ORBITAL EXTRAVEHICULAR MOCKUP DESIGN.
Abstract
Extravehicular activities (EVA) in space such as inspecting orbiting spacecraft, servicing orbiting equipment (e.g., an orbiting telescope), performing assembly tasks in space, and making space rescues will require an extravehicular work platform. The proposed one-man extravehicular work platform is an example of extreme man-machine integration. A study of the requirements for extravehicular protection and operation for such activities led to the immediate construction of a full-scale mockup of the required type of platform in order that it might serve as a focus for discussion, give a first look at the engineering feasibility of the platform, arbitrarily reduce the number and variety of contending designs, and be useful in future studies. The principal design features of this full-scale mockup are described. Of the contending designs, the one chosen for the mockup was a modularized 'backpack' equipped with a propulsion capability, a backup for a portable life support system (PLSS), a communication subsystem for voice and telemetry, a TV monitoring subsystem, a rechargeable electrical power source, and pack-mounted illumination and mechanical manipulators. The basic design can be augmented by special modules to meet the requirements of particular missions. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0665287
Entities
People
- Paul Iribe
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory