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For NASA's Constellation Program, an Intravehicular Activity (IVA) and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Life Support Umbilical System (LSUS) will be required to provide environmental protection to the suited crew during Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) cabin contamination or depressurization and contingency EVAs. The LSUS will provide the crewmember with ventilation, cooling, power, communication, and data, and will also serve as a crew safety restraint during contingency EVAs. The LSUS will interface with the Vehicle Interface Assembly (VIA) in the CEV and the Suit Connector on the suit. This paper describes the effort performed to develop concept designs for IVA and EVA umbilicals, universal multiple connectors, handling aids and stowage systems, and VIAs that meet NASA's mission needs while adhering to the important guiding principles of simplicity, reliability, and operability.

The docking and integration of the Priroda module into the Space Station Mir Complex in 1996 provided a unique opportunity to assess the potential impact on the trace contaminant concentrations in the station complex. Since Priroda was substantially loaded with new US flight hardware, the data are potentially relevant to future similar operations associated with the buildup of the International Space Station. Grab samples were collected to assess the Priroda concentrations prior to integration and to capture the profile of concentrations after the start of Priroda inter-module ventilation. A long term time integrated sampler was configured for collection of canister samples over a time interval of seven days.

At the request of the FAA, a committee was formed by the RTCA organization to prepare a Minimum Operating Performance Standard (MOPS) for Rechargeable Aircraft Lithium Battery Systems. This committee has being working for the last 2 years and completed the final draft during their 6th meeting in February 2008. Lithium Battery approval will be different than Nickel-Cadmium and Lead-Acid in that they will incorporate additional safety and documentation requirements. The MOPS, to be used by the FAA as the basis for a Technical Standard Order (TSO), includes the testing and evaluation criteria required for rechargeable lithium battery systems airworthiness demonstration.

Lunar dust exposures occurred during the Apollo missions while the crew was in the lunar module on the moon's surface and especially when micro-gravity conditions were attained during rendezvous in lunar orbit. Crews reported that the dust was irritating to the eyes, and in some cases, respiratory symptoms were elicited. NASA's current vision for lunar exploration includes stays of 6 months on the lunar surface hence the health effects of periodic exposure to lunar dust in the habitat need to be assessed. NASA is performing this assessment with a series of in vitro and in vivo tests with authentic lunar dust. Our approach is to “calibrate” the intrinsic toxicity of lunar dust by comparison to a relatively low toxicity dust (TiO2) and a highly toxic dust (quartz) using intrapharyngeal instillation of the dusts to mice. A battery of indices of toxicity is assessed at various time points after the instillations.

Advancements in commercial aircraft batteries have been driven by changes in licensing requirements. Early model aircraft needed batteries to comply with a five minute emergency power requirement. This short time requirement was later incremented to 30 minutes and was recently increased to one hour. These requirements have changed to meet the demands of emergency equipment which, over time, have grown in sophistication and number. Traditional flight-by-cable aircraft require emergency power mostly for instrumentation to help reach a zone were continued visual flight and landing is possible. With the advent of flight-by-wire aircraft, emergency power is not only necessary for instrumentation, but is critical to flight itself. There is no single method for choosing a battery. The requirements for a battery will depend on many factors, including the availability of alternate sources of emergency power.

The primary objectives of this study were to determine the factors that affect stability during locomotion in both lunar and martian gravity environments and to determine the criteria needed to enhance stability and traction. This study tested the effects of changing the speed of locomotion and the pattern of locomotion under three gravity conditions. The results showed that as the gravity level decreased, the amount of vertical and horizontal forces dropped significantly. The results also showed that there are some similarities across gravity levels with regard to changing the speed as well as the pattern of locomotion. In general, an increase in the speed resulted in an increase in the vertical and the horizontal forces. A change in the pattern of locomotion showed that even at reduced gravity, it will be more difficult to stop than compared to continue or start the motion.

Radio Technology Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) at the request of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) formed a committee to prepare a Minimum Operating Performance Standard (MOPS) for aircraft batteries. The MOPS was limited to rechargeable and starting batteries as power sources for equipment installed in aircraft. This committee has being working for the last 3 years and completed the final draft during their 6th meeting in April 2004. The MOPS, to be used by the FAA as the base for a Technical Standard Order (TSO) in preparation, includes the testing and evaluation criteria required for secondary Lead-Acid (Pb-A) and Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries airworthiness demonstration.

As next generation space suit concepts enable extravehicular activity (EVA) mission capability to extend beyond anything currently available today, revolutionary advances in life support technologies are required to achieve anticipated NASA mission profiles than may measure years in duration and require hundreds of sorties. Since most life support systems require power, increased mass and volume efficiency of the energy storage materials can have a dramatic impact on reducing the overall weight of next generation space suits. ITN Energy Systems, in collaboration with Hamilton Sundstrand and the NASA Johnson Space Center's EVA System's Team, is developing multifunctional fiber batteries to address these challenges. By depositing the battery on existing space suit materials, e.g. scrim fibers in the thermal micrometeoroid garment (TMG) layers, parasitic mass (inactive materials) is eliminated leading to effective energy densities ∼400 Wh/kg.

As next generation space suit concepts enable extravehicular activity (EVA) mission capability to extend beyond anything currently available today, revolutionary advances in life support technologies are required to achieve anticipated NASA mission profiles that may measure years in duration and require hundreds of sorties. Since most life support systems require power, increased mass and volume efficiency of the energy storage materials can have a dramatic impact on reducing the overall weight of next generation space suits. This paper details the development of a multifunctional fiber battery to address these needs.

The need for Air Turbine Starter (ATS) condition monitoring is driven by industry demand for continuous improvement in reliability and reduction in repair and overhaul costs. This paper discusses issues for condition monitoring of Air Turbine Starters (ATS), including the need for condition monitoring, selection of monitoring parameters, current projects, and goals for future designs. The USAF is currently conducting a program to develop a simple, stand-alone device capable of indicating impending failures. This device will likely focus on a combination of temperature monitoring and magnetic chip detection. Future ATS condition monitoring devices should be capable of more comprehensive evaluation of starter parameters.

A noncontacting clearance seal consists of a series of centrifugal air pumps and oil/air separators for air turbine starters on the BR710 and the CFM56-5 engines. Conventional contacting seals for rotating shafts are limited in life due to the formation of oxidized oil coke buildup on the sealing surfaces. The clearance seal directly addresses the problem of viscous heat generation in carbon face and lip seals by eliminating contact. Standard contacting seals typically have local temperature increases of 50 to 75 °F higher than the gearbox sump oil. Heat generation by the clearance seal is minimized, resulting in a significant increase in reliability compared to a standard contacting seal. The reliability increase is estimated for various flight-hour-to-start-cycle ratios in air turbine starter gearboxes.