chapter 26 

 AOUANAUT DAILY ROUTINES 



M. S. Carpenter 



National Aeronautics and Space Administration 



Houston, Texas 



After the lowering operation was completed and the condition of the lab had been monitored 

 for approximately 36 hours, the occupancy by the first crew was commenced. The first team 

 of two divers opened and inspected the Sealab; the second team of two divers opened and in- 

 spected the personnel transfer capsule, which rested on the bottom within 20 ft of the Sealab 

 entrance hatch. When the satisfactory condition of both had been reported topside, the remain- 

 ing three two-man teams swam down to the lab, accomplishing as much of the necessary work 

 outside the lab as time would allow. The rest of the first day was spent unstowing and rear- 

 ranging the equipment inside the lab and doing the essential work outside the lab. This work 

 consisted mainly of connecting the fresh-water lines, which was done with relatively little 

 trouble except for some valve -management problems on the lab, and connecting the drain 

 hoses. This operation presented some unforeseen problems, because the lines were buoyant 

 and had to be weighted in order to prevent gas leakage from the lab. 



The first tasks on the bottom involved unsecuring the rest of the equipment that had been 

 lashed down for the tow from Long Beach, and restowing it so that there was room enough for 

 ten men. The safety anchor line, sewage lines, diving-light leads, benthic lab lines, Arawak 

 hoses, and guide lines had to be connected. All drain plugs, external and internal port covers, 

 and lowering lines had to be removed and stowed. 



Once the lab was reasonably habitable, all of the spare time in the water was devoted to the 

 scientific programs and equipment evaluations. These activities included the erection of the 

 strength-test platform and associated torque wrenches, the two-hand coordinator, the current 

 meter, underwater weather station and sound range, visual acuity range, stationary target ar- 

 ray, water clarity meter, pneumofathometer, fish cages, homing beacons, compass rose, ex- 

 ternal TV cameras, bioluminescence meter, foam and salvage project equipment, bottom cur- 

 rent trailers, underwater studgun equipment, photo and diving lights, bathythermograph, wave 

 gage, and antitorque underwater tool test equipment. 



Before and after each dive, strength and manual dexterity tests were performed in the wa- 

 ter with the aid of equipment designed specifically for this purpose. Another task that required 

 quite a bit of in-the-water time was that of straightening the outside Arawak hoses, which con- 

 tinually fouled and kinked. This job had to be accomplished almost daily. Resupply through 

 the system of pots and baskets also consumed altogether too much of divers' time. 



During the third team's tenure on the bottom, the storm of activity centered around re- 

 supply abated somewhat because of the installation of a high-pressure helium-mix line in the 

 lab. This line, supplied by pumps on the surface ship, permitted recharging of the Mk-Vl bot- 

 tles in the lab instead of sending them topside for refilling. It not only reduced the workload 

 on the men, but also was kinder to the equipment. 



A watch schedule had been set up prior to the first dive, and it went into effect immediately 

 after the lab was occupied. The schedule which appears in Table 6 provided two men on watch 

 at all times during the working hours, and one-man watch sections during the sleeping hours.' 

 The responsibilities of the working-hours watch section included keeping the log, handling 

 communications with topside, preparing and cleaning up after the meals, and staging the divers. 

 It was more a rule than an exception that these tasks had to be performed concurrently; and 



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