Space Mission Design Lecture 25
What's happening in space:
Bigelow Aerospace Announces $50 million "America's Space Prize"
Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Crew Proficiency: The crew performed the first of two proficiency training sessions with SSRMS today. The crew maneuvered the arm to the US Lab in order to survey and take photographs of a "dent" in Lab MMOD shield panel LAB1/04-08. The survey was recorded and the ground is assessing the data. The second SSRMS session will be held on Friday, positioning the SSRMS and its cameras for viewing the Soyuz relocation later this month.
Inspection of the SM Working Compartment [PO] Shell: The crew performed an inspection behind Service Module panels 130, 134, 135, 138 and under the TVIS for moisture, deposits and corrosion. FE-1 reported that the areas were mostly clean, with only some dust and some small "crevises" on the edges of the shell. This is not a concern for MCC-M since the edges are thicker than the shell itself. The crew also reported no noticeable scratches or "crevises" on the actual pressure shell. The crew used a wet towel to clean some dust from the surfaces and pipes. The crew took numerous photographs to be downlinked to the ground for analysis by Russian specialists.
Russian Air Conditioner (CKB) Status: Over the weekend, the crew found water behind CKB1. As a result, it was deactivated and CKB2 was activated. The initial assessment by MCC-M is that a malfunctioning valve is limiting condensate collection by the CPBK. Further assessments are in work by the Russian Ground Specialists. As an additional data point, over the last few days while the CKB1 was active, approximately 3 pounds of condensate was collected in the US Lab by the Port CCAA. Nominally, with a crew size of 2 all condensate is collected in the SM.
Psychology of Spaceflight
1. Stress and Psychology
Space flight is risky business (~1:300 odds of loss of vehicle, 2 in 113 lost)
Physical environment – acceleration, vibration, confined living quarters, demanding work schedules, complete dependence on life support technologies, awareness of adverse biomedical effects, separation from Earth (especially for a Mars mission)
Isolated Confined Environment (ICE) leads to the paradox of ‘too much and too little’ distance from people
Separation from friends and family (starts with strenuous preflight training schedule)
Interaction with the same people day in and day out can lead to difficult situations
Stress within the NASA organization – flight assignment ambiguity, last minute substitution, always on your best behavior, large degree of lack of control over career, tremendous level of responsibility
Consequences – stress affects moods, emotions and health
Cognitive effects – decreased alertness, loss of concentration and memory
Direct impacts on health (immune system performance affected)
Long term effects – excitement gives way to monotony and exhaustion
Stress management and personal coping skills needed
The role of peer and psychological support groups
Ultimate need for psychiatric diagnosis and treatment facilities
2. Group Dynamics
Space crews are teams
Crew size is an important factor in long-term social stability (odd vs. even numbers?)
Age, gender and ethnicity diversity leads to a more balanced population
International issues – language and cultural barriers can be overcome by cultural sensitivity, education and travel
Authority and leadership traits must include awareness, good interpersonal skills, competence, optimistic and respectful of others
Prompt and accurate communication is critical – altered non-verbal cues, noisy environment, language differences may hinder
Conformity arises as an informal norm – traditions, behavior, activity precedents, etc.
Strengthening cohesiveness of the crew is beneficial to all
Decision making – autocratic or democratic
Situation dependent – time, expertise, consequences,
Conflicts – confined situation can become explosive, patience is tested
Factionalism – ‘2 against 1’, PLT’s vs. MS’s or PS’s, Russian vs. US (ISS Commander rotation)
Conflicts with Mission Control – on orbit ‘mutinies’ and ‘strikes’
Crewmembers in flight are highly dependent upon one another, it is important that they get along
3. Off Duty
Life in space is divided into 3 spheres – work, self-maintenance and recreation
Self-maintenance includes those activities needed to keep alive and functioning – personal hygiene, eating, drinking and sleeping
Personal hygiene is complicated by factors such as cramped quarters, limited water and microgravity
Eating has much more relevance than for just keeping alive – routinely eating together, and special meal ceremonies and celebrations go a long way towards maintaining crew morale
Sleep complaints are common – insomnia, waking in the middle of the night, etc. can be brought on by excitement, demanding work schedules, voluntary activities, altered day/night cycles
Sex in space is a topic that has been understandably avoided for the most part but will become inevitable on longer duration, mixed gender flights (See article: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/russian_sex_studies_000316.html)
Leisure time activities are still somewhat limited – exercise, look out a window, read books, watch movies, email
Family relations – no vacation to visit, missed important events, potential for marital strife, coping with serious illness or death of a loved one
Public Relations Events are important to the program, but can be taxing on privacy and time
Retirement – what to do next? A second career is usually the norm since retirement comes relatively early in this line of work
Bottom line is that space farers need balance in their lives, like everyone else. Even for a job as exciting as being an astronaut, there has to be more to life than work.