In the morning the flyers and alternate attended physiological training briefings on topics ranging from ideal gas laws to motion sickness. Matt (Futterman) volunteered for a motion sickness demonstration during one
of the presentations.
After lunch we met up with Jaci (Croce) and Val (O'Donnell), who had been working hard in the hangar all morning on the experiment. We were finally able to power up the RF generator and strike a plasma, while Reduced Gravity Office personnel were testing the RF generator to make sure it wouldn’t interfere with aircraft equipment. All of a sudden we found that everything had turned off.
After quick attempts at troubleshooting, the flyers and alternate had to leave for the Neutral Buoyancy Lab for the hyperbaric chamber participation. After being issued masks and other breathing equipment, we sat through yet another lecture, this one on breathing equipment and safety. They talked about the apparatuses we would use in the hyperbaric chamber and those that are present on the DC-9. Then we entered the chamber.
For about ten minutes we got situated and hooked up to the air supply and intercom with the help of ex-military employees who had been in hyperbaric chambers many times before. We breathed pure oxygen for 30 minutes to purge some nitrogen from our systems in hopes of avoiding decompression sickness. Then they slowly took the pressure down in the chamber. You could feel your ears pop. Once the pressure was equivalent to that at 25,000 feet, half the group took their masks off for five minutes. We had a worksheet with simple math problems and such that we could try. They also had color wheels on the wall so we could gauge our eyesight at various moments. Different people exhibited different symptoms, including euphoria and diminished eyesight.
After five minutes the group put back on the masks and it was the other group’s turn. You watched the other group to observe the onset of hypoxia in them. Hypoxia is a group of symptoms, different for each individual, caused by lack of oxygen. The pressure was then brought back up. You had to perform the valsalva maneuver, in which you pinch your nose shut, keep your mouth closed, and blow through your nose. This pushes air and pressure up the Eustachian tube to the eardrum, allowing you to equalize your ears.
Once we got out of the chamber we got to watch the video of us during hypoxia. We were then given a tour of the Neutral Buoyancy Lab; we got to see the huge pool (6.2 million gallons) and the control room for the pool missions.
Then the flyers returned to the hangar to pick up Val and Jaci and the dysfunctional experiment. They had come up with a plan, however, and it seems that the experiment can be fixed rather easily.
Engineers run into these problems all the time; today was the Flyin’ Lions’ turn.
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