1969 To 1997
Engineers used the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator for working out kinks in designs, and astronauts provided feedback from their experiences in the simulator. For example, on August 6 and 7, 1969, astronauts Owen Garriott, Walter Cunningham, and Rusty Schweickart evaluated the Apollo Telescope Mount EVA film retrieval system.
The simulator's hyperbaric chamber saw its first use for its intended purpose the night of September 24-25, 1969, when a TVA worker suffering decompression sickness near Knoxville was airlifted to MSFC for treatment arriving about midnight. NASA and TVA doctors attended treatments. The first round of treatment provided some improvement for the diver, but recovery was slow as of October 20. The patient had suffered a lesion on his spine and subsequent paralysis from the waist down. Sensory perception was returning, but not motor function.
Astronauts performed Skylab training at the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator in the early 1970s. Astronauts Conrad and Kerwin prepared for their Skylab 2 EVA missions by simulating their requirements in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator before proceeding with the repairs in outer space.
The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-41-C spent months training for the capture, repair, and release of the Solar Max satellite including practicing using the Manned Maneuvering Unit.
The Neutral Buoyancy Simulator was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
Engineers continued to develop procedures and astronauts continued to train in the simulator for the Hubble Space Telescope missions, and International Space Station assembly through the tank's decommissioning in 1997.
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