Man's role in space exploration and exploitation

Abstract

The crew workloads on the Space Shuttle are described. The Space Shuttle is designed to minimize the activity of the crew in maintaining and operating the Shuttle in order for the crew to be involved in productive activities. The changing role of the crew due to the use of more automated systems on spacecraft is examined. The Shuttle flight system is dependent on embedded software, and the crew is to manage and support these systems. The primary functions of the Space Station are as a laboratory and for construction and assembly of systems, requiring EVA. Examples of EVA are presented. The correlation between manned and unmanned systems and the future direction of space research are discussed.