Payload crew utilization for spacelab missions

Abstract

Planned payload crew utilization on Spacelab mission are analyzed to establish trends and guidelines. The study included missions that have flow to date as well as those in planning. Available data were analyzed on the basis of four major timeline iterations that occur during mission design. Data were categorized and assessed by crewmember, flight day, and mission. Based on the results of this analysis, it was recommended that for the Requirements Review and Preliminary Design Review iterations the maximum utilization per shift should be 75 percent for the Payload Specialist (PS) and 65 percent for the Mission Specialist (MS); and for the basic and final iterations, the maximum utilization shift should be 85 percent for the PS and 75 percent for the MS. Additional recommendations include limiting the amount of activity during the first two shifts whenever possible and establishing a common set of guidelines for the calculations of crew utilization