IRIS thermal balance test within ESTEC LSS

The Italian Research Interim Stage (IRIS) thermal balance test was successfully performed in the ESTEC Large Space Simulator (LSS) to qualify the thermal design and to validate the thermal mathematical model. Characteristics of the test were the complexity of the set-up required to simulate the Shuttle cargo bay and allowing IRIS mechanism actioning and operation for the first time in the new LSS facility. Details of the test are presented, and test results for IRIS and the LSS facility are described

SEEDS - THE INTERNATIONAL MASTER PROGRAM FOR PREPARING THE YOUNG SYSTEMS ENGINEERS FOR SPACE EXPLORATION

The SEEDS initiative originated by Politecnico di Torino and Thales Alenia Space Italy in 2005. It aimed at establishing a Post Graduate International Master Course in Space Exploration and Development Systems "SEEDS", to offer an opportunity to young engineers to get prepared for the future of Europe in space exploration. The SEEDS project has been shared with Supaero Toulouse in France and with University at Bremen (together with ZARM) in Germany, as the three European towns (Torino, Toulouse and Bremen) have a long common tradition of space activities at both the industrial and academic level and represent three poles of the European cooperation in space programs. The SEEDS course comprises two different steps in sequence: an initial Learning Phase and a Project Work Phase. Both the Learning and the Project Work Phase pursue a multidisciplinary approach, where all specialized disciplines are blended together and integrated to enable the students to acquire the system view and then to accomplish the conceptual design, through the Systems Engineering approach, of a selected case-study. The distinguishing feature of SEEDS is without any doubt the Project Work activity, performed by all students together under the supervision of academic and industrial Tutors, coordinated by the Education Project Manager. Main objective of the Project Work is to train the students on the basic principles of the System Engineering Design, through their application on a well defined project related to a specific space exploration mission. The Project Work includes the Preparatory Work, during which the students, starting from the definition of the mission statement, focus on the identification of the complete architecture of the space exploration mission, and the Conceptual Design activities, performed in the three European sites to develop a limited number of building blocks identified during the Preparatory Work. The first year of activity started in November 2005, with a Plenary Opening which took place at the ESA-ERASMUS Centre, Noordwijk, with the full support of the Human Space-Flight Microgravity and Exploration Directorate of ESA. Five years of activities have passed since then and five project works have been successfully completed, dealing with various space exploration themes. This paper focuses on the description of the SEEDS course and on the main results achieved in terms of project work activities and development of the future space workforce. The positive experience of five years of SEEDS is brought to evidence and the lessons learned are discussed in view of the SEEDS continuatio

Materials and Textile Architecture Analyses for Mechanical Counter-Pressure Space Suits using Active Materials

Mechanical counter-pressure (MCP) space suits have the potential to improve the mobility of astronauts as they conduct planetary exploration activities. MCP suits differ from traditional gas-pressurized space suits by applying surface pressure to the wearer using tight-fitting materials rather than pressurized gas, and represent a fundamental change in space suit design. However, the underlying technologies required to provide uniform compression in a MCP garment at sufficient pressures for space exploration have not yet been perfected, and donning and doffing a MCP suit remains a significant challenge. This research effort focuses on the novel use of active material technologies to produce a garment with controllable compression capabilities (up to 30 kPa) to address these problems. We provide a comparative study of active materials and textile architectures for MCP applications; concept active material compression textiles to be developed and tested based on these analyses; and preliminary biaxial braid compression garment modeling results.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (OCT Space Technology Research Fellowship Grant NNX11AM62H)MIT-Portugal Progra

Conceptual design of a human mission to the near-earth asteroid 1999 AO10 in 2025-2026

A human mission to the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) 1999 AOlO in 2025-2026 represents an intermediate and incremental step towards the human exploration of Mars. It would bring a large suite of benefits: high scientific return, operational experience on human space exploration missions beyond LEO, tests of technologies and assessment of human factors for future long-duration missions, tests of asteroid collision avoidance techniques and nevertheless evaluation of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). A space system modular architecture composed of 5 elements: 1 NASA Orion MPCV-like Command Module (CM), 1 Mission Habitation Module (MM) and 3 Propulsions Modules (PMl, PM2 and a Service Module SM of the CM), that use chemical storable cryogenic propulsion for the main orbital maneuvers (total ΔV = 7.23 km/s), is able to send in 2025-2026 a crew of 3 astronauts to the NEA 1999 AO10 for a space mission lasting 165 days, and bring them back safely to the Earth. The whole 5 modules Spacecraft (S/C) of almost 240 MT in total is launched separately by 2 equal crew and cargo Heavy Lift Launcher Vehicle (HLLV) of around 125 MT, still to be developed. The assembly in LEO anticipates the injection into the NEA Transfer Orbit (NTO) by the PMl, then expended. Once the S/C is in proximity of the asteroid, a rendez-vous maneuver is performed by the PM2, successively expended. Afterwards the MM, CM and SM attend a docking to a pre-installed platform, anchored on the NEA surface by a previous robotic mission. After 14 days of operations, including the deployment of instrumentation and the performance of high challenging EVAs, the remained 3 modules S/C come back to the Earth where the CM, with the crew on board, shall be able to land safely after an atmospheric direct re-entry. The S/C preliminary design includes the determination of S/C modules power budgets, the S/C elements interfaces functional analysis, the S/C subsystems definition and top-level functions allocation, nevertheless the assessment of preliminary single modules and whole space system mass budgets. The space human mission the NEA 1999 AO10 would be the first human expedition to an interplanetary body beyond the Earth-Moon system. The challenge of increasing the interest of the international community on the human spaceflight and inspiring the new generations about science, technology and space has been accepted. Copyright ©2011 by the International Astronautical Federation. All rights reserved

Comparison of environmental test approaches through MAT€D AIV data and reference to ECSS

The verification effectiveness can be improved with a proper knowledge management, collecting and analyzing data coming from the AIV activities and flight operations of former projects. The ESA Model And Test Effectiveness Database (MAT€D) can be used for this purpose, collecting such data and providing associated statistical analyses to derive feedback for the improvement of the Model and Test Philosophies of future projects. This paper presents a methodology to support analysis of MAT€D data, with the purpose of comparing verification processes of different projects, with a specific emphasis on the environmental tests effectiveness. The used approaches are compared with those reported for each stage and level in ECSS-E-ST-10-03 (Testing). Performed AIV activities, related conditions (e.g. duration, levels) at different stages are considered to build a complexity index framework, and related normalization and aggregation functions are discussed. The related "Test Depth Index" (TDI) is proposed as an innovative method to calculate the completeness of the testing activity in relation to the ECSS standards, as a formal complement to the index currently used in MAT€D, namely MATEI (Model And Test Effectiveness Index). The application to a subset of MAT€D data is presented and recommendations are provided for further improvements