ISS emergency scenarios and a virtual training simulator for Flight Controllers. (November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Uhlig, Thomas; Roshani, Frank-Cyrus; Amodio, Ciro; Rovera, Alessandro; Zekusic, Nikola; Helmholz, Hannes; Fairchild, Matthew
• Is Part Of: Acta astronautica. Volume 128(2016)
• Page Start: 513
• Page End: 520
• Publication Date: 2016-11
• Subjects: Human spaceflight -- Flight Control Team -- Emergency -- Mission control -- Simulation -- Virtual reality; Astronautics -- Periodicals; Outer space -- Exploration -- Periodicals; Astronautics; Periodicals; 629.405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.08.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-5765

Abstract

Abstract: The current emergency response concept for the International Space Station (ISS) includes the support of the Flight Control Team. Therefore, the team members need to be trained in emergencies and the corresponding crew procedures to ensure a smooth collaboration between crew and ground. In the case where the astronaut and ground personnel training is not collocated it is a challenging endeavor to ensure and maintain proper knowledge and skills for the Flight Control Team. Therefore, a virtual 3D simulator at the Columbus Control Center (Col-CC) is presented, which is used for ground personnel training in the on-board emergency response. The paper briefly introduces the main ISS emergency scenarios and the corresponding response strategy, details the resulting learning objectives for the Flight Controllers and elaborates on the new simulation method, which will be used in the future. The status of the 3D simulator, first experiences and further plans are discussed. Highlights: The three ISS emergency classes and corresponding response strategies are explained. Virtual reality is proposed to train Flight Controllers for ISS emergency responses. Technical implementation of ISS emergency simulation is presented and discussed.