Close-Out Training at Launch Pad 39B

My wife, Terri and I had a recent opportunity to participate in some training here at Kennedy Space Center that gave me a much different perspective on what the close-out crews do! I participated as a sort of, well, a test dummy! During this training We were actually fitted to wear the space suits you see in the accompanying photographs. Getting into the suit was really quite difficult. It weighs about seventy-five pounds along with the undergarments and cooling suit. A crew helped us into the space suit starting feet first. After getting our feet in we got our arms up to the wrist point and then kind of "dove" under the upper torso ring to squeeze our heads through a small hole and then through the helmet attaching point. At the same time we had to kind of wiggle our arms into position. Finally, we were zipped up from behind! It is a good thing that the cooling suit was active because it got pretty hot out there during training. The cooling system is only active while it is plugged into the cooling source.

After suiting up we were off to Launch Pad 39B, just inside the perimeter fence area. The whole idea of the training was to simulate various emergencies at the pad during a launch.  Several actual astronauts were also involved in the training. We simulated conscious and  unconscious astronauts using various recovery techniques such as the deadweight pull and the chair drag. We were "rescued" from the White Room and various other locations around the launch pad area. Four different teams were involved in the training. Each team consisted of seven persons.

Each time we were "rescued" we were taken to the emergency egress slidewire baskets. The slidewire baskets are used by the shuttle flight crews to literally slide down a 3/4" wire from the 195 foot level of the launch pad to the safety of bunkers below. The picture at left shows  astronauts from the STS 86 mission getting into the baskets during training. Did we get to slide down the wire? Unfortunately - No!

This training is just one of many aspects that the close-out crews maintain training in. A lot of the training they participate in takes place at Johnson Space Center. They have to be proficient in dealing with toxic vapors, heat, first-aid, structural knowledge and many more areas. I wasn't able to attend the third day of training - which was the "wet-sim" or, wet simulation. The wet sim simulates the actual launch environment when the sound suppression system is active. The sound suppression water system is installed on the launch pads to protect the orbiter and its payloads from damage by acoustical energy reflected from the mobile launcher platform during launch. The system includes an elevated water tank with a capacity of 300,000 gallons. The tank is 290 feet high and stands on the northeast side of the pad. The water is released just before the ignition of the orbiter's three main engines and twin solid rocket boosters and flows through parallel 7-foot-diameter pipes to the pad area.

This was my first time volunteering to participate in the training and as I said, the experience has given me a much better understanding and appreciation of what the close out crews do!