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The Lunar Electric Rover (LER), which was formerly called the Small Pressurized Rover (SPR), is currently being carried as an integral part of the lunar surface architectures that are under consideration in the Constellation Program. One element of the LER is the suit port, which is the means by which crew members perform Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). Two suit port deliverables were produced in fiscal year 2008: a 1-g suit port concept evaluator for functional integrated testing with the LER 1-g concept vehicle and a functional and pressurizable Engineering Unit (EU). This paper focuses on the 1-g suit port concept evaluator test results from the Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) October 2008 testing at Black Point Lava Flow (BPLF), Arizona. The 1-g suit port concept evaluator was integrated with the 1-g LER cabin and chassis concepts.

ECOA is an active software architecture research programme conducted by the French Republic and United Kingdom. It is one product of the recent Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty signed between the two nations. This paper provides an overview of the programme goals and progress as well as an introduction to the technology being developed and comparison to related initiatives. The goal of the ECOA programme is to define an open software architecture that enables collaborative development of mission system software. The ECOA programme is needed to reduce development and lifecycle costs of future military air programmes. For this reason the programme has a specific focus on combat-air mission systems but the underlying technology is general purpose, applying to multiple military and civil domains. At present, the programme has defined a concept, delivered a set of initial technical standards and produced a joint demonstrator to validate the technology developed.

Within the aerospace industry there is a growing interest in evaluating and reducing the environmental impacts of products and related risks to business. Consequently, requests from governments, customers, manufacturers, and other interested stakeholders, for environmental information about aerospace products are becoming widespread. Presently, requests are inconsistent and this limits the ability of the aerospace industry to meet the informational needs of various stakeholders and reduce the environmental impacts of their products in a cost-effective manner. Energy consumption is a significant business cost, risk, and a simple proxy value for overall environmental impact. This paper presents the initial research carried out by an academic and industry consortium to develop standardised methods for calculating and reporting the embodied manufacturing energy content of aerospace products.

The service life of a military ground vehicle is measured in decades and throughout its life it is expected to see several theaters with severe terrain and complex evolving operating conditions. The core of the vehicle, like the chassis and the hull, are often in continuous use, undergoing routine repair, reset, and re-fielding. Other components attached to the hull and chassis have more limited life spans and by design become damaged, worn-out, or outdated and are repaired, replaced, and/or upgraded. New components like armor, weapons, and sensor packages are frequently added to the existing structure for improved mission performance (survivability, lethality, etc.) as threats and strategies change. Designing military vehicles for durability is therefore very challenging and should not end when the product is designed, validated with hardware tests, manufactured, and sold.

A preliminary assessment of the reach envelope and field of vision (FOV) for a subject wearing a Mark III space suit was requested for use in human-machine interface design of the Science Crew Operations and Utility Testbed (SCOUT) vehicle. The reach and view of two suited and unsuited subjects were evaluated while seated in the vehicle using 3-dimensional position data collected during a series of reaching motions. Data was interpolated and displayed in orthogonal views and cross-sections. Compared with unsuited conditions, medio-lateral reach was not strongly affected by the Mark III suit, whereas vertical and antero-posterior reach were inhibited by the suit. Lateral FOV was reduced by approximately 40° in the suit. The techniques used in this case study may prove useful in human-machine interface design by providing a new means of developing and displaying reach envelopes.

Spacecraft hardware trade studies compare options primarily on mass while considering impacts to cost, risk, and schedule. Historically, other factors have been considered in these studies, such as reliability, technology readiness level (TRL), volume and crew time. In most cases, past trades compared two or more technologies across functional and TRL boundaries, which is an uneven comparison of the technologies. For example, low TRL technologies with low mass were traded directly against flight-proven hardware without consideration for requirements and the derived architecture. To provide for even comparisons of spacecraft hardware, trades need to consider functionality, mission constraints, integer vs. real number of flight hardware units, and mass growth allowances by TRL.

Deneb's Interactive Graphic Robot Instruction Progam (IGRIP) and Envision software packages with the Ergonomic analysis option enabled were used for manufacturing process analysis and maintainability / human factors design evaluation in the Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems - Fort Worth facility. The initial objective of both the manufacturing and maintainability engineering community was to validate the use of ergonomic modeling and simulation tools in an effort to gain acceptance of this new technology. Each discipline selected an existing operation to baseline the validation. Manufacturing selected the F-16 vertical fin as it is assembled from detail parts into a complete assembly, ready to be mated to the aircraft. Maintainability selected the removal of the Expanded Data Entry Electronics Unit (EXDEEU) located behind the ejection seat of the F-16 aircraft.

The recovery of potable water from waste water produced by humans in regenerative life support systems is essential for success of long-duration space missions. The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) Phase II test was performed to validate candidate technologies to support these missions. The test was conducted in the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD) Life Support Systems Integration Facility (LSSIF) at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Discussed in this paper are the water recovery system (WRS) results of this test. A crew of 4-persons participated in the test and lived in the LSSIF chamber for a duration of 30-days from June 12 to July 12, 1996. The crew had accommodations for personal hygiene, the air was regenerated for reuse, and the waste water was processed to potable and hygiene quality for reuse by the crew during this period. The waste water consisted of shower, laundry, handwash, urine and humidity condensate.

An experimental study has been made of compressible jet mixing in an axisymmetric ejector of converging-diverging geometry. Three different jet sizes, 0.01, 0.0235, and 0.045 in. diameter were tested with three different mixer sizes, 0.25, 0.286, and 0.36 in. diameter. Jet and mixer combination were tested along with varying jet to mixer distances. The jet pressure varied from 20 to 200 psig, jet mass varied from 0.3 lbm/hr to 10 lbm/hr., and jet temperature varied from 21 to 24 deg. F. The secondary loop pressure varied from 3.7 to 25 psia, secondary mass flow varied from 1 to 70 lbm/hr, secondary loop pressure drop varied from 4 inH20 to 10 inH20, and secondary loop temperature varied same as jet temperature. The mass flow ratio was in the range of 2 to 14. The results were analyzed and compared with the Hickman and Nuckols and Sexton prediction models. The loss factor in Nuckols and Sexton model was adjusted to match the test results.

In this investigation, analytical models were developed to predict the performance characteristics of axisymmetric single jet ejector. The ejector is divided into four parts, jet, mixer, nozzle, and diffuser. Basic flow equations were combined to calculate end to end flow characteristics for each of the four ejector components. Different jets and mixer combination were tested using three jet and three mixers. Characteristics curves have been drawn to predict flow characteristics of the ejector. Different configuration of jet and mixer incorporated different loss coefficient. Hence to get correct flow characteristics of the ejector right loss coefficient should be used.

Designers of future space vehicles envision simplifying the Atmosphere Revitalization (AR) system by combining the functions of trace contaminant (TC) control and carbon dioxide removal into one swing-bed system. Flow rates and bed sizes of the TC and CO2 systems have historically been very different. There is uncertainty about the ability of trace contaminant sorbents to adsorb adequately in a high-flow or short bed length configurations, and to desorb adequately during short vacuum exposures. This paper describes preliminary results of a comparative experimental investigation into adsorbents for trace contaminant control. Ammonia sorbents and low temperature catalysts for CO oxidation are the foci. The data will be useful to designers of AR systems for Constellation. Plans for extended and repeated vacuum exposure of ammonia sorbents are also presented.

Orion is the next vehicle for human space travel. Humans will be sustained in space by the Orion subystem, environmental control and life support (ECLS). The ECLS concept at the subsystem level is outlined by function and technology. In the past two years, the interface definition with other subsystems has increased through different integrated studies. The paper presents the key requirements and discusses three recent studies (e.g., unpressurized cargo) along with the respective impacts on the ECLS design moving forward.

Ring gear bolts in differentials are often modified in size to accommodate the additional clamp load that is required due to an increase in torque from a vehicle's powertrain. Depending on a given program several constraints need to be considered. These include cost, validation time, reliability / durability and timing for implementation. In this paper, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) procedure for analyzing stresses in ring gear bolts within a rear differential assembly is outlined and the computational results are then compared to quasi-static bench test results that were developed to measure bending and tension loads in the ring gear bolts during loading and unloading of the axle pinion. A dynamometer test is then developed to duplicate the failure mode and provide a comparison of the design changes proposed and the expected improvement in durability.

Advancements in electrical, mechanical, and structural design onboard modern more electric aircraft have added significant stress to the thermal management systems (TMS). A thermal management system level analysis tool has been created in MATLAB/Simulink to facilitate rapid system analysis and optimization to meet the growing demands of modern aircraft. It is anticipated that the tracking of thermal energy through numerical integration will lead to more accurate predictions of worst case TMS sizing conditions. In addition, the non-proprietary nature of the tool affords users the ability to modify component models and integrate advanced conceptual designs that can be evaluated over multiple missions to determine the impact at a system level.

The On-line Project Information System (OPIS) is the Exploration Life Support (ELS) mechanism for task data sharing and annual reporting. Fiscal year 2008 (FY08) was the first year in which ELS Principal Investigators (PI's) were required to complete an OPIS annual report. The reporting process consists of downloading a template that is customized to the task deliverable type(s), completing the report, and uploading the document to OPIS for review and approval. In addition to providing a general status and overview of OPIS features, this paper describes the user critiques and resulting system modifications of the first year of OPIS reporting efforts. Specifically, this paper discusses process communication and logistics issues, user interface ambiguity, report completion challenges, and the resultant or pending system improvements designed to circumvent such issues for the fiscal year 2009 reporting effort.

A structural damage detection system has been used to sense the propagation of cracks in a metallic flight test specimen on board a Hawk jet trainer. The work has demonstrated that the growth of structural cracks can be successfully and automatically detected on board a fast jet while flying unrestricted flight profiles. The experiment was part of a European collaborative defense program designed to demonstrate a number of diverse structural health monitoring technologies during flight in a military jet environment. This paper focuses on the performance of an acoustic emission detection system that was able to detect the growth of cracks in an alloy cantilever specimen bolted to a structural bulkhead in a pod suspended beneath the aircraft's left hand wing.

A simple and robust path follower has been developed for use in road loads simulations as required for virtual evaluation of vehicle durability and strength. The path follower is described as simple because it has a single tunable parameter and minimal control logic. It is deemed robust because the same gain setting can be used over a wide range of terrains, paths, and speeds. Path following performance is successfully demonstrated with a multibody vehicle model of a generic heavy truck for a variety of terrains, paths, and speeds. The convergence to the desired path during parameter tuning is observed to be monotonic. A physical interpretation of the gain as a maximum centripetal acceleration further enables vehicles in the same or similar classes of mobility characteristics (all off-road trucks for example) to utilize the same gain value.

To work outside a space craft, humans must wear a protective suit. The required suit pressurization creates additional resistance for the wearer while performing work. How much does the suit effect work and fatigue? To answer these questions, dynamic torque was collected for the shoulder, elbow and wrist for six subjects in an Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). In order to quantify fatigue, the subjects were to exert maximum voluntary torque for five minutes or until their maximum fell below 50% of their initial maximum for three consecutive repetitions. Using the collected torque and time data, logarithmic based functions were derived to estimate torque decay to within an absolute error of 20%. These results will be used in the development of a generalized tool for prediction of maximum available torque over time for humans using the current EMU.

Total sample containment is an absolute requirement for Mars sample return missions, derived from the requirement to protect against uncontrolled introduction of potentially hazardous foreign material into the earth's biosphere. These constraints of planetary protection comprise one of the major remaining hurdles to low cost implementation of sample return missions. It is suggested here that to spread the costs of the program, the first mission should consider sterilizing the samples and canister surfaces while still in space during the return to Earth.

SCONES (Stress CONcentration Expert System) software is used to predict stress concentrations. When dimensions and loads are modified it instantaneously updates the display, making the system easy to use. SCONES contains validated and extended data from various sources, including complex interacting features which augments SCONES role. However, the natural progression is to extend the research to the interaction of processes including, for example, surface processes like anodising. These process interactions will dovetail into, and enhance features within the strain life factors. This paper will describe new work which will extend current knowledge in feature interactions and strain life factors and will improve SCONES versatility.