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At least 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Space station technology

A status report is given concerning the technology assessment and implementation effort begun by NASA to provide the basis for a 'permanent' manned space station. NASA's space station technology discipline working groups are identified, and the groups' ground rules and technology and design goals are outlined. Selected examples of high-priority technology tasks are examined to delineate the extent to which space station design and use depend on advanced technology developments of the future. Attention is devoted to working group programs dealing with data management, power and thermal systems, auxiliary propulsion, attitude control and stabilization, communications, structural elements and mechanisms, environmental control and life-support systems, human capabilities, and systems and operations analysis.

Holloway, P. F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A comparative evaluation plan for the Maintenance, Inventory, and Logistics Planning (MILP) System Human-Computer Interface (HCI)

The primary goal of this project was to develop a tailored and effective approach to the design and evaluation of the human-computer interface (HCI) to the Maintenance, Inventory and Logistics Planning (MILP) System in support of the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD). An additional task that was undertaken was to assist in the review of Ground Displays for Space Station Freedom (SSF) by attending the Ground Displays Interface Group (GDIG), and commenting on the preliminary design for these displays. Based upon data gathered over the 10 week period, this project has hypothesized that the proper HCI concept for navigating through maintenance databases for large space vehicles is one based upon a spatial, direct manipulation approach. This dialogue style can be then coupled with a traditional text-based DBMS, after the user has determined the general nature and location of the information needed. This conclusion is in contrast with the currently planned HCI for MILP which uses a traditional form-fill-in dialogue style for all data access and retrieval. In order to resolve this difference in HCI and dialogue styles, it is recommended that comparative evaluation be performed which combines the use of both subjective and objective metrics to determine the optimal (performance-wise) and preferred approach for end users. The proposed plan has been outlined in the previous paragraphs and is available in its entirety in the Technical Report associated with this project. Further, it is suggested that several of the more useful features of the Maintenance Operations Management System (MOMS), especially those developed by the end-users, be incorporated into MILP to save development time and money.

Overmyer, Scott P.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Developing Crew Health Care and Habitability Systems for the Exploration Vision

This paper will discuss the specific mission architectures associated with the NASA Exploration Vision and review the challenges and drivers associated with developing crew health care and habitability systems to manage human system risks. Crew health care systems must be provided to manage crew health within acceptable limits, as well as respond to medical contingencies that may occur during exploration missions. Habitability systems must enable crew performance for the tasks necessary to support the missions. During the summer of 2005, NASA defined its exploration architecture including blueprints for missions to the moon and to Mars. These mission architectures require research and technology development to focus on the operational risks associated with each mission, as well as the risks to long term astronaut health. This paper will review the highest priority risks associated with the various missions and discuss NASA s strategies and plans for performing the research and technology development necessary to manage the risks to acceptable levels.

Laurini, Kathy↗
NASA NTRS2014

Space Launch System Upper Stage Technology Assessment

The Space Launch System (SLS) is envisioned as a heavy-lift vehicle that will provide the foundation for future beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) exploration missions. Previous studies have been performed to determine the optimal configuration for the SLS and the applicability of commercial off-the-shelf in-space stages for Earth departure. Currently NASA is analyzing the concept of a Dual Use Upper Stage (DUUS) that will provide LEO insertion and Earth departure burns. This paper will explore candidate in-space stages based on the DUUS design for a wide range of beyond LEO missions. Mission payloads will range from small robotic systems up to human systems with deep space habitats and landers. Mission destinations will include cislunar space, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Given these wide-ranging mission objectives, a vehicle-sizing tool has been developed to determine the size of an Earth departure stage based on the mission objectives. The tool calculates masses for all the major subsystems of the vehicle including propellant loads, avionics, power, engines, main propulsion system components, tanks, pressurization system and gases, primary structural elements, and secondary structural elements. The tool uses an iterative sizing algorithm to determine the resulting mass of the stage. Any input into one of the subsystem sizing routines or the mission parameters can be treated as a parametric sweep or as a distribution for use in Monte Carlo analysis. Taking these factors together allows for multi-variable, coupled analysis runs. To increase confidence in the tool, the results have been verified against two point-of-departure designs of the DUUS. The tool has also been verified against Apollo moon mission elements and other manned space systems. This paper will focus on trading key propulsion technologies including chemical, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP), and Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP). All of the key performance inputs and relationships will be presented and discussed in light of the various missions. For each mission there are several trajectory options and each will be discussed in terms of delta-v required and transit duration. Each propulsion system will be modeled, sized, and judged based on their applicability to the whole range of beyond LEO missions. Criteria for scoring will include the resulting dry mass of the stage, resulting propellant required, time to destination, and an assessment of key enabling technologies. In addition to the larger metrics, this paper will present the results of several coupled sensitivity studies. The ultimate goals of these tools and studies are to provide NASA with the most mass-, technology-, and cost-effective in-space stage for its future exploration missions.

Holladay, Jon↗
NASA NTRS2015

Overview of the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA)

In 2013, the Human Research Program at NASA began developing a new confinement analog specifically for conducting research to investigate the effects of confinement on the human system. The HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) habitat has been used for both 7 and 14 day missions to date to examine and mitigate exploration risks to enable safe, reliable and productive human space exploration. This presentation will describe how the Flight Analogs Project developed the HERA facility and the infrastructure to suit investigator requirements for confinement research and in the process developed a new approach to analog utilization and a new state of the art analog facility. Details regarding HERA operations will be discussed including specifics on the mission simulation utilized for the current 14-day campaign, the specifics of the facility (total volume, overall size, hardware), and the capabilities available to researchers. The overall operational philosophy, mission fidelity including timeline, schedule pressures and cadence, and development and implementation of mission stressors will be presented. Research conducted to date in the HERA has addressed risks associated with behavioral health and performance, human physiology, as well as human factors. This presentation will conclude with a discussion of future research plans for the HERA, including infrastructure improvements and additional research capabilities planned for the upcoming 30-day missions in 2016.

Neigut, J.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Sensitivity Analysis of Hybrid Propulsion Transportation System for Human Mars Expeditions

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration continues to develop and refine various transportation options to successfully field a human Mars campaign. One of these transportation options is the Hybrid Transportation System which utilizes both solar electric propulsion and chemical propulsion. The Hybrid propulsion system utilizes chemical propulsion to perform high thrust maneuvers, where the delta-V is most optimal when ap- plied to save time and to leverage the Oberth effect. It then utilizes solar electric propulsion to augment the chemical burns throughout the interplanetary trajectory. This eliminates the need for the development of two separate vehicles for crew and cargo missions. Previous studies considered single point designs of the architecture, with fixed payload mass and propulsion system performance parameters. As the architecture matures, it is inevitable that the payload mass and the performance of the propulsion system will change. It is desirable to understand how these changes will impact the in-space transportation system's mass and power requirements. This study presents an in-depth sensitivity analysis of the Hybrid crew transportation system to payload mass growth and solar electric propulsion performance. This analysis is used to identify the breakpoints of the current architecture and to inform future architecture and campaign design decisions.

Chai, Patrick R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Human Factors Throughout the Life Cycle: Lessons Learned from the Shuttle Program

With the ending of the Space Shuttle Program, it is critical that we not forget the Human Factors lessons we have learned over the years. At every phase of the life cycle, from manufacturing, processing and integrating vehicle and payload, to launch, flight operations, mission control and landing, hundreds of teams have worked together to achieve mission success in one of the most complex, high-risk socio-technical enterprises ever designed. Just as there was great diversity in the types of operations performed at every stage, there was a myriad of human factors that could further complicate these human systems. A single mishap or close call could point to issues at the individual level (perceptual or workload limitations, training, fatigue, human error susceptibilities), the task level (design of tools, procedures and aspects of the workplace), as well as the organizational level (appropriate resources, safety policies, information access and communication channels). While we have often had to learn through human mistakes and technological failures, we have also begun to understand how to design human systems in which individuals can excel, where tasks and procedures are not only safe but efficient, and how organizations can foster a proactive approach to managing risk and supporting human enterprises. Panelists will talk about their experiences as they relate human factors to a particular phase of the shuttle life cycle. They will conclude with a framework for tying together human factors lessons-learned into system-level risk management strategies.

human factors↗
NASA NTRS2023

Identifying and Closing Medical Capability Gaps for Human Spaceflight Missions Beyond Low Earth Orbit

BACKGROUND: Features of human space missions beyond low Earth orbit such as increasing distance from Earth, lack of real-time communication, and limited or no evacuation or resupply capability are expected to drive an increase in medical risk and require crews to operate in an increasingly autonomous fashion. A diverse set of stakeholders at NASA are seeking to fund the development of concepts of operations, medical requirements, and medical capabilities for such missions. However, a systematic approach to identification of current medical capability gaps and a strategic framework to gap closure is needed. OVERVIEW: The Exploration Medical Integrated Product Team (XMIPT) has developed a list of nine high-level medical capability gaps and associated activities required for gap closure. The list was derived based on inputs from subject matter experts at NASA including flight surgeons, other clinical providers, as well as operational and research communities regarding medical capabilities required to support human missions to the Moon and the Mars surface. Responses were reviewed and distilled to identify common themes across capabilities. To ensure alignment with established human system risks, the gap list was further refined based on inputs from NASA’s Human System Risk Board. Relevant medical gap closure activities outside of those funded by the XMIPT were identified through solicitation of inputs from Elements of NASA’s Human Research Program (particularly Exploration Medical Capability), the broader medical operations community, and other stakeholders. This medical capability gap list is reviewed and updated regularly as new information becomes available or new stakeholders are identified. DISCUSSION: The medical capability gap list has matured to include a large group of NASA stakeholders and development activities. This has enabled articulation of priorities to funding entities and programmatic stakeholders, while serving as an accessible resource summarizing gap closure activities, relevant programmatic infusion points, and opportunities for collaboration between stakeholders. This presentation will provide an overview of the nine NASA medical capability gaps and their associated gap closure activities.

Moriah Thompson↗
NASA NTRS2024

Determining Simulation Fidelity Necessary for Evaluating Onboard Vehicle Capabilities and Crew Roles on Long Duration Exploration Missions Beyond Low-Earth Orbit

Identification of onboard vehicle capabilities and crew roles and responsibilities necessary for achieving effective human-systems collaboration will require iterative cycles of concept development and empirical evaluation of human performance in complex operations. This report presents the results of an effort to lay the groundwork for determining the level of fidelity of simulated environments most suitable for validating concepts and evaluating implementations of a new Human Systems Integration Architecture (HSIA) that will support the flight crew on long duration exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. To do that, we conducted a literature review on simulation fidelity and surveyed simulation capabilities inside and outside of NASA used in NASA-sponsored research. We also analyzed two International Space Station (ISS) vehicle anomalies to identify the types of scenario events and crew activities that may need to be simulated. Our survey findings reveal that most NASA simulation facilities are designed to achieve high physical fidelity while HSIA risk mitigation requires simulation emphasizing task and functional fidelity aspects. A trade analysis shows that, for standard and requirement development, evaluation conducted using synthetic task environments with inexperienced participants will support testing a wide variety of conditions and yield findings robust enough to be generalized to a wide variety of designs on which developed standards and requirements might be levied while allowing human performance standard measures to be collected using consistent methods across tasks and conditions. For technology/tool development, because findings will only need to be generalized to the actual target environment in which the technology/tool will be used, it is more suitable to evaluate the prototypes in a scaled world that preserves functional relationships present in the actual target environment with intended user populations. To wrap up, we give an overview of a well-known synthetical task environment in the space domain and discuss what it takes to construct a synthetic task environment.

simulation fidelity↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Teal Cycle Ergometer Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System Human-in-the-Loop Ground Evaluation for Long-Duration Spaceflight

Purpose: To counter the deleterious effects of weightlessness on the cardiopulmonary system, astronauts living on the International Space Station exercise on a variety of countermeasure equipment including the Cycle Ergometer Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System (CEVIS). Operational since 2001, the onboard CEVIS will be replaced by a new model, known as Teal CEVIS (TC). As a part of ground evaluation, TC hardware underwent human-in-the-loop (HITL) testing to verify the TC hardware produces workloads that elicit physiologic responses comparable to a laboratory cycle ergometer (LAB). Methods: Seven subjects (5 M/2 F) performed submaximal cycle ergometer testing with indirect calorimetry measures on TC and LAB on separate test days. Testing consisted of graded 30 watt increases in workload until subjects reached 85% of age-predicted max heart rate (HR). Exercise outcomes included rate of oxygen uptake (VO2; liters/min), rate of energy expenditure (REE; kcal/min), and HR (beats/min). Linear mixed models (LMM) were fitted to compare VO2, REE, and HR responses between devices across power outputs with fixed effects for power (P) and device (D) and with random effects for subject. LMM effect coefficients (β), std errors (SE), pseudo-partial R2 of effects (pR2), and model likelihood ratio statistics (χ2, Pr(> chisq); α<.05) are provided. Results: LMM main effects for P and D were observed for VO2 (βp=.0107, SE = .0002, pR2=0.97; βd = -0.075, SE = 0.019, pR2=0.14; χ2(1)= 13.57, p<.001), such that VO2 was higher across stages on TC. Main effects of P and D were observed for REE (βp= .0586, SE = 0.001, pR2= 0.97; βd = -0.33208, SE = 0.099, pR2= 0.056; χ2(1)=10.481, p < .01), such that REE was higher across power outputs on TC. A P x D interaction was observed for HR, along with main effects for P and D (βp x d =-0.048, SE = 0.02, pR2=0.048; βp= 0.42, SE = 0.016, pR2=0.87; χ2(1) = 5.398, p = 0.02), such that higher workloads elicited a greater difference in HR between devices. Conclusions: HITL results show, TC elicits greater physiologic responses across power outputs compared to LAB. However, pR2 for device effects show small differences between devices. Therefore, TC can be expected to provide appropriate physiological stimulus across workloads and be considered a reliable tool to mitigate the effects of weightlessness.

Cycle Ergometer Vibration and Isolation System↗
NASA NTRS2011

Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP) Work-Rest Cycles

BHP Program Element Goal: Identify, characterize, and prevent or reduce behavioral health and performance risks associated with space travel, exploration and return to terrestrial life. BHP Requirements: a) Characterize and assess risks (e.g., likelihood and consequences). b) Develop tools and technologies to prevent, monitor, and treat adverse outcomes. c) Inform standards. d) Develop technologies to: 1) reduce risks and human systems resource requirements (e.g., crew time, mass, volume, power) and 2) ensure effective human-system integration across exploration mission.

Leveton, Lauren B.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Trajectory Shaping of Lunar Descent Approach Phase for Human Landing Systems

NASA’s Artemis program will have many mission phases but perhaps the most dangerous and dynamic is the powered descent and landing phase. NASA’s HLS Program has developed a candidate lunar approach concept of operations to address the needs of both hazard detection sensors and crew visibility of the landing site. The descent trajectory is shaped such that the approach phase is initiated at a steep trajectory path angle for hazard map generation then transitions to a shallow trajectory path angle to facilitate crew landing site visibility. The results show this tailored approach concept is a viable option to reduce risk during landing with minimal performance impacts.

Trajectory Optimization↗
NASA NTRS1980

Simplicity in command and control systems - A human factors consideration

The importance of simplicity in the man computer interface (MCI) is stressed because of the effect it has on the system containing the MCI. Results are used from an MCI study at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to find an area where the system MCIs can be simplified. The circumstances under which these simplifications are appropriate are listed. The concepts of cognitive simplicity and process simplicity are presented as design alternatives for the MCI. In addition, the concepts of understandability, operation, learnability, level of learning, and usability are presented as tools for the system designer. The use of these concepts in developing a systematic MCI design is discussed.

Chafin, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Use of Behavior Models for Predicting Complex Operations

Modeling and simulation (M&S) plays an important role when complex human-system notions are being proposed, developed and tested within the system design process. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an agency uses many different types of M&S approaches for predicting human-system interactions, especially when it is early in the development phase of a conceptual design. NASA Ames Research Center possesses a number of M&S capabilities ranging from airflow, flight path models, aircraft models, scheduling models, human performance models (HPMs), and bioinformatics models among a host of other kinds of M&S capabilities that are used for predicting whether the proposed designs will benefit the specific mission criteria. The Man-Machine Integration Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) is a NASA ARC HPM software tool that integrates many models of human behavior with environment models, equipment models, and procedural / task models. The challenge to model comprehensibility is heightened as the number of models that are integrated and the requisite fidelity of the procedural sets are increased. Model transparency is needed for some of the more complex HPMs to maintain comprehensibility of the integrated model performance. This will be exemplified in a recent MIDAS v5 application model and plans for future model refinements will be presented.

Gore, Brian F.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Towards a framework of human factors certification of complex human-machine systems

As far as total automation is not realized, the combination of technical and social components in man-machine systems demands not only contributions from engineers but at least to an equal extent from behavioral scientists. This has been neglected far too long. The psychological, social and cultural aspects of technological innovations were almost totally overlooked. Yet, along with expected safety improvements the institutionalization of human factors is on the way. The introduction of human factors certification of complex man-machine systems will be a milestone in this process.

Bukasa, Birgit↗
NASA NTRS2016

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Human-in-the-Loop Controller and Pilot Acceptability Study: Collision Avoidance, Self-Separation, and Alerting Times (CASSAT)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been mandated by the Congressional funding bill of 2012 to open the National Airspace System (NAS) to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). With the growing use of unmanned systems, NASA has established a multi-center "UAS Integration in the NAS" Project, in collaboration with the FAA and industry, and is guiding its research efforts to look at and examine crucial safety concerns regarding the integration of UAS into the NAS. Key research efforts are addressing requirements for detect-and-avoid (DAA), self-separation (SS), and collision avoidance (CA) technologies. In one of a series of human-in-the-loop experiments, NASA Langley Research Center set up a study known as Collision Avoidance, Self-Separation, and Alerting Times (CASSAT). The first phase assessed active air traffic controller interactions with DAA systems and the second phase examined reactions to the DAA system and displays by UAS Pilots at a simulated ground control station (GCS). Analyses of the test results from Phase I and Phase II are presented in this paper. Results from the CASSAT study and previous human-in-the-loop experiments will play a crucial role in the FAA's establishment of rules, regulations, and procedures to safely, efficiently, and effectively integrate UAS into the NAS.

Comstock, James R., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Recommendation for a Medical System Concept of Operations for Gateway Missions

NASA’s exploration missions to cis-lunar space will establish a permanent gateway to future transport missions to Mars. These missions mandate a significant paradigm change for mission planning, spacecraft design, human systems integration, and in-flight medical care due to constraints on mass, volume, power, resupply, and medical evacuation capability. These constraints require medical system development to be tightly integrated with mission and habitat design to provide a sufficient medical infrastructure and enable mission success. This concept of operations provides a vision of medical care needs that will be used to guide the development of a medical system for the cis-lunar Gateway Habitat. This medical system will serve as the precursor to what is implemented in future exploration missions to Mars. This concept of operations documents an overview of the stakeholder needs and system goals of a medical system and provides examples of the types of activities for which the system will be used during the mission. This concept of operations informs the ExMC systems engineering effort to define the Gateway Habitat Medical System by documenting the medical activities and capabilities relevant to Gateway missions, as identified by the ExMC clinician community. In addition, this concept of operations will inform the subsequent systems engineering process of developing technical requirements, system architectures, interfaces, and verification and validation approaches for the medical system. This document supports the closure of ExMC Gap Med01: We do not have a concept of operations for medical care during exploration missions, corresponding to the ExMC-managed human system risk: Risk of Adverse Health Outcomes & Decrements in Performance due to Inflight Medical Conditions.

Rubin, David↗