An Astronaut Positioning System for Space Station Assembly and Maintenance Support
Large space structures require special systems to support assembly, operations, and maintenance. These systems must be designed to support many tasks throughout the life of the space facility....
Telerobotic Capabilities for Space Station Operations
Over the past decade, the M.I.T. Space Systems Laboratory has accumulated an extensive data base on space operations typical of those planned for the Space Station, based on integrated...
Fluid Line Deployment and Repair for Space Station
Deployment of the utility system for providing services to the NASA Space Station Freedom provides a unique challenge in design and material technology. The system must be lightweight,...
Space Station Freedom Attached Payloads and Commercialization
The Space Station Freedom (SSF) accommodates a class of payloads called external attached payloads. These payloads are attached to the main truss of Space Station Freedom through the use...
Incident Solar Flux at Fixed Orientations
Optimal orientations are computed to maximize or minimize the incident solar flux onto surfaces on spacecraft at fixed attitudes. This analysis was motivated by a potential need to optimize...
Space Debris?A Design Consideration
With the increased use of space by manned or unmanned missions, it has become necessary to include yet another parameter in the design of spacecraft, namely, the effect of a probable impact...
Man-Made Debris Environment Characterization for Spacecraft Vulnerability Assessment
An issue of growing importance in the study of orbital debris is the need to understand the consequence of impact on a space structure. In this paper, a technique is developed to analyze...
Clearing Space Debris Using Energetic Materials
Space debris is growing at an alarming rate. It consists not only of old, unusable payloads but also aluminum oxide combustion products of various space delivery systems and small fragments...
Technology Needs Development and Orbital Support Requirements for Manned Lunar and Mars Missions
This paper will present an overview of the critical technology needs and the Space Station Freedom (SSF) focused support requirements for the Office of Exploration's (OEXP)...
Low Earth Orbit Infrastructure to Accommodate Manned Lunar Missions
In order to establish bases on the lunar and Mars surfaces, a significant amount of orbital infrastructure including assembly platforms, cryogenic fluids depots, and Space Station Freedom,...
Space Transportation Node: The Atrium Facility
During the next thirty years the infrastructure of space transportation is expected to expand to a system of advanced vehicles. A transportation node is an important link, as a vehicle...
Post-MECO Propulsion System Requirements for Placement of an STS External Tank in Low Earth Orbit
This paper discusses the findings of a series of computer simulations carried out at the National Institute of Standards and Technology to investigate the requirements for powered flight...
A Space Station Trash Recovery and Recycling System
The quantity of trash produced on the Space Station during its lifetime will be substantial and will include useful waste materials. Given the high cost of transportation to orbit, it...
MALEO: Modular Assembly in Low Earth Orbit: An Alternate Strategy for Lunar Base Deployment
Modular Assembly in Low Earth Orbit (MALEO) is a new strategy for building an initial operational capability lunar habitation base. In this strategy, the lunar base components are brought...
Automated Manufacturing in Platform-Based Orbital Systems (APROPOS)
As an example of an orbital manufacturing scenario, an automated orbital manufacturing system is designed for the production of turbine blades for high pressure turbines. The target here...
Force and Geometry Constraints in Robot Excavation
One interest in this research effort was to develop and test an automatic control approach to adjust machine motions to the force conditions encountered during excavation - essentially...
Application of Automation and Robotics to Lunar Surface Human Exploration Operations
Major results of a study (RLSO, 89) applying automation and robotics to lunar surface base buildup and operations concepts are reported. The study developed a reference base scenario with...
Site Constraints for a Lunar Base
A rigorous site plan is a prerequisite for quantitative analyses of lunar base operations. The development of such a site plan, done for a detailed lunar base study (RLSO, 89), is described...
Lunar Base Elements Designed for Robotic Operations
Equipment concepts developed for a study of robotic lunar surface operations are presented. The concepts were evolved together with a consistent robotic buildup and operations scenario;...
Manifesting for a Lunar Robotic, Oxygen-Producing Base
Using robotic systems and human supervisory control, a lunar base reasonably be established to achieve full production within five years. Intermittent human presence works in coordination...
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