NASA Ames Research Center Named Center of Excellence for Spacecraft Handling Qualities

Ames Research Center has been designated the “Center of Excellence” for handling qualities of piloted spacecraft. The primary task is to develop a Handling Qualities Standard for Piloted Spacecraft for NASA. At the encouragement of AA Scott “Doc” Horowitz, the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) facility has been performing preliminary, human-in-the-loop, lunar lander simulations for the past year and a half.

As a result of this work, “Doc” has expanded the task to include all piloted spacecraft, called out the VMS as the “primary test bed for lunar landing and Mars landing tests,” and assigned Ames to lead the effort. In addition to lander vehicles, test plans will include rendezvous and docking operations for CEV/ISS, and LSAM/CEV.

The project being planned will be a multi-Center, multi-facility effort that will serve Constellation through all phases of design, testing, and training.