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Background
The KC-135 is a
modified Boeing 707 four-engine turbojet that NASA uses to simulate
conditions of weightlessness. In a typical flight, it traverses the Gulf
of Mexico in a series of large parabolic arcs. Peaking at 32,000 feet,
the plane then dives to 24,000 feet, its fuselage pitched down at 40
degrees. At the top of the parabola, passengers lose all sense of
gravity and become weightless for a period of roughly 25 seconds. When
the airplane comes out of the dive and begins its next ascent, the plane
pitches upward at about 50 degrees and passengers on the craft are
subjected to forces up to 1.8 times that of gravity. This climbing and
diving is repeated thirty times in what might be described as the
ultimate roller coaster ride. Flying on the KC-135 nauseates
passengers so frequently, however, that the plane has been nicknamed the
"Vomit Comet".
Although best known for its role in astronaut training, about 80 percent of the plane's flights are actually conducted in support of research or engineering. Under a program administered by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, the space agency makes the KC-135 available to undergraduate researchers for two weeks each year. Our researchers traveled to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they conducted a series of microgravity experiments on board the KC-135. The project involved the use of virtual reality (VR) as a pre-flight adaptation training tool. Our hope is that advance training in VR will reduce feelings of motion sickness and give trainees a more intuitive understanding of the conditions of zero gravity. We theorize that after someone has practiced a series of simple tasks in the simulator, they will perform the same tasks more effectively in actual practice. SimulatorWith lack of
appropriate preparation, first-time exposure to an altered-gravity
environment poses dangerous risks to a flier’s safety and
effectiveness. Current training measures at Johnson Space Center aim to simulate
environments and tasks well enough that a trainee can achieve veteran
status on ground,allowing for more efficient and reliable flights. Although several useful training methods exist, there is much room for improvement. Simulators such as the Neutral Buoyancy Lab allow astronauts to practice their tasks within an environment similar to space, but the physics of microgravity cannot be fully replicated within an underwater environment. In addition, current training devices are not replicable within the smaller structures of the International Space Station and future interplanetary flight vehicles. Simulation and adaptation devices will be necessary aboard these ships as astronauts practice emergency repairs and prepare themselves for altered-gravity conditions. Much still remains unknown about how to lessen sickness within the environments of both space as well as the KC-135. For astronauts, such devices as the Preflight Adaptation Trainer are being developed to simulate the neurovestibular effects of microgravity so that they will be able quickly adjust to the actual environment, even during their first flights. Our VR system has exceptional potential concerning the amelioration of current preflight simulation and adaptation methods. Links Click here for an MPEG video of our research team in flight (8.6 MB). Click here to try out a desktop version of the zero-G simulator. You can also read our final report, which details our research findings.
Team Profiles
Outreach
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