NASA's Management and Development of Spacesuits: Critical Report of the Inspector General, Shortage of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) for Space Station, Development of Exploration and Mars Suits

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Aeronautics & Astronautics, Science, Physics, Astrophysics & Space Science
Cover of the book NASA's Management and Development of Spacesuits: Critical Report of the Inspector General, Shortage of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) for Space Station, Development of Exploration and Mars Suits by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781370477432
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: May 1, 2017
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781370477432
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: May 1, 2017
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

NASA continues to manage an array of design and health risks associated with the EMUs used by ISS crew. In addition, only 11 of the 18 original EMU Primary Life Support System units - a backpack-like structure that performs a variety of functions required to keep an astronaut alive during a spacewalk - are still in use, raising concerns that the inventory may not be adequate to last through the planned retirement of the ISS. Given these issues, NASA will be challenged to continue to support ISS needs with the current fleet of EMUs through 2024, a challenge that will escalate significantly if Station operations are extended to 2028.
Despite spending nearly $200 million on NASA's next-generation spacesuit technologies, the Agency remains years away from having a flight-ready spacesuit capable of replacing the EMU or suitable for use on future exploration missions. As different missions require different designs, the lack of a formal plan and specific destinations for future missions has complicated spacesuit development. Moreover, the Agency has reduced the funding dedicated to spacesuit development in favor of other priorities such as an in-space habitat.
After examining these spacesuit development efforts, we question NASA's decision to continue funding a contract associated with the Constellation Program after cancellation of that Program and a recommendation made by Johnson Space Center officials in 2011 to cancel the contract. Rather than terminate the contract, NASA paid the contractor $80.8 million between 2011 and 2016 for spacesuit technology development, despite parallel development activities being conducted within NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Division. Moreover, given the current development schedule, a significant risk exists that a next-generation spacesuit prototype will not be sufficiently mature in time to test it on the ISS prior to 2024. Finally, little schedule margin exists between anticipated delivery of the Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit in March 2021 and NASA's current internal launch date of August 2021 for its first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

NASA continues to manage an array of design and health risks associated with the EMUs used by ISS crew. In addition, only 11 of the 18 original EMU Primary Life Support System units - a backpack-like structure that performs a variety of functions required to keep an astronaut alive during a spacewalk - are still in use, raising concerns that the inventory may not be adequate to last through the planned retirement of the ISS. Given these issues, NASA will be challenged to continue to support ISS needs with the current fleet of EMUs through 2024, a challenge that will escalate significantly if Station operations are extended to 2028.
Despite spending nearly $200 million on NASA's next-generation spacesuit technologies, the Agency remains years away from having a flight-ready spacesuit capable of replacing the EMU or suitable for use on future exploration missions. As different missions require different designs, the lack of a formal plan and specific destinations for future missions has complicated spacesuit development. Moreover, the Agency has reduced the funding dedicated to spacesuit development in favor of other priorities such as an in-space habitat.
After examining these spacesuit development efforts, we question NASA's decision to continue funding a contract associated with the Constellation Program after cancellation of that Program and a recommendation made by Johnson Space Center officials in 2011 to cancel the contract. Rather than terminate the contract, NASA paid the contractor $80.8 million between 2011 and 2016 for spacesuit technology development, despite parallel development activities being conducted within NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Division. Moreover, given the current development schedule, a significant risk exists that a next-generation spacesuit prototype will not be sufficiently mature in time to test it on the ISS prior to 2024. Finally, little schedule margin exists between anticipated delivery of the Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit in March 2021 and NASA's current internal launch date of August 2021 for its first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit.

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book Before Apollo: Project Horizon - 1959 Army Proposal to Build a Lunar Outpost, Manned Military Base on the Moon, Saturn Rockets, Moon Suits, Operations, Launch Site Plans, Life Support by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Insurgent Design: Re-Emergence of Al-Qa'ida from 9/11 to the Present - Syria, South Asia, Warfare Technology, Enterprise in a Jihadi Market, Exploiting Emergent Battlefields, Federated Macro Structure by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Leading The Way: The History of Air Force Civil Engineers, 1907-2012 - Airfields, Red Horse, World War I and II, Special Projects, DEW Line, BMEWS, ICBM, Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, Air Force Academy by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: Civil Affairs (CA) Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures - Field Manual 3-05.401, MCRP 3-33.1A - Humanitarian, Emergency Services (Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Airpower and Ground Armies: Essays on the Evolution of Anglo-American Air Doctrine - 1940-43 by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Turkmenistan in Perspective: Orientation Guide and Turkmen Cultural Orientation: Geography, History, Economy, Security, Customs, Rural and Urban Life, Ashgabat, Turkmenbashi, Atrek River, Soviet Era by Progressive Management
Cover of the book FBI and Counterterrorism Center Terrorism Reports: Boston Marathon Bombing Investigation, Most Wanted Terrorists and Groups, al-Qaeda, JTTF, Explosives Center, Watchlists, Databases by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Operationalizing the Impossible: The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Movement - Ending Genocide Through Prevention and Military Intervention, Cast Study of Rwanda, Bosnia, Humanitarian Intervention by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Repressive States and Insurgencies: Implications for Future Campaigns - Counterinsurgency (COIN) Theories, Werewolf Movement, Werwolf Program, Nazi Waffen SS, Resistance in Soviet Union, Iraq War by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Air Force Doctrine Document 3-10, Force Protection - Terrorism, Threat Levels, Risk Assessment and Management, Khobar Towers, Natural Disasters, Base Security Zone (BSZ) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century FEMA Study Course: An Orientation to Hazardous Materials for Medical Personnel (IS-346) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Strategic Reflections: Operation Iraqi Freedom, July 2004 - February 2007 - President Bush, Iraq Elections, Petraeus, Abizaid, Zalmay Khalilzad, Military Operations in Baghdad, Insights for Leaders by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Getting To Know the President: CIA Briefings of Presidential Candidates, 1952-1992 - Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Columbia River System: Inside Story (Second Edition) - Dams, Water Projects, Hydrology, Flood Control, Fish and Wildlife, Power, Navigation, Irrigation, Snake River, Kootenai, Willamette by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Apollo and America's Moon Landing Program - Oral Histories of Managers, Engineers, and Workers (Set 5) - including Edward Pavelka, William Reeves, Robert Seamans, and Joseph Shea by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy