Neutral Buoyancy Simulator - Foundations For A Third Tank

Foundations For A Third Tank

It was clear early on that a larger simulator was necessary for testing procedures with Skylab (21.67 feet (6.61 m) diameter by 24.3 feet (7.4 m) high) and other hardware in the pipeline. It was also clear that its construction would require some creative financing and political maneuvering. In his September 12, 1966 memo to Wernher von Braun, Kuers disclosed, " had apparently been told of our plans regarding the new large neutral buoyancy type simulator, and in response to his point blank questions regarding this, he was candidly shown the design blueprints by responsible ME personnel. Consequently, Houston is now aware."

There was no budget for additional facilities, so managers decided to modify an existing facility by building a tank within it using tooling funds and in-house fabricators. Stocks explained, "All we had was the Directors Discretionary funds available at the time. We were not allowed to construct a new building for the tank, so a leak was discovered under the model and prototype building. This leak required about of concrete under the floor to repair." Thus the foundation of building 4706 was prepared in July 1967, to support a tank holding 1,300,000 US gallons (4,900,000 l) of water.

Ed Buckbee wrote that the funding irregularities "prompted a GAO (Government Accountability Office) audit and reprimand, but contributed to the Marshall lore of creativity and pragmatism in getting the job done."