Shuttle Program Research Articles

We Can Rebuild Him and Her: Bionic Irony, Hysteria, and Post-Fordism’s Technological Fix in The Six Million Dollar Man

THE WORKING MAN'S CRASH LANDING Silvia Federici and George Caffentzis have observed that, when it comes to utopian visions regarding the societal benefits of space travel, it is not so much the alleged reasons for making a journey to Mars that matter but what they can do to you on Mars when they get you there (58). Programs such as the Apollo missions or even current speculation about manned missions to Mars, whatever scientific benefits might be expected, simultaneously generate a host of less obvious outcomes that are nonetheless useful from the point of view of social control, nation building, and ideological reinforcement. Collecting moon rocks might have added to the storehouse of knowledge, but the Apollo missions were also immensely useful to the U.S. government for providing a unifying goal by which to capture the national imagination in the midst of such legitimation crises as those related to Vietnam, the Cold War, and environmental destruction. We might go further, with Caffentzis and Federici, and discern in the asceticism and other-worldliness required by space exploration a way of disciplining the terrestrial labour force: launch of today's high-tech industry a technological leap in the machine--a big evolutionary leap in creating a new type of worker to match capital's investment needs (61). Just as a space program that trains only a handful of actual astronauts might have a much larger effect on the national imaginary, creating the utopian fascination needed to implement new disciplinary structures, so too can popular culture about science and technology provide the fantasy scenarios that help generalize new modes of control even while entertaining and stimulating our imaginations. (1) The popular 1970s television show The Six Million Dollar Man (hereafter Six) is a case in point. Celebrating technological aspiration in the face of sensational failure, the show's opening montage uses historic footage of the 1967 crash of nasa's experimental M2-F2 lifting body aircraft, in which test pilot Bruce Peterson was almost killed when his plane hit the ground at over 400 km/hr. The M2-F2 was part of a series of experimental aircraft that led to the development of the U.S. Space Shuttle program in the 1980s. In Six, Peterson's crash is used as the background for an opening sequence detailing the reconstruction of the fictional astronaut Steve Austin, a man literally reduced to human scrap, in the words of the government agent who oversees Austin's transformation into a cyborg super-soldier. Using digital sound effects with computerized graphics superimposed on images of Austin receiving his robotic implants, the opening sequence famously proclaims in voiceover: gentlemen, we can rebuild him ... we have the capacity to create the world's first bionic man. The show's dramatic juxtaposition of high and low, of human with $6 million of high-tech machinery, offers insights into the tensions faced by a largely white male American workforce confronting the contradictions of capital in the 1970s, a decade that saw the fraying of postWorld War II Keynesianism and the initial stirrings of the more turbulent and unruly neoliberal market that would replace it. With the escalation of Cold War tensions, labour unrest, energy prices, economic and environmental crises, and an increasingly unpopular military entanglement in Vietnam, the value of American lives seemed under question in a more nebulously unsettling manner than the century's two horrific but spatially and temporally circumscribed world wars (and the economic depression in between) had managed to do. The white male factory worker privileged by postwar Fordism was further confronted with threats of deskilling and obsolescence through technological innovations and shutdowns ferociously pursued by industrialists as a means of both streamlining the workplace and disciplining the workforce. In the midst of these tensions, like the fallen astronaut from the opening of Six, hegemonic American masculinity might have keenly felt the proximity of the human scrap heap confronted by Austin. …

Exercise Countermeasure Hardware Evolution on ISS: The First Decade.

The hardware systems necessary to support exercise countermeasures to the deconditioning associated with microgravity exposure have evolved and improved significantly during the first decade of the International Space Station (ISS), resulting in both new types of hardware and enhanced performance capabilities for initial hardware items. The original suite of countermeasure hardware supported the first crews to arrive on the ISS and the improved countermeasure system delivered in later missions continues to serve the astronauts today with increased efficacy. Due to aggressive hardware development schedules and constrained budgets, the initial approach was to identify existing spaceflight-certified exercise countermeasure equipment, when available, and modify it for use on the ISS. Program management encouraged the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, or hardware previously developed (heritage hardware) for the Space Shuttle Program. However, in many cases the resultant hardware did not meet the additional requirements necessary to support crew health maintenance during long-duration missions (3 to 12 mo) and anticipated future utilization activities in support of biomedical research. Hardware development was further complicated by performance requirements that were not fully defined at the outset and tended to evolve over the course of design and fabrication. Modifications, ranging from simple to extensive, were necessary to meet these evolving requirements in each case where heritage hardware was proposed. Heritage hardware was anticipated to be inherently reliable without the need for extensive ground testing, due to its prior positive history during operational spaceflight utilization. As a result, developmental budgets were typically insufficient and schedules were too constrained to permit long-term evaluation of dedicated ground-test units ("fleet leader" type testing) to identify reliability issues when applied to long-duration use. In most cases, the exercise unit with the most operational history was the unit installed on the ISS.

Space Shuttle Stiffener Ring Foam Failure Analysis, a Non-conventional Approach

The Space Shuttle Program made use of the excellent properties of rigid polyurethane foam for cryogenic tank insulation and as structural protection on the solid rocket boosters. When foam applications de-bond, classical methods of failure analysis did not provide root cause of the failure of the foam. Realizing that foam is the ideal media to document and preserve its own mode of failure, thin sectioning was seen as a logical approach for foam failure analysis to observe the three dimensional morphology of the foam cells. The cell foam morphology provided a much greater understanding of the failure modes than previously achieved.

Astronaut medical selection during the shuttle era: 1981-2011.

U.S. astronauts undergo extensive job-related screening and medical examinations prior to selection in order to identify candidates optimally suited for careers in spaceflight. Screening medical standards evolved over many years and after extensive spaceflight experience. These standards assess health-related risks for each astronaut candidate, minimizing the potential for medical impact on future mission success. This document discusses the evolution of the Shuttle-era medical selection standards and the most common reasons for medical dis-qualification of applicants. Data for astronaut candidate finalists were compiled from medical records and NASA archives from the period of 1978 to 2004 and were retrospectively reviewed for medically disqualifying conditions. During Shuttle selection cycles, a total of 372 applicants were disqualified due to 425 medical concerns. The most common disqualifying conditions included visual, cardiovascular, psychiatric, and behavioral disorders. During this time period, three major expert panel reviews resulted in refinements and alterations to selection standards for future cycles. Shuttle-era screening, testing, and specialist evaluations evolved through periodic expert reviews, evidence-based medicine, and astronaut medical care experience. The Shuttle medical program contributed to the development and implementation of NASA and international standards, longitudinal data collection, improved medical care, and occupational surveillance models. The lessons learned from the Shuttle program serve as the basis for medical selection for the ISS, exploration-class missions, and for those expected to participate in commercial spaceflight.

Matthew H. Hersch. Inventing the American Astronaut.

For over three decades now, the image of the astronaut in American culture has largely been defined by Tom Wolfe's depiction of the Mercury 7 in The Right Stuff (1979). Wolfe portrayed these early astronauts as hard-drinking, fast-playing, driven individuals who defined themselves by taking risks. In his new book, Matthew H. Hersch examines “the occupational experience of America's astronauts from 1959 through 1979” (p. 3). What Hersch does best is uncover the real story behind The Right Stuff by offering insight into the world of the astronaut office. Hersch begins his study with the selection of Group I, better known as the Mercury 7, and continues until the arrival of Group VIII, the first class of astronauts selected for the Space Shuttle Program. Over the course of five chapters, he tries to demystify what it really meant to be an astronaut: the mundane nature of the daily job, the politics within the astronaut office that ultimately defined one's chance of getting a good flight assignment (or any flight assignment), the animosity toward the new scientist-astronauts, and the changing nature of the astronaut's “identity” in the post-Apollo years. According to Hersch, the astronaut, “invented” in 1958 as a national hero, all but disappeared by the mid-1970s: “A[pollo]-S[oyuz] T[est] P[rogram] marked the passing of both a generation of veteran spacefarers and the idea of flawless performance that the earliest crews had cultivated” (p. 118).

Changes in Mouse Thymus and Spleen after Return from the STS-135 Mission in Space

Our previous results with flight (FLT) mice showed abnormalities in thymuses and spleens that have potential to compromise immune defense mechanisms. In this study, the organs were further evaluated in C57BL/6 mice after Space Shuttle Atlantis returned from a 13-day mission. Thymuses and spleens were harvested from FLT mice and ground controls housed in similar animal enclosure modules (AEM). Organ and body mass, DNA fragmentation and expression of genes related to T cells and cancer were determined. Although significance was not obtained for thymus mass, DNA fragmentation was greater in the FLT group (P<0.01). Spleen mass alone and relative to body mass was significantly decreased in FLT mice (P<0.05). In FLT thymuses, 6/84 T cell-related genes were affected versus the AEM control group (P<0.05; up: IL10, Il18bp, Il18r1, Spp1; down: Ccl7, IL6); 15/84 cancer-related genes had altered expression (P<0.05; up: Casp8, FGFR2, Figf, Hgf, IGF1, Itga4, Ncam1, Pdgfa, Pik3r1, Serpinb2, Sykb; down: Cdc25a, E2F1, Mmp9, Myc). In the spleen, 8/84 cancer-related genes were affected in FLT mice compared to AEM controls (P<0.05; up: Cdkn2a; down: Birc5, Casp8, Ctnnb1, Map2k1, Mdm2, NFkB1, Pdgfa). Pathway analysis (apoptosis signaling and checkpoint regulation) was used to map relationships among the cancer–related genes. The results showed that a relatively short mission in space had a significant impact on both organs. The findings also indicate that immune system aberrations due to stressors associated with space travel should be included when estimating risk for pathologies such as cancer and infection and in designing appropriate countermeasures. Although this was the historic last flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, exploration of space will undoubtedly continue.

Forgotten hardware: how to urinate in a spacesuit

On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space. Although National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had discounted the need for him to urinate, Shepard did, in his spacesuit, short circuiting his electronic biosensors. With the development of the pressure suit needed for high-altitude and space flight during the 1950s, technicians had developed the means for urine collection. However, cultural mores, combined with a lack of interagency communication, and the technical difficulties of spaceflight made human waste collection a difficult task. Despite the difficulties, technicians at NASA created a successful urine collection device that John Glenn wore on the first Mercury orbital flight on February 20, 1962. With minor modifications, male astronauts used this system to collect urine until the Space Shuttle program. John Glenn's urine collection device is at the National Air and Space Museum and has been on view to the public since 1976.

Standard Deviation of Launch Vehicle Vibration and Acoustic Environments

Statistical analyses are used for the development of the acoustic, vibration, and shock environments on launch vehicles. The standard deviation of these environments is critical for deriving accurate statistical extrema. However, often very little measured data exist in order to define the standard deviation. In many cases, the use of a typical standard deviation is better than the use of one derived from a few measurements. Extensive Space Shuttle Program and Expendable Launch Vehicle flight data are used in this paper to define a typical standard deviation for acoustics and random vibrations. The results suggest that, in the absence of sufficient data, 3 dB is a practical selection for the standard deviation of these environments. Further, the data are used to show that a standard deviation of 3 dB should be used for cases in which there are less than five data sets because there is not enough information to supersede the 3 dB estimate.

The Epistemic Integrity of NASA Practices in the Space Shuttle Program

This article presents an account of epistemic integrity and uses it to demonstrate that the epistemic integrity of different kinds of practices in NASA's Space Shuttle Program was limited. We focus on the following kinds of practices: (1) research by working engineers, (2) review by middle-level managers, and (3) communication with the public. We argue that the epistemic integrity of these practices was undermined by production pressure at NASA, i.e., the pressure to launch an unreasonable amount of flights per year. Finally, our findings are used to develop some potential strategies to protect epistemic integrity in aerospace science.

Fundamental Plant Biology Enabled by The Space Shuttle

The relationship between fundamental plant biology and space biology was especially synergistic in the era of the Space Shuttle. While all terrestrial organisms are influenced by gravity, the impact of gravity as a tropic stimulus in plants has been a topic of formal study for more than a century. And while plants were parts of early space biology payloads, it was not until the advent of the Space Shuttle that the science of plant space biology enjoyed expansion that truly enabled controlled, fundamental experiments that removed gravity from the equation. The Space Shuttle presented a science platform that provided regular science flights with dedicated plant growth hardware and crew trained in inflight plant manipulations. Part of the impetus for plant biology experiments in space was the realization that plants could be important parts of bioregenerative life support on long missions, recycling water, air, and nutrients for the human crew. However, a large part of the impetus was that the Space Shuttle enabled fundamental plant science essentially in a microgravity environment. Experiments during the Space Shuttle era produced key science insights on biological adaptation to spaceflight and especially plant growth and tropisms. In this review, we present an overview of plant science in the Space Shuttle era with an emphasis on experiments dealing with fundamental plant growth in microgravity. This review discusses general conclusions from the study of plant spaceflight biology enabled by the Space Shuttle by providing historical context and reviews of select experiments that exemplify plant space biology science.

Ambassadors from Earth: Pioneering Explorations with Unmanned Spacecraft by Jay Gallentine, and: Final Countdown: Nasa and the End of the Space Shuttle Program by Pat Duggins (review)

Reviewed by: Ambassadors from Earth: Pioneering Explorations with Unmanned Spacecraft by Jay Gallentine, and: Final Countdown: Nasa and the End of the Space Shuttle Program by Pat Duggins Kim McQuaid Ambassadors from Earth: Pioneering Explorations with Unmanned Spacecraft. By Jay Gallentine. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. 2009. Final Countdown: Nasa and the End of the Space Shuttle Program. By Pat Duggins. Gainesville and Tampa: University Press of Florida. 2009. Both these popular histories of spaceflight are engagingly written by authors (Jay Gallentine a film and video engineer; Pat Duggins a journalist) who know their craft, and who seek to pass along awareness of the early decades of the Space Age to younger readers uninformed about formative events that often occurred before they were born. Academic specialists may decry the scarcity of footnotes, and will be bothered by the sometimes-glaring lack of references to important earlier works which could easily have augmented major portions of the analysis of both authors. Their students, however, will enjoy the glimpses of the very-human excitements and frustrations involved in scientific and technological advance. Both volumes have to be used with some caution. Meaning that, for example, what they don’t say can be as important as what they do say. Both authors, for example, treat only a portion of their subjects. Gallentine covers an approximately 30-year “golden age” of lunar and planetary spacecraft that ends with the 1977–1989 Voyager “grand tour” of the outer planets (while curiously saying nothing about important pioneering missions like the first landers on Mars’ surface (Viking 1 and 2). Duggins’ narrative is weak on portions of the Space Shuttle and Space Station story—USA or (especially) Russian—before the Challenger tragedy of 1986, and ends with the (now largely defunct) President George Herbert Walker Bush Moon-Mars space vision of 2004–2009. The authors, additionally, have defects of their qualities. Meaning that both are very clearly “fans” of the space specialties they treat, and have little, if anything, good to say about human spaceflight (Gallentine) or planetary scientists and astronomers (Duggins). Both authors also ignore [End Page 127] the Earthly applications satellites (after early particles and fields research ending about 1960) that were increasingly important—and divisive—within portions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and also ignore (with the exception of a brief manned military shuttle program) the increasingly large military satellite systems that affected the thinking and action of NASA administrators. Advocacy-driven narratives like these are capable and even eloquent. They do not, however, allow younger readers to comprehend how modern space-based networks of communications or weather satellites many use cell phones to access came to exist. Nor do they help students—or their teachers—understand how the modern era of space-based satellites has produced data that allow us to intelligently comprehend and visualize what environmental scientists are talking about when they address the many and growing challenges of climate change and “Global Warming.” Both authors, additionally, depend heavily on interview data and can, on occasion, over-identify with their most important sources. Gallentine’s collection of about twelve personal narratives, for instance, tends to be very kind to pioneers at Iowa State University (i.e. Dr. James Van Allen) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. JPL’s at-best-lousy early career of designing and building spacecraft was an object lesson in the truth of the old Russian engineering proverb that “the best is the enemy of the good.” But you will not read much about such get-ahead-of-yourself, “Cadillac engineering,” institutional “teething” problems (or arrogance) here. Nor will you read about ongoing fights over missions and resources between scientists who were all for science…so long as it was their specialty which got favored treatment. One sentence about how “particles and fields” scientists like Van Allen disliked it when a newer and younger breed of NASA-created and financed “planetary scientists” like Carl Sagan succeeded in replacing many of their magnetism and cosmic ray experiments with television cameras (to allow researchers to get visual data that allowed new space specialties like geology to shine) is all you’ll get. Duggins...

&amp;quot;Apollo Paradigm&amp;quot;: Dilemmas and Solutions of U.S. Human Spaceflight

During 2010-2011, the USA cancelled the 5 years old Constellation program, terminated the Space Shuttle program which had lasted for 39 years. These led to a "gap" in America's independent human spaceflight capacities and profound dilemmas in U.S human spaceflight enterprise. These dilemmas rooted in the "Apollo paradigm" are reflected in the development of U.S. human spaceflight since the Apollo era and are characterized by favoring to large scale technological systems and programs and the presumption that large human spaceflight programs are essential to sustain the political support for civil spaceflight programs. The goals, economic and technological characteristic of the technological programs in the "Apollo paradigm" are inflexible, which leads to the current stalemate in the U.S. human spaceflight enterprise. The sustainable and healthy development of human spaceflight requires getting rid of the "Apollo paradigm", exploring the "flexible path" and basing the flexibility upon the entire aerospace industry. To fulfill these, we should, on the one hand, transform the methods of government acquisition so as to foster the market of space equipment manufacturing and encourage diversified courses of technological development; on the other hand, we should create technological and market niches for the innovative development of space equipment industry.

Nasa's Experiences Enabling the Capture and Sharing of Technical Expertise Through Communities of Practice

Historically, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had few opportunities or incentives to share their technical expertise across the Agency. Its center- and project-focused culture often meant that knowledge never left organizational and geographic boundaries. The need to develop a knowledge sharing culture became critical as a result of increasingly complex missions, closeout of the Shuttle Program, and a new generation of engineers entering the workforce. To address this need, the Office of the Chief Engineer established communities of practice on the NASA Engineering Network. These communities were strategically aligned with NASA's core competencies in such disciplines as avionics, flight mechanics, life support, propulsion, structures, loads and dynamics, human factors, and guidance, navigation, and control. This paper is a case study of NASA's implementation of a system that would identify and develop communities, from establishing simple websites that compiled discipline-specific resources to fostering a knowledge-sharing environment through collaborative and interactive technologies. It includes qualitative evidence of improved availability and transfer of knowledge. It focuses on capabilities that increased knowledge exchange such as a custom-made Ask An Expert system, community contact lists, publication of key resources, and submission forms that allowed any user to propose content for the sites. It discusses the peer relationships that developed through the communities and the leadership and infrastructure that made them possible.

우주발사체의 정밀한 외연적 유도 알고리듬 성능 분석

본 논문에서는 주어진 3단형 발사체의 상단부 폐루프 유도 방식 선정을 위해 널리 알려져 있는 Space Shuttle의 PEG 알고리듬보다 유도명령의 형태가 최적화 해에 가까운 Jaggers가 제안한 직접식 유도 방식에 대해서 다루었다. 이 알고리듬을 주어진 발사체의 상단부인 2단 및 3단 비행 구간에 적용할 경우에 대해서 유도 성능을 분석했다. 또한 보다 정밀한 유도를 위해 알고리듬 유도를 위해 사용된 근사식들을 가능한 사용하지 않도록 했으며 원래의 알고리듬에 비해 성능이 개선됨을 확인하였다. This paper considers one of the explicit guidance algorithms, which has been proposed by Jaggers, to determine the closed-loop guidance algorithm for upper stages of a 3-staged space launch vehicle. Its commanded thrust vector is closer to the optimal solution when compared with that obtained by using the well-known Powered Explicit Guidance (PEG), which has been developed through the Space Shuttle program. Its performance is evaluated here by applying for guidance of the launcher during the second and third stages. Furthermore, to generate more precise guidance commands, it is attempted not to use the approximate formulas for the derivation of the original guidance law, and it is shown that performance is improved in comparison with the original.

Integrating Organizational and Design Perspectives to Address Challenges of Renewal: A case study of NASA's post‐shuttle workforce transition

As organizations become increasingly complex and technology‐dependent, likewise their challenges become increasingly complex and technology‐driven. In the practice of organizational and design ethnography, the elements of organization and technology design overlap. However, a need remains for an explicit framework to deal with the complex challenges of innovation and change faced by contemporary organizations. This need is evident in a case study of NASA's workforce transition as a result of the space shuttle's retirement. NASA's challenge is both organizational and technological – the end of the Space Shuttle Program left the agency without a clear replacement vehicle and the risk of losing an experienced, expert workforce. An integrated organizational and design approach could foster an environment of renewal by involving stakeholders at all levels of the agency and adopting a future‐oriented approach to anticipating change.

Space chronicles: facing the ultimate frontier

America's space program is at a turning point. After decades of global primacy, NASA has ended the space-shuttle program, cutting off its access to space. No astronauts will be launched in an American craft, from American soil, until the 2020s, and NASA may soon find itself eclipsed by other countries' space programs. With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson-one of our foremost thinkers on all things space-illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale. For America to maintain its status as a global leader and a technological innovator, he explains, we must regain our enthusiasm and curiosity about what lies beyond our world. Provocative, humorous, and wonderfully readable, Space Chronicles represents the best of Tyson's recent commentary, including a must-read prologue on NASA and partisan politics. Reflecting on topics that range from scientific literacy to space-travel missteps, Tyson gives us an urgent, clear-eyed, and ultimately inspiring vision for the future.

Innovative triboluminescence study of multivitamin doped europium tetrakis

AbstractAs the Space Shuttle program ends, NASA is developing the next generation of space vehicles. These new concept designs will require new and innovative structural health monitoring capabilities. One way to solve this problem is with smart impact sensors that use triboluminescent materials. In 2011, the authors reported an 82% increase in the triboluminescence yield of europium dibenzoylmethide triethylammonium (EuD4TEA) by changing the starting material. It has been shown that introduction of dopants tends to enhance the triboluminescent light yield. Here we report the successful synthesis of a multivitamin doped europium tetrakis which appears to be spherical in shape. Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy analysis showed the presence of 3.6% calcium, 0.62% magnesium, 0.1% iron, 0.01% copper and manganese. This new product has no shift in the triboluminescent or photoluminescent emission peaks, but only a change in the intensity. In addition, the doped EuD4TEA powder statistically emits more triboluminescence while having the same decay time. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &amp; Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Farewell to the Space Shuttle

The US Space Shuttle program helped start many careers and companies and initiate countless breakthroughs in computing hardware and software, medicine, life sciences, materials research, propulsion, and electromechanical technologies. The author looks at the program's legacy and ponders how we'll fill the void left behind. This department is part of a special issue on NASA contributions to IT.

Spray-on foam insulations for launch vehicle cryogenic tanks

Spray-on foam insulation (SOFI) has been developed for use on the cryogenic tanks of space launch vehicles beginning in the 1960s with the Apollo program. The use of SOFI was further developed for the Space Shuttle program. The External Tank (ET) of the Space Shuttle, consisting of a forward liquid oxygen tank in line with an aft liquid hydrogen tank, requires thermal insulation over its outer surface to prevent ice formation and avoid in-flight damage to the ceramic tile thermal protection system on the adjacent Orbiter. The insulation also provides system control and stability throughout the lengthy process of cooldown, loading, and replenishing the tank. There are two main types of SOFI used on the ET: acreage (with the rind) and closeout (machined surface). The thermal performance of the seemingly simple SOFI system is a complex array of many variables starting with the large temperature difference of 200–260K through the typical 25-mm thickness. Environmental factors include air temperature and humidity, wind speed, solar exposure, and aging or weathering history. Additional factors include manufacturing details, launch processing operations, and number of cryogenic thermal cycles. The study of the cryogenic thermal performance of SOFI under large temperature differentials is the subject of this article. The amount of moisture taken into the foam during the cold soak phase, termed Cryogenic Moisture Uptake, must also be considered. The heat leakage rates through these foams were measured under representative conditions using laboratory standard liquid nitrogen boiloff apparatus. Test articles included baseline, aged, and weathered specimens. Testing was performed over the entire pressure range from high vacuum to ambient pressure. Values for apparent thermal conductivity and heat flux were calculated and compared with prior data. As the prior data of record was obtained for small temperature differentials on non-weathered foams, analysis of the different methods is provided. Recent advancements and applications of SOFI systems on future launch vehicles and spacecraft are also addressed.

Space Adaptation Back Pain: A Retrospective Study

Back pain is frequently reported by astronauts during the early phase of spaceflight as they adapt to microgravity. The epidemiology of space adaptation back pain has not been well defined. This study aims to develop a case definition of space adaptation back pain, determine its incidence, and assess the effectiveness of available treatments. Medical records from the Mercury, Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), Skylab, Mir, International Space Station (ISS), and Shuttle programs were reviewed. All episodes of in-flight back pain that met the criteria for space adaptation back pain were recorded. Pain characteristics, including intensity, location, and duration of the pain, were noted. The effectiveness of specific treatments was also recorded. The incidence of space adaptation back pain among astronauts was determined to be 52% (382/728). Most of the affected astronauts reported mild pain (86%). Moderate pain was reported by 11% of the affected astronauts and severe pain was reported by 3% of the affected astronauts. The most effective treatments were fetal positioning (91%) and the use of analgesic medications and exercise (primarily treadmill and cycle ergometer), which were both 85% effective. This retrospective study examines the epidemiology of space adaptation back pain. Space adaptation back pain is usually mild and self-limited. However, there is a risk of functional impairment and mission impact in cases of moderate or severe pain that do not respond to currently available treatments. Therefore, the development of preventive measures and more effective treatments should be pursued.