Around Marshall

Preparing for the eventual launch of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), an astronaut prepares himself for the rigorous duties of maintenance and repairs after launch, at Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS). The NBS provided mock-ups of the HST, the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), the orbiter's cargo bay, and the low-gravity environment that the astronauts would encounter while working in space. All aspects of shuttle missions were pre-plarned and practiced at the NBS to forego any problems in space.