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The successes of the long-duration MDA/NASA test programs for advanced life-support systems conducted prior to 1971 were highly dependent on the selection and training of both the test crews that remained inside the test chamber throughout the test periods and the outside operating staff. The operating staff was responsible for overall test performance, crew safety monitoring, operation and maintenance of the test facilities, and collection and maintenance of data. A selection, training, and certification program was developed and performed to ensure operating staff members had the correct technical skills and could work effectively together with the inside crew. A training program was designed to ensure that each selected operating staff member was capable of performing all assigned functions and was sufficiently cross-trained to serve at other positions on a contingency basis, if needed.

This paper presents a summary of the results of the last known closed-door manned chamber test of an operational regenerative life-support system. This is the 20th anniversary of the 90-day run performed in the McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. (MDAC) Space Station Simulator for the NASA Langley Research Center in the summer of 1970. Overall, 45 different organizations participated in the program. The life-support systems representative of those required by Space Station were installed within a double-walled chamber and operated by a four-man crew. Crew repair, maintenance, and operational performance for the life-support systems were evaluated. The 90-day test included the evaluation of a number of advanced life-support subsystems with backup provided by alternate subsystems that had undergone extensive manned testing during the middle 1960s. Data was obtained on the performance of the equipment, the four-man crew, and the man/system interface.