Day 3 - Physiological Training @ NBL

Hello everyone! On Friday (10-April-2010) the team went to the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory to undergo high altitude hypoxia training inside the hyperbaric chamber. This pre-flight training is meant to make everyone aware of their personal hypoxia symptoms. Hypoxia is when your body does not get enough oxygen, typically at high elevations. NASA simulates this by placing everyone in a chamber and sucking the air out until equivalent to 25,000 ft. altitude air pressure. Everyone that will be flying on Tuesday/Wednesday (13/14-April-2010) must receive certification from this training.

Afterward, we were lucky enough to tour the Neutral Buoyancy tank, located in the same building. This is the largest swimming pool in the world that houses a full-scale model of the Space Shuttle cargo bay and International Space Station used to train astronauts. Here are a few of the pictures, enjoy!

-Andrew

At 7:00 am, both teams encounter 4.5 hours of mental stimulation during the high-altitude training lectures. Everyone was excited to be one step closer to flight day.

The teams, and Impedance Team mentor Keith (from an undisclosed Lab), eat lunch outside the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) before heading inside for high altitude training.

The studious scholars making up the BSU microgravity team receive a brief on what to expect in the hyperbaric chamber.

Jordan was the first to be equipped with the oxygen mask for our high altitude training.

Dr. Hay (left) and Dr. Plumlee (right) are just about as excited as the students to enter the hyperbaric chamber for hypoxia training.

Travis (left) and Andrew (right) test out their chamber flight oxygen masks.

Full scale representation of the Space Shuttle's cargo bay used by astronauts during training in the Neutral Buoyancy Tank. The International Space Station model takes up the rest of the pool.

The neutral buoyancy tank is the largest indoor pool in the world at 202 ft. x 102 ft. x 40 ft. This tank holds 6.2 million gallons of water.

Barbara explaining to Andrew and Leslie what every pod on the International Space Station is used for.


Jake checks out the Space Station mockup in the Neutral Buoyancy Tank. Barbara said the thing above his left shoulder is a robot called "Dexter" that helps perform work on the outside of the International Space Station.