NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Collections About News Help Login
Back to Results
Evaluation of X-38 Crew Return Vehicle Input Control Devices in a Microgravity EnvironmentThis report was created by students from Longview High School, Longview, Texas. Longview High School was selected from a group of Texas high schools to participate in the 1999 Texas Fly High Program. This program gives Texas high school students a chance to work with NASA engineers to design and fly a real-world experiment aboard the KC-135 during zero-g parabolas. Jeffrey Fox's role was to provide a concept for the experiment and to mentor the students in its design and testing. The students were responsible for executing all phases of the project. The X-38 Project Office at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Johnson Space is designing a crew return vehicle (CRV) to be docked at the International Space Station for crew rescue in an emergency. Vehicle controls will be almost completely automated, but a few functions will be manually controlled. Four crew input control devices were selected for evaluation by Longview High School students as part of the 1999 Texas Fly High program. These were (1) Logitech Trackman Marble (optical trackball), (2) Smart Cat Touchpad. (3) Microsoft SideWinder 3D-Pro Joystick, and (4) Microsoft SideWinder Gamepad. In two flight tests in the KC-135 aircraft and a series of ground tests, the devices were evaluated for ability to maneuver an on-screen cursor, level of accuracy, ease of handling blind operations, and level of user comfort in microgravity. The tests results led to recommendation of further tests with the Joystick and the Trackman by astronauts and actual space station residents.
Document ID
20010000880
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Technical Memorandum (TM)
Authors
Welge, Kirsten (Longview High School Longview, TX United States)
Moore, Alicia (Longview High School Longview, TX United States)
Pope, Ruth Ann (Longview High School Longview, TX United States)
Shivers, Suzette (Longview High School Longview, TX United States)
Fox, Jeffrey (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 2000
Subject Category
Space Transportation And Safety
Report/Patent Number
S-857
JSC-CN-6318
NASA/TM-2000-208925
NAS 1.15:208925
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

Related Records

There are no records associated with this record.
No Preview Available