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  Sleeping compartments on the space shuttle

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Author Topic:   Sleeping compartments on the space shuttle
p51
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Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 11-03-2015 02:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Do any of you know the orientation of this photo from STS-107? I am having a hard time visualizing where this is.

That’s obviously the airlock hatch at the top of the photo, so does that mean the floor is to the left? That would place these compartments where the main hatch/toilet/food area is, which isn't possible. I've never seen another photo showing compartments like this on the shuttle that normal sized people could fit into. I've only ever seen sleeping bags attached to the walls.

Robert Pearlman
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Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-03-2015 02:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The sleep stations were used when the shuttle crew was divided into two shift teams (red and blue) so that the off-shift team could sleep undisturbed while the on-shift team worked.

In the photo, the floor is to the right, the bunk beds are mounted against the wall opposite to where the crew hatch and galley are installed.

(You can tell the orientation by looking at the direction of the labels on the lockers, which are the aft lockers, to the left of the airlock.)

Here's a NASA layout drawing:

p51
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Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 11-03-2015 05:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ah, that makes sense.

Was this used often? This is the only photo I've ever seen of this in use.

Hart Sastrowardoyo
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Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 11-03-2015 05:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hart Sastrowardoyo   Click Here to Email Hart Sastrowardoyo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There's this photo from STS-59.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-03-2015 05:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The Spacelab flights used the bunk beds, as did some of the Spacehab flights, like STS-95 (as shown below).

Here are some additional photos:

Ronpur
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Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012

posted 11-03-2015 06:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ronpur   Click Here to Email Ronpur     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I wonder how effective they were to give the sleeping crew isolation from the on duty crew?

I never really realized how much the crew cabin of an orbiter could change based on mission requirements just like the payload bay.

Jim Behling
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Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 11-03-2015 09:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ronpur:
I never really realized how much the crew cabin of an orbiter could change based on mission requirements just like the payload bay.
The mid deck was gutted after every mission. All lockers and crew items were removed. Same goes for all the wiring for experiment power, crew communications and computer ethernet.

Jim Behling
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Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 11-03-2015 09:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The sleep compartment was redesigned. I believe it was for EDO. The original design as depicted in the drawing have three horizontal compartments and one vertical. The redesign, as shown in the photos, had four horizontal.

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