IIAS Opens Novel Gravity-Offset Laboratory at Florida Tech for Research and Education

For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 ‘Fundamentals of Astronautics’ (PoSSUM) is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will provide the skills required to effectively conduct research on the next generation of commercial space vehicles as part of IIAS’s aeronomy program, Project PoSSUM. Designed and instructed by former NASA astronaut instructors and IIAS team scientists, AST 101 combines three weeks of webinar instruction followed by one-week of intensive training including high-G training, crew resource management training, spacesuit training, high-altitude training, biometric analysis, and ‘PoSSUMCam’ operations. You will also receive comprehensive instruction on noctilucent cloud science, observational history, research methods from some of the world’s leading noctilucent cloud scientists, then learn to use real PoSSUM instruments on customized simulations of actual ‘PoSSUM’ research flights, using the most modern training facilities available.

For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 ‘Fundamentals of Astronautics’ (PoSSUM) is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will provide the skills required to effectively conduct research on the next generation of commercial space vehicles as part of IIAS’s aeronomy program, Project PoSSUM. Designed and instructed by former NASA astronaut instructors and IIAS team scientists, AST 101 combines three weeks of webinar instruction followed by one-week of intensive training including high-G training, crew resource management training, spacesuit training, high-altitude training, biometric analysis, and ‘PoSSUMCam’ operations. You will also receive comprehensive instruction on noctilucent cloud science, observational history, research methods from some of the world’s leading noctilucent cloud scientists, then learn to use real PoSSUM instruments on customized simulations of actual ‘PoSSUM’ research flights, using the most modern training facilities available.

This course covers the requirements and design considerations for EVA systems and tools for conducting planetary field geology. Included are an introduction to field science in the context of geology; an overview of the processes that shape the surface environments of Mars and Earth’s moon; a survey of historical planetary surface geologic exploration by robots and humans; and a survey of historical EVA systems and tools used for human surface science. Emphasis will be on analyzing the constraints placed by human factors, the EVA environment, science tasks, etc. upon the design and implementation of EVA suits, tools, and procedures for effective and efficient field science operations on planetary surfaces..

The online portion of the EVA 103 course will be followed by a ~1-week capstone field experience in the San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF), just north of Flagstaff, AZ. This area has been used extensively in the past for a number of NASA analog mission simulations and NASA-funded geologic research related to planetary field exploration. Students will be introduced to basic field science practice in the context of geologic observations and sample collection. Field work will also involve testing of prototype surface EVA suits and tools in the scientifically relevant analog setting of the SFVF.

AST 102 provides a foundation in the microgravity environment, microgravity research campaign planning and operations, microgravity experiment and payload design and development, and science communication and public outreach.

Students in the course will apply their knowledge and skills learned in the webinars in a parabolic flight campaign with Integrated Spaceflight Services and the National Research Council of Canada. The flight campaign will take place at the NRC Flight Research Lab (FRL) located in Ottawa, Canada. The address is 1920 Research Private, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8, Canada and is suited within walking distance of the Ottawa International Airport. Students should plan to arrive at 8AM each day. A typical day will end by 6PM. Students should plan to stay until 6PM on the last day of the campaign. Additional details of the flight campaign will be provided in the webinars.

Students will need to provide the following information one month prior to the flight campaign:
• Full legal Name
• Date of Birth
• Nationality
• Passport Number and scan of passport photo page

• Students are advised to monitor the travel restrictions regarding the US/Canada border.
• Students in need of travel visas should contact the Instructor as early as possible.

What to expect

Participating members should allow for four to five days.  Upon arrival, each members will receive a safety briefing and instruction on research protocol as part of the Test Readiness Review (TRR). Members participate in egress tests and system testing.  All teams will rehearse until they reach a level of proficiency in 1G conditions before their flight.  Once the mission is approved by both test director and NRC flight safety officer, the flight will commence.

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Mission Plan:

Each sortie is planned for 18 parabolas, but flights may be terminated for reason. A flight may be terminated  for any of the following reasons:

1. Test participant vomiting in the suit or bio-monitor data in excess of established limits
2. Excessive vomiting by any flight team member.
3. Failure of essential equipment
4. Any condition created by a flight team that violates any safety protocol

OPS 102 is the first professional education course on the landing and post-landing phase of human spacecraft missions. this course covers nominal and contingency landing scenarios, post-landing planning, rescue and recovery architecture design, egress systems and operational procedures, deconditioning and post-landing survivability, generalized egress skills, and emergency egress bottle use. OPS 102 also provides instruction on spacesuit use in nominal and off-nominal post-landing environments. Students demonstrate reliable functionality of parachute release, life preserver unit (LPU), and snorkel functionality in varying sea and lighting conditions. Students also learn the effective use of radios, beacons, signal flares, and other signaling devices in water and egress bottle use for egress operations.

Objectives: EVA 105 extends upon the introductory life support system curriculum presented in EVA 101 to include specific EVA space suit systems and test and validation procedures in an underwater analog environment. The course covers a historical analysis of specific US and Russian EVA space suit development programs, EVA space suit systems, laboratory test protocols, terminology and etiquette, EVA space suit test development, and design drivers of future EVA space suit systems. Students will be responsible to develop testing procedures based on tools and procedures developed in EVA 102 (Operational Space Medicine), EVA 103 (Planetary Field Geology), or for microgravity operations.

Goals: To provide entry-level familiarization of operations and tasks associated with in-space EVA.

Curriculum:

1. Introduction to the Underwater Environment (neutral buoyancy)
2. Human Performance and Limitations (diving and saturation diving medicine)
3. Underwater Procedures and Operations
4. Testing Tools (performance, ergonomy)
5. Testing Suits (movement, sensors, design)
6. EVA training (NBL, NBF, Hydro Lab)
7. Airlock and NBL Operations
8. Vehicle Utilization
9. Reduced Mobility and Movement
10. Underwater Habitats and Isolation (building, performance)
11. Special Topic: Saturation and Hyperbaric Medicine
12. Special Topic: NAUI and Scientific Diving
13. Underwater Science and Marine Biology

For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 ‘Fundamentals of Astronautics’ is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will provide the skills required to effectively conduct research on the next generation of commercial space vehicles as part of IIAS’s aeronomy program, Project PoSSUM. Designed and instructed by former NASA astronaut instructors and IIAS team scientists, AST 101 combines three weeks of webinar instruction followed by one-week of intensive training including high-G training, crew resource management training, spacesuit training, high-altitude training, biometric analysis, and ‘PoSSUMCam’ operations. You will also receive comprehensive instruction on noctilucent cloud science, observational history, research methods from some of the world’s leading noctilucent cloud scientists, then learn to use real PoSSUM instruments on customized simulations of actual ‘PoSSUM’ research flights, using the most modern training facilities available.