Advanced Crew Escape Suit

Design of the S1032 Launch Entry Suit (LES) began following the Challenger loss and NASA's decision to incorporate a Shuttle crew escape system. The LES (see Figure 1) has successfully supported Shuttle missions since NASA's Return to Flight with STS-26 in September 1988. In 1990, engineers began developing the S1035 Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) to serve as a replacement for the LES. The ACES was designed to be a simplified, lightweight, low-bulk pressure suit which aided self donning/doffing, provided improved comfort, and enhanced overall performance to reduce crew member stress and fatigue. Favorable crew member evaluations of a prototype led to full-scale development and qualification of the S1035 ACES between 1990 and 1992. Production of the S1035 ACES began in February 1993, with the first unit delivered to NASA in May 1994. The S1035 ACES first flew aboard STS-68 in August 1994 and will become the primary crew escape suit when the S1032 LES ends its service life in late 1995. The primary goal of the S1035 development program was to provide improved performance over that of the S1032 to minimize the stress and fatigue typically experienced by crew members. To achieve this, five fundamental design objectives were established, resulting in various material/configuration changes.     

Astronaut-induced disturbances in microgravity

This Note describes the dynamic load sensors (DLS) spaceflight experiment that measured middeck astronaut-induced disturbances during the 14-day STS-62 Space Shuttle mission in March 1994. The DLS experiment was flown in conjunction with the reflight of the Middeck 0-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE). The objective of MODE was to investigate effects of the microgravity environment on large space structures. Where Skylab experiments focused on measuring the forces exerted during vigorous soaring activities, the DLS experiment quantified the reaction forces and moments exerted by the crew going about their normal on-orbit activities. The objective of this Note is to present DLS force data and frequency analysis that characterize astronaut-induced loads during spaceflight.     

Hubble's new view of the cosmos

Since the December 1993 repair of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) optics by the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the rapid-fire scientific achievements have brought a new era of discovery to the field of astronomy. Hubble has confirmed some astronomical theories, challenged others, and often come up with complete surprises. Some images are so unexpected that astronomers have to develop new theories to explain what they are seeing. The HST has detected galaxies out to the visible horizon of the cosmos, and has made an attempt at pinning down the universe's expansion rate. Both of these key research areas should ultimately yield answers to age-old questions: What has happened since the beginning of time, and will the universe go on forever?     

考虑复杂人员搭配规则的机组人员派遣问题

人员搭配规则是国内航空公司机组人员派遣问题中最复杂的一项,为优化机组排班质量,提高人员满意度,保障飞行安全,针对国内机组搭配特点,创建考虑机组人员派遣公平性的指派模型,设计基于变邻域搜索算法和模拟退火算法的混合启发式算法,以某航司客舱机组派遣月计划为例进行数据验证,结果表明,该算法在较短的时间内得到更优的解决方案,满足人员排班的现实业务要求,为解决考虑复杂人员搭配规则的机组人员派遣问题提供有效的方法,从而促进智能化机组排班产品在中国航空公司的落地。     

载人登月人货分运与人货合运模式对比分析

由于载人航天任务所具有的确保航天员安全的特殊属性,载人登月任务模式往往因此必须考虑救生等多种环节和因素,变得十分复杂。针对目前载人登月人货分运及人货合运两种任务模式,通过比较分析表明,从安全性、任务风险、飞船设计约束、发射窗口、测控支持复杂度方面来看,人货合运模式要优于人货分运模式,但是人货合运模式中的重型火箭如果被要求按照载人火箭标准进行设计和考核,其研制周期、经费方面的投入将会增加。     

面向机组工作量审定的民用飞机人机交互适航验证场景设计

设计有效的民用飞机人机交互适航验证场景是实施机组工作量审定的基础。依据中国民航规章CCAR-25 部1523 条款和附录D 适航验证性要求,通过对运输类飞机机组工作量适航验证条款的解读,建立工作量审定人机交互适航内容及验证流程;确立机组工作量审定民用飞机人机交互适航场景设计原则,分别从测试机组、运行过程、运行环境以及运...     

直升机的机组配合问题

良好的机组配合可以有效提高飞行的安全性。首先通过国外军用直升机发生的一些典型事故，分析了不良机组配合的具体表现，然后指出机组配合对于军用直升机的重要性。最后，借鉴国内外的有效经验，对机组如何进行良好配合并提高安全性提出了一些建议。     

民机机组氧气面罩快速佩戴适航验证要求研究

CCAR25. 1447( c) (2) ( i)条款明确了机组氧气面罩快速佩戴的要求,满足该要求对于民用飞机氧气系统适航取证至关重要。 对民用飞机机组氧气面罩快速佩戴的适航验证要求进行了研究,从条款解读、机组氧气面罩设计和布置要求、适航验证要求和适航验证方法等方面进行了分析,条款中的机组氧气面罩快速佩戴要求本质上是为了保证飞行机组在各种可预期的应急情况下能够及时获得必要的缺氧保护,同时不影响对飞机的操作。 对于机组氧气面罩快速佩戴适航验证要求,试验方法既要能包容多变的人为因素,又能综合体现佩戴试验结果。 目前 FAA 有一份咨询通告指导了该条款的符合性验证要求和详细方法,在研究 FAA 相关咨询通告的基础上,提炼总结出了开展机组氧气面罩快速佩戴的适航验证方法,为国内民用飞机机组氧气面罩快速佩戴的适航验证工作提供参考。     

在飞行中女飞行员的机组配合

安全是民航飞行永恒的主题。作为安全最直接的保障者和消灭事故的最后防线是飞行员,他们肩负着巨大的压力。保证安全不只是某个飞行员的责任,而是整个机组的责任。只有在科学高效的机组配合条件下,才能充分发挥整个机组的潜力,最大限度地保障飞行安全。飞行员一直是男性占主体,随着民航、军航女性飞行员的加入和成长,飞行机组的配合方式有所改变,这里主要探讨飞机飞行过程中女性飞行员加入以后机组配合的特点,及如何在实际中提高异性机组配合能力。     

民机特情乘务训练模拟软件的设计研究

为提高飞行乘务员在民机飞行过程中处理事故的应对能力,消除因人为因素产生的损失,保证飞行的安全性,根据2003年中国国际航空公司编制的飞行乘务员培训大纲中关于乘务应急生存训练内容,提炼出了关于乘务应急生存训练的框架,介绍了编制飞行乘务员应急培训所需要培训模拟软件的设计思路,以期为民机的安全飞行提供技术保障支持。     

研究基地人员分布不均衡的机组任务半环生成问题

国内很多航空公司多基地间存在机组人员和航班任务数量不匹配的情况，导致各基地生成的任务环在机组派遣阶段难以被很好地执行，因此需在任务环生成阶段生成适量的可满足机组人员跨基地支援的任务半环，而传统的生成完整任务环的方案难以适用于该情况。在该问题中，通过顺序方法找到全局最优解是不可能的，因为在配对问题中做出的决策减少了机组分配问题的决策域。对此，创新性地提出了任务半环生成方案，并且创建基于时空网络的集合划分模型，分析任务半环生成总量约束的子问题目标函数项对列生成求解框架的影响，提出可以有效消除该影响的分治策略，采用实际数据验证算法可行性和有效性。与传统的方法相比，可显著节省成本并更好地满足机组人员分配不平衡问题。     

Space Shuttle UHF communications performance evaluation

Computational investigations and experimental measurements were performed to evaluate the Space Shuttle UHF communication system performance for payload bay antenna at the proposed new location. To insure adequate communication coverage at relocated new location, the link margin for the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) astronauts and between Space Shuttle Orbiter and International Space Station (SSO-ISS) during rendezvous were analyzed. The multipath effects from the vehicle structures surrounding the antenna were investigated. The Radio Frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation to the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) pyrotechnics was also analyzed to ensure the EMC/EMI compliances.     

基于MA技术的民航机组人员指派问题研究

为合理地指派民航飞行机组,根据机组所执行的勤务均衡理论,将机组指派分成机组生成和人员指派两部分完成.满足机组要求的飞行员生成一个飞行机组,同时将满足机型要求的机组安排到勤务中,通过多智能体(Multi-agent,MA)协同调度技术构成机组指派系统,实验证明并行调度技术在机组指派问题中能有效解决各个机组的勤务平衡问题,从而合理高效地进行机组指派.     

基于博弈论的飞行安全风险评价

通过研究飞行机组与空中交通管制员之间的合作问题,以达到对飞行安全风险的分析和评价;结合博弈论的基本思想和方法,应用贝叶斯条件概率定理和NASH策略对飞行机组与管制员之间的合作关系进行定量分析,建立飞行安全风险博弈模型假设;根据Bayesian决策模型和NASH均衡算法,计算出飞行机组与管制员之间的局势均衡点,即飞行安全风险的最小值;通过仿真计算表明,该结果对改善航空公司安全管理的科学性、可靠性和进一步降低事故率以及提高飞行安全水平具有一定的参考价值。     

Columbia: point of departure

The author provides a brief update of NASA safety management after the Columbia accident and the development of space transport systems after the Shuttle.     

民用运输类飞机最小机组工作量评估中的评估机组选取研究

研究了民用运输类飞机最小机组工作量评估中的评估机组选取问题。通过比较不同飞行人员的服役经历、背景及其在最小机组工作量评估中的差异,给出了一套可行的最小机组工作量评估机组的选取原则。     

Limited delegation of separation assurance to the flight crew

Following the analogy of visual clearances, the limited delegation of separation assurance to the flight crew is proposed to increase controller availability and flight crew situational awareness. A simulation involving controllers has been carried out to evaluate the potential benefits of the concept in enroute airspace and terminal area. This paper outlines the concept and presents the main results for the terminal area.     

SVSS: Intelligent video surveillance system for aircraft

Safety and security are the most discussed topics in the aviation field. The latest security initiatives in the field of aviation propose [1I] the aircraft carriers to implement video surveillance within the aircraft at strategic locations. The current proposals allow the video surveillance data to be stored within the aircraft and monitored by one of the flight crew. The monitoring crew will be responsible for identifying the anomaly within the aircraft and take necessary preventive actions. With the introduction of additional technology within the aircraft, mere human perception may not be sufficient to make a decision. In this research work, the authors explore the possibility of implementing a smart video surveillance system (SVSS) within the aircraft that is tuned toward detecting the behavioral anomaly within the aircraft. The SVSS will generate security triggers when it detects an anomaly within the aircraft. These triggers could be combined with other triggers generated by different aircraft components (possible alarms from the flight crew, data traffic anomaly, or alarm generated by one of the avionics components) to provide a better understanding of the situation to the monitoring crew.     

Today... tomorrow [of multidisciplinary systems of systems]

Some recent or near future examples of multidisciplinary systems of systems are illustrated. They include: upgraded Shuttle avionics; Airbus fly-by-wire; integrated modular electronics; electric automobiles; all-electric aircraft; and JointSTARS system