Hydrolab training

• Gidrolaboratoriya
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Neutral buoyancy is the only effective means of simulating weightlessness on Earth. Russian spacesuit training takes place at the Vykhod, Выход (“Exit”) Training Facility in the Cosmonaut Training Center at Zvyozdnyi Gorodok, Star Town. This facility was first opened on 28 January, 1980.

Before underwater training, the cosmonauts first partake in classroom lectures as they learn about the Orlan spacesuit’s systems.

They also familiarize themselves with wearing an Orlan in the Egress Simulator. This Orlan-T (training) suit is suspended by an overhead wire-and-pulley system, and is pressurized to the same pressure as it would be in the vacuum of space. Here the cosmonauts learn basic Orlan emergency procedures and how to operate the airlocks in normal and emergency situations.

During the final week of training, cosmonauts are given SCUBA diving practise in the Hydrolab to assess their diving skills and learn emergency procedures for coping with an unconscious diver.

Gidrolaboratoriya

The Russian Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory is called the Gidrolaboratoriya, Гидролаборатория (GL) – Hydrolaboratory.

• Depth: 12 meters
• Diameter: 23 meters
• Water volume: 5000 m³
• Temperature: 30±5°C.

The circular GL has 45 windows set in its sides, each with a diameter of 0.3 meters, and located at three different levels. The spacewalk training can be filmed and photographed through these windows. The lighting system lamps emit light of a particular spectrum and enable night and day conditions to be simulated. The swimming pool itself is filled with specially-treated water which aids clear viewing of the training. The water has a lower chlorine level than an average swimming pool, both to prevent chlorine poisoning and to save the equipment in the water from corrosion.

Mock-ups of space complexes provide a realistic training environment; these currently are modules of the International Space Station. Using platforms (which can support up to 15.4 tons), these can be lowered into and raised from the pool. The mock-ups are exact replicas of the real modules’ exteriors.

Air and water supplies facilities support those using the Orlan-GN spacesuits. Two lifting cranes move those in the spacesuits to and from the pool (the 100 kg suits are too heavy to move in unaided). Training hours are usually between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Training sessions can last for up to 7 hours, though preferably not longer as the SCUBA divers could get cold.

The Orlan spacesuits are connected to the control room by a 50-meter umbilical cable, through which water, air and power are provided. It also carries telemetry from the suits to those monitoring from the control room.

The SCUBA divers who assist the spacesuited trainees have their own support facilities: their diving equipment and the PDK-2U, ПДК-2У decompression chamber, which simulates underwater submersion down to 100 m (10 atmospheres). There are two main categories of divers: professional Navy warrant officers, and TsPK Air Force officers, some being cosmonaut-candidates gaining spacewalk simulator experience.

Safety is a priority during a training session. At least seven divers will be in the water with the Orlan-suited trainees to assure safety. In case of an emergency, each trainee can be pulled out of the water in four minutes at most.

A hyperbaric oxygen complex (гипербарической оксигенации – giperbaricheskoi oksigenatsii [ГБО]) provides medical support for the spacesuit wearers and SCUBA divers. It is comprised of two single-seat medical altitude chambers. An emergency ambulance is also on standby.

Tasks that can be simulated during training include:

• Inspection of assemblies and units located on the external surface of the orbital space complex;
• Scientific-research experiments;
• Technical servicing;
• Maintenance and repair operations;
• Experiments on/in technological installations;
• БКК, BKK fragments assembly;
• Assembly and dismantling operations, as well as operations on improving the performances of space engineering;
• Ergonomic improvement of the system’s components;
• Off-nominal and emergency situations.

The U.S. and Russian training methods have differed in philosophy: NASA spacewalkers usually train for carefully-planned specific tasks that they will need for a short-term Shuttle mission. They are in constant contact with Mission Control, so they can quickly get advice on a task if needed. Russian spacewalkers train in a general spacewalk methodology, so they can draw on this knowledge for unexpected situations arising during a mission. This training is more suited to long-duration flights. On Mir, they were also out of contact with TsUP for long periods during orbits, so they needed to be more self-reliant. Both training philosophies complement each other, and are utilized for the ISS.

Links

• Atlas Aerospace: Hydrospace. Larger photos and pages in Russian available there.
• Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center: Both the old and new GCTC sites have a page each on the GL.
• JAXA: “ISS Astronaut Activity Report, February 2004”. Training and photos of JAXA astronauts at Star City.
• Johnson Space Center: Sonny Carter Training Facility. This is NASA’s NBL. The rectangular-shaped pool there is 61.5 meters long, 31 m wide and 12 m deep (6 m above ground level, 6 m below), and holds around 1.6 million liters of water.
• NASA: Public Lessons Learned Entry: 1116 – Safety Implications of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Training in the Russian Hydrolab.
• Space.com: “Underwater Training For ISS Crew”, 28 June 2000

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