Neutral buoyancy testing of a shuttle orbiter crew compartment

Abstract

The architectural and man-machine aspects of a shuttle orbiter crew compartment were examined. All phases of the Orbiter's flight mode from launch through zero gravity, reentry, and ferry flight are considered. The data provides an initial design criteria that treats the crew compartment as a total system and provides data that has a direct contribution to the development of flight hardware. Primary interest was centered on the design of the galley, hygiene facility, passenger couches, airlock, work station, and flight deck access. The man-machine interface emphasis was placed on identifying and developing solutions for problems in mobility/restraint, ingress/egress, accessibility, and volume utilization.