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A new life support approach is proposed for use on the International Space Station (ISS). This involves advanced technologies for water recovery and air revitalization, tested at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), including bioprocessing, reverse-osmosis and distillation, low power carbon dioxide removal, non-expendable trace contaminant control, and carbon dioxide reduction.

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.

Long duration human space missions, as planned in the Vision for Space Exploration, will not be possible without applying unprecedented levels of automation to support the human endeavors. The automated and robotic systems must carry the load of routine “housekeeping” for the new generation of explorers, as well as assist their exploration science and engineering work with new precision. Fortunately, the state of automated and robotic systems is sophisticated and sturdy enough to do this work — but the systems themselves have never been human-rated as all other NASA physical systems used in human space flight have. Our intent in this paper is to provide perspective on requirements and architecture for the interfaces and interactions between human beings and the astonishing array of automated systems; and the approach we believe necessary to create human-rated systems and implement them in the space program.

As the maintenance and disposal costs of aircraft batteries have risen, it has become critical to increase battery lifetime and to reduce maintenance cycles. This has led to the development of charging techniques designed to increase battery life while continuing to satisfy battery performance requirements. However, the cost of battery chargers accounts for 60% to 80% of the battery/charger system cost. AFRL/PRPB has initiated an in-house project to evaluate F-16 batteries using the existing F-16 charger. The objective is to determine which batteries can pass all F-16 performance and lifetime requirements using this charger. Several batteries were procured from several sources and two F-16 chargers are on loan to us from Sacramento/ALC. Depending on the outcome of this phase the project may be extended to include other aircraft and other chemistries such as Nickel-Metal Hydride and Lithium-Ion. Results to date and future plans will be discussed in this paper.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is interested in characterizing the responses of THOR (test device for human occupant restraint) anthropometric test device (ATD) to representative loading acceleration pulse s. Test conditions were selected both for their applicability to anticipated NASA landing scenarios, and for comparison to human volunteer data previously collected by the United States Air Force (USAF). THOR impact testing was conducted in the fore-to-aft frontal (-x) and in the upward spinal (-z) directions with peak sled accelerations ranging from 8 to 12 G and rise times of 40, 70, and 100ms. Each test condition was paired with historical huma n data sets under similar test conditions that were also conducted on the Horizontal Impulse Accelerator (HIA). A correlation score was calculated for each THOR to human comparison using CORA (CORrelation and Analysis) software.

Horns, whistles and sirens are commonly used to convey information concerning time, location or warning. Of major concern to the community are the audible warning systems used on emergency vehicles and trains. The various types of existing audible warning systems and their historical development are discussed in this paper, together with an analysis of their effectiveness in fulfilling their prime function - namely, to warn people of imminent danger. It is concluded that such systems perform adequately in many situations, but not when the recipient of the warning signal is inside another vehicle. It is suggested that alternative means be developed for warning the occupants of vehicles of immediate danger so that audible warning systems of reduced acoustic power can be used to warn the pedestrian or other persons outside vehicles.