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At least 37 records · Page 2

Effect of weightlessness on mineral saturation of bone tissue

X-ray photometry of bone density established dynamic changes in mineral saturation of bone tissues for Soyuz spacecraft and Salyut orbital station crews. Calcaneus optical bone densities in all crew members fell below initial values; an increase in spacecrew exposure time to weightlessness conditions also increased the degree of decalcification. Demineralization under weightlessness conditions took place at a higher rate than under hypodynamia.

Krasnykh, I. G.↗

Mission profile of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

A brief overview is presented of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The mission objectives are summarized, and the mission profile is described. Other topics discussed include the reasons why the U.S. built the docking module, Soviet expenditures, use of the ATS-6 relay satellite to improve communications and television coverage, crew training, and safety aspects of the Soyuz spacecraft. It is noted that technology transfer has been minimal and that joint U.S.-Soviet space exploration may be a result of the project.

Lee, C. M.↗

Prevention of decompression sickness during a simulated space docking mission

This study has shown that repetitive exchanges between the Apollo space vehicle atmosphere of 100% oxygen at 5 psia (258 torr) and the Soyuz spacecraft atmosphere of 30% oxygen-70% nitrogen at 10 psia (533 torr), as simulated in altitude chambers, will not likely result in any form of decompression sickness. This conclusion is based upon the absence of any form of bends in seven crewmen who participated in 11 tests distributed over three 24-h periods. During each period, three transfers from the 5 to the 10 psia environments were performed by simulating passage through a docking module which served as an airlock where astronauts and cosmonauts first adapted to each other's cabin gases and pressures before transfer. Biochemical tests, subjective fatigue scores, and the complete absence of any form of pain were also indicative that decompression sickness should not be expected if this spacecraft transfer schedule is followed.

Cooke, J. P.↗

Crystal growth from the vapor phase experiment MA-085

Three vapor transport experiments on multicomponent systems were performed during the Apollo Soyuz mission to determine the effects of microgravity forces on crystal morphology and mass transport rates. The mixed systems used germanium selenide, tellurium, germanium tetraiodide (transport agent), germanium monosulfide, germanium tetrachloride (transport agent), and argon (inert atmosphere). The materials were enclosed in evacuated sealed ampoules of fused silica and were transported in a temperature gradient of the multipurpose electric furnace onboard the Apollo Soyuz spacecraft. Preliminary evaluation of 2 systems shows improved quality of space grown crystals in terms of growth morphology and bulk perfection. This conclusion is based on a direct comparison of space grown and ground based crystals by means of X-ray diffraction, microscopic, and chemical etching techniques. The observation of greater mass transport rates than predicted for a microgravity environment by existing vapor transport models indicates the existence of nongravity caused transport effects in a reactive solid/gas phase system.

Wiedemeir, H.↗

From space on a parachute

Improvements in the landing system of the Soyuz spacecraft are discussed. The system of parachutes is designed to guarantee a safe landing. The design attempts to cover all possible emergency situations. Selection of the landing area and time of ejection is an important aspect of safe descent.

Lobanov, N.↗

Systems interoperability approach Apollo/Soyuz test project

The aproach used to design and develop the hardware and to insure the compatibility of existing systems used for the Apollo/Soyuz test project mission, are described. This mission used slightly modified Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft, a new jointly designed docking system, a new docking module (used as an airlock), and many existing flight and ground systems. The working groups major responsibilities and the documentation to control the technical agreements and information exchange are summarized.

Wade, Donald C.↗

TREK - A cosmic-ray experiment on the Russian space station Mir

The goals of the TREK experiment, now in place on the Mir space station, are to resolve and measure the composition of both odd-Z and even-Z cosmic-ray nuclei up to uranium, to measure the isotopic composition of Fe-group nuclei, and to search for transuranic nuclei and exotic particles such as strangelets. To collect tracks of ultraheavy cosmic rays, exterior panels holding an array of BP-1 phosphate glass 1.2 sq m in area and 16 plates thick are now mounted outside the Kvant-2 module on Mir. Heaters and relays regulate the temperature of the glass at 25 +/- 5 C. The detectors will record about 1000 cosmic-ray tracks with Z greater than or equal to 50 during about 2.5 years. An interior panel consisting of an array 0.09 sq m in area and 32 plates thick and mounted on the inside wall of the Soyuz spacecraft will collect tracks of about 13,000 Fe and 500 Ni nuclei.

Price, P. B.↗

Cross Coupling Between Attenuators In A Docking Mechanism

Cross coupling between motion attenuators on opposite sides of docking mechanism proposed as means of increasing capture envelope. Prototype system for application of cross-coupling concept is one used for docking of Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft; however, given widespread use of docking mechanisms, concept may prove useful in many terrestrial applications as well.

Holmberg, Arthur↗

Fourth Report of the Task Force on the Shuttle-Mir Rendezvous and Docking Missions

On December 6, 1994, the NASA Administrator, Mr. Daniel Goldin, requested that Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, in his role as the Chairman of the NASA Advisory Council Task Force on the Shuttle-Mir Rendezvous and Docking Missions, lead a team composed of several Task Force members and technical advisors' to Russia with the goal of reviewing preparations and readiness for the upcoming international Space Station Phase 1 missions. In his directions to Gen. Stafford, Mr. Goldin requested that the review team focus its initial efforts on safety of flight issues for the following Phase 1A missions: the Soyuz TM-21 mission which will carry U.S. astronaut Dr. Norman Thagard and cosmonauts Lt. Col. Vladimir Dezhurov and Mr. Gennady Strekalov aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the Mir Station; the Mir 18 Main Expedition during which Thagard and his fellow cosmonauts, Dezhurov and Strokalov, will spend approximately three months aboard the Mir Station; the STS-71 Space Shuttle mission which will perform the first Shuttle-Mir docking, carry cosmonauts Col. Anatoly SoloViev and Mr. Nikolai Budarin to the Mir Station, and return Thagard, Dezhurov, and Strekalov to Earth.

Source record↗

ISS Expedition 1 Crew Interviews: Yuri P. Gidzenko

Live footage of a preflight interview with Soyuz Commander Yuri P. Gidzenko is seen. The interview addresses many different questions including why Gidzenko became interested in the space program, the events that led to his interest, the transition from being a military pilot to being selected as a Russian cosmonaut. Other interesting information that this one-on-one interview discusses are the main goals of the first Expedition Crew, their scheduled docking with the International Space Station (ISS), making the ISS ready for human inhabitance, and all the specifics that will make his living arrangements difficult. Gidzenko mentions his responsibilities during the much-anticipated two-day flight to the ISS on the Soyuz spacecraft, as well as the possibility of his space-walk. Gidzenko also discusses the crew's first tasks upon entrance including other scheduled tasks for the first week, docking from cargo ships, and spacecraft delivering equipment or performing Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA). He explains his opinion of the implications of having human beings in space.

Source record↗

International Space Station General Resource Reel

The construction and evolution of the International Space Station (ISS) is seen through various clips. Live footage shows the following: (1) the Zarya Module under construction and during launch preparations; (2) the Unity Module under construction, during launch preparations, and being lowered into the payload canister; (3) STS-88 Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman during training for their spacewalks, including activities in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL); (4) Zarya and Unity docking to the Service Module; (5) the Expedition 1 crew (William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev) during emergency escape training in the Black Sea and during water survival training at Johnson Space Center; (6) the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle Drop Test; and (7) the US Destiny Laboratory Module, Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA), Service Module, Italian Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, US Airlock, and US Habitation Module under construction. Computerized animations show the following: (1) an ISS fly-around; (2) the STS-88 Space Shuttle as it docks with Zarya and attaches Zarya to the Unity Module; (3) the Space Shuttle as it docks with ISS and installs the Z1 truss segment and PMA; (4) the Soyuz spacecraft as it docks with ISS; (5) interior and exterior views of the Columbus Attached Pressurized Module; and (6) a Transhab animation showing the interior and exterior and marking the components.

Source record↗

Expedition 7 Crew Interview: Yuri Malenchenko

Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko of Expedition Seven is seen during a pre-launch interview. He begins by telling why he wanted to become a cosmonaut. Malenchenko expresses his reaction about the news of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, and how this mission will be different from other missions. He also expresses the challenges that face Malenchenko and Ed Lu such as the crew reduction from three to two, less supplies and no space shuttle flights. Malenchenko says that he will have to work on a compressed schedule, which will make the mission even more challenging. A description of the handover of Expedition Six is given. Malenchenko and Ed Lu will be cramped in a confined space on the Soyuz Spacecraft for two days before docking, and he talks about this experience. Lastly, Malenchenko gives his thoughts on how it will be to work with Ed Lu in space, and tells of Lu's trustworthiness and reliability as a fellow crew member.

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Research on International Space Station - Building a Partnership for the Future

As its name implies, the International Space Station is a platform where the research programs of 16 partner nations are conducted. While each partner pursues its own research priorities, cooperation and coordination of the various national and agency research programs occurs at multiple levels, from strategic through tactical planning to experiment operations. Since 2000, a significant number of experiments have been carried out in the Russian ISS utilization program, which consists of the Russian national program of fundamental and applied research in 11 research areas and international cooperative programs and contract activities. The US research program began with simple payloads in 2000 and was significantly expanded with the addition of the US Laboratory module Destiny in 2001, and its outfitting with seven research racks to date. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have made use of international cooperative arrangements with both the US and Russia to implement a variety of investigations in diverse research areas, and in the case of ESA included the flights of crewmembers to ISS as part of Soyuz Science Missions. In the future, ESA and JAXA will add their own research modules, Columbus and Kibo, respectively, to expand research capabilities both inside and outside ISS. In the aftermath of the Columbia accident and the temporary grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet, all ISS logistics have relied on Russian Progress and Sopz vehicles. The Russian national program has continued as before the Shuttle accident, as have international cooperative programs and contract activities, both during long-duration expeditions and visiting taxi missions. In several instances, Russian international cooperative activities with JAXA and ESA have also involved the use of US facilities and crewmembers in successful truly multilateral efforts. The US research program was rapidly refocused after the Shuttle accident to rely on greatly reduced upmass, and for the first time in the ISS program, US research hardware was launched on Progress vehicles and returned with crews on Soyuz spacecraft. It is hoped that these small but significant steps in international cooperation will lead to even greater endeavors once the remaining research modules are added to ISS.

Gindl, Heinz↗

International Space Station Aeromedical Support in Star City, Russia

The Space Medicine Division at Johnson Space Center works with the International Space Station s international partners (IP) to accomplish assigned health care tasks. Each IP may assign a flight surgeon to support their assigned crewmembers during all phases of training, in-flight operations, and postflight activities. Because of the extensive amount of astronaut training conducted in Star City; NASA, in collaboration with its IPs, has elected to keep a flight surgeon assigned to NASA s Star City office to provide support to the U.S., Canadian, Japanese, and European astronauts during hazardous training activities and provide support for any contingency landings of Soyuz spacecraft in Kazakhstan. The physician also provides support as necessary to the Mission Control Center in Moscow for non-Russian crew-related activities. In addition, the physician in Star City provides ambulatory medical care to the non-Russian-assigned personnel in Star City and visiting dependents. Additional work involves all medical supplies, administration, and inventory. The Star City physician assists in medical evacuation and/or in obtaining support from western clinics in Moscow when required care exceeds local resources. Overall, the Russians are responsible for operations and the medical care of the entire crew when training in Star City and during launch/landing operations. However, they allow international partner flight surgeons to care for their crewmembers as agreed to in the ISS Medical Operations Requirements Document. Medical support focuses on pressurized, monitored, and other hazardous training activities. One of the most important jobs is to act as a medical advocate for the astronauts and to reduce the threat that these hazardous activities pose. Although the Russians have a robust medical system, evacuation may be needed to facilitate ongoing medical care. There are several international medical evacuation companies that provide this care.

Cole, Richard↗

Global Rescue Response to a Multivehicle Deorbit from the International Space Station

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has been tasked to support rescue efforts in the event of an off-nominal landing of a Commercial Crew Program vehicle transporting NASA crewmembers to or from the International Space Station. The DoD is further tasked to support returning U.S. and International Partner crewmembers on Russian Soyuz spacecraft missions, specifically to ensure aeromedical evacuation capability in the event of a crewmember injury at the time of launch or landing. This DoD mission is primarily considered during planned launch and landing operations, with forces placed in an alert posture to support if needed. However, overall mission concept of operations encompasses a no-notice rescue capability in the event of an on-orbit emergency. Such contingency scenarios are pre-coordinated and simulated to ensure a ready posture of associated DoD assets and to promote coordination of government, commercial, and military stakeholders. To date, planning and simulations have focused on execution of a single rescue mission; the possibility of a multi-vehicle evacuation and rescue scenario has not been adequately explored. This presentation will examine the process of responding to an emergency onboard the International Space Station that results in the early departure and deorbit of multiple docked vehicles to preserve the health and safety of the crew. We will highlight the complexity of this recovery scenario and discuss potential complications that could arise, as well as identify areas in which deliberate planning and simulation can better ensure successful preparation for such a multifaceted recovery operation.

Travis Levon Houser↗

Exceedance statistics of accelerations resulting from thruster firings on the Apollo-Soyuz mission

Spacecraft acceleration resulting from firings of vernier control system thrusters is an important consideration in the design, planning, execution and post-flight analysis of laboratory experiments in space. In particular, scientists and technologists involved with the development of experiments to be performed in space in many instances required statistical information on the magnitude and rate of occurrence of spacecraft accelerations. Typically, these accelerations are stochastic in nature, so that it is useful to characterize these accelerations in statistical terms. Statistics of spacecraft accelerations are summarized.

Fichtl, G. H.↗

Exceedance statistics of accelerations resulting from thruster firings on the Apollo-Soyuz mission

Spacecraft acceleration resulting from firings of vernier control system thrusters is an important consideration in the design, planning, execution and post-flight analysis of laboratory experiments in space. In particular, scientists and technologists involved with the development of experiments to be performed in space in many instances required statistical information on the magnitude and rate of occurrence of spacecraft accelerations. Typically, these accelerations are stochastic in nature, so that it is useful to characterize these accelerations in statistical terms. Statistics of spacecraft accelerations are summarized. Previously announced in STAR as N82-12127

Fichtl, G. H.↗

Soviet automated rendezvous and docking system overview

The Soviets have been performing automated rendezvous and docking for many years. It has been a reliable mode of resupply and reboost. During the course of the Soviet space program, the autodocking system has evolved. The earlier IGLA system was replaced with the current KURS system. Both systems are radar-based. The variation in strength between antennas is used for computing relative positions and attitudes. The active spacecraft has a transponder. From discussions with Soviet engineers, it seems the docking process can be controlled either from the ground or from the active (docking) spacecraft's onboard computer. The unmanned Progress resupply ships regularly dock with the current MIR Space Station. The Soyuz T spacecraft incorporated the IGLA system, and the later Soyuz TM and Progress M Series spacecraft incorporated the KURS. The MIR Complex has both systems installed. The rear port and the KVANT docking port have the IGLA system installed to support earlier Progress ships that use the IGLA. The first Soyuz TM docking occurred in May of 1986, while the first Progress M docked in September of 1989.

Hinman, Elaine M.↗