'Yabadabadoo': 50 Years Since Apollo 7 Brought America's Lunar Goal Closer (Part 2)By Ben Evans, on October 14th, 2018
The three men who eventually formed the prime crew of Apollo 7 were originally assigned to the short-lived Apollo 2 mission. Left to right, are Walt Cunningham, Donn Eisele and Wally Schirra. Photo Credit: NASA(...) One of Apollo 7’s most significant tasks was testing the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine at the base of the Service Module, which would be used on Moon-bound missions to effect entry into, and departure from, lunar orbit. The astronauts oversaw a total of eight SPS “burns”, the first of which caught Schirra with such surprise that he let out a whooped “Yabadabadoo”, in imitation of Fred Flintstone. Eisele remarked later that they “got more than we expected” from the SPS and the additional impulse literally plastered them back into their couches. Apollo 7 simulated multiple-duration burns, from a fraction of a second to over a minute long.
Other systems aboard Apollo 7 performed equally well. Occasionally, one of the three electricity-generating fuel cells would develop unwanted high temperatures, but load-sharing hook-ups prevented any power shortages. Visibility through the windows was mixed, with sooty deposits noted shortly after the jettisoning of the Saturn IB’s escape tower and spots of water condensation seen at other times. Two days into the flight, however, Cunningham reported that most of the windows were in fairly good condition, although moisture was gathering between the inner panes in one case. A similar situation was seen by Schirra a few days later. Nonetheless, the windows proved adequate, particularly during the rendezvous and station-keeping with the S-IVB, when they were almost clear.
On a more mundane level, the waste-management system—Apollo’s rudimentary toilet—proved adequate, if annoying. Its defecation bags, which contained a blue germicidal tablet to prevent bacterial and gas formation, could be sealed easily and stored in empty food containers in the Command Module’s lower equipment bay. However, they were far from ideal, still produced unpleasant odors and took each astronaut 45-60 minutes to complete. To add insult to injury, the germicidal tablets then had to be kneaded into the contents of the defecation bag to ensure that they were fully mixed. Not surprisingly, many astronauts found themselves postponing their “need to go” for as long as possible.
Sleep brought mixed blessings, with Schirra complaining about the around-the-clock operations which disrupted their normal routine. Sometimes they might go to bed as early as 4 p.m. or as late as 4 a.m., he said, and a consensus was finally reached whereby Eisele kept watch on Apollo 7’s systems whilst Schirra and Cunningham slept and vice versa. Two sleeping bags were mounted beneath the couches and the astronauts typically zipped themselves inside, although the incorrect positioning of restraint straps made them less than ideal. Cunningham preferred to sleep in his couch with a shoulder harness and lap belt to keep still. However, if two crew members did this, they invariably disturbed their colleague who was awake. By the third day of the flight, thankfully, they had worked out a routine to get enough sleep. (...)
http://www.americaspace.com/2018/10/14/yabadabadoo-50-years-since-apollo-7-brought-americas-lunar-goal-closer-part-2/