Interior Layout and Functional Assessment of a Single-Person Space Utility Vehicle

Abstract

While arguably predating the first viable design for a conventional space suit, the space utility vehicle (SUV, or more pejoratively, “man-in-a-can”) has received little design attention in the more than 50 years since Wernher von Braun first proposed the idea. Recent publications have provided a detailed survey of all published concepts which could fulfill the functions of an SUV, and considered the design of spacecraft systems for an unmanned demonstrator version of a single-person utility spacecraft. The literature survey revealed that only one publication performed a system-by-system design study for an operational SUV concept, and even that effort did not go into any particular detail addressing interior design and concepts for control and display interfaces for the operator. This paper extends prior work to make a set of assumptions relating to overall SUV configuration, focused on maximum compatibility with current and potential future mission applications such as International Space Station and other spacecraft servicing tasks. A sizing study is presented based on both nominal and contingency operations, as well as the desire to minimize the physical size to facilitate development and maximize mission applications. Interior layout is discussed in terms of multiple work stations for internal vehicle operations and externally-focused mission functions, including the use of space suit-type arms to allow the operator to use human manual dexterity in conjunction with dexterous robotic manipulators. A generic concept of operations is presented for this class of vehicles, along with a set of “next-step” research programs which would begin to provide quantitative experimental data on the design and performance of the SUV concept.