Here is what astronauts trained in for missions to Skylab, the orbiting space station NASA had back in the 1970s.  This shot is comprised of 9 photos: it is a panorama of three 3 ae-bracketed handheld exposures spaced from -2 to +2 EV.  I processed it using Lightroom's relatively new HDR Panorama photo merge tech and it turned out better than I expected!.  Handy thing that!

Here is more info on the Skylab trainer from Space Center Houston:

America’s first space station was huge. It was so big that the actual trainer used by astronauts to prepare for life aboard Skylab couldn’t be brought into Space Center Houston. Space Center Houston had to be built around the trainer.

The actual Skylab training module lives in Starship Gallery. Created out of the final stage of a Saturn V rocket, this habitable spacecraft was designed to develop methods of living and working in space for long periods.

It also was equipped with solar telescopes and served as a laboratory to study how the human body adapts to long duration exposure to a micro-gravity environment. Three different crews spent a total of 171 days on board, conducting a wide array of research.

The sign in the bottom left of the image says:

The large white ring that runs along the interior wall of Skylab is made up from a series of storage lockers for items ranging from cotton swabs to urine bags. Some crew members were able to run the length of these lockers as seen in the video to the left.  The orbital workshops interior volume was 9,550 cubic feet (270 cubic meters).

I hope you enjoy the photo and thanks for dropping by.

Skylab Pano 01Skylab 1-G Trainer from Space Center Houston.

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