Accession Number N20120009534
Title Factors Impacting Habitable Volume Requirements for Long Duration Missions.
Publication Date May 2012
Media Count 14p
Personal Author A. Whitmire D. Neubek M. Simon
Abstract One possible next leap in human space exploration for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a mission to a near Earth asteroid (NEA). In order to achieve such an ambitious goal, a space habitat will need to accommodate a crew of four for the 380-day round trip. The Human Spaceflight Architecture Team (HAT) developed a conceptual design for such a habitat. The team identified activities that would be performed inside a long-duration, deep space habitat, and the capabilities needed to support such a mission. A list of seven functional activities/capabilities was developed: individual and group crew care, spacecraft and mission operations, subsystem equipment, logistics and resupply, and contingency operations. The volume for each activity was determined using NASA STD-3001 and the companion Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH). Although, the sum of these volumes produced an over-sized spacecraft, the team evaluated activity frequency and duration to identify functions that could share a common volume without conflict, reducing the total volume by 24%. After adding 10% for growth, the resulting functional pressurized volume was calculated to be a minimum of 268 m3 (9,464 ft3) distributed over the functions. The work was validated through comparison to Mir, Skylab, the International Space Station (ISS), Bigelow Aerospace s proposed habitat module, and NASA s Trans-Hab concept. Using HIDH guidelines, the team developed an internal layout that (a) minimized the transit time between related crew stations, (b) accommodated expected levels of activity at each station, (c) isolated stations when necessary for health, safety, performance, and privacy, and (d) provided a safe, efficient, and comfortable work and living environment.
Keywords Astronauts
Crew workstations
Deep space
Habitability
Habitats
International space station
Logistics
Safety
Space exploration
Transit time


 
Source Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NTIS Subject Category 95E - Life Support Systems
84 - Space Technology
Corporate Author National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Hampton, VA. Langley Research Center.
Document Type Technical report
Title Note N/A
NTIS Issue Number 1223
Contract Number N/A

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