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NASA NTRS1992

A prototype Crew Medical Restraint System (CMRS) for Space Station Freedom

The Crew Medical Restrain System (CMRS) is a prototype system designed and developed for use as a universally deployable medical restraint/workstation on Space Station Freedom (SSF), the Shuttle Transportation System (STS), and the Assured Crew Rescue Vehicle (ACRV) for support of an ill or injured crewmember requiring stabilization and transportation to Earth. The CMRS will support all medical capabilities of the Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) by providing a restraint/interface system for all equipment (advance life support packs, defibrillator, ventilator, portable oxygen supply, IV pump, transport monitor, transport aspirator, and intervenous fluids delivery system) and personnel (patient and crew medical officers). It must be functional within the STS, ACRV, and all SSF habitable volumes. The CMRS will allow for medical capabilities within CPR, ACLS and ATLS standards of care. This must all be accomplished for a worst case transport time scenario of 24 hours from SSF to a definitive medical care facility on Earth. A presentation of the above design prototype with its subsequent one year SSF/HMF and STS/ACRV high fidelity mock-up ground based simulation testing will be given. Also, parabolic flight and underwater Weightless Test Facility evaluations will be demonstrated for various medical contingencies. The final design configuration to date will be discussed with future space program impact considerations.

Johnston, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The manned transportation system study - Defining human pathways into space

The Manned Transportation System (MTS) Study, conducted by a NASA-Industry Team (NIT), has developed substantiating data for subsequent NASA decisions on the “right” set of manned transportation elements needed for human access to space. It also provides the framework for detailed definition of those manned transportation elements. Including the next manned transportation system, to be developed. Process and product are presented to inform the aerospace community and subject our approach and conclusions to peer review, NASA/JSC lead the NIT, with participation from KSC, LaRC, MSFC, and NASA/Headquarters, along with six aerospace contractor (Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas, and Rockwell). Each major milestone was archived through team consensus. Our mission model was derived from the FY90 Civil Needs Data Base (CNDB) and included flight assignments for Department of Defense (DOD) missions. Identifying and defining architecture evaluation criteria, i.e. attributes, specified the amount and type of data needed for each concept under consideration. Several architectures, each beginning with today’s transportation systems, were defined using representative systems to explore our future options and address specific questions currently being debated. Our solutions are a function of the level of space activity the nation chooses to follow. However, they all emphasize affordability, safety, routineness, and reliability. Finally, key issues associated with our current business practices were challenged and the impact associated with those practices quantified.

NASA Langley Research Center↗

NASA NTRS1990

Postlanding optimum designs for the assured crew return vehicle

The optimized preliminary engineering design concepts for postlanding operations of a water-landing Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) during a medical rescue mission are presented. Two ACRVs will be permanently docked to Space Station Freedom, fulfilling NASA's commitment to Assured Crew Return Capability in the event of an accident or illness. The optimized configuration of the ACRV is based on an Apollo command module (ACM) derivative. The scenario assumes landing a sick or injured crewmember on water with the possibility of a delayed rescue. Design emphasis is placed on four major areas. First is the design of a mechanism that provides a safe and time-critical means of removing the sick or injured crewmember from the ACRV. Support to the assisting rescue personnel is also provided. Second is the design of a system that orients and stabilizes the craft after landing so as to cause no further injury or discomfort to the already ill or injured crewmember. Third is the design of a system that provides full medical support to a sick or injured crewmember aboard the ACRV from the time of separation from the space station to rescue by recovery forces. Last is the design of a system that provides for the comfort and safety of the entire crew after splashdown up to the point of rescue. The four systems are conceptually integrated into the ACRV.

Hosterman, Kenneth C.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Assured Crew Return Vehicle flowfield and aerodynamic characteristics

A lifting body has been proposed as a candidate for the Assured Crew Return Vehicle which will serve as crew rescue vehicle for the Space Station. The focus of this work is on body surface definition, surface and volume grid definition, and the computation of inviscid flowfields about the vehicle at wind-tunnel conditions. Very good agreement is shown between the computed aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle at a freestream Mach number of 10 and those measured in wind-tunnel tests.

Weilmuenster, K. James↗

NASA NTRS1991

Numerical analysis and simulation of an assured crew return vehicle flow field

A lifting body was proposed as a candidate for the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) which will serve as a crew rescue vehicle for the Space Station Freedom. The focus is on body surface definition, both surface and volume grid definition, and the computation of inviscid flow fields about the vehicle at wind tunnel conditions. Very good agreement is shown between the computed aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle at M(sub infinity) = 10 and those measured in wind tunnel tests at high Reynolds numbers.

Weilmuenster, K. James↗

NASA NTRS1989

Lifting-body option for a Space Station rescue vehicle

With the proposed development of the Space Station Freedom, the need for an assured crew return capability (ACRC) has been identified. During the past 2 years within NASA, there has been an ongoing activity to establish the design requirements for such a vehicle and to identify candidate vehicle concepts that can satisfy these requirements. From this activity, three primary design reference missions and four candidate vehicle concepts have been identified. In support of this activity, the emphasis at Langley has been to assess the potential application of a lifting-body concept derived from work on the HL-10 and X-24 programs in the late sixties. A vehicle systems analysis has been completed including wind-tunnel tests, aerodynamic heating predictions, six-degree-of-freedom entry simulations, and a global landing opportunities assessment. This report summarizes the results of work at Langley over the past 2 years to define the candidate lifting-body ACRC vehicle and provides insight into potential benefits of the higher cross range of this concept in accomplishing the Space Station rescue mission.

Hook, W. Ray↗

NASA NTRS1992

Reusable ultralight personnel carrier (RUPC)

Attention is given to a personnel-carrying space vehicle concept developed to minimize the cost of access to LEO. The RUPC could provide alternate access to Space Station Freedom (SSF) for six passengers per flight. It can also bring and return small amounts of cargo, up to and including one SSF double rack. These capabilities are ideal for utilization flights during man-tended operations at SSF and for crew rotation during permanently manned periods. The RUPC is a reusable conical reentry vehicle and disposable adapter with propulsion and power subsystems. Avionics subsystem benefit from advanced low-power high-performance microelectronics developed for both the civilian and military space sectors. The RUPC core cabin concept has growth potential for other applications, including assured crew return, ground-launched crew rescue, delivery and retrieval of SSF cargo, and crew cabin for flights to the moon.

Clark, B. C., III↗

NASA NTRS1989

Assured Crew Return Capability Architecture

The fundamental elements of the spacecraft Assured Crew Return Capability (ACRC) are discussed. These elements are access, response time, crew transfer, and the availability of landing sites. The use of an embedded operations concept identified as an essential element of the ACRC architecture. Several rescue assets are identified and evaluated as primary elements of an overall ACRC architecture. The investigation results lead to the following conclusions: optimum on-orbit rescue capability is provided by a rescue system integral to the operational vehicle; ground based rescue provides the most practical coverage for stranded transportation vehicles; and due to infrequent and unexpected use of ACRC, crew operations must be kept simple.

J W Craig↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space Shuttle launch pad rescue plan

The final preparation of the Space Shuttle Orbiter for flight involves the loading of large quantities of hazardous propellants. Additionally, many pyrotechnially operated mechanical joints are armed and ready for flight. The personnel manning at the pad is minimized during these operations to reduce the risk. Upon completion of propellant loading, the flight crew must be boarded onto the vehicle which at this point has tremendous potential energy. Plans have been made to safely and quickly evacuate the crew should some unforeseen contigency occur. Both aided and unaided egress scenarios have been planned. Personnel protective equipment is an important consideration to assure the highest chance for survival. Rapid movement of personnel is enhanced by the use of the slidewire system and specially prepared armored personnel carriers. The end result is a system that provides a reasonable chance of survival should an emergency occur during late countdown at the pad.

Doerr, Donald F.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Manned Spacecraft Landing and Recovery

As recent history has tragically demonstrated, a successful space mission is not complete until the crew has safely returned to earth and has been successfully recovered. It is noted that a safe return to earth does not guarantee a successful recovery. The focus of this presentation will be a discussion of the ground operation assets involved in a successful recovery. The author's experience in land and water-based recovery of crewed vehicles and flight hardware at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Edwards Air Force Base, international landing sites, and the Atlantic Ocean provides for some unique insight into this topic. He has participated in many aspects of Space Shuttle landing and recovery operations including activation of Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites and Emergency Landing Sites (ELS) as an Operations Test Director, execution of post landing convoy operations as an Orbiter Move Director, Operations Test Director, and Landing and Recovery Director, and recovery of solid rocket boosters, frustum and their parachutes 140 miles offshore in a wide range of sea states as a Retrieval Diver/Engineer. The recovery operations for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were similar from a landing and recovery perspective in th t they all were capsules with limited "flying" capability and had a planned End of Mission (EOM) in an ocean with a descent slowed by parachutes. The general process was to deploy swim teams via helicopters to prepare the capsule for recovery and assist with crew extraction when required. The capsule was then hoisted onto the deck of a naval vessel. This approach required the extensive use and deployment of military assets to support the primary landing zone as well as alternate and contingency locations. The Russian Soyuz capsule also has limited "flying" capability; however, the planned EOM is terrestrial. In addition to use of parachutes to slow the reentry descent, soft-landing rockets on the bottom of the vehicle are employed to cushion the landing. The recovery forces are deployed via helicopters and the capsule is transported by a specialized all-terrain vehicle. The Space Shuttle Orbiter landing and recovery process is considerably different. The added lift capability and maneuverability allow the Orbiter to land at an exact location/runway for a nominal EOM. This allows for a timely response of recovery/contingency rescue forces, centralized staging of personnel and equipment, and assured access by ground vehicles. The well defined landing zone also provides for far more options when selecting landing sites for EOM and emergency returns and the relatively large cross-range capability increases the number of landing opportunities at the preferred sites.

Hammel, Don↗

NASA NTRS2010

Lunar Surface Operations with Dual Rovers

Lunar Electric Rovers (LER) are currently being developed that are substantially more capable than the Apollo vehicle (LRN ,"). Unlike the LRV, the new LERs provide a pressurized cabin that serves as short-sleeve environment for the crew of two, including sleeping accommodations and other provisions that allow for long tern stays, possibly up to 60 days, on the hear surface, without the need to replenish consumables from some outside source, such as a lander or outpost. As a consequence, significantly larger regions may be explored in the future and traverse distances may be measured in a few hundred kilometers (1, 2). However, crew safety remains an overriding concern, and methods other than "walk back", the major operational constraint of all Apollo traverses, must be implemented to assure -at any time- the safe return of the crew to the lander or outpost. This then causes current Constellation plans to envision long-tern traverses to be conducted with 2 LERs exclusively, each carrying a crew of two: in case one rover fails, the other will rescue the stranded crew and return all 4 astronauts in a single LER to base camp. Recent Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) analog field tests simulated a continuous 14 day traverse (3), covering some 135 km, and included a rescue operation that transferred the crew and diverse consumables from one LER to another these successful tests add substantial realism to the development of long-term, dual rover operations. The simultaneous utilization of 2 LERs is of course totally unlike Apollo and raises interesting issues regarding science productivity and mission operations, the thrust of this note.

Horz, Friedrich↗

NASA NTRS1992

Assured crew return vehicle post landing configuration design and test

Anderson, Loren A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Assured crew return vehicle post landing configuration design and test

The 1991-1992 senior Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Design class continued work on the post landing configurations for the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) and the Emergency Egress Couch (EEC). The ACRV will be permanently docked to Space Station Freedom fulfilling NASA's commitment of Assured Crew Return Capability in the event of an accident or illness aboard Space Station Freedom. The EEC provides medical support and a transportation surface for an incapacitated crew member. The objective of the projects was to give the ACRV Project Office data to feed into their feasibility studies. Four design teams were given the task of developing models with dynamically and geometrically scaled characteristics. Groups one and two combined efforts to design a one-fifth scale model for the Apollo Command Module derivative, an on-board flotation system, and a lift attachment point system. This model was designed to test the feasibility of a rigid flotation and stabilization system and to determine the dynamics associated with lifting the vehicle during retrieval. However, due to priorities, it was not built. Group three designed a one-fifth scale model of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) benchmark configuration, the Station Crew Return Alternative Module (SCRAM) with a lift attachment point system. This model helped to determine the flotation and lifting characteristics of the SCRAM configuration. Group four designed a full scale EEC with changeable geometric and geometric and dynamic characteristics. This model provided data on the geometric characteristics of the EEC and on the placement of the CG and moment of inertia. It also gave the helicopter rescue personnel direct input to the feasibility study. Section 1 describes in detail the design of a one-fifth scale model of the Apollo Command Module Derivative (ACMD) ACRV. The objective of the ACMD Configuration Model Team was to use geometric and dynamic constraints to design a one-fifth scale working model of the Apollo Command Module Derivative (ACMD) configuration with a Lift Attachment Point (LAP) System. This model was required to incorporate a rigidly mounted flotation system and the egress system designed the previous academic year. The LAP system was to be used to determine the dynamic effects of locating the lifting points at different locations on the vehicle. The team was then to build and test the model; however, due to priorities, this did not occur. To better simulate the ACMD after a water landing, the nose cone section was removed and the deck area exposed. The areas researched during the design process were construction, center of gravity and moment of inertia, and lift attachment points.

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