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A Review of Medical Results of Gemini 7 and Related Flights

On August 23, 1966, a review of the medical findings of the fourteen day Gemini 7 mission and related flights was conducted. This review was organized at the request of Dr. George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, and consisted of presentations by the Principal Investigators of the Gemini Medical Flight Experiments and by the Director, Medical Research and Operations, Manned Spacecraft Center. This document is a compilation of the material presented at the review. The Principals cooperated most significantly by reviewing a transcription of a tape recording of their presentation, editing and providing a final version for publication. Without this most generous assistance, this document could not have been published. Table I, which follows immediately after this Introduction, is presented to acquaint the reader with the scope and sequence of medical measurements and experiments which were conducted during Project Gemini. This review was held prior to the conduct of the Gemini 11 and 12 missions, therefore, material derived from those flights is not included in this document.

E J McLaughlin

Space Programs Summary 37-43, Vol. VI, Space Exploration Programs and Space Sciences For the Period November 1 to December 31, 1966

The Space Programs Summary is a six-volume bimonthly publication designed to report on JPL space exploration programs and related supporting research and advanced development projects. The titles of all volumes of the Space Programs Summary are: Vol. I. The Lunar Program (Confidential) Vol. 11. The Planetary-Interplanetary Program (Confidential) Vol. 111. The Deep Space Network (Unclassified) Vol. IV. Supporting Research and Advanced Development (Unclassified) Vol. V. Supporting Research and Advanced Development (Confidential) Vol. VI. Space Exploration Programs and Space Sciences (Unclassified) The Space Programs Summary, Vol. VI, consists of: an unclassified digest of appropriate material from Vols. I, II, and III; an original presentation of the JPL quality assurance and reliability efforts, and the environmental- and dynamic-testing facility-development activities; and a reprint of the space science instrumentation studies of Vols. I and 11. This instrumentation work is conducted by the JPL Space Sciences Division and also by individuals of various colleges, universities, and other organizations. All such projects are supported by the Laboratory and are concerned with the development of instruments for use in the NASA space flight programs.

MARINER PROGRAM

Effects of Adverse Weather on Aerodynamics [Les Effets des Conditions Météorologiques Adverses sur I'Aérodynamique]

The 19 technical papers developed for the AGARD Fluid Dynamics Panel (FDP) Specialists' Meeting on "Effects of Adverse Weather on Aerodynamics" held from 28th April—i May 1991 in Toulouse, France are documented in this Conference Proceedings. In addition, introductory material from the Program Chairman and the results of the Round Table Discussion held after the meeting are also included. The FDP organized this meeting to provide a timely review of the progress being made in advancing the state-of-the-art of predicting, simulating, and measuring the effects of icing, anti-icing fluids, and various forms of precipitation on the aerodynamic characteristics of flight vehicles. Topics included results from both theoretical and experimental programs and material related to procedures and regulations for certification and operation. International participation for the meeting included authors from eight nations and representatives from most of the 16 NATO nations.

Precipitation - meteorology

Nonintrusive Diagnostic Strategies for Arcjet Stream Characterization

In the previous lecture, the issues related to arcjet flow modeling were introduced, and the limitations of conventional instrumentation in addressing these issues were discussed. The general level of understanding of the arcjet flows was seen to preclude the use of arcjets as aerothermodynamic test facilities beyond the current role in aerothermal material testing, despite their long test duration capability. In this section, the focus will be on new developments in spectroscopic instrumentation and techniques that can be brought to bear on the fundamental problem of arcjet stream characterization. Although a wide selection of arcjet facilities were introduced in the previous section, the discussion of nonintrusive diagnostic instrumentation will be restricted to the large-scale, segmented, constricted-arc heater facilities that are most widely used in thermal protection material testing for aerospace applications. After a brief review of the important features of arcjet flows, the topic of nonintrusive, optical diagnostics is introduced with a discussion of some of the basic aspects of radiative transitions. The lecture is then organized into two sections covering emission measurements and laser-induced fluorescence measurements. Emission measurements are presented next for different regions of arcjet flows, while the fluorescence measurements are presented for the free stream region only. Summaries are given for each of the two main sections, and observations on arcjet characterization by optical diagnostics in general are given at the end.

Douglas G Fletcher

What to Do Until the Money Runs Out: A Refinement Framework for Cognitive Engineering in the Real World

A case study is presented to illustrate some of the problems of applying cognitive science to complex human-machine systems. Disregard for facts about human cognition often undermines the safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of complex systems. Yet single-point methods (for example, better user-interface design), whether rooted in computer science or in experimental psychology, fall far short of addressing systems-level problems in a timely way using realistic resources. A model-based methodology is proposed for organizing and prioritizing the cognitive engineering effort, focusing appropriate expertise on major problems first, then moving to more sophisticated refinements if time and resources permit. This case study is based on a collaborative effort between the Human Factors Division at NASA-Ames and the Spaceborne Imaging Radar SIR-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California institute of Technology. The first SIR-C/X-SAR Shuttle mission flew successfully in April, 1994. A series of such missions is planned to provide radar data to study Earth's ecosystems, climatic and geological processes, hydrologic cycle, and ocean circulation. In addition to JPL and NASA personnel, the SIR-C/X-SAR operations team included Scientists and engineers from the German and Italian space agencies.

Shafto, Michael G.

Thermal Neutral Format Based on the Step Technology

The exchange of models is one of the most serious problems currently encountered in the practice of spacecraft thermal analysis. Essentially, the problem originates in the diversity of computing environments that are used across different sites, and the consequent proliferation of native tool formats. Furthermore, increasing pressure to reduce the development's life cycle time has originated a growing interest in the so-called spacecraft concurrent engineering. In this context, the realization of the interdependencies between different disciplines and the proper communication between them become critical issues. The use of a neutral format represents a step forward in addressing these problems. Such a means of communication is adopted by consensus. A neutral format is not directly tied to any specific tool and it is kept under stringent change control. Currently, most of the groups promoting exchange formats are contributing with their experience to STEP, the Standard for Exchange of Product Model Data, which is being developed under the auspices of the International Standards Organization (ISO 10303). This paper presents the different efforts made in Europe to provide the spacecraft thermal analysis community with a Thermal Neutral Format (TNF) based on STEP. Following an introduction with some background information, the paper presents the characteristics of the STEP standard. Later, the first efforts to produce a STEP Spacecraft Thermal Application Protocol are described. Finally, the paper presents the currently harmonized European activities that follow up and extend earlier work on the area.

P Planas Almazan

Introduction to Flight Test Engineering [Introduction Aux Techniques Des Essais En Vol]

Flight test is at the core of what organizations must do in order to validate the operation and systems on an aircraft. While the AGARDograph series 300 and 160 series deal with aspects of this testing, this volume pulls it all together as an introduction to the process required to do effective flight test engineering. This volume was originally published in 1995. Its utility has been proven in that many flight test organizations and universities have requested copies for their engineers and students. It was felt that re-issuing it in a new format designed for electronic publication would be valuable to the community. This second printing changes none of the text, but rather reformats it. All the original references to AGARD (instead of RTO) are left in place so that none of the flavor of the original publication is lost. This is the Introductory Volume to the Flight Test Techniques Series. It is a general introduction to the various activities and aspects of Flight Test Engineering that must be considered when planning, conducting, and reporting a flight test program. Its main intent is to provide a broad overview to the novice engineer or to other people who have a need to interface with specialists within the flight test community. The first two Sections provide some insight into the question of why flight test and give a short history of flight test engineering. Sections 3 through 10 deal with the preparation for flight testing. They provide guidance on the preliminary factors that must be considered; the composition of the test team; the logistic support requirements; the instrumentation and data processing requirements; the flight test plan; the associated preliminary ground tests; and last, but by no means least, discuss safety aspects. Sections 11 through 27 describe the various types of flight tests that are usually conducted during the development and certification of a new or modified aircraft type. Each Section offers a brief introduction to the topic under consideration, and the nature and the objectives of the tests to be conducted. It lists the test instrumentation (and, where appropriate, other test equipment and facilities) required, describes the test maneuvers to be executed, and indicates the way in which the test data is selected, analyzed, and presented. The various activities that should take place between test flights are presented next. Items that are covered are: who to debrief; what type of reports to send where: types of data analysis required for next flight; review of test data to make a comparison to predicted data and some courses of action if there is not good agreement; and comments on selecting the next test flight. The activities that must take place upon completion of the test program are presented. The types of reports and briefings that should take place and a discussion of some of the uses of the flight test data are covered. A brief forecast is presented of where present trends may be leading.

Test facilities

1998 Research and Technology

This report selectively summarizes the NASA Lewis Research Center's research and technology accomplishments for the fiscal year 1998. It comprises 134 short articles submitted by the staff scientists and engineers. The report is organized into five major sections: Aeronautics, Research and Technology, Space, Engineering and Technical Services, and Commercial Technology. A table of contents and an author index have been developed to assist readers in finding articles of special interest. This report is not intended to he a comprehensive summary of all the research and technology work done over the past fiscal year. Most of the work is reported in Lewis-published technical reports, journal articles, and presentations prepared by Lewis staff and contractors. In addition, university grants have enabled faculty members and graduate students to engage in sponsored research that is reported at technical meetings or in journal articles. For each article in this report, a Lewis contact person has been identified, and where possible, reference documents are listed so that additional information can be easily obtained. The diversity of topics attests to the breadth of research and technology being pursued and to the skill mix of the staff that makes it possible. At the time of publication, NASA Lewis was undergoing a name change to the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field.

Donald J Campbell

Mechanical Design of Spacecraft

In the spring of 1962, engineers from the Engineering Mechanics Division of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory gave a series of lectures on spacecraft design at the Engineering Design seminars conducted at the California Institute of Technology. Several of these lectures were subsequently given at Stanford University as part of the Space Technology seminar series sponsored by the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Presented here are notes taken from these lectures. The lectures were conceived with the intent of providing the audience with a glimpse of the activities of a few mechanical engineers who are involved in designing, building, and testing spacecraft. Engineering courses generally consist of heavily idealized problems in order to allow the more efficient teaching of mathematical technique. Students, therefore, receive a somewhat limited exposure to actual engineering problems, which are typified by more unknowns than equations. For this reason it was considered valuable to demonstrate some of the problems faced by spacecraft designers, the processes used to arrive at solutions, and the interactions between the engineer and the remainder of the organization in which he is constrained to operate. These lecture notes are not so much a compilation of sophisticated techniques of analysis as they are a collection of examples of spacecraft hardware and associated problems. They will be of interest not so much to the experienced spacecraft designer as to those who wonder what part the mechanical engineer plays in an effort such as the exploration of space.

MARINER SPACE PROBE

Workshop on Advances in NASA-Relevant, Minimally Invasive Instrumentation

The purpose of this meeting is to highlight those advances in instrumentation and methodology that can be applied to the medical problems that will be encountered as the duration of manned space missions is extended. Information on work that is presently being done by NASA as well as other approaches in which NASA is not participating will be exchanged. The NASA-sponsored efforts that will be discussed are part of the overall Space Medicine Program that has been undertaken by NASA to address the medical problems of manned spaceflight. These problems include those that have been observed in the past as well as those which are anticipated as missions become longer, traverse different orbits, or are in any way different. This conference is arranged in order to address the types of instrumentation that might be used in several major medical problem areas. Instrumentation that will help in the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and psychological areas, among others will be presented. Interest lies in identifying instrumentation which will help in learning more about ourselves through experiments performed directly on humans. Great emphasis is placed on non-invasive approaches, although every substantial program basic to animal research will be needed in the foreseeable future. Space Medicine is a rather small affair in what is primarily an engineering organization. Space Medicine is conducted throughout NASA by a very small skeleton staff at the headquarters office in Washington and by our various field centers. These centers include the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Throughout these various centers, work is conducted in-house by NASA's own staff scientists, physicians, and engineers. In addition, various universities, industries, and other government laboratories perform research that cannot be effectively carried out in-house. At the moment, approximately 50% of the work is performed in-house and 50% is extramural. The area of bioinstrumentation pervades every one of our problem areas. In each, equipment or procedures are being developed that will allow more clinical work to be done in a ground-based or spacecraft setting. Although work of this kind goes on throughout the NASA organization and through its grants and contracts in the community at large, the major thrust of it is concentrated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which plays a lead role in this type of research and acts as the lead center in bioinstrumentation for NASA. It is recognized that there is much additional research being pursued in this area which would be potentially valuable to NASA and could, with some stimulation from, be made more applicable to NASA's needs. It is hoped, therefore, that the proceedings of this conference will be used as the basis for developing research strategies to be used as a road map to point the way in which NASA's own sponsored program should proceed over the course of the next three years. Additionally, it is hoped that the conference will highlight additional areas in which NASA should be involved either in-house or through the sponsorship of non-NASA scientists. NASA would also like to get an idea of which areas should be emphasized or perhaps de-emphasized among those that it is currently pursuing. In considering these questions, the discussion should concern itself not so much with whether a particular procedure or piece of equipment would work in a spacecraft, but rather, with whether the procedures that are advocated are at the state-of-the-art or beyond the state-of-the-art and whether they hold promise of giving additional insight into the problems to be confronted as humans venture into space for longer and longer periods of time.

Source record

The Future of in-Situ Sequencing-Based Microbial Monitoring: Development of a Shelf-Stable Method for Artemis and Beyond

Microbial monitoring onboard the International Space Station (ISS) is essential for assessing the efficiency of the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) and providing insight into potential risk to both crew and spacecraft. Historically, this monitoring required the need to culture organisms onboard, return these cultures to Earth, and then complete the identifications, a process that would take months. Over the past decade, and through numerous payloads, advances in molecular biology have enabled in-flight microbial identifications using nanopore sequencing. The swab-to-sequencer method resulting from these efforts was transitioned from research to operations for microbial monitoring under the Crew Health Care Systems (CHeCS) BioMole. Collectively, these accomplishments have propelled the swab-to-sequencer method to be selected as the Microbial Surface Monitor (MSM) for Gateway, as well as a payload on Artemis IV. However, the lack of cold stowage availability for Artemis requires modifications to the entire method due to the thermal instability of the reagents required for sample preparation. To achieve this, new development, optimization, and validations were undertaken. Key considerations included enzyme concentration, buffer compatibility, and equal or enhanced sensitivity and specificity. At each step, thorough side-by-side comparisons with the current ISS method were performed. The development of a robust shelf-stable method will ensure continued sequencing-based microbial monitoring for Artemis and beyond, providing data in near real-time, enhancing risk response time, and yielding clear insight into the microbiome of spacecraft.

Christian G Mena

Concept to Reality: Contributions of the Langley Research Center to US Civil Aircraft of the 1990s

This document is intended to be a companion to NASA/SP-2000-4519, Partners in Freedom: Contributions of the Langley Research Center to U.S. Military Aircraft of the 1990s . Material included in the combined set of volumes provides informative and significant examples of the impact of Langley's research on U.S. civil and military aircraft of the 1990s. This volume, 'Concept to Reality: Contributions of the NASA Langley Research Center to U.S. Civil Aircraft of the 1990s', highlights significant Langley contributions to safety, cruise performance, takeoff and landing capabilities, structural integrity, crashworthiness, flight deck technologies, pilot-vehicle interfaces, flight characteristics, stall and spin behavior, computational design methods, and other challenging technical areas for civil aviation. The contents of this volume include descriptions of some of the more important applications of Langley research to current civil fixed-wing aircraft (rotary-wing aircraft are not included), including commercial airliners, business aircraft, and small personal-owner aircraft. In addition to discussions of specific aircraft applications, the document also covers contributions of Langley research to the operation of civil aircraft, which includes operating problems. This document is organized according to disciplinary technologies, for example, aerodynamics, structures, materials, and flight systems. Within each discussion, examples are cited where industry applied Langley technologies to specific aircraft that were in operational service during the 1990s and the early years of the new millennium. This document is intended to serve as a key reference for national policy makers, internal NASA policy makers, Congressional committees, the media, and the general public. Therefore, it has been written for a broad general audience and does not presume any significant technical expertise. An extensive bibliography is provided for technical specialists and others who desire a more in-depth discussion of the contributions.

NASA History Series

Chapter 9 - Pre-Flight Tests

Pre-flight testing is critical to the success of any flight test program. Pre-flight tests are performed to measure and evaluate the characteristics of an aircraft in a non-flying environment and to verify that these characteristics are as desired. Since aircraft systems are becoming more and more complex, conducting proper pre-flight testing to help identify system characteristics and deficiencies prior to flight is more important now than ever before. Much flight test time has been lost fixing problems that should have been found and corrected prior to flight. Accidents have occurred because pre-flight tests and verification procedures were not conducted thoroughly enough to identify the aircraft's characteristics properly or to find system discrepancies. Proper pre-flight testing helps ensure that the aircraft is ready to fly and contributes toward an efficient, productive, and safe flight test program. The reader should be aware that this Section is dedicated to the testing that should take place prior to the first flight. There are other "pre-flight" tests that take place prior to each individual flight. These latter tests are not discussed in this Section. The following paragraphs of this Section describe significant tests that are usually accomplished prior to flying a new or highly modified aircraft. Test objectives, descriptions, products, and requirements are provided in the following subsections: 9.1 Wind tunnel tests 9.2 Simulation tests 9.3 Propulsion tests 9.4 Weight and balance tests 9.5 Ground vibration tests 9.6 Structural loads tests 9.7 Gain margin tests 9.8 Verification and calibration tests 9.9 Taxi tests The specific examples given and the test facilities mentioned in this Section will illustrate the approach taken and the techniques used by the US Air Force; however, they are typical of those used by other test organizations.

Paul W Kirsten

Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report: Volume Four

Volume IV of the Report contains appendices that were not cited in Volume I. These consist of documents produced by NASA and other organizations, which were provided to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in support of its inquiry into the February 1, 2003 destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The documents are compiled in this volume in the interest of establishing a complete record, but they do not necessarily represent the views of the Board. Volume I contains the Board's findings, analysis, and recommendations. The documents in Volume III through V are also contained in their original color format on the DVD disc in the back of Volume II. Volumes II – VI contain a number of conclusions and recommendations, several of which were adopted by the Board in Volume I. The other conclusions and recommendations drawn in Volumes II – VI do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Board, but are included for the record. When there is conflict, Volume I takes precedence.

NASA

2005 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System Workshop

The 2005 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System workshop covered the following topics: (i) Overview of NASA’s new Exploration Initiative program aimed at exploring the Moon, Mars, and beyond; (ii) Overview of the NASA-sponsored Propulsion 21 Project; (iii) Overview of NASA Glenn’s seal project aimed at developing advanced seals for NASA’s turbomachinery, space, and reentry vehicle needs; (iv) Reviews of NASA prime contractor, vendor, and university advanced sealing concepts including tip clearance control, test results, experimental facilities, and numerical predictions; and (v) Reviews of material development programs relevant to advanced seals development. Turbine engine studies have shown that reducing high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade tip clearances will reduce fuel burn, lower emissions, retain exhaust gas temperature margin, and increase range. Several organizations presented development efforts aimed at developing faster clearance control systems and associated technology to meet future engine needs. The workshop also covered several programs NASA is funding to develop technologies for the Exploration Initiative and advanced reusable space vehicle technologies. NASA plans on developing an advanced docking and berthing system that would permit any vehicle to dock to any on-orbit station or vehicle. Seal technical challenges (including space environments, temperature variation, and seal-on-seal operation) as well as plans to develop the necessary “androgynous” seal technologies were reviewed. Researchers also reviewed tests completed for the shuttle main landing gear door seals.

Hypersonic

Adventures in Research: A History of Ames Research Center, 1940-1965

The present document, which I have called a history-though it certainly was not written for historians-was prepared for and at the request of the NASA Ames Research Center which, in sponsoring the project, acted with the encouragement of NASA Headquarters. It is an account of the establishment, evolutionary development, and activities of the Ames Research Center covering a period characterized by unprecedented scientific and technological revolution. The writing of this book about the Ames Research Center was undertaken with considerable pleasure by one who for many years was employed by the Center’s parent organization NASA and, before that, NACA; who had closely followed the Center’s growth from the beginning; and who was personally acquainted with, and who held in some affection, the members of its founding staff. These facts are given to alert readers to the presence of bias and the inaccuracies stemming therefrom. It should be emphasized that this work is a history only of the Ames Research Center. It is not a history of the U.S. Government, of NACA or NASA, of other research centers, of the military services, of industry, or of world events. Information on these peripheral subjects is introduced merely to provide the reader with a generalized feeling for the local and world environment in which the formation and subsequent activities of the Ames Research Center took place. The background material provided is notably incomplete and in some instances reveals the bias of the NACA/NASA community at the time the events took place. Frequently, also, it reflects the personalized viewpoint of the author who was a close observer of many of these events.

NASA Center History Series

Symposium on Thermal Radiation of Solids

The Symposium was intended to provide for presentation and discussion of significant developments in the theory of thermal radiation of solids and in our understanding of the important effects of surfaces and interfaces and of surface imperfections on this radiation, of the effects of the space environment on radiation properties, and of the application of this information to the thermal designer's problems. Presentation of data as such-for example, absorptances and emittances of various types of coatings-was not considered a primary purpose of the Symposium; nevertheless, as the reader will observe, an appreciable amount of significant data of this type is contained in some of the papers. Developments in measurement techniques were also not considered basic to the main theme, especially since it was the theme of the preceding Symposium. However, because the subject remains of continuing concern, one session was devoted to it. These Proceedings contain all the papers presented orally at the Symposium together with the discussions that followed them, and, in addition, nine papers that were accepted for publication only. Each paper was reviewed by the session chairman and by the editor, and any apparent technical discrepancies were called to the attention of the author for clarification. As a further aid to the reader, the editor has tried to achieve some degree of uniformity in organization and format of the papers—at least to the extent permitted by the subject matter, and he has also striven for clarity and readability of the text. In this task he has had not only the cooperation of the authors but also extensive help from the Langley Technical Editing Section, the Langley Library (where most of the cited references were checked), and the NASA Headquarters Technical Publications Branch.

Solids

Space Transportation System Technology Symposium. Volume 2 - Dynamics and Aeroelasticity

The Space Shuttle, being an hybrid – an airplane and a launch vehicle – represents the greatest challenge that the dynamicist and the aeroelastician have faced. Some specific problem areas related to the Space Shuttle are listed on figure 1. Dynamics and aeroelasticity envelop many disciplines, including aerodynamics, vibration, random processes, structures, fluid flow, mechanics, etc., but, of more importance, they involve the interaction and coupling of many of these various disciplines. Fundamentally, we are concerned with structural integrity and safe flight, i.e., trying to ensure that the vehicle will remain structurally intact as well as function properly in the presence of the many faceted dynamic environment. A new area which may have an impact on our task is the effect of the high temperature environment. In the past, we have been able to successfully decouple the temperature effects from our problem formulation. For the Space Shuttle, this problem must be closely reexamined. As has been pointed out in the opening remarks of the Conference, the Dynamics and Aeroelasticity Technology Group comprises one of several technology groups which are attempting to provide the necessary research to support a successful and safe vehicle. The group has members from most of the NASA Centers as well as from the Air Force groups. We meet periodically to review ongoing work, search for new problem areas; and we are constantly updating and revising our program. The group is organized into three panels as shown on figure 2: a panel on Dynamic Loads and Response, one on Aeroelasticity, and one on Flight Dynamics and Environment. The Conference papers accordingly have been grouped in these same three areas, with each Panel Chairman acting as moderator for his particular session.

Harry L Runyan