Word: kerwin
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...station that they have had little time to consider one of the most important questions of their 28-day mission: What are the everyday problems of living and working in space over prolonged periods of time? Last week, as Skylab's troubles finally subsided, Astronauts Pete Conrad, Joe Kerwin and Paul Weitz began to verify some old answers and provide some new ones...
...skin in the spacecraft's dry atmosphere. The astronauts could console themselves with once-a-week showers, but pleasant as the bathing was, it was also very taxing. Water tended to cling firmly to the body and to the shower compartment's walls. As a result, Kerwin said, "it takes forever to dry both one's self and the wall ... even using that inadequate little vacuum cleaner that we've got." Skylab's toilet, in contrast, worked very efficiently. In fact, recalling the messy urine tubes and collection bags of earlier flights, Space Rookie Weitz...
...level on earth), sound does not travel well. Thus, said Kerwin, "we're always hollering at each other. We're all hoarse up here." The astronauts also had trouble whistling-until Weitz found the knack: "You've got to hold your lips a little farther apart...
...lengthy space voyage would also probably aggravate psychological problems. After only three weeks in orbit, the astronauts were already bemoaning the isolation. Kerwin, only half-humorously, identified himself as "your lonely science pilot who is hungering for human companionship...
Working in the weightless environment proved difficult and strenuous; Kerwin's pulse went up as high as 150 beats a minute. "Take it easy," advised Space Veteran Conrad,* whose own heartbeat rose only to 110. While Conrad held the rope to the cutters, Kerwin tried to direct the pole so that the blades hooked around the aluminum strip. "I can't stabilize myself," he complained as he failed again and again. "I just can't do it." Finally, just as the spacecraft was about to make another pass into darkness-which would have forced the astronauts...