FISO Telecon 10/19/2016

An ISS Space Ambulance Based on

X-37B Technology
Prof. Stephen K. Robinson
Chair, Dept. Of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering
UC Davis

with Etan
Halberg

CENTER FOR HUMAN/ROBOTICS/VEHICLE

INTEGRATION & PERFORMANCE (HRVIP)

An Ambulance for ISS Based on X-37 Technology

Crew Configuration, Crew Transfer Procedures, and In-Flight Care

E. Etan Halberg, S.K. Robinson, R. Onishi, N.J. Blaesser

AIAA SPACE 2016, Sept. 1316
Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA

Overview

Background
Proposed mission requirements
Crew configuration design drivers
Full-scale cabin mockup
Crew station/restraint considerations
Hatch location and crew transfer procedures
In-flight caregiving
Summary
3

Background
Medical events (scale: 1-3)
Class 2 requires ISS HMS; possible emergency evac; 1 per
2.4 years, crew of 7 (cardiac arrhythmia, pneumonia)
Class 3 requires emergency evac; 13 per 15 years, crew of
7; (retinal detachment, acute appendicitis)
Based on medical events (not system failures); data from
remote outposts, spaceflight history
Principles of Clinical Medicine for Space Flight (Barratt, Pool)

Soyuz
Habitable volume: 141 ft3 (TMA descent module)
EDL typically around 45G; ~8G if ballistic
9 injuries among 24 US crew (37.5%), Expeditions 6 thru 30
Kukla,

T., Soyuz Landing Missions from http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20160010479.pdf

Proposed Mission Requirements

Minimal crew: pilot, patient, crew medical officer (CMO)
Rapid transport: < 3 hours from ISS to Earth
Long duration ready-state: > 2 years on-station
Minimal G-loads throughout EDL
Immediate access to crew upon vehicle recovery
Ability to utilize public/commercial runways
Pilotable vehicle capable of accommodating a supine
passenger and unsuited crew.
Supine passenger able to receive life-saving care during
transport without compromising crew safety

orig.: SCAPE suit (NASA), Soyuz TMA (NASA), Dragon (SpaceX), CST-100 (Boeing), X-38 and Space Shuttle (NASA), Dreamchaser, (Sierra Nevada Co.), X-37B (Boeing)

Vehicle
X-37B

Vehicle

X-37UCD

N2O4 +
MMH

Propellant

Non-toxic
storable

orig.: NASA

2300 ft/s Axial V(*)

443 ft/s

7 x 4 ft

Payload
Dim.

13 x 4 ft

88 ft3

Payload
Volume

147 ft3
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Important Items & Terminology

Crew safety and security
Ability of crew members to perform
role-specific tasks
Rapid and orderly transfer of crew
to/from vehicle
5th and 95th percentile crew members
(Man-systems Integration Standards)

orig.: NASA-STD-3000 vol.1 sec.3

orig.: acapsule.com

Volrem147-12135 ft3

Crew Configuration Patient

G-loads
Access (to) by CMO
Egress procedures
Volume req. 12 ft3

Shuttle EDL G-load Characteristics

1.8

Acceleration (G's)

+Gz

1.6

STS 56

-Gx

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4

From STS 5 &

STS 56 (AoA)

0.2
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

Time (s)

Volrem135-13122 ft3

Crew Configuration Pilot

G-loads (vestibular feedback)

Ergonomics/range of motion
Isolation (sterile cockpit)
Volume req. 13 ft3

http://plane-crazy.k-hosting.co.uk/Aircraft/Jets/Meteor/gloster_meteor.htm

Ergonomic body joint angles

Min

Max

Hip

90

120

Knee

90

130

Ankle

100

120

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2016, Good Body Posture:
OSH Answers, in "OSH Answers Fact Sheets. from
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/sitting/sitting_position.html

http://easyultralightdesign.stroimsamolet.ru/design/cockpit_sizing.php

Volrem122-13109 ft3

Crew Configuration CMO

Access to patient (visual, physical)

Access to medical equipment
Range of motion
Volume req. 13 ft3

Top View

Patient
Crew Medical
Officer (CMO)

10
10

Pilot

Patient

CMO

Crew Configurations
Fore

1
Aft

4
11

Pilot

Patient

CMO

Crew Configurations

+ Pilot isolation
+ Familiar positions
+ Equilateral access to
patient by CMO
- Overall access to
patient/equipment
- Cabin length; leg
room issues

12

Pilot

Patient

CMO

Crew Configurations

+ Leg room
+ Equilateral access to
patient
- Overall access to
patient/equipment
- Egress procedures
- Unfamiliar positions
- Pilot isolation
- Patient g-loads

13

Pilot

Patient

CMO

Crew Configurations

+ Benefits of 1 but
more compact
+ Overall access to
patient
+ Egress procedures
- Asymmetric access to
patient (far-side)
- Use of volume not
ideal

14

Pilot

Patient

CMO

Crew Configurations

+ Most compact
+ Leg room
+ Overall access to
patient/equipment
- Egress procedures
- Pilot isolation
- Patient g-loads

15

Pilot

Patient

CMO

Crew Configurations
Fore

1
Aft

4
16

Selected Configuration

17

Cabin Mockup
Depiction most closely resembles config. 3
Goal of enabling observation and evaluation
Rapidly reconfigurable

In photo (from left to right): UCD students Logan Halstrom, Kasumi Kanetaka, and Alan Carey

18

Volrem109-1693 ft3

Crew Stations

All collapsible/stowable
Patient (3 ft3)
No translation or rotation

Pilot (4 ft3)
Translation along yaw axis
Translation along roll axis

CMO (4 ft3)
Translation along all axes (1 ft3)
Rotation around yaw axis (4 ft3)
19

Crew Stations CMO Seat Yaw

CMO Seat Yaw Angle Study
Torso room available
Torso room required
Leg room available
Leg room required

Distance (inches)

100
80
60

Pilot

Patient

40

Top
View

20
0
0

20

40

60

Angle (degrees)

80

CMO
20

Volrem93-390 ft3

Transfer Procedures Hatch Location

Heat shield continuity

Main engine proximity
RCS thruster proximity
Berthing/Proximity ops
Crew extraction
Vehicle internals
B, C, F
~3 ft3
B

F
C

orig.: wiki/File:X_37B_OTV-2_01.jpg

21

Volrem90-1575 ft3

Transfer Procedures Ingress/Egress

Worst-case clear hatch with ~1 inch symmetric clearance
Trivial case clear hatch with ease; no cornering danger

C
Top
View

Vreq 15 ft3

B
Vreq 14 ft3
22

Volrem75-867 ft3

In-Flight Care

Life-saving or improved/hastened recovery

Medical equipment
Monitoring, ~ 2 ft3
Automated external defibrillator (AED), ~ 1 ft3
Bag-valve mask (BVM), ~ 0.5 ft3
Laryngeal mask airway (LMA), ~ 0.5 ft3
Intravenous therapy supplies, ~ 2 ft3
Chest compression system, ~ 2 ft3

Effects of > 1G on equip in use (e.g. LMA)

23

Summary
147 ft3 67 ft3; 54% of total volume in use (80 ft3)
Aft-located hatch (B), crew config. 3 are ideal
Work completed so far
Trades; crew config, hatch locations
Mockups; small-scale, full-scale
Initial volumetric estimate

Future work
Simulated procedures in mockup
Deconditioning considerations
Vehicle systems
ECLSS
Propulsion
Power
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References
[1] Halberg, E. E., Robinson, S. K., Onishi, R., and Blaesser, N.
J., "An ISS Space Ambulance Based on X-37B Technology,"
Accepted, AIAA SPACE, Sept., 2016.
[2] Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2016,
Good Body Posture: OSH Answers, in "OSH Answers Fact
Sheets. from
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/sitting/sitting_po
sition.html, last retrieved Sept. 6, 2016.
[3] n.d., Aircraft cockpit sizing. from
http://easyultralightdesign.stroimsamolet.ru/design/cockpit_sizi
ng.php, last retrieved Sept. 6, 2016.
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