Accession Number N20110000783
Title Space Vehicle Powerdown Philosophies Derived from the Space Shuttle Program.
Publication Date 2011
Media Count 18p
Personal Author B. Bailey M. Willsey
Abstract In spaceflight, electrical power is a vital but limited resource. Almost every spacecraft system, from avionics to life support systems, relies on electrical power. Since power can be limited by the generation system s performance, available consumables, solar array shading, or heat rejection capability, vehicle power management is a critical consideration in spacecraft design, mission planning, and real-time operations. The purpose of this paper is to capture the powerdown philosophies used during the Space Shuttle Program. This paper will discuss how electrical equipment is managed real-time to adjust the overall vehicle power level to ensure that systems and consumables will support changing mission objectives, as well as how electrical equipment is managed following system anomalies. We will focus on the power related impacts of anomalies in the generation systems, air and liquid cooling systems, and significant environmental events such as a fire, decrease in cabin pressure, or micrometeoroid debris strike. Additionally, considerations for executing powerdowns by crew action or by ground commands from Mission Control will be presented. General lessons learned from nearly 30 years of Space Shuttle powerdowns will be discussed, including an in depth case-study of STS-117. During this International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission, a failure of computers controlling the ISS guidance, navigation, and control system required that the Space Shuttle s maneuvering system be used to maintain attitude control. A powerdown was performed to save power generation consumables, thus extending the docked mission duration and allowing more time to resolve the issue.
Keywords Avionics
Consumables(Spacecraft)
Electric equipment
Failure
Ground based control
International space station
Lessons learned
Life support systems
Maneuvers
Mission planning
Navigation
Solar arrays
Space flight
Space shuttles


 
Source Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NTIS Subject Category 84B - Extraterrestial Exploration
Corporate Author National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Houston, TX. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Document Type Conference proceedings
Title Note N/A
NTIS Issue Number 1220
Contract Number N/A

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