Suborbital Spaceflight Vehicle Analysis for Single Pilot Operations

Abstract

The advent of commercial spaceflight vehicles has yielded a question as to the number of crewmembers required to safely and efficiently operate these vehicles. No studies have been conducted on the subject due to the novelty of the industry, nor have similar relevant studies been performed in adjacent disciplines. A study was conducted to determine if a winged suborbital spaceflight vehicle (SSV) can be flown by only one pilot. It is hypothesized that this will be case. If these vehicles can be flown with one pilot, this will simplify the design of the craft, reduce the operating costs for the industry and increase opportunities for flights. In the absence of real vehicles, a dynamic flight simulation capable high-performance human centrifuge was modified with an SSV representative aeromodel and utilized as a surrogate for an actual vehicle. The study utilized two well established rating scales, the Cooper-Harper and Bedford, in order to determine if the vehicle can be flown on the required trajectory, including monitoring systems, by a single pilot. The study did find that for the conditions examined an SSV can be flown by a single pilot.Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering -- Drexel University, 201