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At least 19 records

Z-2 Architecture Description and Requirements Verification Results

The Z-2 Prototype Planetary Extravehicular Space Suit Assembly is a continuation of NASA's Z series of spacesuits. The Z-2 is another step in NASA's technology development roadmap leading to human exploration of the Martian surface. The suit was designed for maximum mobility at 8.3 psid, reduced mass, and to have high fidelity life support interfaces. As Z-2 will be man-tested at full vacuum in NASA JSC's Chamber B, it was manufactured as Class II, making it the most flight-like planetary walking suit produced to date. The Z-2 suit architecture is an evolution of previous EVA suits, namely the ISS EMU, Mark III, Rear Entry I-Suit and Z-1 spacesuits. The suit is a hybrid hard and soft multi-bearing, rear entry spacesuit. The hard upper torso (HUT) is an all-composite structure and includes a 2-bearing rolling convolute shoulder with Vernier sizing mechanism, removable suit port interface plate (SIP), elliptical hemispherical helmet and self-don/doff shoulder harness. The hatch is a hybrid aluminum and composite construction with Apollo style gas connectors, custom water pass-thru, removable hatch cage and interfaces to primary and auxiliary life support feed water bags. The suit includes Z-1 style lower arms with cam brackets for Vernier sizing and government furnished equipment (GFE) Phase VI gloves. The lower torso includes a telescopic waist sizing system, waist bearing, rolling convolute waist joint, hard brief, 2 bearing soft hip thigh, Z-1 style legs with ISS EMU style cam brackets for sizing, and conformal walking boots with ankle bearings. The Z-2 Requirements Verification Plan includes the verification of more than 200 individual requirements. The verification methods include test, analysis, inspection, demonstration or a combination of methods. Examples of unmanned requirements include suit leakage, proof pressure testing, operational life, mass, isometric man-loads, sizing adjustment ranges, internal and external interfaces such as in-suit drink bag, partial pressure relief valve, purge valve, donning stand and ISS Body Restraint Tether (BRT). Examples of manned requirements include verification of anthropometric range, suit self-don/doff, secondary suit exit method, donning stand self-ingress/egress and manned mobility covering eight functional tasks. The eight functional tasks include kneeling with object pick-up, standing toe touch, cross-body reach, walking, reach to the SIP and helmet visor. This paper will provide an overview of the Z-2 design. Z-2 requirements verification testing was performed with NASA at the ILC Houston test facility. This paper will also discuss pre-delivery manned and unmanned test results as well as analysis performed in support of requirements verification.

Graziosi, Dave↗

Z-2 Suit Support Stand and MKIII Suit Center of Gravity Test

NASA's next generation spacesuits are the Z-Series suits, made for a range of possible exploration missions in the near future. The prototype Z-1 suit has been developed and assembled to incorporate new technologies that has never been utilized before in the Apollo suits and the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). NASA engineers tested the Z-1 suit extensively in order to developed design requirements for the new Z-2 suit. At the end of 2014, NASA will be receiving the new Z-2 suit to perform more testing and to further develop the new technologies of the suit. In order to do so, a suit support stand will be designed and fabricated to support the Z-2 suit during maintenance, sizing, and structural leakage testing. The Z-2 Suit Support Stand (Z2SSS) will be utilized for these purposes in the early testing stages of the Z-2 suit.

Nguyen, Tuan Q.↗

Z-2 Prototype Space Suit Development

NASA's Z-2 prototype space suit is the highest fidelity pressure garment from both hardware and systems design perspectives since the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed in the late 1970's. Upon completion it will be tested in the 11' humanrated vacuum chamber and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center to assess the design and to determine applicability of the configuration to micro-, low- (asteroid), and planetary- (surface) gravity missions. This paper discusses the 'firsts' the Z-2 represents. For example, the Z-2 sizes to the smallest suit scye bearing plane distance for at least the last 25 years and is being designed with the most intensive use of human models with the suit model. The paper also provides a discussion of significant Z-2 configuration features, and how these components evolved from proposal concepts to final designs.

Ross, Amy↗

Z-2 Prototype Space Suit Development

NASA's Z-2 prototype space suit is the highest fidelity pressure garment from both hardware and systems design perspectives since the Space Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed in the late 1970's. Upon completion the Z-2 will be tested in the 11 foot human-rated vacuum chamber and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center to assess the design and to determine applicability of the configuration to micro-, low- (asteroid), and planetary- (surface) gravity missions. This paper discusses the 'firsts' that the Z-2 represents. For example, the Z-2 sizes to the smallest suit scye bearing plane distance for at least the last 25 years and is being designed with the most intensive use of human models with the suit model.

Ross, Amy↗

Z-2 Threaded Insert Design and Testing Abstract

The Z-2 Prototype Planetary Extravehicular Space Suit Assembly is a continuation of NASA's Z series of spacesuits. The Z-2 is another step in the NASA's technology development roadmap leading to human exploration of the Martian surface. To meet a more challenging set of requirements than previous suit systems standard design features, such as threaded inserts, have been re-analyzed and improved. NASA's Z-2 prototype space suit contains several components fabricated from an advanced hybrid composite laminate consisting of IM10 carbon fiber and fiber glass. One requirement NASA levied on the suit composites was the ability to have removable, replaceable helicoil inserts to which other suit components would be fastened. An approach utilizing bonded in inserts with helicoils inside of them was implemented. The design of the interface flanges of the composites allowed some of the inserts to be a "T" style insert that was installed through the entire thickness of the laminate. The flange portion of the insert provides a mechanical lock as a redundancy to the adhesive aiding in the pullout load that the insert can withstand. In some locations it was not possible to utilize at "T" style insert and a blind insert was used instead. These inserts rely completely on the bond strength of the adhesive to resist pullout. It was determined during the design of the suit that the inserts did not need to withstand loads induced from pressure cycling but instead tension induced from torqueing the screws to bolt on hardware which creates a much higher stress on them. Bolt tension is determined by dividing the torque on the screw by a k value multiplied by the thread diameter of the bolt. The k value is a factor that accounts for friction in the system. A common value used for k for a non-lubricated screw is 0.2. The k value can go down by as much as 0.1 if the screw is lubricated which means for the same torque, a much larger tension could be placed on the bolt and insert. This paper summarizes testing that was performed to determine a k value for helicoil inserts in the Z2 suit and how the insert design was modified to resist a higher pull out tension.

Rhodes, RIchard↗

Z-2 Threaded Insert Design and Testing

NASA's Z-2 prototype space suit contains several components fabricated from an advanced hybrid composite laminate consisting of IM10 carbon fiber and fiber glass. One requirement was to have removable, replaceable helicoil inserts to which other suit components would be fastened. An approach utilizing bonded in inserts with helicoils inside of them was implemented. During initial assembly, cracking sounds were heard followed by the lifting of one of the blind inserts out of its hole when the screws were torqued. A failure investigation was initiated to understand the mechanism of the failure. Ultimately, it was determined that the pre-tension caused by torqueing the fasteners is a much larger force than induced from the pressure loads of the suit which was not considered in the insert design. Bolt tension is determined by dividing the torque on the screw by a k value multiplied by the thread diameter of the bolt. The k value is a factor that accounts for friction in the system. A common value used for k for a non-lubricated screw is 0.2. The k value can go down by as much as 0.1 if the screw is lubricated which means for the same torque, a much larger tension could be placed on the bolt and insert. This paper summarizes the failure investigation that was performed to identify the root cause of the suit failure and details how the insert design was modified to resist a higher pull out tension.

Ross, Amy↗

Z-2 Space Suit: A Case Study in Human Spaceflight Public Outreach

NASA Johnson Space Center's Z-series of planetary space suit prototypes is an iterative development platform with a Mars-forward design philosophy, targeting a Mars surface mission in the mid-2030s. The first space suit assembly, called the Z-1, was delivered in 2012. While meeting the project's stated requirements and objectives, the general public's reception primarily focused on the color scheme, which vaguely invoked similarity to a certain animated cartoon character. The public at large has and continues to be exposed to varying space suit design aesthetics from popular culture and low TRL technology maturation efforts such as mechanical counterpressure. The lesson learned was that while the design aesthetic is not important from an engineering perspective, the perception of the public is important for NASA and human spaceflight in general. For the Z-2 space suit, an integrated public outreach strategy was employed to engage, excite and educate the public on the current technology of space suits and NASA's plans moving forward. The keystone of this strategy was a public vote on three different suit cover layer aesthetics, the winner of which would be used as inspiration in fabrication. Other components included social media, university collaboration, and select media appearances, the cumulative result of which, while intangible in its benefit, was ultimately a positive effect in terms of the image of NASA as well as the dissemination of information vital to dispelling public misconceptions.

McFarland, Shane M.↗

The Morphology of Passively Evolving Galaxies at Z-2 from HST/WFC3 in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

We discuss near-IR images of six passive galaxies (SSFR< 10(exp -2)/Gyr) at redshift 1.3 < z < 2.4 with stellar mass M approx 10(exp 11) solar mass, selected from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), obtained with WFC3/IR and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These WFC3 images provide the deepest and highest angular resolution view of the optical rest-frame morphology of such systems to date. We find that the light profile of these; galaxies is generally regular and well described by a Sersic model with index typical of today's spheroids. We confirm the existence of compact and massive early-type galaxies at z approx. 2: four out of six galaxies have T(sub e) approx. 1 kpc or less. The WFC3 images achieve limiting surface brightness mu approx. 26.5 mag/sq arcsec in the F160W bandpass; yet there is no evidence of a faint halo in the five compact galaxies of our sample, nor is a halo observed in their stacked image. We also find very weak "morphological k-correction" in the galaxies between the rest-frame UV (from the ACS z band), and the rest-frame optical (WFC3 H band): the visual classification, Sersic indices and physical sizes of these galaxies are independent or only mildly dependent on the wavelength, within the errors.

Cassata, P.↗

Z-2 Prototype Space Suit Development

NASA's Z‐2 prototype space suit is the highest fidelity pressure garment from both hardware and systems design perspectives since the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed in the late 1970's. Upon completion it will be tested in the 11' human‐rated vacuum chamber and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center to assess the design and to determine applicability of the configuration to micro‐, low‐ (asteroid), and planetary‐ (surface) gravity missions. This paper discusses the 'firsts' the Z‐2 represents. For example, the Z‐2 sizes to the smallest suit scye bearing plane distance for at least the last 25 years and is being designed with the most intensive use of human models with the suit model. The paper also provides a discussion of significant Z‐2 configuration features, and how these components evolved from proposal concepts to final designs.

Ross, Amy↗

Filament-winding fabrication of QCSEE configuration fan blades

The design and fabrication of twelve NASA-QCSEE type composite fan blades utilizing wet filament winding fabrication techniques is described. All composite fibers were continuous and attached to the root end. All components were formed, bonded, and co-cured in one molding process. Advanced fiber materials used in the blade fabrication were Thornel-300, Carbolon Z-2-1, and Carbolon Z-3 graphite in an epoxy resin matrix.

Yao, S.↗

Signatures of flux erosion from the dayside magnetosphere

The rate of merging and the strength of the region 1 Birkeland currents increase during periods of southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Fringe fields of the Birkeland currents depress dayside magnetospheric magnetic field strengths and remove magnetic flux from the dayside magnetophere, thereby allowing the dayside magnetopause to move inward and the cusp equatorward. We use previously derived fits to the magnetospause location as a function of IMF B(sub z), the condition of pressure balance at the magnetopause, and an idealized model of region 1 Birkeland currents to estimate that strong southward IMF turnings will produce approximately 13- to 26-nT depressions in the geosynchronous magnetic field strength over periods of 30-60 min. We then present three case studies of geosynchronous magnetic field strength variations during periods of nearly constant solar wind dynamic pressure and southward IMF. The dayside magnetospheric magnetic field strength was depressed approximately 10 nT during a period of strongly southward IMF (B(sub z) = -6 nT), but only approximately 5 nT during two more typical periods of slightly southward IMF (B(sub z) = -2 to -3 nT). The depressions correspond to periods of enhanced AL index, which we interpret as evidence for directly driven solar wind-magnetosphere interaction rather than the unloading of energy stored within the magnetotail. Dayside geosynchronous magnetic field strengths are weakly correlated with IMF B(sub z).

Sibeck, D. G.↗

Z-1 Prototype Space Suit Testing Summary

The Advanced Space Suit team of the NASA-Johnson Space Center performed a series of test with the Z-1 prototype space suit in 2012. This paper discusses, at a summary level, the tests performed and results from those tests. The purpose of the tests were two -fold: 1) characterize the suit performance so that the data could be used in the downselection of components for the Z -2 Space Suit and 2) develop interfaces with the suitport and exploration vehicles through pressurized suit evaluations. Tests performed included isolated and functional range of motion data capture, Z-1 waist and hip testing, joint torque testing, CO2 washout testing, fit checks and subject familiarizations, an exploration vehicle aft deck and suitport controls interface evaluation, delta pressure suitport tests including pressurized suit don and doff, and gross mobility and suitport ingress and egress demonstrations in reduced gravity. Lessons learned specific to the Z -1 prototype and to suit testing techniques will be presented.

Ross, Amy J.↗

Z-1 Prototype Space Suit Testing Summary

The Advanced Space Suit team of the NASA-Johnson Space Center performed a series of test with the Z-1 prototype space suit in 2012. This paper discusses, at a summary level, the tests performed and results from those tests. The purpose of the tests were two-fold: 1) characterize the suit performance so that the data could be used in the downselection of components for the Z-2 Space Suit and 2) develop interfaces with the suitport and exploration vehicles through pressurized suit evaluations. Tests performed included isolated and functional range of motion data capture, Z-1 waist and hip testing, joint torque testing, CO2 washout testing, fit checks and subject familiarizations, an exploration vehicle aft deck and suitport controls interface evaluation, delta pressure suitport tests including pressurized suit don and doff, and gross mobility and suitport ingress and egress demonstrations in reduced gravity. Lessons learned specific to the Z-1 prototype and to suit testing techniques will be presented.

Ross, Amy↗

CO2 Washout Testing Using Various Inlet Vent Configurations in the Mark-III Space Suit

Requirements for using a space suit during ground testing include providing adequate carbon dioxide (CO2) washout for the suited subject. Acute CO2 exposure can lead to symptoms including headache, dyspnea, lethargy and eventually unconsciousness or even death. Symptoms depend on several factors including inspired partial pressure of CO2 (ppCO2), duration of exposure, metabolic rate of the subject and physiological differences between subjects. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis has predicted that the configuration of the suit inlet vent has a significant effect on oronasal CO2 concentrations. The main objective of this test is to characterize inspired oronasal ppCO2 for a variety of inlet vent configurations in the Mark-III space suit across a range of workload and flow rates. As a secondary objective, results will be compared to the predicted CO2 concentrations and used to refine existing CFD models. These CFD models will then be used to help design an inlet vent configuration for the Z-2 space suit, which maximizes oronasal CO2 washout. This test has not been completed, but is planned for January 2014. The results of this test will be incorporated into this paper. The testing methodology used in this test builds upon past CO2 washout testing performed on the Z-1 suit, Rear Entry I-Suit (REI) and the Enhanced Mobility Advanced Crew Escape Suit (EM-ACES). Three subjects will be tested in the Mark-III space suit with each subject performing two test sessions to allow for comparison between tests. Six different helmet inlet vent configurations will be evaluated during each test session. Suit pressure will be maintained at 4.3 psid. Subjects will wear the suit while walking on a treadmill to generate metabolic workloads of approximately 2000 and 3000 BTU/hr. Supply airflow rates of 6 and 4 actual cubic feet per minute (ACFM) will be tested at each workload. Subjects will wear an oronasal mask with an open port in front of the mouth and will be allowed to breathe freely. Oronasal ppCO2 will be monitored real-time via gas analyzers with sampling tubes connected to the oronasal mask. Metabolic rate will be calculated from the total oxygen consumption and CO2 production measured by additional gas analyzers at the air outlet from the suit. Real-time metabolic rate measurements will be used to adjust the treadmill workload to meet target metabolic rates. This paper provides detailed descriptions of the test hardware, methodology and results, as well as implications for future inlet vent design and ground testing in the Mark-III.

Korona, F. Adam↗

CO2 Washout Testing Using Various Inlet Vent Configurations in the Mark-III Space Suit

Requirements for using a space suit during ground testing include providing adequate carbon dioxide (CO2) washout for the suited subject. Acute CO2 exposure can lead to symptoms including headache, dyspnea, lethargy and eventually unconsciousness or even death. Symptoms depend on several factors including inspired partial pressure of CO2 (ppCO2), duration of exposure, metabolic rate of the subject and physiological differences between subjects. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis has predicted that the configuration of the suit inlet vent has a significant effect on oronasal CO2 concentrations. The main objective of this test was to characterize inspired oronasal ppCO2 for a variety of inlet vent configurations in the Mark-III suit across a range of workload and flow rates. Data and trends observed during testing along with refined CFD models will be used to help design an inlet vent configuration for the Z-2 space suit. The testing methodology used in this test builds upon past CO2 washout testing performed on the Z-1 suit, Rear Entry I-Suit (REI) and the Enhanced Mobility Advanced Crew Escape Suit (EM-ACES). Three subjects performed two test sessions each in the Mark-III suit to allow for comparison between tests. Six different helmet inlet vent configurations were evaluated during each test session. Suit pressure was maintained at 4.3 psid. Suited test subjects walked on a treadmill to generate metabolic workloads of approximately 2000 and 3000 BTU/hr. Supply airflow rates of 6 and 4 actual cubic feet per minute (ACFM) were tested at each workload. Subjects wore an oronasal mask with an open port in front of the mouth and were allowed to breathe freely. Oronasal ppCO2 was monitored real-time via gas analyzers with sampling tubes connected to the oronasal mask. Metabolic rate was calculated from the total oxygen consumption and CO2 production measured by additional gas analyzers at the air outlet from the suit. Realtime metabolic rate measurements were used to adjust the treadmill workload to meet target metabolic rates. This paper provides detailed descriptions of the test hardware, methodology and results, as well as implications for future inlet vent designs and ground testing.

Korona, F. Adam↗

CO2 Washout Testing Using Various Inlet Vent Configurations in the Mark-III Space Suit

Requirements for using a space suit during ground testing include providing adequate carbon dioxide (CO2) washout for the suited subject. Acute CO2 exposure can lead to symptoms including headache, dyspnea, lethargy and eventually unconsciousness or even death. Symptoms depend on several factors including inspired partial pressure of CO2 (ppCO2), duration of exposure, metabolic rate of the subject and physiological differences between subjects. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis has predicted that the configuration of the suit inlet vent has a significant effect on oronasal CO2 concentrations. The main objective of this test was to characterize inspired oronasal ppCO2 for a variety of inlet vent configurations in the Mark-III suit across a range of workload and flow rates. Data and trends observed during testing along with refined CFD models will be used to help design an inlet vent configuration for the Z-2 space suit. The testing methodology used in this test builds upon past CO2 washout testing performed on the Z-1 suit, Rear Entry I-Suit (REI) and the Enhanced Mobility Advanced Crew Escape Suit (EM-ACES). Three subjects performed two test sessions each in the Mark-III suit to allow for comparison between tests. Six different helmet inlet vent configurations were evaluated during each test session. Suit pressure was maintained at 4.3 psid. Suited test subjects walked on a treadmill to generate metabolic workloads of approximately 2000 and 3000 BTU/hr. Supply airflow rates of 6 and 4 actual cubic feet per minute (ACFM) were tested at each workload. Subjects wore an oronasal mask with an open port in front of the mouth and were allowed to breathe freely. Oronasal ppCO2 was monitored real-time via gas analyzers with sampling tubes connected to the oronasal mask. Metabolic rate was calculated from the total oxygen consumption and CO2 production measured by additional gas analyzers at the air outlet from the suit. Real-time metabolic rate measurements were used to adjust the treadmill workload to meet target metabolic rates. This paper provides detailed descriptions of the test hardware, methodology and results, as well as implications for future inlet vent designs and ground testing.

Korona, F. Adam↗

Carbon Dioxide Washout Testing Using Various Inlet Vent Configurations in the Mark-III Space Suit

Requirements for using a space suit during ground testing include providing adequate carbon dioxide (CO2) washout for the suited subject. Acute CO2 exposure can lead to symptoms including headache, dyspnea, lethargy, and eventually unconsciousness or even death. Symptoms depend on several factors including inspired partial pressure of CO2 (ppCO2), duration of exposure, metabolic rate of the subject, and physiological differences between subjects. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis has predicted that the configuration of the suit inlet vent has a significant effect on oronasal CO2 concentrations. The main objective of this test was to characterize inspired oronasal ppCO2 for a variety of inlet vent configurations in the Mark-III suit across a range of workload and flow rates. Data and trends observed during testing along with refined CFD models will be used to help design an inlet vent configuration for the Z-2 space suit. The testing methodology used in this test builds upon past CO2 washout testing performed on the Z-1 suit, Rear Entry I-Suit, and the Enhanced Mobility Advanced Crew Escape Suit. Three subjects performed two test sessions each in the Mark-III suit to allow for comparison between tests. Six different helmet inlet vent configurations were evaluated during each test session. Suit pressure was maintained at 4.3 psid. Suited test subjects walked on a treadmill to generate metabolic workloads of approximately 2000 and 3000 BTU/hr. Supply airflow rates of 6 and 4 actual cubic feet per minute were tested at each workload. Subjects wore an oronasal mask with an open port in front of the mouth and were allowed to breathe freely. Oronasal ppCO2 was monitored real-time via gas analyzers with sampling tubes connected to the oronasal mask. Metabolic rate was calculated from the CO2 production measured by an additional gas analyzer at the air outlet from the suit. Real-time metabolic rate measurements were used to adjust the treadmill workload to meet target metabolic rates. This paper provides detailed descriptions of the test hardware, methodology and results, as well as implications for future inlet vent designs and ground testing.

Korona, F. Adam↗

Advanced Extra-Vehicular Activity Pressure Garment Requirements Development

The NASA Johnson Space Center advanced pressure garment technology development team is addressing requirements development for exploration missions. Lessons learned from the Z-2 high fidelity prototype development have reiterated that clear low-level requirements and verification methods reduce risk to the government, improve efficiency in pressure garment design efforts, and enable the government to be a smart buyer. The expectation is to provide requirements at the specification level that are validated so that their impact on pressure garment design is understood. Additionally, the team will provide defined verification protocols for the requirements. However, in reviewing exploration space suit high level requirements there are several gaps in the team's ability to define and verify related lower level requirements. This paper addresses the efforts in requirement areas such as mobility/fit/comfort and environmental protection (dust, radiation, plasma, secondary impacts) to determine the method by which the requirements can be defined and use of those methods for verification. Gaps exist at various stages. In some cases component level work is underway, but no system level effort has begun; in other cases no effort has been initiated to close the gap. Status of on-going efforts and potential approaches to open gaps are discussed.

Ross, Amy↗