Handling qualities implications for crewed spacecraft operations

Abstract

Abstract-Handling qualities embody those qualities or characteristics of an aircraft that govern the ease and precision with which a pilot is able to perform the tasks required in support of an aircraft role. These same qualities are as critical, if not more so, in the operation of spacecraft.A research, development, test, and evaluation process was put into effect to identify, understand, and interpret the engineering and human factors principles which govern the pilot-vehicle dynamic system as they pertain to space exploration missions and tasks. Toward this objective, piloted simulations were conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center and Ames Research Center for earth-orbit proximity operations and docking and lunar landing.These works provide broad guidelines for the design of spacecraft to exhibit excellent handling characteristics. In particular, this work demonstrates how handling qualities include much more than just stability and control characteristics of a spacecraft or aircraft. Handling qualities are affected by all aspects of the "pilot-vehicle dynamic system," including the motion, visual and aural cues of the vehicle response as the pilot performs the required operation or task. A holistic approach to spacecraft design, including the use of manual control, automatic control, and pilot intervention/supervision is described. The handling qualities implications of design decisions are demonstrated using these pilot-in-the-loop evaluations of docking operations and lunar landings.

A review of head-worn display research at NASA Langley Research Center

“…6) for a lunar lander spacecraft. 30,31 During Apollo, the constraints placed by the design of the Lunar Module (LM) window for crew visibility and landing trajectory were "a major problem." Optimal fuel saving trajectories render the natural vision of the crew from windows inadequate for the approach and landing task.…”

Failure effect analysis and reconfiguration of thrusters based on inverse simulation of manually controlled RVD

“…The modeling and analysis methods of man-in-loop dynamics system can be classified into the analytical method [3][4][5][6] and the experimental method [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Due to the safety concerns of astronauts, the fault experiment cannot be conducted in the real environment.…”

Inverse simulation system for evaluating handling qualities during rendezvous and docking

“…In the field of astronautics, most studies on handling qualities tend to adopt experiment methods [15,16]. Designers utilise experimental platforms to simulate aerospace missions and record astronauts' sensations.…”