Considerations for Flight Certification of Spacesuit Assemblies

摘要

Since retirement of the Space Shuttle Transportation System, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Shuttle Spacesuit Assembly (SSA) is being launched on alternate vehicles and used solely for International Space Station Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs). Consequently, the SSA is being re-certified for new environments and launch and landing loads. A new fleet of commercial vehicles is emerging with new spacesuit systems, ones that will be used for Intra-Vehicular Activities (IVA) in the event of an emergency. Further on the horizon are new spacesuit systems to be used for IVA and EVA in missions to asteroids, moon, or mars. The end point of the development process for these new suits is flight certification. Because certification is one of the most costly phases, program risk is reduced by a development process that ensures success and an efficient, well executed certification program. A long history of successful certification programs for the SSA gives the impression of ease and security however; the experience gained offers many lessons. As requirements are being developed for new space suit systems, there is a need to consider certification approaches that are proficient and effective. The purpose of this paper is to introduce considerations for spacesuit assembly certification. Life cycle requirements and certification processes will be discussed with specific examples.