Development of a Cockpit Architecture for the Dream Chaser Orbital Vehicle

Abstract

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) are collaborating through a Graduate Projects course on the development of a proposed cockpit architecture focused on displays, controls and layout for the Dream Chaser (DC) Orbital Vehicle. This spacecraft is being developed to safely transport crew and cargo to/from the International Space Station (ISS). The work at CU has been focused on electronic displays and controls definition based on analysis per subsystem and phases of flight. As part of this work, a functional allocation matrix and multiple trade studies were conducted in order to identify the needs of the crew throughout the mission. NASA, military specifications and SNC standards were followed and three iterations of the DC cockpit were designed and built. The latest cockpit design has evolved from a form/fit version to a functional one. It includes a computer system that allows for control of up to six electronic displays in the cockpit by the operator, which are used for conducting human factors evaluations. These evaluations have yielded recommendations on the layout of the DC cockpit. Nomenclature CAD = Computer Aided Design CCDev2 = Commercial Crew Development 2 CDR = Critical Design Review CU = University of Colorado at Boulder

Design Evolution and AHP-based Historiography of Lifting Reentry Vehicle Space Programs

“…104 It is expected to be operational by 2018, delivering cargo and science experiments for NASA as the primary mission, although SNC is developing multiple variants for international customers as well. 105 The vehicle is developing and employing state-of-art technology in most subsystems, [106][107][108][109] while building on the crucial aerodynamics knowledge base gained via the legacy HL-20 program. The AHP analysis results for the Dream Chaser is given in Figure 20 with rest of the LRV programs form 1980.…”