Long-term operation of "Orlan" space suits in the "Mir" orbiting station: experience obtained and its application

The started assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) and its further operation will call for a great number of extravehicular activity sorties (EVA) to be performed by ISS crews. Therefore, of great importance is to make use of the EVA experience gained by cosmonauts in the process of 15-year operation of the Mir orbiting station (OS). Over the 15-year period, Mir crewmembers wearing Orlan type semi-rigid space suits have accumulated 158 man/sorties from the orbiting station. Crewmembers used 15 suits in orbit and some of the suits were in operation for more than 3 years. The paper presents principal design features, which provide effective and safe operation of orbit-based suits, and briefly describes procedures for preparation and maintenance of suit systems, which ensure long-term operation of space suit in orbit. The paper gives results of the space suit modifications, presents suit performance characteristics and lists novel or upgraded components of the space suit and its systems. The paper also summarizes improvements in the Orlan type suits described in some earlier publications. They refer, in the first run, to the improvement of space suit operations characteristics and reliability, and the utilization of the Orlan type space suit in the ISS program. The paper analyses the experience gained and drawbacks detected and observations made, and gives statistical data on long-term space suit operations aboard the Mir station. The paper reviews certain problems in the process of EVAs performed from the station, and describes the ways of their solution as applied to the further utilization of the suit within the ISS program.     

Hardware/software integration & verification for the mobile servicing system of the international space station

The system architecture of the Mobile Service System (MSS) forms an integral part of the architecture of the International Space Station (ISS) in which elements interact through data components controlled by their respective element software. Tne element developers produce software components which, subsequent to being validated on their respective elements, are integrated and verified in test environments which are representative of the integrated MSS/ISS system. This is the classical method for integration and verification. If program software requirements are, for various reasons, slow to finalize, the software development process starts later than anticipated, and following the classical development/verification processes, could put the scheduled software deliveries at risk. A new approach to development and verification is needed which must encompass the entire software program from component unit software to fully integrated system software. This paper describes the approach which was taken to perform system hardware/software integration and verification with software components which were essentially incomplete, but were developed in a phased fashion, having mutually compatible functionality. The paper describes the MSS and ISS system architecture, the various software components and an overview of the original integration and verification plan. The paper will then describe the new integration approach which was developed, and discuss the evolution of the various software components in terms of functionality and their phased integration into a system. The paper will conclude by providing a summary of the results of the integration and verification activities, and demonstrate how delivery schedules for the integrated system software were met.     

Preparing EMU for Space Station

In today's fiscally constrained environment, it can be expected that systems designed for one space program will increasingly be used to support other programs. The example of the U.S. extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), designed for use with the Space Shuttle, and now part of the baseline for the International Space Station (ISS) program, illustrates the adaption process. Certifying the Shuttle's EMU for use aboard ISS requires addressing three fundamental issues: Identifying new ISS requirements to be imposed on the EMU. Extending Shuttle's EMU on-orbit service interval to meet ISS's longer missions. Certifying Shuttle's EMU to meet new environments unique to ISS. Upon completion of the certification process, Shuttle's EMU will meet all requirements for supporting both the Shuttle and ISS program. This paper discusses the processes for addressing these issues and progress to date in achieving resolution.     

The European Astronaut Centre prepares for International Space Station operations

The European Space Agency (ESA) contribution to the International Space Station (ISS) goes much beyond the delivery of hardware like the Columbus Laboratory, its payloads and the Automated Transfer Vehicles. ESA Astronauts will be members of the ISS crew. ESA, according to its commitments as ISS international partner, will be responsible to provide training on its elements and payloads to all ISS crewmembers and medical support for ESA astronauts. The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne has developed over more than a decade into the centre of expertise for manned space activities within ESA by contributing to a number of important co-operative spaceflight missions. This role will be significantly extended for ISS manned operations. Apart from its support to ESA astronauts and their onboard operations, EAC will have a key role in training all ISS astronauts on ESA elements and payloads. The medical support of ISS crew, in particular of ESA astronauts has already started. This paper provides an overview on status and further plans in building up this homebase function for ESA astronauts and on the preparation towards Training Readiness for ISS crew training at EAC, Cologne. Copyright 2001 by the European Space Agency. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission. Released to IAF/IAA/AIAA to publish in all forms.     

Astronaut training for the European ISS contributions Columbus module and ATV

An essential part of increment preparation for the ISS is the training of the flight crews. Each international partner is responsible for the basic training of its own astronauts, where a basic knowledge is taught on space science and engineering, ISS systems and operations and general astronaut skills like flying, diving, survival, language, etc. The main parts of the ISS crew training are the Advanced Training, e.g., generic ISS operations; nominal and malfunction systems operations and emergencies, and the Increment-Specific Training, i.e., operations and tasks specific to a particular increment. The Advanced and Increment-Specific Training is multilateral training, i.e., each partner is training all ISS astronauts on its contributions to the ISS program. Consequently, ESA is responsible for the Basic Training of its own astronauts and the Advanced and Increment-Specific Training of all ISS crews after Columbus activation on Columbus Systems Operations, Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), and ESA payloads.

This paper gives an overview of the ESA ISS Training Program for Columbus Systems Operations and ATV, for which EADS Space Transportation GmbH is the prime contractor. The key training tasks, the training flow and the training facilities are presented.     

Ground and on-orbit command and data handling architectures for the Active Rack Isolation System microgravity flight experiment

The Active Rack Isolation System [ARIS] International Space Station [ISS] Characterization Experiment, or ARIS-ICE for short, is a long duration microgravity characterization experiment aboard the ISS. The objective of the experiment is to fully characterize active microgravity performance of the first ARIS rack deployed on the ISS. Efficient ground and on-orbit command and data handling [C&DH] segments are the crux in achieving the challenging objectives of the mission. The objective of the paper is to provide an overview of the C&DH architectures developed for ARIS-ICE, with the view that these architectures may serve as a model for future ISS microgravity payloads. Both ground and on-orbit segments, and their interaction with corresponding ISS C&DH systems are presented. The heart of the on-orbit segment is the ARIS-ICE Payload On-orbit Processor, ARIS-ICE POP for short. The POP manages communication with the ISS C&DH system and other ISS subsystems and payloads, enables automation of test/data collection sequences, and provides a wide range of utilities such as efficient file downlinks/uplinks, data post-processing, data compression and data storage. The hardware and software architecture of the POP is presented and it is shown that the built-in functionality helps to dramatically streamline the efficiency of on-orbit operations. The ground segment has at its heart special ARIS-ICE Ground Support Equipment [GSE] software developed for the experiment. The software enables efficient command and file uplinks, and reconstruction and display of science telemetry packets. The GSE software architecture is discussed along with its interactions with ISS ground C&DH elements. A test sequence example is used to demonstrate the interplay between the ground and on-orbit segments.     

Long-duration space mission regenerative life support.

The paper deals with the construction of physical/chemical life support systems of orbiting space station Mir and the Russian segment of the international space station (ISS). Based on experience gained in development and long-term operation of systems for water recovery and air revitalization balance and energy/mass characteristics of promising life support systems (LSS) are analyzed. Physical/chemical life support systems with regenerative systems updated as a result of the operation on the ISS may be used at an initial phase of manned interplanetary missions.     

Research priorities and plans for the International Space Station-results of the 'REMAP' Task Force

Recent events in the International Space Station (ISS) Program have resulted in the necessity to re-examine the research priorities and research plans for future years. Due to both technical and fiscal resource constraints expected on the International Space Station, it is imperative that research priorities be carefully reviewed and clearly articulated. In consultation with OSTP and the Office of Management and budget (OMB), NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) assembled an ad-hoc external advisory committee, the Biological and Physical Research Maximization and Prioritization (REMAP) Task Force. This paper describes the outcome of the Task Force and how it is being used to define a roadmap for near and long-term Biological and Physical Research objectives that supports NASA's Vision and Mission. Additionally, the paper discusses further prioritizations that were necessitated by budget and ISS resource constraints in order to maximize utilization of the International Space Station. Finally, a process has been developed to integrate the requirements for this prioritized research with other agency requirements to develop an integrated ISS assembly and utilization plan that maximizes scientific output.     

美、俄航天器与"国际空间站"交会的轨道分析

发射航天器与"国际空间站"进行交会对接是美国和俄罗斯两国常规性的航天活动,在每次这类飞行的全过程中因特网的有关网站都将北美航天防空司令部(NORAD)追踪测量得到的航天器的轨道根数予以公布。据此对2005年7月美国航天飞机与"国际空间站"的交会对接以及2006年3-4月俄罗斯的联盟TMA-8载人飞船与"国际空间站"的交会对接过程的轨道进行了分析。     

国际空间站集成ECLSS/TCS试验综述

空间站集成ECLSS/TCS（环境控制与生命保障系统/热控系统）试验是一种系统级常压试验,用于单舱或多舱整体性能的鉴定和验收。文章介绍了国际空间站的环境试验标准,以及国际空间站计划中美国、欧洲及日本的集成ECLSS/TCS试验发展情况,主要包括试验项目、试验功能及试验平台组成等。根据国际空间站集成ECLSS/TCS试验的特点,提出了我国发展该项试验的建议。     

Training astronauts using three-dimensional visualisations of the International Space Station

Recent advances in personal computer technology have led to the development of relatively low-cost software to generate high-resolution three-dimensional images. The capability both to rotate and zoom in on these images superposed on appropriate background images enables high-quality movies to be created. These developments have been used to produce realistic simulations of the International Space Station on CD-ROM. This product is described and its potentialities demonstrated. With successive launches, the ISS is gradually built up, and visualised over a rotating Earth against the star background. It is anticipated that this product's capability will be useful when training astronauts to carry out EVAs around the ISS. Simulations inside the ISS are also very realistic. These should prove invaluable when familiarising the ISS crew with their future workplace and home. Operating procedures can be taught and perfected. "What if" scenario models can be explored and this facility should be useful when training the crew to deal with emergency situations which might arise. This CD-ROM product will also be used to make the general public more aware of, and hence enthusiastic about, the International Space Station programme.     

Legal analysis of the International Space Station (ISS) programme using the concept of “legalisation”

NASA, the initiator of the International Space Station (ISS), is currently reinforcing partnerships with the commercial sector as well as other ISS partner states in preparation for the ISS's operation and utilisation. This gives rise to an urgent need to analyse the ISS's legal framework in order to clearly state its legal merits and shortcomings. This essay presents the advantages and disadvantages of the ISS's legal framework by employing the “legalisation”-based approach. These advantages and disadvantages give us clues for selecting the optimal legal arrangement for the future development of the ISS programme. It will therefore be possible to minimise the risks associated with and to generate profits from ISS activities. This will ensure the effective and coherent implementation of the ISS programme.     

International space station: : Ready to fly

The International Space Station (ISS) is no longer a paper program, focused on design, development and planning. It is an operational program, with hardware soon to be launched and ground systems in place. Additional modules, components and elements are now under construction in almost all of the 16 ISS International Partner and Participant countries, with metal being bent, software being written, and testing ongoing. Crew members for the first four crews are in training in the U.S. and Russia, with the first crew launching in mid 1999. Mission control centers are fully functioning in Houston and Moscow, with operations centers in St. Hubert, Darmstadt, Tsukuba, Turino, and Huntsville going on line as they are required.

The International Space Station, as the largest international civil program in history, features unprecedented technical, managerial, and international complexity. Seven international partners and participants encompassing 15 countries are involved in the ISS. Each partner is contributing and will be operating separate pieces of hardware, to be integrated on-orbit into a single orbital station. Mission control centers, launch vehicles, astronauts/cosmonauts, and support services will be provided by partners across the globe, but must function in a coordinated, integrated fashion. This paper will review the accomplishments of the ISS Program and each of the Partners and Participants over the past year, focusing on completed milestones and hardware. It will also give a status report on the development of the remainder of the ISS modules and components by each Partner and Participant, and discuss upcoming challenges.     

Human and robotic repair of a solar array wing during ISS assembly mission 10A

With the installation of a new module and the relocation of three other modules, including multiple hand-offs from the station arm (SSRMS) to the shuttle arm (SRMS), International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission 10A/STS-120 was anticipated to be one of the most complicated ISS assembly missions ever attempted. The assembly operations became even more complex when a solar array wing (SAW) on the relocated Port-6 (P6) truss segment ripped while being extended. Repairing the torn SAW became the single most important objective for the remainder of STS-120, with future ISS assembly missions threatened by reduced power generation capacity if the SAW could not be repaired. Precise coordination between the space shuttle and ISS robotics teams led to an operational concept that combined the capabilities of the SRMS and SSRMS robotic systems in ways far beyond their original design capacities. Benefits of consistent standards for ISS robotic interfaces have been previously identified, but the advantages of having two such versatile and compatible robotic systems have never been quite so spectacular. This paper describes the role of robotics in the emergency SAW repair and highlights how versatility within space robotics systems can allow operations far beyond the intended design scenarios.     

Human and robotic repair of a solar array wing during ISS assembly mission 10A

With the installation of a new module and the relocation of three other modules, including multiple hand-offs from the station arm (SSRMS) to the shuttle arm (SRMS), International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission 10A/STS-120 was anticipated to be one of the most complicated ISS assembly missions ever attempted. The assembly operations became even more complex when a solar array wing (SAW) on the relocated Port-6 (P6) truss segment ripped while being extended. Repairing the torn SAW became the single most important objective for the remainder of STS-120, with future ISS assembly missions threatened by reduced power generation capacity if the SAW could not be repaired. Precise coordination between the space shuttle and ISS robotics teams led to an operational concept that combined the capabilities of the SRMS and SSRMS robotic systems in ways far beyond their original design capacities. Benefits of consistent standards for ISS robotic interfaces have been previously identified, but the advantages of having two such versatile and compatible robotic systems have never been quite so spectacular. This paper describes the role of robotics in the emergency SAW repair and highlights how versatility within space robotics systems can allow operations far beyond the intended design scenarios.     

Regulating ISS— An interdisciplinary essay

The International Space Station (ISS) is a multifaceted international project. Several space agencies from different countries work together in the Outer Space. This paper will illustrate the exciting questions arising from such a venture and therefore the challenge to incorporate a variety of issues into a legal order. The Paper is addressed to lawyers who need not necessarily be experts in space law, and also to space experts who have no legal background. It demonstrates the three layers of the ISS regime—from the “Intergovernmental Agreement” (IGA) as a “frame” with pillars and boundaries, over the “Memoranda of Understanding” (MOU) which rules in a more specific way, to the so-called “Implementing Arrangements” regulating the overall and single aspects of ISS in detail.The paper underlines questions of applicable jurisdiction, utilization rights and the rights on intellectual property onboard of the ISS. Furthermore the problem of liability in space flight is highlighted, also with a view to the different aspects of the liability issue, for example (internal) liability caused by programme delays (e.g. US Space Shuttle delays).In conclusion, the paper illustrates the situation of astronauts by the “Code of Conduct for the International Space Station Crew” and provides an example for the actual ISS Programme—an international cooperation in a highly demanding environment which will be a basis for future space ventures in many ways.     

The fluid-dynamic disturbances induced on the ISS, based on the first acceleration measurements on board the space station

The different acceleration components on the ISS that are responsible for the generation of convective motions in a fluid cell either in the presence of density gradients or in quasi-isodense processes, are analyzed. The NASA measurements of the quasi-steady and periodic acceleration on the ISS are considered and their effects on fluid-dynamic experiments are computed and discussed under different assumptions. In particular, numerical simulations are carried out to identify the relative importance of linear and pendular accelerations, due to possible rotations of the P/L around its center of mass. The effects caused by variable accelerations created by an isolation mount that exhibits an attenuation factor not constant within the payload volume, caused by the reaction forces of the umbilicals, are computed and analyzed.     

Profiles of quick access to the orbital station for modern spacecraft

The problems of decreasing the duration of the autonomous flight of a spacecraft (SC) before the docking with an orbital station (OS) are considered in this paper. Modern SCs should be docked with the International Space Station (ISS) with an arbitrary initial phase angle; for this reason, the rendezvous of the Russian Soyuz-TMA spacecraft with the ISS is performed for 2 days. The paper presents to consideration some new flight profiles with essentially smaller duration. The results of modeling the developed rendezvous profiles are presented and solutions to emergency situations are considered.     

Dextre: Improving maintenance operations on the International Space Station

The Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), known as “Dextre”, is currently slated to launch in February 2008 for deployment on the International Space Station (ISS) as the final component of Canada's Mobile Servicing System (MSS). Dextre's primary role on the Space Station is to perform repair and replacement (R&R) maintenance tasks on robotically compatible hardware such as Orbital Replaceable Units (ORUs), thereby eventually easing the burden on the ISS crew.This burden on the on-orbit crew translates practically into crew time being a limited resource on the ISS, and as such, finding ways to assist the crew in performing their tasks or offloading the crew completely when appropriate is a bonus to the ISS program. This is already accomplished very effectively by commanding as many non-critical robotics tasks as possible, such as powering up and free-space maneuvering of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), known as “Canadarm2”, from the Ground.Thus, beyond its primary role, and based on an increasing clarity regarding the challenges of external maintenance on the ISS, Dextre is being considered for use in a number of ways with the objective of improving ISS operations while reducing and optimizing the use of crew time through the use of ground control for various tasks, pre-positioning hardware, acting as a temporary storage platform to break an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) day into manageable timelines, and extending the physical reach and range of the Canadarm2.This paper discusses the planned activities and operations for Dextre an rationale for how these will help optimize the use of crew resources on the ISS.     

ESA developments in life support technology: achievements and future priorities.

Following an enthusiastic start in 1985, ESA's life support technology development programme was re-assessed in the mid- to late-1990s to reflect the strong reduction in European manned space ambitions which occurred at that time. Further development was essentially restricted to activities that could constitute ISS upgrades or enhancements, or support ISS utilisation/operations, together with a single, limited, activity (MELISSA) aimed at bioregenerative life support, in the continuing hope that there might be "life after Station". The paper describes the current status of these activities and summarises the main priorities for future development that were identified at the April 1999 Workshop on Advanced Life Support.