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Captions:
Moving from the Orbiter to SpaceLab requires little effort
when convenient, effective hand tools are available to start, stay on course, stop and maintain position.
In Skylab, movement through the airlock compartment was accomplished using a head-first swimming attitude stopped by grabbing the work table and stabilized by firmly engaging foot restraints.
Body translation or movement in a space vehicle can be accomplished in a number of
ways: standing erect, head-first, or with a crawling action.
Any of these is effective but note the almost exclusive use of the hands and arms to control motion.
The method used depends on the person, the distance to be traveled, and whatever is safely available to grasp or grab.
Captions (continued):
During such a maneuver, one needs to take care to avoid unintentional operation of switches and controls. There is no boarding house on Earth that would approve this method of getting from one side of the dining table to the
other. In zero gravity, it's not that unusual.
However, the crewman returns to his place in a more conventional manner with a more erect attitude relative to the floor. In
Space Shuttle, this astronaut has an architectural orientation with her feet towards the floor and maintains that attitude while moving into the
commander's seat.
Life is not all seriousness in space. When you're concerned only with moving through a compartment, being diverted by a game of catch, you'll grab anything that's handy to control your motion.
A fact that should be recognized when designing guards and protective devices for controls and other equipment.
Then there are the experiments to find new and different and perhaps more effective methods to move about. Thin swim fins work in water.
How about here? In truth, you don't need any special devices to get were you want to go in a space vehicle.
A quick tug or shove and you're on your way.