The Flickr Building32 Image Generatr

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at swim two birds

Mark Di Suvero, 2005, near Building 32, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, MIT Area, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, sculpture

"Antarctica: Seasons of Water and Ice" is a exhibit showcasing the work of Dr. Wade Jeffrey's expedition to Antarctica. The exhibition and reception was held in the John C. Pace Library on Nov. 29, 2021.

"Antarctica: Seasons of Water and Ice" is a exhibit showcasing the work of Dr. Wade Jeffrey's expedition to Antarctica. The exhibition and reception was held in the John C. Pace Library on Nov. 29, 2021.

"Antarctica: Seasons of Water and Ice" is a exhibit showcasing the work of Dr. Wade Jeffrey's expedition to Antarctica. The exhibition and reception was held in the John C. Pace Library on Nov. 29, 2021.

"Antarctica: Seasons of Water and Ice" is a exhibit showcasing the work of Dr. Wade Jeffrey's expedition to Antarctica. The exhibition and reception was held in the John C. Pace Library on Nov. 29, 2021.

"Antarctica: Seasons of Water and Ice" is a exhibit showcasing the work of Dr. Wade Jeffrey's expedition to Antarctica. The exhibition and reception was held in the John C. Pace Library on Nov. 29, 2021.

"Antarctica: Seasons of Water and Ice" is a exhibit showcasing the work of Dr. Wade Jeffrey's expedition to Antarctica. The exhibition and reception was held in the John C. Pace Library on Nov. 29, 2021.

"Aldrin inside Chamber B during lunar surface spacewalk training."

During the week of May 5, Apollo 11 prime and backup crew members trained for the first lunar surface Extravehicular Activity, or spacewalk. The training sessions, with the astronauts wearing pressure suits in near-vacuum conditions, took place inside Chamber B of the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Space Environment Simulation Facility. These training sessions followed previous ones in Chamber B that were conducted at sea level. During the simulations, astronauts practiced operations they would conduct on the Moon, including extracting experiment packages from the LM and setting them up on the surface."

At/from:

roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/roundup/1161
Credit: JSC Roundup website

I'm assuming the guy that wrote the article meant "sea level (atmospheric) pressure", and his dumbing-down of "Extravehicular Activity" should've more accurately been "moonwalk", NOT "spacewalk." Spacewalk is what Ed White & Bruce McCandless did.

The angled object on the other side of Aldrin is the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA). He looks to be photographing the Laser Ranging Retroreflector (LRRR) experiment with his Hasselblad 500 EL Data Camera.

"Armstrong inside Chamber B during lunar surface spacewalk training.

During the week of May 5, Apollo 11 prime and backup crew members trained for the first lunar surface Extravehicular Activity, or spacewalk. The training sessions, with the astronauts wearing pressure suits in near-vacuum conditions, took place inside Chamber B of the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Space Environment Simulation Facility. These training sessions followed previous ones in Chamber B that were conducted at sea level. During the simulations, astronauts practiced operations they would conduct on the Moon, including extracting experiment packages from the LM and setting them up on the surface."

At/from:

roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/roundup/1161
Credit: JSC Roundup website

I'm assuming the dude that wrote the article meant "sea level (atmospheric) pressure", and his dumbing-down of "Extravehicular Activity" should've more accurately been "moonwalk", NOT "spacewalk." Maybe he could use that for his in-depth Gemini 12/Buzz Aldrin first "selfie" article.

The angled object on the other side of Armstrong is the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA). The silvery object toward the lower left is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP), in its stowed configuration. Directly in front of Armstrong is the Erectable S-Band Antenna, which although taken to the moon during the mission, was not deployed.
Good reading regarding it/such:

workingonthemoon.com/WOTM-Erectable-S-Band.html
Credit: "Working on the Moon"/ALSJ website

“APOLLO 14 EVA TRAINING--An overhead, interior view of Chamber “B” of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory, Building 32 at the Manned Spacecraft Center, showing Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. participating in extravehicular activity (EVA) under simulated lunar conditions. Shepard is wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), and he is strapped to an apparatus which helps simulate the 1/6th gravity of the Moon. Here, the Apollo 14 prime crew commander simulates the handling and deployment of the lunar surface television camera.”

Shepard is training with the same model black & white television camera used on the moon during Apollo 11. Huh?
A possible answer: For shits & grins, I searched "TV" at the appropriate ALSJ Apollo 14 page & came across the following transcript excerpts:

"115:24:23 Shepard: (Going to the MESA) Okay. (Long Pause) Okay. Got the television camera there?

[This is the backup, black & white TV camera, probably similar to the low-resolution model used on Apollo 11. In a couple of minutes, Al will place it in the north footpad. As he goes over to the MESA, he uses a rolling, foot-to-foot lope. He moves easily and gets a long glide with each step.]"

And, a little later:

"115:26:27 McCandless: And, Al, have you gotten...
115:26:31 Shepard: (Garbled under McCandless) black-and-white television camera.

115:26:33 McCandless: Roger.

115:26:37 Shepard: Black-and-white TV camera's in the plus-Y (north) strut (means "footpad").

115:26:41 McCandless: Roger. With the white surface normal to the line to the Sun.

[Al positioned the camera so that the highly reflective, white-painted surface is facing the Sun.]
115:26:44 Shepard: (Garbled) footpad. (Listens) That's correct."

At:

history.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/a14.alsepoff.html

I still don't get it. Placed in the footpad? Why there? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe to keep its components from getting too cold & possibly freezing up in the shadowed area of the MESA…in case it was needed?
If so, then I suppose it might be why Shepard is training with it in the photograph.
Frankly, they probably should’ve used it from the start - because the picture quality from this mission sucked. Based on the brief color TV transmission from Apollo 12, which looked like it was going to be pretty good, I had high hopes for Apollo 14. Alas, not to be.

Pertinent to my above:

forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=17290.0
Credit: NASA Spaceflight Forum website

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_TV_camera
Credit: Wikipedia

Ray and Maria Stata Center, MIT

A rare & excellent view of Chamber A during construction of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL)/Building 32, at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), sometime during 1964. The massive door had yet to be installed at the time of this photograph, allowing a relatively unobstructed view into the chamber. The catwalk that rings the interior chamber wall can be seen near the top of the opening.

Additionally - and hopefully - at least some of it being correct:

“The SESL was designed to support spacecraft testing and astronaut training for the Gemini and Apollo programs using human-rated thermal vacuum chambers with solar simulation capabilities. By reproducing the thermal and vacuum conditions of space, NASA engineers could better understand the effects of those environments on spacecraft and the crews they protected. Construction of MSC’s Building 32 that housed the SESL began in late 1963 and was mainly complete by late 1964, with the facility’s two vacuum chambers installed and ready for acceptance testing.

The larger of the two chambers, called Chamber A, measured 90 feet in height and 55 feet in diameter, more than adequate to accommodate the full Apollo spacecraft it was designed to test. Inside the cavernous chamber, a 45-foot “lunar plane” platform could handle a 150,000-pound test vehicle and was capable of rotating 180 degrees to simulate a spacecraft flying to the Moon. The chamber’s vacuum pumps could simulate an altitude of 130 miles. To simulate the temperature extremes of space, the chamber’s interior walls cooled to -230 degrees Fahrenheit while two banks of carbon arc modules simulated the unfiltered heat and light of the Sun. Test articles could be placed in the chamber either through a removable top head or a 40-foot-wide side mounted access door. The smaller Chamber B, 26 feet high and 25 feet in diameter, had similar capabilities to the larger chamber with regard to environmental parameters and accommodated smaller test articles more economically.”

Above from/at, with numerous other excellent images:

www.nasa.gov/feature/building-on-a-mission-spacecraft-env...

Well deserved:

npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/85002810
Credit: National Park Service (NPS) website

“END OF SIMULATED ODYSSEY

Astronauts Joseph Kerwin, left and Joe Engle emerge from a model of the Apollo 101 spacecraft in which they spent 187 hours under simulated space conditions. Astronaut Vance Brand was a third member of the crew. The three men were subjected to the same temperatures, pressures and other environmental factors that will be experienced by the astronauts who will man an Apollo 101 spacecraft later this year.”

See/read also:

space.nss.org/from-the-earth-to-the-earth-the-missions-wh...
Credit: NSS website

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEv3dvKvc0I
Credit: Retro Space HD/YouTube

www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/apollo/2TV_%20LTA...

Specifically:

www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/apollo/2TV_%20LTA...
Credit: CAPCOM ESPACE website

www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-two-critical-apollo-tes...

ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740012430

And plenty of others.

What looks to be a casualty evacuation exercise, possibly/probably involving Chamber B in the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL), Building 32, at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The “casualty” is wearing a (I believe) final Apollo A7L pressure suit, hence my date estimation of 1967 – 1972.
The gentleman on the left looks very familiar…I’m sure I’ve seen him in other photos. Also note the partially obscured gentleman holding what looks like a wristwatch, possibly timing the activity.
I wonder what the bumper/guard-like fixtures affixed to the top of the helmets are?

8.5" x 11". A size that normally suggests a contractor-originated photo...usually McDonnell...so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

At the 10:35 mark of the following interesting footage, I believe the gentleman is wearing the same uniform, with a somewhat similar helmet, obviously also in a first-responder capacity. He also appears to be wearing the face-piece of his oxygen mask…which I think can be seen in the photo dangling from the left-hand side of both of the gentleman’s helmets:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDN0S4eJWYY
Credit: user ‘The Space Archive’/YouTube

Also in the SESL, with the caption “Apollo 14 backup Commander Cernan preparing for a vacuum chamber test in the SESL”:

www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public...

Although…the photo might be associated with the Crew Systems Laboratory (CSL), Building 7. Having never been to either, and with little contextual imagery available to conclusively determine, it’s possible, although (I think) less probable.
However, primarily or my own edification:

“The Crew Systems Laboratory (CSL) was constructed between December 1962, and March 1964, by the joint venture team of C.H. Leavell and Company of El Paso, the Morrison-Knudsen Company, Inc. of Boise, Idaho, and Paul Hardeman, Inc. of Stanton, California for a cost of approximately $1.549 million. Building 7 is one of the eleven original buildings constructed at the JSC. A 55,000 square foot addition (Building 7A) was made to the original 109,026 square foot building in 1966, at a cost of $1.494 million. In 1970, the addition of Building 7B increased the overall size of the facility by 2926 square feet. Smaller additions to Building 7 were made in 1967 (1272 square foot) and 1969 (546 square foot). The most recent major modification, in 1995, was the 3886-square foot addition to the Equipment Receiving Area.

The Wing E High Bay (Room 1000) of Building 7, known as the Environmental Test Area, contains the historically significant facilities which support the Space Shuttle program, including the 8’, 11’, and 18’ vacuum chambers and their ancillaries. Only the 18’ chamber was built specifically for the SSP. The 2’, 10’, and 20’ chambers, also located within Room 1000, lack noteworthy historical associations with the Space Shuttle program. Collectively, the 8’ and the 20’ chambers, originally used for Project Gemini, are the oldest.

The human-rated 8’ Vacuum Chamber, also known as the System/Component Vacuum Test Facility, arrived in Houston in May 1962, from Air Force surplus. It was modified three months later by the addition of an 8’-diameter loading door and explosion-proof interior lights. Following a complete overhaul and upgrading in Hangar 135 at Ellington Field during February 1964, the chamber was installed in Building 7 in July 1964. Portable Life Support System (PLSS) checkout consoles were installed in the adjacent control room in October 1965. The 8’chamber was active during Project Gemini and the Apollo Program, and was upgraded in 1973, to support the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). Two years later, in November 1975, the equipment that supported the ASTP was removed. Subsequently, the 8’ chamber was used to support the design verification and flight qualification testing of the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) PLSS backpack.

[A nice article on the aforementioned PLSS testing capability, at:

www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-certifying-apollo-space...

Specifically, with the caption/description “Astronaut James Irwin testing the Apollo A-6L suit in the Crew Systems Division’s 8-foot altitude chamber”:

www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public...]

The 11’ Vacuum Chamber was first used in November 1966, for off-site manned tests. It was moved to JSC in May 1968, and used during the Apollo Program for evaluative tests of the Lunar Module environmental control PLSS, pressure suits, and EVA components. Two treadmills, used for metabolic determination, were installed in 1970 and 1971. Modifications to support the Space Shuttle program included removal of the Lunar Module cabin wall heater/cooler in 1977. In 1978, funding was approved for expanding the existing 11’ chamber vacuum system to incorporate the Shuttle Flash Evaporator System in the Shuttle Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) boilerplate (including airlock hardware). To enable extended systems evaluation and crew training tests, modifications included installing a vacuum line from the 11’ chamber to a new vacuum cylinder boilerplate (18’ vacuum chamber) sized to simulate the flight airlock; constructing a platform with stairway and an enclosure to surround the airlock boilerplate; extending the existing fire suppression and alarm system to the new airlock and entry room type enclosure; and installing repressurization valves, altitude limiting valves, and cable trays. Plumbing, electrical utilities, and high pressure GO2 and GN2 systems also were installed to allow reduced chamber pressure.”

Above at/from:

ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20110002110/downloads/2011000...

A dramatic view of heavily instrumented Command Module 008 (CM-008)/Command-Service Module 008 (CSM-008), aka FRM-008, aka S/C 008 circa mid-to-late 1966, during extensive unmanned & manned thermal vacuum testing in Chamber A of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL)/Bldg 32, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), Houston, Texas.
The photograph appears to have been taken through an observation window, apparently/obviously(?) mid-test.

Excellent reading at:

www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001089.html
Credit: collectSPACE website

www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...
Credit: DrewExMachina website/Andrew LePage

Other excellent views:

archive.org/details/S66-47786

archive.org/details/S66-59204
Both above credit: Internet Archive website

Outstanding:

www.nps.gov/articles/space-environmental-simulation-labor...
Credit: National Park Service website

Stata Center on the Campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Excellent overhead view of Ground Test Vehicle/ Command & Service Module (CSM) 008, aka FRM-008, aka S/C 008, possibly/apparently being exposed to simulated illumination & thermal conditions in Vacuum Chamber A of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL)/Bldg 32, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), Houston, Texas. One of three (I think) - two opposing on the sides/one overhead - banks of carbon arc lamps seem to be on. I don’t know what photography from this perspective was available when the chamber was sealed…so I have no idea if this was while the spacecraft was under vacuum conditions or not. This may be a test of the lights, system, etc. Who knows.

~7.75” x 10”. Despite being trimmed, unevenly, by some ‘blessed’ soul, a really cool photo.

Informative reading:

www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001089.html
Credit: collectSPACE website

www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...
Credit: DrewExMachina website/Andrew LePage

www.popsci.com/how-nasa-goes-to-space-without-leaving-earth/
Credit: Popular Science online website

Excellent:

archive.org/details/S66-47786

Spectacular often reproduced view, which I believe shows the opposing bank of lights illuminated:

archive.org/details/S66-59204
Both above credit: Internet Archive website

The Facility Compatibility Article (FCA), on the workstand in Chamber A, Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL)/Bldg 32, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), circa April 1966, during compatibility checkout.

Prior to manned thermal vacuum tests within the chamber, the CSM boilerplate was used for insertion procedure familiarization, as the entire CSM could not be inserted into the chamber in one piece. Each module had to be transferred individually and then stacked on the test stand/platform inside it.

With the work platform in place:

archive.org/details/S66-30818
Credit: Internet Archive website

Additional info at:

ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/CR-2003-208933...
Credit: Johnson Space Center

www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...
Credit: DrewExMachina website/Andrew LePage

Last, but not least:

www.nps.gov/articles/space-environmental-simulation-labor...

An excellent view of the heavily instrumented & marked up Command Module 008 (CM-008)/Command-Service Module 008 (CSM-008), aka FRM-008, aka S/C 008 circa mid-to-late 1966, during extensive unmanned and manned thermal vacuum testing in Chamber A of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL)/Bldg 32, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), Houston, Texas.

I’m usually a little pissed when photographs have been ‘chopped’ in order to frame or otherwise display them. Not in this instance…as this was probably actual ‘working’ photographic documentation that required the one white border to be removed.
Note also that the external guidance & navigation optics assembly has a plastic covering taped over it. I wonder if it was removed for/during the manned portion of testing? If the crew simulated its use…since there was nothing to actually look at, thus verifying functionality…within the chamber, it would've been pointless to take it off, right? Not to mention, risking dust & other particulate contamination.

Excellent reading at:

www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001089.html
Credit: collectSPACE website

www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...
Credit: DrewExMachina website/Andrew LePage

Other excellent views:

archive.org/details/S66-47786

archive.org/details/S66-59204
Both above credit: Internet Archive website

Outstanding:

www.nps.gov/articles/space-environmental-simulation-labor...