Preparing for the High Frontier The Role and Training of NASA Astronauts in the Post-Space Shuttle Era (2011) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2 NASA's Human Spaceflight: The Role and Size of Activities Managed by the Flight Crew Operations Directorate
2 NASA's Human Spaceflight: The Role and Size of Activities Managed by the Flight Crew Operations Directorate
Pages 37-64
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 37... ...
. NASA's Flight Crew Operations Directorate and the Astronaut Office are undergoing a major transition as the Space Shuttle program ends and focus shifts to operations on the International Space Station (ISS)
|
From page 38... ...
Although NASA did not present this list in priority order, the committee believes that the first task, providing well-trained spaceflight operators to support the NASA flight manifest, is clearly the Astronaut Office's top priority, and the remaining tasks are at least in rough priority order. The committee identified a sixth task: Provide operational knowledge and corporate memory of human spaceflight.
|
From page 39... ...
CURRENT ASTRONAUT CORPS STAFFING NASA's Astronaut Corps of active, flight-eligible astronauts is managed by the Astronaut Office, an organization in Johnson Space Center's Flight Crew Operations Directorate. FCOD manages both the Astronaut Office and aircraft operations and training at Ellington Field several miles north of the Johnson Space Center.
|
From page 40... ...
FIGURE 2.3 Historic Astronaut Corps population. SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astro Historic SOURCE: naut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011.
|
From page 41... ...
CS, civil servant. SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "En suring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011.
|
From page 42... ...
SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011. FIGURE 2.7 Unassigned astronaut time distribution.
|
From page 43... ...
. FIGURE 2.9 The Soyuz TMA-12 prepares to dock at the International Space Station on April 10, 2008.
|
From page 44... ...
. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TRAINING REQUIREMENTS It takes a minimum of 3 years to train and fly an astronaut for an ISS mission as opposed to 1 year to train and fly a shuttle astronaut.
|
From page 45... ...
SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011.
|
From page 46... ...
Note that 12 percent of ISS astronaut training time is consumed by travel. SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011.
|
From page 47... ...
EVOLUTION TO POST-SHUTTLE OPERATIONS As NASA retires the space shuttle and begins a second decade of International Space Station operations, the skill mix that it requires of its astronauts is changing. During the shuttle era, NASA hired two specialized kinds of members of the Astronaut Corps: shuttle pilots and shuttle mission specialists.
|
From page 48... ...
According to the NASA Astronaut Office, ISS training requires that each crew member have a broad and extensive skill base because there is always some uncertainty as to what tasks will be required. The skills can include payloads, robotics, EVA, and in-flight maintenance.
|
From page 49... ...
International agreements are required for training flows and are led by NASA. Training flows are in four main categories: ASCAN or Basic Training, Pre-Assignment Training, Assigned Crew Training, and On-Orbit Training, all together lasting 5 to 6 years, according to the NASA Astronaut Office.
|
From page 50... ...
With the retirement of the space shuttle, training requirements for crew assigned to the ISS have increased because of the additional travel and language requirements that are placed on the astronauts. On the basis of the committee's assessment of the historically necessary functions of the Astronaut Office and the Astronaut Corps and the future projects that they will probably be asked to undertake, the number of astronauts now available to ensure continuing ground-based operational support and to staff ISS/Soyuz crews appears to be less than required.
|
From page 51... ...
An important uncertainty is medical: long-duration flight criteria are stringent, and a medical condition FIGURE 2.17 Minimum Manifest Requirement formula. SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011.
|
From page 52... ...
SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011. FIGURE 2.19 Crew Manifest Analysis, Minimum Manifest Requirement, and Astronaut Corps size.
|
From page 53... ...
SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011. requiring evacuation to Earth is one of the leading risk factors for terminating an ISS expedition early.
|
From page 54... ...
SOURCE: NASA Astronaut Office, "Ensuring the Readiness of the Astronaut Corps: A White Paper," NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., March 25, 2011. tion and staffing requirements.
|
From page 55... ...
Commercial Crew Transport to the ISS NASA is assisting several commercial companies with funds and expertise in their development of spacecraft to carry cargo, and eventually astronauts, to the International Space Station. The two funded cargo providers are SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation, which are developing the Dragon and Cygnus vehicles, respectively.
|
From page 56... ...
Training requirements would be less stringent, but NASA astronauts would still have to be trained for emergency descent and safe haven operations in case the taxi were required when the commercial astronauts were not onboard the ISS. Although the commercial pilots and crew would be thoroughly trained in all aspects of spacecraft operations, NASA astronauts may still be sought to provide technical, safety, and operational advice to commercial crew transport developers.
|
From page 57... ...
The roles, rules, and processes are in development, including how the new commercial industry connects to the FAA role and the relationship between NASA, the FAA, and commercial industry. As commercial crew transportation becomes available, NASA has several options for its use.
|
From page 58... ...
NASA is using $500 million in Space Act Agreements for commercial cargo transportation and $50 million for the first round of commercial crew development agreements to fund these companies. NASA first began funding companies to provide resupply services to the International Space Station under its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS)
|
From page 59... ...
FIGURE 2.1.2 The Cygnus Advanced Maneuver ing Spacecraft pictured with the International Space Station. SOURCE: Courtesy of Orbital Sciences Corporation.
|
From page 60... ...
is developing an orbital space station complex that will combine its BA 330 and Sundancer inflatable modules into a single orbiting platform. The BA 330 inflatable space station module, will assume a major role in development and flight testing, which will lead to a substantial technical and training commitment in addition to ISS crew expeditions.
|
From page 61... ...
In particular, to fulfill its role of protecting the ISS as a valuable asset and ensuring safe operations, NASA will retain the responsibility for setting standards for procedures, training, and equipment for all docking and undocking operations. 7 NASA, Johnson Space Center Flight Crew Operations Strategic Plan, September 2006, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex., p.
|
From page 62... ...
The committee concluded that the best way to navigate the transition was for the Astronaut Office to maintain its existing Astronaut Corps staffing model but to increase its margin from the current 25 percent. The committee concluded that the Flight Crew Operations Directorate and its Astronaut Office currently support six tasks and should continue to do so.
|
From page 63... ...
Finding 2.1b. Although NASA's human spaceflight program and its post-shuttle crew requirements have not been well defined beyond operation of the ISS, the sizing of the Astronaut Corps to meet ISS crew requirements has been well modeled by using ISS crew selection, training and flight recovery times, and a plan for post-shuttle force reduction.
|
From page 64... ...
human spaceflight experience and knowledge. This resource should be • Maintained to ensure appropriate staffing and training of the Astronaut Corps in support of the International Space Station manifest; • Applied to the future development of NASA human spaceflight and exploration activities; • Available to the emerging commercial space industry and the FAA; and • Applied to support authorized agreements with international partners.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.