/sci/ - Science & Math

Perhaps the most valuable sea/space analog program that was carried out before the modern era was the simulated orbit of the Grumman Piccard “Ben Franklin” PX-15 simulated space station along a 1,444 mile stretch of the Gulf Stream. Although equipped with electric thrusters, the vessel drifted for the entirety of it’s journey, using those thrusters only for course adjustment just as the ISS does. Onboard, habitable space equivalent to the Aquarius Reef Base undersea habitat provided beds, a bathroom and kitchen facilities for six men. The journey lasted 30 days and provided behavioral and operational data on what it would entail to run a single-launch, six man space station similar to what eventually became Skylab. An internal schematic of the Ben Franklin can be found here[3].