Facilities

An expansion of medical data collection facilities was necessary to implement the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project (EDOMP). The primary objective of the EDOMP was to ensure the capability of crew members to reenter the Earth's atmosphere, land, and egress safely following a 16-day flight. Therefore, access to crew members as soon as possible after landing was crucial for most data collection activities. Also, with the advent of EDOMP, the quantity of investigations increased such that the landing day maximum data collection time increased accordingly from two hours to four hours. The preflight and postflight testing facilities at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) required only some additional testing equipment and minor modifications to the existing laboratories in order to fulfill EDOMP requirements. Necessary modifications at the landing sites were much more extensive.