Expert Systems Applied to Spacecraft Fire Safety Unclad Prepared for Lewis Research Center under Purchase Order C-32000-m
SUMMARY E x p e r t systems a r e p r o b l e m-s o l v i n g programs t h a t combine a knowledge base and a r e a s o n i n g mechanism t o s i m u l a t e a human " e x p e r t. " The development o f an e x p e r t system t o manage f i r e s a f e t y i n s p a c e c r a f t , i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e NASA Space S t a t i o n Freedom, i s d i f f i c u l t b u t c l e a r l y advantageous i n t h e l o n g-t e r m. The r e p o r t d i s c u s s e s some needs i n l o w-g r a v i t y f l a m m a b i l i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , v e n t i
Safety considerations in the design of manned spaceflight hardware
Some of the significant potential hazards affecting NASA's planned space-flight initiatives are discussed together with the safety design strategies they mandate. Attention is given to the role played by NASA's newly centralized safety organization during the design of manned space flight hardware and software. Prompt-effect/physical hazards include fire, explosions and depressurization, and natural and man-made space debris. Delayed-effect hazards include radiation and toxic contamination, microgravity effects, crew illness and injury, and isolation. Safety design considerations for software and hypersonic transatmospheric vehicles are evaluated.
Experiments to ensure Space Station fire safety - A challenge
Three experiments have been formulated in order to address prominent fire safety requirements aboard the NASA Space Shuttle; these experiments are to be conducted as part of a Space Station-based Technology Development Mission for the growth phase of Space Station construction and operation. The experiments are: (1) an investigation of the flame-spread rate and combustion-product evolution in the burning of typical spacecraft materials in low gravity; (2) an evaluation of the interaction of fires and candidate fire extinguishers in low gravity; and (3) an investigation of the persistence and propagation of smoldering and deep-seated combustion in low gravity.