmen with absorbent hand towels.The assembly requirements a r e to provide absorbent, lint-free towels in a fireproofcontainer. There are th re e color-coded utility-towel ass emb lies in the CM, one f o reach crewman. Each assem bly contains seven towels. The LM has one assembly con-taining tw o towels. The towel container is composed of two lay ers of Teflon-coatedBeta cloth and holds 12-inch-square towels made of rayon polynosic te r ry cloth.

The towel assembly, which was first used on the Gemini missions, dispensed12- by 24-inch towels for the first two Gemini flights. On the remaining Gemini

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missi ons and on all Apollo flig hts, 12-i nch- squa re towels wer e used. On the Apolloinissions, the containers were made of Teflon-coated Beta cloth instead of plainBeta cloth, thereby incr easin g abra sion resis tanc e. The utility-towe! assemb lies,in both the CM and the LM, have perf orm ed as designed and have met al l crewmanrequirements.

P en l i g h t s

Five penlights a r e stowed in the CM, one on each P G A and two within an SC cabincontainer. The penlights are used (1) fo r illumination of poorly lighted areas of the CMand LM, (2) fo r normal op erat ions and maintenance work, and (3) fo r a so ur ce of lightin the event of a cabin lighting fail ure. The penlight provides a pocket-sized light witha minimum continuous operating life of 7 hours and a minimum illumination of 8 ft-c.

The penlight w a s originally designed fo r use during the Gemini Pro gra m. Thefirst type of penlight, flown on the Gemini VI to XI1 missions, consi sted of two ba tt er ie sand a bulb completely encapsulated in Butyrate. The penlight w a s changed to an all-

brass model with a Lexan lens to r educe the chance of fire and to provide interchange-able components fo r the Apollo Pro gra m. The penlight has proved to be an extre melyve rs at il e high-performance ite m of personal equipment that also provides a light sourcefor teievision iIzaiisfiiisaiozs sriginating in th e SC.

Scissors

Three heavy-duty sc is so rs are car rie d on each mission. Sci sso rs stowed in theP G A are use d by crewmen to pe rf or m va ri ed tasks: the opening of food packages, theopening of pil lst rip s, and othe r purposes, including some that contribut e to crew su r-vival (such as cutting the couch re str ain t har ness, if neces sary ). Except for the modi-

fied ser ra te d edge, the sc is so rs have undergone litt le change since they were first usedduring Project Mercury. The serr ate d edge allows the crewmen to cut heavier andla rg er items. The sc is so rs have performed satisfactor ily on Apollo missions.

Eye Patch

The eye patch serves two purposes: It enables a crewman to maintain night visionin one eye during earth and lunar orb its, and it is used by a crewman to cover one eyewhile sighting through the navigation eyepiece. The eye patches are made of room-temperature-vulcanizing rubber. One eye patch is stowed in t he C M and another is keptin the LM. The eye patch ha s not been changed since it wa s first used on the Apollo 9mission.

Lunar Mo dule Ce i lings and Covers

A spec ial nonflammable lightweight mat erial w a s developed for us e as fair ingsand protective cover s to prote ct cri tic al components within the LM fr om inadvertentdamage caused by crewman movements. A protective ceiling w a s required for the elec-trical cabling on the undersi de of the upper p re ss ur e bulkhead; Tre var no F-130, a

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moldable silicone fibe r gl as s laminated with an epoxy res in , was used successf ully fo rthis purpose. The Trev arno F-130 has perfor med well, with two exceptions: Minorconfiguration changes have been made to affo rd a better f i t , and, occasionally, acracked fairin g (caused by installat ion operations) in the cabin ha s needed replacem ent.N o further changes in ma ter ial s o r configuration are planned.

Apo llo Luna r- E qu ip m en t C onve y orLate in 1967, the MSC Lunar Operations Panel inves tigated a proposed method

f or tran sfer ring carg o in and out of the LM as cen t stage. This method involved a singleline t o be used by a crewman standing on the LM ladder and proved to be unacceptable.

An endless belt concept was proposed. A rough mockup was constructed, themethod looked promising, and in-house development studi es were star ted to providequalified hard ware fo r flight use. Such an in-house project afforded close cooperationbetween use r and designer. In addition, changes result ing fro m flight experience couldbe made quickly. This arrangemen t worked successfully with the Gemini XI1 waisttethers. The conveyor could conceivably have two us es: first, as a conveyor device;second, as a contingency life line f or EVA return to the CM, following a hard-dockfailure.

Recommendations were made, following mission-profile studies, that the LM beprovided w i t h a ki t containing a lunar-equipment conveyor and two pa ir s of waist tethers.Crewman evaluations indicated the desire (1) for the tether ki ts to be tailored for spe-cific missions and (2) or sepa rate lifelines, rather than a two-purpose conveyor. Twokit configurations we re reco mmen ded the first, designed for the Apollo 9 and 10(LM-3 and LM-4) missions (a lifeline equipped with two sets of waist tethers); the sec-ond, a 30-foot lunar-equipment conveyor, a lightweight lifeline , and two pairs of waisttethers. Both kits were used successfully on the Apollo 9 o Apollo 11 missions (LM-3,LM-4, and LM-5). During the Apollo 12 (LM-6) training, the crewmen requested thatthe lunar-equipment conveyor be changed to a sing le-s trap design. This change wasused fo r the Apollo 12 (LM-6) and subsequent missions and w i l l be used until such timethat other changes are authorized.

Since the inception of the Apollo Prog ram, many minor changes have occurr ed tohard ware designs. These changes and the overall success of the Apollo mi ss ions justifythe decision to conduct the p ro gra m in-house.

MEDICAL COMPONENTS AND ACCESSORIES

As space flights are completed, the medication criteria fo r crewmen change; ex-peri ence tra ns for ms speculation into known requiremen ts. Flight and training experi-ences of the crewmen dictate medical component and acces so ry needs.

The medical-accessories kit (MAK), stowed in each SC, provides the crewmenwith sufficient medical supplies and medications to treat any fore seeable a ilment that

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might occu r &iring their stay i n the CM o r on the lunar sur face . The MAK cons ists ofa Teflon-coated Beta- cloth-layup con tainer with the equipment requi red to p e l - f ~ r i ~ i ev-eral functions.

1. To monitor, a s required, crewman oral temp erat ure and the pH level of theSC potable water (within the pH range of 1 to 11)

2 . To provide spa re biomedical harn ess es, electrod e paste, Stomaseal wash ers ,and mi cropore disks for inflight bioinstrumentation- sensor replacement or rep air

3. To provide s pa re UCTA roll-on cuffs for periodic r eplacement of cuffs duringthe mission

4. To provide both injectable and ingestible medicants for trea tmen t of a varietyof physiological ai lme nt s that might affect the health of the crewmen during a mission

5. To provide bandages, eye drops, skin cr eam , and antibiotic ointment fo rcrewman us e

The LM medical kit is a double-layer Teflon-coated Beta-cloth package containingcomponents required to perform the following functions.

1. To provide crewm en with th e proper ingestible rrredications to treat any of avar iet y of physiological ailme nts that might affect the health of the cre wmen while theyare in the L M o r on the lunar surface

2. To provide bandages and eye drops f o r crewman use

Basically, the medical kits a re a continuation of the Mercury and Gemini design.However, the Apollo ki ts contain incr eas ed quantities and type s of medications. Thebasic kit material w a s changed fro m nylon t o a Beta-cloth layup to reduce o r eliminatefire hazards. Various ailments suffered by the crew men during th e Apollo 7 o Apollo 11mis sion s have necessi tated 1 3 changes. One change involved stowing the kits in l ar ge rvolumes. The medical kits are considered adequate to cope with any medical problemsthat the crewmen might encounter.

BIO1NSTRUMENTATI ONSYSTEM

The bioinstrumentation system is used by ground-based medical personnel tomonitor the health of the crewmen. A t MSC, development of the bioinst rumentat ionsystem and related hardware is pri mari ly mission oriented in or de r that the followingfunctions may be performed .

1. Operational inflight safety monitoring

2. Inflight medical experimen ts

3. Ground-based operat ions safety monitoring

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The Apollo operational system is compo sed of one electro card iogr aph (ECG), one im-pedance pneumograph (Z PN), one dc/dc converte r, one sternal- electrode harness, andone axillary- electrode harn ess.

The ECG signal conditioner and the asso ciate d ele ctro des a r e designed to provideinflight measu reme nts of t he ECG activ ities of c rew men and to develop a signal waveranging between 0 and 5 volt s peak to peak. (The signal wave is representa t ive of crew-

man ECG activity. ) The unit is designed to pe rm it preflight adjustments, and it is worni n a pocket on the biobelt attached to the und erw ear insid e the sp ace s uit (fig. 15).

The ZP N ignal conditioner and theassociated electrodes are designed tom e a s u r e t ransthoracic im p edanc e change sto a low-level current at a frequency of ap-proximately 50 kilohertz. Measurementsa r e made by using a pa ir of e lectr ode s ap-proximately placed on the crewm an o rother te st subject . The signals range from0 to 5 volts peak to peak. The signals,which corresp ond to a wide rang e of re sp i-rat ory act ivi ty, designate the respirat ionra te of a particular subject. The unit isdesigned t o per mit prefl ight changes incirc uit gain, accommodating the char ac-t e r i s t i c s of the individual subject. Theunit is located in a biobelt pocket insidethe space sui t .

Figure 15 . - Bioinstrumentation beltassembly .he dc/dc power converter delivers a

regulated positive 10- and negative 1 -voltpower to each signal conditioner.component is powered fr om the unipolar nominal 16 .8 volts available for s uit electron icequipment. The unit rece ives the voltage and convert s it to the isola ted and balancedbipolar supply required by the bioinstrumentation system. The design ch ar ac te ri st ic sof the power conver ter incorporate featu res fo r reverse -pol arity protection, load-cu rr en t limiting, and elec trica l isolation of the input/output ground syst ems .a r e no adjustments associate d with the unit.inside the space sui t .

The

T h e r eThe converter is worn in a biobelt pocket

The axil lary-electrode harness is a smal l cable used in conjunction with the ZPNsignal conditioner. The cable provides the elec trica l interface between the crewma n'selectrodes and the ZP N ignal conditioner.

The sternal-electrode harness is a small cable that is used in conjunction with theECG signal conditioner. The ha rn es s provides the elec trica l interface between thecrew man 's electrode and the ECG signal conditioner. The cable also contains the sys-te m ground electrode, which is a high-impedance ground pr im ar il y used to remov e thes ta t ic charge f ro m the test subject.

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During flight, physiological data ar e received from each crewman. A s a result,thr ee complete, separate bioinstrumentation systems a re required. There ar e threesp are sternal harnes ses and one spare axillary harn ess on board the SC. Xowever,ther e a r e no sp are signal conditioners.

Use of the bioins trumentation sy stem inside the su it is a design compromise,since for personal comfort, it would be preferable fo r the s yst em to be outsick iiie suit.The inconvenience of the inner bioinstrumentation sy st em is more than compensated forby the improved signal- to-nois e rat io obtained. Also, the elect rica l isolation providedby the signal conditioners affords maximum protection against accidental electroshock.The placement of the sy ste m inside the suit provides anot her advantage. The gain set-tings diff er for each crewman, and us e of a cent ral s et of in str ument s would involveadditional switching pro blem s in t h e low-level signal lines.

The bioinstrumentation sys tem ha s provided satisfac tory and useful data for thespace program; yet, ther e have been a few mechanical and electri cal prob lems as soci -ated with the system. The first problem was to dete rmine the natur e of the fire hazardins ide the space suit. Extensive testing revealed that, by shorting the output lea ds of

the dc/dc convert er, a sp ar k could be produced which would ignite cotton in the p re s -ence of oxygen under conditions of 1 9 psia. This ignition so urc e w a s traced to outputcapa cito r energy st orage in the dc/dc power conv erte r and to the ability of the outputczpacitnrs to prnrll-we a high-current pulse in a short-circuit condition (even though thee z t p ~ ~ t , urrefit would go to 50 milliamperes i n a steady- stat e condition). The high-cu rre nt pulse and the ass ociated ignition hazard we re eliminated by installing re si st or sthat lim it the c urr ent in the positive 10- and negative 10-volt output leads of the dc/dcconverter.

There were additional major p roblems during the first manned Apollo flight(Apollo 7). The singl e pin disconnects i n both the electrode ha rnes ses inside the suitseparated, and the data were los t until the s u i t w a s removed and the connection re -mated. There w a s a lead breakage at the connectors of the electrode har ne ss es thatadded to the overa ll problem. Also, during the Apollo 7 mission, one crewman repo rt-ed a heated signal conditioner, and he was instr ucted to remove and stow the biomedicalhardware.

Solution of th is problem w a s difficult. A s a first step, the electrode harness w a sredesign ed to eliminate the pin disconnect that had come loose during flight. Then,electrodes were wired as a permanen t pa rt of the harnesses, which are custom fittedto the crewman. A series of meetings w a s held to review the test results obtained onvarious materials ; also, the us e of vario us materials to solve the fatigue problem wasdiscussed. A s a result, the wire insulation w a s changed fr om Teflon to polyvinyl chlo-ride (PVC), nd the strain-relief boot w a s changed fr om epoxy to silicone rubber. Datafr om subsequent qualification tests indicated this combination to be sup erio r to theoriginal concept. The new sys tem h as been used on al l subsequent flights . An investi -gation of th e heated signal-cond itioner problem revea led (1) the dc/dc converter runswarm to the touch under normal operation, and (2 ) i f the se ri es voltage-dropping re-sis tor in the SC power system develops a short and applies 30 volts to the convert er, itwi l l become uncomfortably warm. The converte r has not been redesigned, but pr io r toany mission, each crewman is briefed on what to expect under both normal and abnor-mal conditions. In addition, a temperature-recording label is affixed to each signalconditioner. The re ha s been no fur the r problem.

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Continued testing reve aled a sneak ground path in the input ci rc ui t of the ECG sig-nal conditioner (which provides a current path to ground if the crewmen should contacta voltage source). The solution to thi s problem requ ired increas ing the input lead im-pedances by adding ser ie s current-limiting res ist ors to the sternal- electrode harness.Also, a ground electrode with a se r i e s r e s is to r w as added to reduce noise and arti fac ton the ECG data.

The ECG and Z P N electrode sy stem s include a sternal har ness and an axillaryharness . The electrodes a r e silver/ silv er chloride anodized disks in an acry lic hous-ing. The wiring is a highly flexible PVC-insulated cable with a silicone-rubber bendrelief at the connector.

The electrodes are filled with electrode paste and attached to the cre wmen bydouble-back adhesive tape. Then, the elec trod e is covered with porous surg ical tapethat permits normal skin respiration. The electrochemical activity that occu rs at theelectrode surface is degraded if the anodizing is damaged. This problem occurs afte rmany us e cycles and may be eliminated by replacing the anodized disk with a pressedpell et of powdered sil ver /s ilv er chloride . The pressed pellet technique is currentlyundergoing development. Hopefully, this technique wi l l provide a homogeneous elec-trode that w i l l not be affected by su rfa ce damage.

The attachment technique is limited by safety and comfort. Reliable contact isdifficult to maintain under conditions of minimal discomfort and skin damage. Becausean electrode may be dislodged under such se ve re effort as suit doffing and donning, akit is provided to replace electrodes (if necessary) during unsuited periods.

If the existing bioinstrumentation sy stem is redesigned, seve ral problems warr antseri ous consideration. These problems a r e listed as follows:

1. The rise time on the dc/dc conv erte r switching must be considered. The fastr i s e time now used has caused som e electromagnetic-interference problems.

2. The frequency of the dc/dc conv erte r oscill ator and the Z P N oscillator shouldbe controlled so that a harmonic of the dc/dc con verte r does not fall at the same fre-quency as that of the Z P N . When this happens, the Z P N signal is affected. Althoughthe data obtained a r e usable, an undesirable noise is produced.

3. The current-limiting resistors now used in the sternal- electrode harnes sshould be placed i n the ECG signal conditioner, o r other means should be used to elim-inate a possible hazard.

4. A bias control should be added to both the Z P N and the ECG signal conditioners

to allow proper level adjustment of the ze ro signal.

5. A method should be devised to pro tect biomedical s en so rs aga inst electrom ag-netic fields that might occur in the ne ar f ield of an antenna.

6. A sys tem should be developed to rep lace the high res ist anc e in the ground-electrode circuit. The ideal system would offer a low-resistance path for small sig-nals; however, the sys tem would provide c ur re nt limiting during elec tri cal overloadsituatio ns (such a s contacting an external voltage s ource).

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7. A considerable improvement in usable Z P N data could be obtained by makinga near-logarithmic output signal.

8. The low-frequency re spons e of the ECG signal conditioner should be reducedto 0.05 hert z, and circui try should be employed to provide a rapid electrical overloadcorrection.

Fu rt her attention should be focused on a radio link between crewmen and SC or onsignal-conditioning equipment for each crewman in the SC.

The bioinstrumentation belt (fig. 1 5) is a band of cotton-duck fabric , to whichthree pockets with elastic inserts are sewn. The belt provid es a compact m eans fo rplacement and stowage of the bioins trumen tation signal condi tioners and the dc/dc con-ver ter. Snap fastene rs are used to mate the biobelt to the midriff section of eit he r theCW G o r the liquid-cooling garment. The signal conditioners and the dc/dc con vert ermust be available fo r easy connection to the biomedical har ne ss and the s ensing equip-ment. The pockets must contain the contents securel y, yet fulfill flexibility and inte r-face requirements.

The or igin al biobelt concept included conventional box-type pockets on a cottonbelt. Redesign provided a dif fere nt method for s ecu ring the signal conditioners and the

and rn ovei-flzp s r - p a ove r the coiitents of each pocket. The overflaps are fzbricatcd efTeflon-coated Beta cloth to satisfy flammability requir ements. This biobelt ha s beensatisfactory throughout al l Apollo missions. Some wear ha s been noted during se ve retesting ex er cis es , par ticu larl y of the Teflon-coated Beta cloth around snap locations.However, such wear is acceptable; this is a one-mission-use item.

dc/dc coriverter. Elastic straps a r e iiaeb to rnaint.Zii; the cozteilts in a Fixed p=siti=n,

Although the biobelt (as now constructed) me ets th e re quir eme nts fo r Apollo

flights, redesign may be nece ssa ry (1) for longer-duration miss ions, (2) fo r those mis-sions tha t involve extens ive us e of the belt, or (3) fo r reloc atio n of the biobelt assem bly .

S U RV I VA LEQUlPMENT

F or emergen cy landing conditions, cert ain surviv al equipment is provided to sup-port the crewmen for a 3-day period. The items are contained in two rucksac ks. Inaddition, th re e life ves ts are provided f or launch-abort and postflight water landings.Neck and w r i s t dams, located in the PGA, ar e als o used during water survival to pro-vide water seals. Components of the surviv al kit are shown in figure 16.

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k s a c k 1

Rucksa h 7

--Water

r/-e-

1- ( '

II3 a nl t l e raf t

4

Figure I - Components of the su rvi val kit.

Rucksacks

The rucksacks a r e rectangu lar- shaped bags made of Armalon, a Teflon-coatedgl as s fabric . Each bag is equipped with a zipper opening and a s t ra p handle. Ther ea r e two rucksacks stowed in the C M right-hand for ward equipment bay. It em s contained

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in the rucksacks inehd e a raft, a radio and beacon tran scei ver, th ree water contai ners,a machete, a des alter kit, sunglasses, an d ccmbination surviva l lights.

The rucksacks fulfill the requireme nts for a survival-equipment sy stem with astowage container that is capable of allowing rapid eg re ss f ro m the SC in the event of apostlanding emergency; d a o , tlle mcksack d e s i g ~ recludes possib le los s of the con-tents after deployment.

The shape of the rucks ack s was controlled by the location of available stowagespace. Armalon, selected to be used in fabricating the rucksacks, fulfilled the cr ite ri aof being nonmetallic and abrasi on res ista nt. A s t rap w a s attached to enable rapid re -moval of the ruck sack fr om stowage and to allow handling by one crewman. A D-ring isattached to each handle to facilitate mooring the rucksack to the three-man liferaft (toprevent loss).

The ruck sack has never been needed on Apollo missions. However, the rucksac krece ives smal l cut s and abrasions during installation and removal from the stowagelocation. Despite the s mall cuts and abrasions, Armalon is the best m aterial availableat the present time.

The combination survival-light assembl y meets the requ irement to provide thecrewmen with adequate sur vival components t ha t would provide the most effective meansof su rv iva l and yet have a minimum weight and volume. The assembl y is a hand-heldunit that is pr ima ri ly use d fo r visual signaling, which is accompl ished by mean s of astro be light, a flashlight, or a signal mi rr or . Additionally, the unit contains a s i renwhistle, a compass, fire st ar te rs , cotton balls, halogen tablets, a water receptacle,

knife blades, needles, nylon cord, and fishhooks.

The combination surviva l light was developed fo r us e in the Gemini Pro gram . Itsa tis fie s the Apollo postlanding requireme nts. This item, intended fo r us e during anemergenc y postlanding situation, ha s not been requi red during any mission. However,postflight testing demonstr ated that the units rema in functional.

DesalterKit

The desalte r kit is a stand ard off-the-shelf Department of Defense (DOD) item.The kit ha s been modified slightly to meet the NASA requ irem ents . The kit cons ist s of

two process ing bags, eight chemical packets, and mending tape. Each chem ical packetis designed to produce 1 pint of potable wate r. The water is pro cess ed by mixing seawater and a chemical packet f o r a cer tai n period of time. The mixture is then filter edto produce the drinking water. The DOD item ha s been modified by replacing the mend-ing tape with fi be r- gl as s tape and by removing the stowage containe r; without modifica-tion, th is con tainer would not meet the Apollo Pr og ra m requir ements. Eight chemicalpackets will produce 1 gallon of potable water .

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Sunglasses

The light-polarizing sungla sses have soft fab ric fr am es and are adjustable to headsi ze and face contour. They are held against the fac e by lengths of el as ti c bra id, whichare faste ned in back of the head with hook and pile fas te ne rs . The sun gla sses were de-signed specifically for the Apollo Pr og ra m, as a pa rt of the sur viv al equipment, to sat-isfy cri ter ia for resist ance to breakage and fo r compactness and to provide the crewmenwith protection from har

Documents

Apollo Experience Report Crew Provisions and Equipment Subsystem