Neutral Buoyancy Lab at Johnson Space Center

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

February 2, 2017

15 Slides
Neutral Buoyancy Lab at Johnson Space Center

 

NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab, commonly referred to as the NBL, is an indoor pool that hold 6.2 million gallons of water.

This is the facility that NASA uses to teach astronauts how to perform space walks on the International Space Station (ISS) because buoyancy in the water is the closest simulation of weightlessness on the ground.

Inside of the crystal clear water of the pool are structures which represent the ISS structures and visiting spacecraft so that the astronauts can gain familiarity in this training environment before heading to space.

We were also shown high fidelity tools and what are called On Orbit Replacement Units (ORU's) that the astronauts use in training in the NBL for that same type of familiarity before they actual head unto space and perform those actions.

 

About the Author

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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