Today it’s a Prep & Post day!
This is a full day training event in the airlock mock-up in which we go through all the procedures that need to be performed in the hours before and after an EVA. We basically simulate an EVA day, minus the time actually spent outside.
This is actually the Prep & Post class of my crewmate Butch. My role will be that of the “suit IV”, so I will help with the suit donning and doffing, the prebreath protocol and the airlock depress/repress procedures. We prebreath to purge nitrogen from our blood, in order to prevent problems with decompression sickness. Remember that the suit is pressurized to only about 1/3 of atmospheric pressure!
I attach a picture of a Prep & Post class I did almost two years ago. Really time to refresh my knowledge!
14/08/2013