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Pages 1-8

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From page 1...
... The NRC's Committee on Human Spaceflight Crew Operations was tasked to answer several questions: 1. How should the role and size of the activities managed by the Johnson Space Center Flight Crew Opera tions Directorate change after space shuttle retirement and completion of the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS)
From page 2...
... That cooperation made it possible for the committee to explore all aspects of its task. Taking into consideration questions posed by the committee during its meetings and questions submitted directly to the Astronaut Office, in March 2011 the Astronaut Office produced a white paper containing substantial amounts of information directly relevant to the committee's task.1 Throughout this report, the committee uses graphics provided by NASA in that white paper, which is referred to in the report as "NASA Astronaut Office 2011 White Paper." SUMMARY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Question 1 -- Role and Size of the Flight Crew Operations Activities NASA's Astronaut Office, which is part of FCOD at JSC, is responsible for managing NASA's Astronaut Corps, which the committee defines as the set of astronauts qualified to fly into space, excluding astronauts who have transitioned to management positions in the agency and are no longer eligible to fly space missions.
From page 3...
... investment in human space flight capabilities; in particular, the committee notes that the planned Astronaut Corps, sized only to meet ISS crew requirements, would not have the flexibility to accommodate unexpected increases in attrition or commercial, exploration, and new mission development tasks. Because of various sources of uncertainty and because multiple factors are involved in the training of members of the Astronaut Corps and the operation of spacecraft in orbit, it is not possible to quantify the risk posed by tight margins or size or to provide a confidence level of risk.
From page 4...
... NASA's Astronaut Office, which includes both the Astronaut Corps and such additional personnel as management astronauts no longer qualified to fly on space missions, supports several tasks. During its study, the committee noted that the Astronaut Office did not explicitly identify providing operational knowledge and corporate memory of human spaceflight as among its tasks, although this responsibility is implicit in the work that the Astronaut Office does.
From page 5...
... It found that the NASA plan for the size and tasks of the Astronaut Corps to support the on-orbit and ground requirements for the ISS will use both high-performance aircraft maintained by the JSC FCOD and ISS mission-specific ground facilities maintained by the JSC MOD. The committee found that after space shuttle retirement the mission-specific spaceflight operations requirements for crew will shift from shuttle operations and ISS assembly to Soyuz and ISS operations, ISS maintenance, and emergency response.
From page 6...
... Although the requirement is not expressly documented at the NASA Headquarters program level, it was developed by the Flight Crew Operations Directorate 6 The most accurate translation of the Russian name is "Starry Town," but "Star City" is the common usage at NASA.
From page 7...
... Finding 3.3b. Spaceflight readiness training using high-performance aircraft has been demonstrated and documented to prepare crews for successful and safe spaceflight, dating back 50 years, from the incep tion of the Mercury program to the current International Space Station program.
From page 8...
... It explains the role of spaceflight readiness training, how it is served by the T-38N fleet of training aircraft, and possibilities for future simulator-based training; it also notes that other occupations offer potential lessons for NASA astronaut training. It provides findings and recommendations concerning ground-based training facilities, the T-38N aircraft fleet, and simulators.


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