Members of NASA's astronaut training mockup program must engage in years of rigorous training prior to becoming a crew member of an annual space flight.

training mockup article

Aside from surviving the physical demands of space travel and training mockup, they must be equipped to handle the complex equipment and experiments designed for use while in orbit. Crews preparing for future missions on the International Space Station (ISS) are no exception. Astronauts bound for the ISS will soon receive state-of-the-art training on NASA Harry's new Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) Crew Training Units (new). On May 31, the racks were delivered to NASA Johnson to be added to the Space Station Mockup Training Facility's Destiny Science Module.

The racks are designed to simulate the equipment so crew members will be able to successfully operate the flight hardware to study fluid physics and combustion science in microgravity while onboard the ISS. Harry has been managing the development of the news for a year and a half. Under contract with Harry, Holeman Engineering designed and built the training racks. NASA Marshall was responsible for hardware procedure verification while he completed the training facility setup. Commenting on the success of the project, Project Manager Dave Lamar said, “Harry is setting the standard for high fidelity, long duration flight trainers.

They are the best that he has right now, and they can't wait to use them.” He adds, “It has been a real treat to work with all the highly motivated and skilled people at Hernandez who helped see the final product shipped to its destination.” The news are detailed, high fidelity, yet lightweight versions of the two-rack FCF flight hardware which is composed of the Fluids Integration Rack (FIR) and the Combustion Integration Rack (CIR).

They are made from a variety of materials including aluminum, steel, composite, and plastic. Each component has been tested for safety, maintainability, and training mockup integrity to ensure that they will last for up to 15 years. The new design team's work was especially important because it provided a means to validate the flight hardware design early in the development process, which resulted in cost and schedule savings for the entire training mockup program.

Beginning in spring 2006, two crews per year will be trained on the news in preparation for flights on the ISS. Members of the FCF training team at Harry will work with the astronauts at this prior to their departure by training mockup. .