HABITAT ENGINEERS TRAINING 



During the TEKTITE II program, the habitat crew was augmented by the addition 

 of a habitat engineer. These engineers were drawn from several participating 

 agencies and in general had little or no prior knowledge of the habitat or its 

 on-board systems. For this reason, training was essential and this training 

 had to be undertaken prior to emplacement when access would be limited. Class- 

 room and habitat familiarization training was given to selected candidates in 

 Philadelphia. An informally prepared Habitat Engineers Manual served as the 

 basis for this training. Each system was presented by the responsible system 

 engineer using appropriate drawings and schematics. Class work was supple- 

 mented by several visits to the habitat during which time engineers were 

 required to operate many of the on-board systems. 



At the time of this training, not all of the habitat systems were fully opera- 

 tional. Furthermore, it was realized that considerable time would elapse for 

 many of the engineers before their mission in the habitat. To compensate for 

 these factors, it was required that each engineer perform at least two super- 

 vised dives into the habitat for refamiliarization. During these dives, each 

 was specifically required to perform the following three tasks under supervision 

 of a General Electric engineer: 



1. Change baralyme in CO2 scrubber 



2. Shut down and restart all electrical equipment 



3. Operate and calibrate all on-board gas monitoring equipment 



This requirement was satisfied by each habitat engineer without exception. The 

 general success of the program indicates that the training accomplished its 

 objectives. It should also be noted that during the mission, a General Electric 

 engineer was available on the surface at all times. Supplied with a complete 

 set of catalogs, drawings, and parts lists for various items in the habitat, the 

 surface engineer was able to provide rapid information to the habitat engineer 

 at any time it was required. Subjective evaluations by each of the habitat 

 engineers have generally indicated their enjoyment of their tour underwater. 

 References 8 and 9 indicate typical responses to the first and sixth missions 

 by program engineers . 



SURFACE SUPPORT EQUIPMENT PREPARATION AND EMPLACEMENT 



One of the major tasks performed during the program was the preparation and 

 installation of surface support equipment for use at the site. All supporting 

 utilities were located on land and were connected to the habitat by suitable 

 cables. Much of the support equipment used during the program was provided by 

 participating agencies and detailed technical information was not available 

 until late in the program. To facilitate installation, it was decided to mount 

 all equipment on trailers which would permit delivery over the unimproved dirt 

 road leading to the site. Accordingly, Philadelphia became a marshaling point 

 for the generators, compressors, pumps, and other items of program support 

 equipment. These items were secured to a flat bed trailer and connected by 

 appropriate electrical and pneumatic lines. Each system was verified by testing. 



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