.ncluding those that could not be accommodated due to hardware complexity, cost, or time for performance have been assigned to work with NASA scientists or Principal Investigators either in their specific experiment area or in related areas. Every submittal has received suitable acknowledgment, and special awards have been made to regional and national winners.

OPERATIONS

As the initial launch time draws near, program emphasis is shifting to the operations area. Basically, operations is concerned with the planning and conduct of launch and flight activities. The planning required for the long duration Skylab missions, with the myriad of activities to be accomplished, has been an undertaking of considerable magnitude. A significant new challenge for our operations teams is the dual launch of the SL-1/SL-2 mission. The preparation of two complex space vehicles in parallel creates a major increase in coordination and planning requirements. Other factors adding to the operations challenge of Skylab are the number and complexity of the Skylab systems, and the number of experiments and experimenters involved. The following reviews some of the highlights of the operations activities with primary emphasis on the execution of experiments.

The basic operational plans for the first Skylab manned mission are the Flight Plan and the Mission Rules. These plans are virtually complete and will be published in the next few weeks. The Flight Plan defines the in-flight tasks to be performed from launch through recovery. Its development is a complex process in which competing and conflicting mission and experiment requirements must be identified and resolved, astronaut procedures identified and associated performance times allocated, and operational constraints considered. Developing and producing the Flight Plan helps to build the coordination and team work among the various elements so necessary for mission conduct. The Mission Rules provide the pre-planned actions necessary to insure crew safety and to maximize the probability of mission success by guiding operational decisions during the launch and flight phases of the mission.

In addition to the development of operations plans, the organizational elements involved in the Skylab Missions have participated, and will continue to participate, up until launch, in training and simulations. A simulation (figure 111) is a

mission rehearsal in which one or more elements of the mission team perform the activities they will be responsible for during the actual mission. Elements include flight crews, launch crews, flight control speicalists, flight planners, program management personnel and experiment principal investigators.

Simulations to date have covered evaluation of flight planning, and crew activities during launch, workship activation, typical in-orbit days, deactivation, and reentry. In addition, we have recently conducted our first integrated simulation in which all mission elements interact with each other. Further simulations will be conducted to evaluate flight readiness and launch countdown to assure that the launch team and space vehicle are ready to go.

As in the past space missions, outstanding performance is anticipated from our flight crews. Skylab flight crews (figure 112) (see p. 394) were selected last year and have been undergoing vigorous training ever since, covering a multitude of subjects and skills from astronomy and medicine to simulated rendezvous and docking maneuvers. To assure an adequate crew roster, two additional crews (figure 113) (see p. 394) have been selected for backup. By the time our crews are ready for flight, they will have received over 2,000 hours of training, much of it devoted to experiment operations.

The Program Director is responsible for assuring that the program mission requirements are met, for reviewing experiment priorities, and for approving major flight plan changes. A newly created group for the Skylab missions is the Skylab Advisory Group for Experiments (SAGE). SAGE will advise the Program Director on long-range experiment replanning for an ongoing mission and for subsequent missions. SAGE is composed of Directors of the experiment sponsoring offices.

The Flight Management Team (FMT) is another group that has been created for the Skylab missions. This team, chaired by the Program Director, is composed of program and operational personnel and will provide guidance to the

Flight Control Team and coordinate mission activities with NASA management. The Skylab Program intends to maximize the scientific and technical return from its experiments. To assist in this effort, the experiment principal investigators have participated in the flight planning process and will also participate in real time mission operations. Any flight planning changes that affect experiment performance will be reviewed with the principal investigators. Additionally, they will have channels of communication, for discussion of major experiment policy changes, to SAGE.

RESCUE CAPABILITY

A rescue kit to convert Skylab Command Modules to rescue vehicles has been manufactured and qualified, and will be delivered to KSC next month. Very basically, the kit consists of two additional couches and life support equipment. The rescue mode envisages launch of the next mission spacecraft, with the kit installed, but with only two astronauts on board, thereby providing accommodation for the three astronauts awaiting rescue. Thus SL-3 is potentially the rescue vehicle for SL-2, and SL-4 for SL-3. To provide rescue capability for SL-4, the Skylab backup spacecraft will be used.

With the successful culmination of the extensive test programs and the intensification of the planning of operational activities, the Skylab Program is rapidly approaching mission readiness. The number and variety of investigations in Solar Astronomy, Earth Observations, Astrophysics, Life Sciences, Man/Systems Integration, and Materials Sciences, and the broad involvement of the scientific community, both nationally and internationally, signify a world-wide interest in Skylab. The NASA now looks to the culmination of its efforts, adding to the knowledge of manned space flight, while focusing attention on its usefulness to manned Earth life.

APOLLO-SOYUZ TEST PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project is a joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. Earth orbital mission to test technical solutions for creating compatible docking systems between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., which can be used for docking future manned spacecraft and stations. The performance of the test mission will include testing of a compatible rendezvous system in orbit, testing of universal docking assemblies, verifying techniques for transfer of astronauts and cosmonauts, performing experiments and other activities appropriate for U.S. and U.S.S.R. crews in docked flight, and perhaps most importantly, conducting joint flights by U.S. and U.S.S.R. spacecraft which will provide experience enabling either nation to render aid in emergency situations. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project can be viewed as a step toward future cooperation in space between the United States and the Soviet Union (figure 114) (see p. 396).

An agreement committing the two countries to this joint project was signed in May 1972 by President Nixon and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, Aleksis Kosygin.

Joint working groups with members from each country have been established to address major technical subjects involved in the Project, such as the Mission Model and Operations Plan, including experiments; Guidance and Control; Mechanical Design; Communications; and Life Support and Crew Transfer. These joint groups continued to define program details in meetings at Houston in July, Moscow in October, Houston in November, and Moscow in December of 1972. Tentative schedules for 1973 provide for meetings of several of the working groups approximately every two months.

Chester M. Lee, the Program Director in the Office of Manned Space Flight, Washington, will have overall responsibility for the direction and management of the U.S. part of the Project, including the spacecraft and docking module activities, flight operations, and crew operations at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston; the launch vehicle activities at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, and launch operations at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

The ASTP Program Manager at the NASA Johnson Space Center is Dr. Glynn S. Lunney who is also Chairman of the U.S. Working Group responsible for the direct contact with Soviet representatives.

The Saturn IB launch vehicle activities at MSFC will be managed by the Saturn Program Manager, Richard G. Smith. At KSC, the ASTP will be managed by Robert C. Hock, the current Apollo/Skylab Program Manager.

The Apollo spacecraft for the test mission will be a modified version of the Command and Service Module flown during early lunar landing missions, and will incorporate a new Docking Module and Docking System. The basic spacecraft was manufactured and checked out for the Apollo Program and has been in storage. Modifications will be required as a result of unique mission requirements, including additional propellants for the reaction control systems, heaters for thermal control, and controls and displays required for operation of the Docking Module. The Docking Module (figure 115) is a cylindrical structure, about 5 feet in diameter and 10 feet in length. Equipped with the necessary stored gases, displays, and controls, it will serve as an airlock for the internal transfer of crewmen between the two spacecraft. On its forward end there will be the new peripheral, universal docking device being designed by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Radio communications and antennas will also be mounted on the Module.

The Soyuz spacecraft to be used by the U.S.S.R. has been the primary manned vehicle for the Soviet space program since it was introduced in 1967, and consists of an Orbital Module, a Descent Module, and an Instrument Module. The configuration to be used in the test mission will be a modification of the basic Soyuz design including the compatible rendezvous and docking equipment. Most of the new systems will be located on the Orbital Module with the new Docking System installed on its front end.

The mission is scheduled to begin no earlier than July 15, 1975, (figure 116) with the launch of a Soyuz-type spacecraft which will be inserted into about a 228 x 188 km (142 x 117 mi.) orbit at an inclination of 51.6 degrees. Subsequent to insertion, the Soyuz will perform a maneuver to circularize its orbit in preparation for rendezvous at a nominal altitude of 225 km (140 mi.). The first Apollo launch opportunity could occur about 7.5 hours after the Soyuz liftoff. (figure 117) (see p. 398). Four additional opportunities exist, with the fourth and fifth opportunities necessitating a reduction of available time in a docked configuration