Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Bleisath, Scott A..
Planetary surface operations have been studied since the last visit of humans to the Moon, including conducting analog missions. Mission Operations lessons from these activities are summarized. Characteristics of forecasted surface operations are compared to current human mission operations approaches. Considerations for future designs of mission operations are assessed.
One of the primary objectives for Space Shuttle mission STS-49 is to perform three EVAs on consecutive days in a manner similar to those planned for Space Station Freedom (SSF) assembly missions. The preparation and completion of this mission will serve as a pathfinder for future EVA intensive SSF assembly flights. Several operational issues pertaining to the EMU have been addressed in preparation for this mission. Provisioning and orbiter stowage of the EMU and associated hardware have been optimized for four EVA crewmembers. EMU preparatory and maintenance activities have been streamlined to help minimize crew overhead and have been carefully integrated into a very demanding mission timeline. The constraints and limitations have been assessed in providing a backup EMU capability for each EVA crewmember. Several EMU concerns have also been addressed in supporting new EVA task requirements, such as large mass handling and performing SSF assembly operations over the crew cabin and nose of the Shuttle orbiter.
The major tasks planned for Assembly of Station by EVA Methods (ASEM) are reviewed, and operational analogies between ASEM and SSF are discussed. It is concluded that preparation for ASEM makes it possible to establish the protocol, policies, and procedures needed to perform these tasks safely, both for ASEM and the SSF. STS-49 will provide flight crew, ground crew, and SSF developers with vital first-hand knowledge and experience which cannot be gained any other way.