Integrated Simulation for EVA/Telerobotic Assembly Operations 921380

Extravehicular activity (EVA) performed by crew and telerobots is a key resource in the design and operation of Space Station Freedom and other large space structures that require on-orbit assembly. During hardware design, simulation is used to perform tradeoffs between preintegrated, deployed, EVA-assembled, and telerobot-assembled components. Simulation should be conducted with the highest possible similarity to flight conditions for high confidence. Numerous methods of simulation exist, and different portions of large space structure assembly may require different simulation methods. While neutral buoyancy is the best ground simulation of most EVA crew operations, zero-gravity aircraft parabolas provide better data for brief tool operations, and computer simulation may be the only simulation method available for large component manipulations. Results from the different simulation methods can be integrated to form a comprehensive picture of candidate on-orbit operations.

This paper describes our approach to produce an integrated simulation of an end-to-end EVA operation that can be used in the concurrent engineering of large space structures for decreased cost and risk. The approach to integrated simulation combines data from computer, one-gravity and zero-gravity aircraft, neutral buoyancy, and shuttle EVA simulations to generate a comprehensive simulation of an end-to-end EVA operation. End-to-end computer simulation of aerobrake assembly is enhanced with results from higher fidelity simulation, such as Shuttle EVA demonstrations and zero-gravity aircraft. The result is a broad scope simulation with the highest possible fidelity that can be used in tradeoffs between assembling and deploying various components during space structure design.