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...
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