XA/EVA Project Office Weekly Activity Report 18 Jan 2001
STS-98 Flight Readiness Review (FRR)
The EVA Project Office reported on the readiness of EVA to support STS-98/5A at the STS-98 FRR. Flight crew and ground personnel are trained; fit checks and sharp edge inspections are complete. All hardware required for the mission has been certified and delivered. The only standard open work remaining at the FRR was the installation of the EMU’s into the orbiter. That has since been completed. The EVA Project Office and the EVA community are ready to support STS-98.
Cupola Kick load Issues STS-133 (2J/A)
The EVA Project Office supported the Program Integration Control Board (PICB) discussions on the Cupola kick load issues. The current design of the Cupola shutters cannot withstand EVA kick loads (125 lbf) or handling loads (45 lbf). The European Space Agency (ESA) agreed to change the design to meet handling loads, but requested a waiver of the kick load requirements. Operational constraints which will be required closing the shutters that are in the translation path and near a Cupola worksite when they perform maintenance tasks. The PICB agreed to waive the requirements based on the available operational constraints. A Cupola NBL test will be performed in June to verify all EVA requirements are met for Cupola assembly and maintenance tasks.
CETA Cart Fit Check Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM)
On January 16- 18, 2001, a TIM was held at KSC which was supported by EVA Project Office and Engineering Directorate to discuss fit check requirements for the CETA Cart to S-1 Truss Element. Major issues yet to be resolved are 1) Boeing’s readiness to support the fit check 2) content of the fit check and 3) storage of CETA Cart until final installation (KSC or JSC). The EVA Project Office will continue to work with KSC and the ISS Program to bring these issues to closure. In parallel, the Engineering Directorate is continuing to process CETA Cart for shipment and can be ready to ship as early as January 22, 2001.
Somatic Sciences Simulation (S3) Project
The S3 Project was briefed to the Manager, EVA Project Office in December 2000. The S3 demonstration included the virtual human shoulder and arm segments interfacing with a virtual hard upper torso. The process by which human movement is captured in the database was also demonstrated. Expected deliverables for the project were a high-resolution 3-D model of the A7L spacesuit, a virtual human model of the upper and lower extremities and a comparison of predictive S3 model forces to actual forces between the human anatomy and the spacesuit. At this point in time, the progress of the S3 project has not matured into a tool that can be used for rapid prototyping of EVA hardware. Due to significantly decreased funding in the advanced area and lack of significant progress the S3 Project will not be continued at this time.
Original signed by
Gregory J. Harbaugh
Manager
