For shuttle:
Since shuttle missions were relatively short duration, not much time could be allotted to acclimatization (the term used in shuttle was adaptation). This was mostly handled by attempting to defer highly complicated tasks to beyond a (somewhat arbitrary) 72 hour point.
For example:
- Spacewalks (EVAs) were forbidden in the first 24 hours, and highly discouraged in the first 72 hours.
A.
SCHEDULED AND UNSCHEDULED EVA CONSTRAINTS
NO SCHEDULED EVA WILL BE PERFORMED PRIOR TO MET 72 HOURS.
During adaptation to zero-g conditions, moving about may provoke symptoms of illness. The activity
associated with putting on a suit would increase the chance of an EVA crewmember being ill and
potentially endanger the crewmember with vomitus in the suit.
B.
UNSCHEDULED EVA’S:
NO UNSCHEDULED EVA SHALL OCCUR DURING THE FIRST 24 HOURS
OF FLIGHT.
AN UNSCHEDULED EVA MAY BE PERFORMED PRIOR TO MET 72 HOURS
ONLY IF AN ASSESSMENT OF CREW HEALTH HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
BY THE FCR SURGEON AND APPROVED BY THE FLIGHT DIRECTOR.
Shuttle Flight Rules, section A15-14
- Rendezvous was scheduled for Flight Day 3
The Space Shuttle Program has never flown a Flight
Day 1 rendezvous and docking/grapple since it results in
small launch windows that do not repeat on a daily or
weekly basis. Furthermore, Space Adaption Syndrome
(SAS) can occur on Flight Days 1 and 2. A Flight Day 3
rendezvous and docking/grapple has been preferred for
several reasons: 1) it provides time for the crew to
overcome SAS...
History of Shuttle Rendezvous p. 227
- The rules about early mission termination for critical failures allowed for a 'minimum duration flight' (MDF) of at least 72 hours instead of taking a quicker opportunity to a primary landing site (PLS)
C.
FOR A SECOND FAILURE AFFECTING ANY ENTRY-CRITICAL SYSTEM
®[101796-4561A]
TERMINATE THE FLIGHT NEXT PLS IF THE AFFECTED SYSTEM HAS
LOST ALL FAULT TOLERANCE OR IF THE FAILURE IS CONSIDERED
TO BE GENERIC.
CONTINUE THE FLIGHT TO MDF IF THE ORBITER IS ONLY SINGLE-
FAULT TOLERANT IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH DEPLOYMENT OF A
PRIMARY PAYLOAD AND TO ENSURE CREW ADAPTATION, BOTH OF
WHICH REDUCES THE OVERALL RISK TO THE CREW AND ORBITER.
NOTE:
AN MDF WILL LAST APPROXIMATELY 72 HOURS AND
LANDING WILL OCCUR AT THE PLS PRIOR TO THE END OF
THE FLIGHT DAY 4.
Flight rules, A2-102
That said, some shuttle missions which deployed payloads did so quite early in the flight, sometimes only 6 or 7 hours in. Presumably the risk of keeping the payload in the bay outweighed the risk of skipping adaptation time. See What was the quickest launch-to-complex-milestone time achieved by a shuttle mission?
Acronymology:
- FCR Flight Control Room
- MET Mission Elapsed Time
