Unit 4, Chapter 15, Lesson 15: Manned Space Explorations 1 Case Study: The Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Crew Positions Commander/Pilot Astronauts Commander/Pilot

Unit 4, Chapter 15, Lesson 15: Manned Space Explorations 1

Case Study: The Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Crew Positions

Commander/Pilot Astronauts

• Commander/Pilot Astronauts– Pilot astronauts serve as Space Shuttle

commanders and pilots. They are responsible for the vehicle, crew, mission success and safety of flight. They handle launch, on-orbit maneuvers, and landing operations.



Mission-specialist Astronauts

• Mission-specialist Astronauts– Mission-specialist astronauts work with the

commander and the pilot to coordinate Shuttle operations in Shuttle systems, crew activity planning, use of consumables, and experiment or payload operations. They help the pilot and commander during critical operations and operate experiments, deploy satellites, or do EVAs.



Payload Specialists

• Payload Specialists– Payload specialists are persons other than

NASA astronauts (including foreign nationals) who have special onboard duties. They are responsible for a specific payload.



Astronaut-candidate Training

• Candidates train at JSC in a variety of subjects including training in land and sea survival, scuba diving, and space suits.



Astronaut Formal Training

• Astronauts begin their formal training in the space transportation system by reading manuals and taking computer-based training lessons on the orbiter’s systems.

• The next step in training is the single-system trainer (SST). Astronauts join instructors who help them learn about the operations of each orbiter subsystem.


Case Study: The Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Crew PositionsAstronaut Formal Training (cont’d)

• Following the SST part of the training program, the astronauts begin training in the complex Shuttle Mission Simulators (SMSs) which provide training in all areas of shuttle-vehicle operations.

Shuttle Mission Simulator



The pilot’s station during a mission-training session in the Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS)



• The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) offers controlled neutral-buoyancy operations in its water tank to simulate the zero-g or weightless condition (Figure 15-27).


Case Study: The Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Mission Operations

• Space Shuttle Mission Operations occur at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

• Since 1965, the Mission Control Center (MCC) has been the nerve center for America’s manned space program.

• The MCC’s focal point is the Flight Control Room (or FCR, pronounced “Ficker”). The new MCC architecture represents one of the world’s largest distributive computer systems in one complex. Figure 15-30 captures an overall view of the FCR. Space Shuttle’s Flight Control Room


Case Study: The Space Shuttle Space Shuttle’s Future

– Future plans for the Space Shuttle involve keeping it flying safely until about 2020.

– As a matter of national security and technological preeminence, the U.S. wants and needs to maintain, and eventually grow, the ability to send crews to orbit.


Case Study: The Space Shuttle Space Shuttle’s Future (cont’d)

Two Artists Concepts of The Orbital Space Plane (OSP)


Case Study: Space Stations

• Way Stations in Space• Space Station History• The Skylab Space Station• Apollo-Soyuz Linkup• Early Soviet Space Stations• Europe’s Spacelab• The International Space Station• ISS and Beyond


Case Study: Space Stations• Way Stations in Space• Space Station History• The Skylab Space Station• Apollo-Soyuz Linkup• Early Soviet Space Stations• Europe’s Spacelab• The International Space Station• ISS and Beyond


Case Study: Space Stations Way Stations in Space

• Very early in the Space Age, visionaries dreamed of establishing outposts in low-Earth orbit and beyond to serve as way stations for astronauts exploring the high frontier.

• We’ll look at how space stations have developed from the first American and Soviet stations to the current International Space Station.


Case Study: Space Stations Space Station History

• NASA wanted to start understanding the challenges of lengthy space flights.

• The U.S. wanted to find out what would happen to astronauts after several weeks, months, or even years.

• The U.S. would need a space station to answer these questions.

Unit 4, Chapter 15, Lesson 15: Manned Space Explorations SECTION 15.4 16

Case Study: Space Stations The Skylab Space Station

• The first U.S. space station was called Skylab. It was launched in May 1973 and was home to three crews of astronauts form 28 to 84 days at a time.


Case Study: Space Stations The Skylab Space Station (cont’d)

• A large space station in low-Earth orbit could provide:– A laboratory and observatory– A control center for space operations– A spacecraft launching platform– A way station for trips to the Moon and the

planets



• The combination of home, workshop and observatory is referred to as “the cluster”.

• The cluster consisted of the orbital workshop, airlock module, multiple docking adapter, and the Apollo telescope mount.



• The cluster consisted of the orbital workshop, airlock module, multiple docking adapter, and the Apollo telescope mount.

• The orbital workshop was the main part of the Skylab in which astronauts lived and did much of their work.


Case Study: Space Stations Apollo-Soyuz Linkup

• The Apollo-Soyuz mission marked the first ever internationally manned mission and was a milestone for improved U.S./Soviet relations.

• The Apollo-Soyuz linkup was a joint space effort named after the two spacecraft used.

• A new standard docking module was used to safely join two different spacecraft designs.


Case Study: Space Stations Apollo-Soyuz Linkup (cont’d)

Apollo launch for ASTPSoyuz launch for ASTP


Case Study: Space Stations Apollo-Soyuz Linkup (cont’d)

• The historic handshake between Thomas Stafford and Alexei Leonov was made during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP).


Case Study: Space Stations Early Soviet Space Stations

• The Soviet Union developed a sophisticated series of Salyut space stations beginning in the 1960s through the mid-1980s.

• In 1986 the Mir space station was launched, starting a new era in long-duration space flight.

Salyut 7 Space Station



• Salyut 1, the first space station in history, reached orbit with no crew atop a Proton rocket on April 19, 1971.

• Salyut 3, 4, and 5 supported a total of 5 crews among them.



Salyut 6 Key Facts• Station received 16 cosmonaut crews; longest stay

for Salyut 6 cosmonauts was 185 days.• Station hosted cosmonauts from Hungary, Poland,

Romania, Cuba, Mongolia, Vietnam and East Germany.

• Twelve Progress freighters delivered more than 20 tons of equipment, supplies, and fuel.

• An experimental transport logistics spacecraft called Cosmos 1267 docked with Salyut 6 in 1982.



Salyut 7 Key Facts• Salyut 7 was home to ten cosmonauts crews, longest

stay time was 237 days.• Cosmonauts from France and India worked onboard

the station.• Thirteen Progress freighters delivered more than 25

tons of equipment, supplies, and fuel.• Cosmos 1443 and Cosmos 1686 docked with Salyut

7.• Salyut 7 was abandoned in 1986 and reentered

Earth’s atmosphere over Argentina in 1991.


Case Study: Space Stations Europe’s Spacelab

The Spacelab was designed to be flown in the Space Shuttle cargo bay, so experiments could be exposed directly to

the vacuum of space.


Case Study: Space Stations The International Space Station

• The ISS is the largest, most complex international space mission ever undertaken. The U.S., Russia, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency are all cooperating on this grand project.



The Shuttle-Mir Program

• After the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the U.S. and Russia again teamed on a series of Shuttle-Mir mission s that set the stage for cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS).

• Seven U.S. astronauts spent a collective total of 32 months onboard Mir, with 28 months of continuous occupancy since March 1996.

Shuttle-Mir Docking



Building the International Space Station

International Space Station elements



Building the International Space Station (cont’d)

• The components and construction sequence for the International Space Station are the most complex ever attempted.

• The station is in an orbit with an altitude of 400 kilometers (250 miles) and an inclination of 51.6°.

• The international partners are Canada, Japan, the European Space Agency, and Russia.



Assembly in Orbit

• The assembly in orbit of the ISS begins a new era of hands-on work in space.

• It involved more space walks than ever before and joined more than 100 different components to make up the ISS.

ISS Construction


Case Study: Space Stations The International Space StationA New Generation of Space Robotics• To build and maintain the ISS, astronauts

who walk in space will work in partnership with a new generation of space robotics.

• In addition to mechanical arms, other robotics may be used onboard the station.



Research on the International Space Station• Astronauts will complete

thousands of experiments onboard ISS in the following areas:– Protein crystal studies– Tissue culture– Life in low gravity– Flames, fluids, and metal in

space– The nature of space– Watching the Earth– Commercializing space

–

Plants in Space



International Space Station Operations• ISS operations take place at NASA’s Johnson

Space Center in Houston, Texas.• Like the Space Shuttle’s operations center,

the ISS has similar controller positions, such as Flight Director, Capcom, GC, EVA, Surgeon, and PAO.



International Space Station Operations (cont’d)

• Flight-controller positions for the Space Station and their responsibilities are as follows:– Attitude Determination and control officer (ADCO) –

integration of all activities for guidance, navigation, and control; propulsion; and the Interim Control Module.

– Thermal Operations and Resources (THOR) – handles assembly and operation of the Station’s thermal-control system.

– Communications and Tracking Officer (CATO) – manages the U.S. communication systems that provide uplinks and downlinks.



International Space Station Operations (cont’d)• Assembly and Checkout Officer (ACO) – develops

operations for station assembly, activation, and checkout.• Operations Planner (OP) – develops execution plans outside

of the docked phase.• Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) –

oversees assembly and safe operation of the life-support system.

• Power, Heating, Articulation, Lighting, and control (PHALCON) – makes sure power is available to payloads and core systems.



International Space Station Operations (cont’d)

• Operations Support Officer (OSO) – handles logistics support, including on-orbit maintenance, support data and documentation, logistics information systems, and maintenance analysis.

• Onboard, Data, Interfaces and Networks (ODIN) – manages computer hardware and software, crew interface devices, caution and warning, command and telemetry processing, and data interfaces with the international partners.

• Robotics Operations Systems Officer (ROSO) – monitors the operations of the stations robotic arm and mobile servicing system.

• Trajectory Operations Officer (TOPO) – plans, analyzes, and monitors the station’s altitude profile and re-boost maneuvers.


Case Study: Space Stations ISS and Beyond

• Mission planners are starting to explore the vast possibilities of using the Earth-Moon libration points as staging locations for large observatories, interplanetary missions and even space stations.

Lagrange Libration Points


Case Study: Space Stations ISS and Beyond (cont’d)

• These points are locations within the Earth-Moon system where the gravitational pull of the two bodies “cancel out” allowing an object placed at these points to maintain the same relative position without the continual need to fire rockets.



Space Colonies• Why should permanent space colonies be

built?– Materials processing and manufacturing can take

place without polluting the Earth’s environment.– More unique and better products can be developed

in space.– The space colony approach could lead to people’s

existence in other solar systems that do not have habitable planets.

– Space is a new and different frontier.



Space Colonies (cont’d)• There are two points

in space that seem to be the best locations for space colonies.

• These points are designated L4 and L5. The L signifies Lagrange, after Joseph Lagrange.


Summary

• U.S. Manned Space Program• Soviet Manned Space Program• Case Study: The Space Shuttle• Case Study: Space Stations


Closure Our course study of space is now complete. We

hope you’ll stay current by reading newspapers and magazine articles, checking

the Internet for space information, and talking with your friends and teachers about the

wonders of space!

Documents

Unit 4, Chapter 15, Lesson 15: Manned Space Explorations 1 Case Study: The Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Crew Positions Commander/Pilot Astronauts Commander/Pilot