Flight

Historical Origins Behind the Design of Human Space Systems
Our focus is on characteristics of all spacecraft flown successfully to date from the
standpoint of human interface and interaction:
- habitat
- crew station
- cockpit
- controls and displays
- crew compartment
- ‘man-systems’
- human-systems
- crew equipment
An assessment of lessons learned and how they can be used in developing the next
generation of space craft.
Technologically, human spacecraft evolved from 2 lines:
- Experimental aircraft
- Rockets and missiles
In the US, manned spacecraft crew interface characteristics evolved almost entirely
from aircraft
By the time of the first spacecraft being launched, manned space flight in high
performance rocket aircraft was already feasible and would take place within only a
couple years
Control conditions over a wide range of dynamic conditions
Integration of humans
- a control element
- the human as a system dependent on interfaces to other systems
- the human as the mission manager
Highlights of Life on Earth
Cosmos Animation Sequence Life on Earth
Highlights of Human History and Flight
Armen Firman
852 AD
Armen Firman
Jumps from a tower with a
winglike cloak
Cordova, Spain
Ibn Firnas
875 AD
Ibn Firnas
Jumps from a tower with a
parachute/wing
Cordova, Spain
Eilmer
875 AD
Eilmer of Malmesbury
Jumps from a tower with a
wing
Marlmesbury, UK
Leonardo
1485
Leonardo da Vinci
proposes solutions for flight
Italy
De Gusmao
August 8, 1709
Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão
First Lighter than Air Balloon Flight
Lisbon, Portugal
Montgolfiere Bros.
4 June 1783
First Public Demonstration of
a Lighter than Air Balloon
Joseph and Etienne Montgolfiere
Annonay, France
de Rozier & D’Arlandes
November 21, 1783
First Manned Lighter than
Air Balloon Flight
Pilatre de Rozier and
Francois Laurent D’Arlandes
Paris, France
Robert & Charles
December 1, 1783
First Hydrogen Balloon Flight
Jacques Charles and Nicolas Robert
Paris, France
Jeffries & Blanchard
Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries
November 29, 1784, first flight in England
January 7, 1785, first crossing of the English Channel
De Rozier & Romain
June 15, 1785
Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier
and Pierre Romain die while
attempting to cross
the English Channel
in a hybrid
hydrogen/hot air balloon
De Rozier
October 22 ,1797
Andres-Jacques Garnerin jumps from a balloon
with a rigid frame parachute.
Discoveries from Balloon Flight
• Temperature drop with altitude
– John Jeffries (1784) first publication of studies of upper atmosphere
• Loss of consciousness/death with altitude
– First oxygen mask 1794 (used to set altitude record of 30,000 feet)
– Paul Bert (1878) published first study of effects of altitude on humans
Atmospheric Density with Altitude
Ref: NOAA/NASA, U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976, NASA TM-X-74335, 1976
Cayley
1804
first flying model airplane
Sir George Cayley
England
October 9, 1890
First Powered Flight
Clement Ader
France
Ader
Lilienthal
1896
first controlled flights
Otto Lilienthal
Anklam, Germany
Wright Bros.
December 17, 1903
first controlled, powered flight
Orville and Wilbur Wright
USA
1903 Wright Brothers – Flight Controls and Displays
1909 Wright Brothers – Flight Controls
Louis Bleriot
1909
First Flight Across
Water
Experimental Aircraft: Wright Brothers - WWI
1903
Wright Bros., first man-controlled flight
1905
Wright Bros., First practical, controllable airplane
1909
Bleriot, first long distance flight
1915 – 1918
WWI, first widespread practical use of aircraft;
aircraft development spurred by military needs
US Navy
1919
NC-4 - first aircraft to
cross the Atlantic Ocean
1923
Fokker T-2
First aircraft to
cross the US
non-stop
Kelly and Macready
1923
Fokker T-2
First aircraft to
cross the US
non-stop
1924
Douglas World Cruiser
first aircraft to
circumnavigate
the earth
US Army
1927 Lindbergh – Flight Controls and Displays
Charles A. Lindbergh
Lockheed Vega
Winnie Mae
rib members
fuel tanks
hinged canopy
Hamilton Steel Propeller
Pratt and Whitney
Wasp engine
aileron
aileron linkage
Inspection port
spars and ribs
of vertical
fin
rudder
stabilizer
exhaust port
instrument panel
radio
radio key
aperiodic compass
drift/speed indicator
navigator’s seat
elevator
tail skid
control lines
fuselage ring
fuel
tanks
pilot’s seat
oil tank
stringer
wheel spat
landing gear shock strut
Experimental Aircraft: post - WWI – 1930s
1919, NC-4 - first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean
1923, Fokker T-2 - first aircraft to cross the US non-stop
1924, Douglas World Cruiser – first aircraft to
circumnavigate the earth
1927, Lindbergh – first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic
from New York to Paris (RYAN NYP, Spirit of
St. Louis)
1929, Doolittle – first ‘blind flight’ using only instruments
and radio for navigation (Consolidated NY-2)
1933, Wiley Post – first solo circumnavigation of earth using
instruments/radio for navigation (Lockheed Vega)
1934 – 1935, Wiley Post – first flights into the stratosphere,
first use of a pressure suit (Lockheed Vega)
Roscoe Turner
Racer
Supermarine
Spitfire
P-40
P-38 Lightning
Aircraft: 1930s - WWII
Opel RAK 1
First Rocket Plane
Sept 30, 1929
Von Opel
S oviet BI Rock et Pla n e
fa s t es t r ock et p la n e
Ma r ch 2 7 , 1 9 4 3 , 4 9 8 m p h
Grigory Bakhchivandzhi
Ger m a n HE -1 7 6 Rock et Pla n e
J u n e 2 0 , 1 9 3 9 , flown t h e fir s t
t im e b y E r ich Wa r s it z
Ernst Heinkel
Bachem BA 349 Natter
German Vertical Launch Rocket Interceptor
March 1, 1945
Erich Bachem
Messserschmitt ME 163
the only operational rocket powered fighter
1944
Alexander Lippisch
October 14, 1947
Chuck Yeager in the Bell X-1
breaks the sound barrier
Yeager
November 20, 1953
Scott Crossfield in the Douglas D-558
breaks Mach 2, 1290 mph
Crossfield
September 27, 1956
Mel Apt in the Bell X-2
breaks Mach 3, 2094 mph
Mel Apt
22 August 1963,
Joe Walker reaches 67 miles
October 3, 1967
Pete Knight reaches Mach 6.7, 4519 mph
in the
North American X-15
Walker
and Knight
Experimental Aircraft: research and rocket powered aircraft
1935
China Clippers
First commercial flights
Across the oceans
Juan Trippe
Boeing 307
Boeing 707
Concorde
Experimental Aircraft: evolution of the airliner
1926
1925-33
1933
1935
Fokker Tri-motor
1926 Byrd arctic flight
1928 First trans-pacific flight
First crossing of Atlantic by a female
Ford Tri-Motor, first metal multi-engine airliner
1929 Transcontinental Air Transport begins operation
Boeing 247, first ‘modern airliner’, all metal, semi-monocoque,
fully cantilevered wing, wing flaps, retractable landing gear
Douglas DC-3 modernizes air travel, replaces train travel
for trans-continent trips
Martin M-130 flying boat ‘China Clipper’ inaugurates
trans-Pacific commercial flights – first intercontinental airliners
– 9 passengers, 150 mph, 3200 miles range
1938
Boeing 314 Clipper
74 passengers + 10 crew, 185 mph, 5200 miles range
Boeing 307 Stratoliner
First fully pressurized airliner
1943
Lockheed Constellation
First pressurized airliner in widespread use, 300+ mph
Experimental Aircraft: evolution of the airliner
1949
de Havilland Comet, first jet airliner in production
1958
Boeing 707, first commercially successful jet airliner
1976
BAC/SUD Concorde, first supersonic commercial
passenger airliner (first flight 1969)
1970
Boeing 747, first wide-body ‘jumbo jet’ commercial airliner
(first flight 1969)
up to 524 passengers (2 classes)
2007
Airbus A380, largest passenger airliner
up to 853 passengers (1 class)
Orbital Maneuvering
System
Pod
Orbital Maneuvering
System
Propulsion
Tanks
RCC
Leading Edge
Wing Chine
Flight
Deck
Sleep
Compartment
Hydrogen and Oxygen Tanks
Waste Management Compartment
Crew Compartment
Pressure Vessel
Airlock Hatch
Side
Entry
Hatch
Lower
Equipment
Bay
Galley
Early
Missions
Space Shuttle Orbiter
X-15 first spacecraft flown into and from space
SR-71 first sustained hypersonic velocity aircraft
Space Shuttle Orbiter, first reusable horizontal landing
spacecraft
F-117, first production stealth aircraft
B-2, second generation production stealth aircraft
F-22, third generation stealth aircraft
Space Shuttle Orbiter thermal protection ceramic tiles
May 1919
May 2, 1923
24 September 1929
April – Sept 1924
May 1927
1932
Experimental Aircraft