Astronaut Training in Space Suits

Images of astronauts in training versions of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, showcasing preparation for spacewalks in a pool environment.

Expedition 36 crew members Chris Cassidy and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during EVA training operations at the NBL. Photo Date: January 8, 2013. Location: NBL - Pool Topside.
Expedition 36 crew members Chris Cassidy and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during EVA training operations at the NBL. Photo Date: January 8, 2013. Location: NBL - Pool Topside.
254 assets in this story
6145-58964219
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Expedition 4 crew member Daniel W. Bursch waits patiently for final checkout of his launch and entry suit prior to heading to Launch Pad 39B and Space Shuttle Endeavour. Top priorities for the 11-day STS-108 (UF-1) mission of Endeavour are rotation of the International Space Station Expedition 3 and Expedition 4 crews; bringing water, equipment and supplies to the station in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello; and the crew's completion of robotics tasks and a spacewalk to install thermal blankets over two pieces of equipment at the bases of the Space Station's solar wings. Launch is scheduled for 5 45 p.m. EST Dec. 4, 2001, from Launch Pad 39B
6145-45291433
Expedition 65 prime crew member Russian cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos takes part in tilt table training Saturday, April 3, 2021, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Dubrov, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9.
6145-44708652
SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) primary mirror being coated in the Ames N-211 Vacuum Chamber.
6145-44648991
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-121 Mission Specialist Thomas Reiter prepares to leap from the slidewire basket during training on emergency egress procedures from the launch pad. Above him is Mission Specialist Piers Sellers; at lower left is Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson. The crew is at Kennedy for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, including emergency egress training from the pad. They will also suit up in their orange flight suits for a simulated countdown to launch. Discovery is designated to launch July 1 on mission STS-121. It will carry supplies to the International Space Station.
6145-44697216
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-124 Mission Specialist Ron Garan examines the tiles on the underbelly of space shuttle Discovery in the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Members of the crew are at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test. On the mission, Discovery will transport the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System (JEM-RMS) to the International Space Station to complete the Kibo laboratory. The launch of Discovery is targeted for April 24.
6145-44722174
S85-42472 (16 Oct. 1985) --- Teacher-in-Space trainees on the KC-135 for zero-G training. Sharon Christa McAuliffe, right, and Barbara R. Morgan, play leap-frog in the temporary weightlessness of the KC-135.
6145-44515023
JSC2000-07460 (11 December 2000) --- Astronaut Scott J. Horowitz, STS-105 mission commander, floats in a small life raft during an emergency egress training session at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near the Johnson Space Center (JSC). This summer, Horowitz will join four other astronauts and two cosmonauts for a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
1815-17709968
Girl wearing space suit standing at entrance of motor home
1899-18984921
Astronaut Linda M. Godwin, STS-37 mission specialist, floats in a one-person life raft. She was simulating steps involved in emergency egress from a space shuttle. The training session was held in the Johnson Space Center's weightless environment training facility (WET-F)..
6145-45221466
Dustin Gohmert, Orion Crew Survival Systems Project Manager at NASAs Johnson Space Center, poses for a portrait while wearing the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suit, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The Orion suit is designed for a custom fit and incorporates safety technology and mobility features that will help protect astronauts on launch day, in emergency situations, high-risk parts of missions near the Moon, and during the high-speed return to Earth.
6145-44730627
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-126 Commander Chris Ferguson walks away from the Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA, after practicing shuttle landings. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate a shuttles cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the aircraft duplicates the shuttles atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet to landing. The practice is part of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, which includes equipment familiarization, emergency exit procedures and a simulated launch countdown. On the STS-126 mission, space shuttle Endeavour's crew will deliver equipment and supplies to the International Space Station in preparation for expansion from a three- to six-person resident crew aboard the complex. The mission also will include four spacewalks to service the stations Solar Alpha Rotary Joints. Endeavour is targeted to launch Nov. 1
6145-44715974
S69-55368 (6 Oct. 1969) --- Two members of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission participate in lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) simulations in the Flight Crew Training Building at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander (facing camera), simulates picking up samples. Astronaut Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, simulates photographic lunar rock sample documentation.
6145-58965020
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - STS-108 Mission Specialist Daniel M. Tani is happy to be suiting up for launch before heading to Launch Pad 39B and Space Shuttle Endeavour. Top priorities for the STS-108 (UF-1) mission of Endeavour are rotation of the International Space Station Expedition 3 and Expedition 4 crews; bringing water, equipment and supplies to the station in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello; and the crew's completion of robotics tasks and a spacewalk to install thermal blankets over two pieces of equipment at the bases of the Space Station's solar wings. Launch is scheduled for 5 45 p.m. EST Dec. 4, 2001, from Launch Pad 39B
6145-44533327
JSC2002-00529 (19 February 2002) --- Astronaut James D. Wetherbee, STS-113 mission commander, floats in a small life raft during an emergency bailout training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near the Johnson Space Center (JSC).
6145-44766275
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the White Room on the orbiter access arm of the fixed service structure on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-127 Mission Specialist Julie Payette waits to finish suiting up before entering space shuttle Endeavour for the simulated launch countdown. The crew is at Kennedy for a launch dress rehearsal called the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, which includes the simulation, emergency exit training and equipment familiarization. Endeavour's STS-127 mission is the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. Endeavour's launch is scheduled for June 13 at 7:17 a.m. EDT.
6145-44533120
JSC2002-00517 (19 February 2002) --- Astronaut David A. Wolf, STS-112 mission specialist, floats in a small life raft during an emergency bailout training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Wolf is attired a training version of the shuttle launch and entry suit.
6145-44650590
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the pre-dawn hours, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly heads across the Shuttle Landing Facility to the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). Kelly and Commander Steven Lindsey will be making practice landings in preparation for the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiters cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiters atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time.
6145-44504022
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Seated in a slidewire basket at the 195-foot level of the Fixed Service Structure, Launch Pad 39A, are (left to right) STS-101 Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber and Jeffrey N. Williams, who is reaching for the release lever. The release of the basket will send it shooting down the 1,200-foot slidewire to a bunker west of the launch pad. The crew is practicing emergency egress from the orbiter as part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration (TCDT) activities that include a simulated launch countdown and familiarization with the payload. During their mission to the International Space Station, the STS-101 crew will be delivering logistics and supplies, plus preparing the Station for the arrival of the Zvezda Service Module, expected to be launched by Russia in July 2000. Also, the crew will conduct one space walk to perform maintenance on the Space Station. This will be the third assembly flight to the Space Station. STS-101 is scheduled to launch April 24 at
6145-44493808
S99-08660 (24 May 1999)--- Astronaut Claude Nicollier, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA), checks his communications gear prior to a session of emergency bailout training in the Systems Integration Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Nicollier, wearing a training version of the partial-pressure launch and entry garment, and his six STS-103 crew mates are currently in training for the third servicing visit to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) since its 1990 deployment.
6145-45007029
Tourist photograph themselves in astronaut space suites next to a cardboard cutout of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide at the visitor's center of the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC), Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, Tanegashima Island, Japan. A Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying the NASA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory is planned for launch from the space center on Feb. 28, 2014. Once launched, the GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours.
6145-52961264
. USCV-7 (Crew-7) preflight imagery supplied by SpaceX
6145-44516952
STS-98 Mission Specialist Marsha Ivins has help getting into her launch and entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building. STS-98 is the seventh construction flight to the International Space Station. Atlantis is carrying the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, a key module in the growth of the Space Station. Destiny will be attached to the Unity node on the Space Station using the Shuttles robotic arm. Three spacewalks, by Curbeam and Jones, are required to complete the planned construction work during the 11-day mission. Launch is targeted for 6:11 p.m. EST and the planned landing at KSC Feb. 18 about 1:39 p.m. This mission marks the seventh Shuttle flight to the Space Station, the 23rd flight of Atlantis and the 102nd flight overall in NASAs Space Shuttle program
1815-18259132
Young female astronaut in space suit shielding eyes from sunlight
6145-44521615
STS-100 Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski is questioned by a suit technician about the fit of his helmet and suit. Parazynski and the rest of the crew Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield, John L. Phillips, Umberto Guidoni and Yuri Lonchakov are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, from emergency escape training at the pad to a simulated launch countdown. An international crew, Hadfield is with the Canadian Space Agency, Guidoni the European Space Agency and Lonchakov the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The mission is carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the Canadian robotic arm, SSRMS, to the International Space Station. Raffaello carries six system racks and two storage racks for the U.S. Lab. The SSRMS is crucial to the continued assembly of the orbiting complex and has a unique ability to switch ends as it works, inchworming” along the Station’s exterior. Launch of mission
4404-1610
Russian Orlan spacesuit on display in a museum, Baikonur Space Museum, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
6145-45221700
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, high fives Kristine Davis, a spacesuit engineer at NASAs Johnson Space Center, wearing a ground prototype of NASAs new Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), during a demonstration of the suit, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The xEMU suit improves on the suits previous worn on the Moon during the Apollo era and those currently in use for spacewalks outside the International Space Station and will be worn by first woman and next man as they explore the Moon as part of the agencys Artemis program.
6145-58964500
STS-98 Mission Specialist Marsha Ivins has help getting into her launch and entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building. STS-98 is the seventh construction flight to the International Space Station. Atlantis is carrying the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, a key module in the growth of the Space Station. Destiny will be attached to the Unity node on the Space Station using the Shuttles robotic arm. Three spacewalks, by Curbeam and Jones, are required to complete the planned construction work during the 11-day mission. Launch is targeted for 6 11 p.m. EST and the planned landing at KSC Feb. 18 about 1 39 p.m. This mission marks the seventh Shuttle flight to the Space Station, the 23rd flight of Atlantis and the 102nd flight overall in NASAs Space Shuttle program
6145-44547441
S76-E-5222 (28 March 1996) --- One would take this triumvirate of thumbs-up symbols to refer to a successful hatch closing, as the Space Shuttle Atlantis is about to be separated from its link with Russia's Mir Space Station. Hold photo with frame number and clock at bottom left. Astronaut Kevin P. Chilton, mission commander, is at lower left. Others are astronauts Richard A. Searfoss (top), pilot, and Michael R. (Rich) Clifford, mission specialist.
6145-45183803
jsc2018e094713 (November 05, 2018) --- 2017 NASA astronaut candidate Warren Hoburg wears a Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment and dons a spacesuit prior to underwater spacewalk training at NASA Johnson Space Centers Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston. The cooling garment distributes water throughout to help keep him cool while training underwater in the spacesuit.
6145-44867276
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, suit technician Drew Billingsley prepares the orange launch and landing suits for the STS-135 crew members. The crew is at Kennedy to participate in a launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training in preparation for the upcoming STS-135 mission. Atlantis and its crew are targeted to lift off July 8, taking with them the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's
6145-45275631
Inside the suit-up room in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken (left) and Douglas Hurley pose for a photo after donning their spacesuits ahead of the agencys SpaceX Demo-2 launch. The launch, initially scheduled for May 27, 2020, was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather conditions around Launch Complex 39A. The next launch attempt will be Saturday, May 30. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled for 3:22 p.m. EDT from historic Launch Complex 39A. Behnken and Hurley will be the first astronauts to launch to the International Space Station from U.S. soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program, this will be SpaceXs final flight test, paving the way for the agency to certify the crew transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory.
6145-45142428
jsc2017e111780 (08-23-2017) --- During water survival training in 2017 at NASA Johnson Space Centers Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, NASA astronaut candidate Loral OHara is fitted for training gear by instructors.
6145-44566454
The pilot of this high-altitude research plane, a specially equipped Dryden Flight Research Center ER-2 (a modified U-2), settles into the cockpit at Patrick Air Force Base before taking off into a hurricane. The plane is part of the NASA-led Atmospheric Dynamics and Remote Sensing program that includes other government weather researchers and the university community in a study of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms. Soaring above 65,000 feet, the ER-2 will measure the structure of hurricanes and the surrounding atmosphere that steers the storms movement. The hurricane study, which lasts through September 1998, is part of NASAs Earth Science enterprise to better understand the total Earth system and the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment
6145-58968018
The Orion mockup used for the Post-landing Orion Recovery Test (PORT) is shown on display at event at Space Center Houston on June 1, 2012. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.
6145-44835794
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center STS-133 Mission Specialist Michael Barratt practices releasing a slidewire basket as part of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) pad emergency exit training.TCDT provides each shuttle crew and launch team an opportunity to participate in various simulated activities, including equipment familiarization and a launch countdown. Space shuttle Discovery and its STS-133 crew will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m.
6145-45114469
STS096-364-002 (27 May - 6 June 1999) --- Astronaut Ellen Ochoa floats through the tunnel that connected the STS-96 crew to the International Space Station (ISS) for several days in late May and early June 1999. The crew members eventually transferred several thousand pounds of supplies from Discovery to the ISS. Some of the gear can be seen behind Ochoa.
6145-44537472
JSC2002-00818 (17 April 2002) --- Astronaut Stephen K. Robinson, STS-114 mission specialist, assisted by divers, floats in a small life raft during an emergency egress training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near the Johnson Space Center (JSC).
6145-44514022
JSC2000-07391 (1 December 2000)--- Astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, representing the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), puts final touches on the suit-up process in preparation for a training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Hadfield is designated for space walk duty on the STS-100 flight, and underwater simulations of his duties help prepare him for the mission, scheduled for spring of next year.By coincidence, Hadfield is aligned beneath the Canadian flag, one of the many on NBL walls which pay tribute to the participating international partners.
1848-50163055
Hanksville, Utah, Researchers simulate living on Mars at the Mars Desert Research Station. 'Expedition Boomerang' brought Australian researchers to the station. Steve Whitfield (right) helped prepare Dr. Shane Usher and Jennifer Lane for an outside excursion
1927-4801
Statue of John Swigert, Jr.an astronaut, one of two for the state of Colorado in the United States Capital.Washington D.C.
1815-18273851
Female astronaut saluting while looking away on sunny day
6145-45244141
STS046-24-025 (31 July-8 Aug. 1992) --- Astronaut Andrew M. Allen, STS-46 pilot, exercises on the bicycle ergometer device on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it makes one of its 127 total orbits for the eight-day mission. Allen, equipped with sensors for monitoring his biological systems during the run, was joined by four other NASA astronauts and two European scientists on the mission.
6145-44543299
S92-40040 (19 June 1992) --- Astronaut Charles L. (Lacy) Veach, one of six crewmembers assigned to fly aboard Columbia for the STS-52 mission, is assisted by two SCUBA-equipped divers during emergency bailout training at the Johnson Space Center's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F). Veach is one of three mission specialists who in October will join a Canadian payload specialist and the mission's commander and pilot for ten-plus days of research and experimentation, as well as the deployment of the LAGEOS spacecraft, in Earth orbit.
6145-44722399
S86-25183 (for release January 1986) --- Sharon Christa McAuliffe, STS-51L payload specialist representing the Teacher-in-Space Project, descends from a mock-up of the space shuttle using a sky-genie device during an emergency training session in the Johnson Space Center s (JSC) Shuttle Mock-up and Integration Laboratory. The photograph was taken by Keith Meyers of the New York Times. EDITOR S NOTE The STS-51L crew members lost their lives in the space shuttle Challenger accident moments after launch on Jan. 28, 1986 from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
6145-44508411
JSC2000-E-20600 (February 2000) --- Astronaut William M. Shepherd, Expedition One commander, prepares to don an Orlan space suit in order to rehearse a spacewalk in the Hydrolab facility at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
6145-45119216
A pair of Russian Sokol suit gloves are seen as Expedition 50 crew members ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, prepare for their final qualification exams, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City, Russia.
6145-44688572
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-120 Commander Pam Melroy parks a Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA, on the tarmac at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. She and STS-120 Pilot George Zamka are training for their upcoming space shuttle mission by practicing landings using the STA. Melroy is the second woman to command a shuttle mission. Also assigned to STS-120 are Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephanie Wilson, Doug Wheelock, Paolo Nespoli and Daniel Tani. Nespoli represents the European Space Agency. Tani will remain on the International Space Station as an Expedition 16 flight engineer after the STS-120 mission is complete. The mission will be the 23rd shuttle flight to the International Space Station, delivering the Italian-built U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The crew arrived at Kennedy on Oct. 19 to prepare for launch aboard space shuttle Discovery at 11:38 a.m. EDT Oct. 23. The 14-day mission includes five spacewalks -- four by shuttle crew members and one b
1599-8505
Children try on $1 million spacesuit at Space Camp, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
6145-44491029
NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 Splashdown. NASA astronaut Robert Hines waves after egress of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after he, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti are returning after 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station.
6145-44495396
S99-07008 (9 July 1999) --- Astronaut Marc Garneau, mission specialist representing the Canadian Space Agency,puts the final touches on the life raft he's just deployed during a simulated emergency bailout exercise in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Sonny Carter Training Center.
1815-18268267
Mid adult astronaut wearing space suit walking on bridge during sunny day
6145-44501924
In the Operations and Checkout Building, a smiling STS-99 Mission Specialist Janice Voss holds an inflated map globe of the stars after donning her launch and entry suit during final launch preparations. The globe is being signed by the entire crew as a gift for Delores Abraham, with Crew Quarters. STS-99, known as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), is scheduled for liftoff at 12:30 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39A. The SRTM will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. The mission is expected to last 11days, with Endeavour landing at KSC Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:36 p.m. EST. This is the 97th Shuttle flight and 14th for Shuttle Endeavour
6145-45211183
A visitor poses for a photo with an astronaut made of LEGOs at the LEGO exhibit at the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary celebration on the National Mall, Thursday, July 18, 2019 in Washington. Apollo 11 was the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon and launched on July 16, 1969 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin.
4368-170
Prime crew for the first manned Apollo mission practice water egress procedures with full scale boilerplate model of their spacecraft. Astronaut Edward H. White II rides life raft in the foreground. Astronaut Roger B. Chaffee sits in hatch of the boilerplate model of the spacecraft. Astronaut Virgil I. Grissom, third member of the crew, waits inside the spacecraft.