A Manned Systems Simulator for Design and Research

Abstract

This paper describes the Integrated Manned Systems Simulator (IMSS), which is a Convair division laboratory tool for optimizing displays, controls, and vehicle dynamics in manned aerospacecraft. The focus of the simulator is a psychologically acceptable replica of a spacecraft's flight deck, complete with instruments, controls, and out-of-the-window view. The simulator can also be used to check out control and display hardware as it becomes available during the development of a manned-flight project, to check out the operation of the various vehicle subsystems which have interfaces with the crew, and to study man's role in aerospace flight. The IMSS, capable of simulating most space-vehicle operations, is company-owned and is housed in a 5,000-square-foot building of its own. Principal elements are a modular flight deck, a unique visual environment generation system (using fine-line monochrome TV), a data station for recording and displaying test results in real time, and computing facilities (analog, hybrid, and digital), which are available as needed by means of a set of land lines. The flight deck may be enclosed in nearby or remote, speciallybuilt enclosures or in the simulator's quiet room. Intended to be a design and research tool, IMSS is not a trainer, though it could be so used. Consequently, flight deck configurations for different studies are expected to draw heavily on the simulator's kit of modular parts. The flight deck is of the fixed-base type.