Environmental Control/Life Support

Channel - Environmental Control/Life Support

The goal of this catalog is to present detailed case studies from the career experiences of the Environmental Control/Life Support Technical Discipline Team. We will provide experiences and lessons learned involving life support systems to a new generation of NASA engineers and scientists, designated contractors, university professors, and graduate students in engineering programs. Courses in this discipline will cover many areas including; atmospheric revitalization, active thermal control, supply and wastewater, smoke detection and fire suppression, crew escape, galley/food,and waste management.

6/11/2025 3:09:27 PM

Channel Videos

An Interview with Joe McMann: His Life Lessons

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Pica Kahn conducted “An Interview with Joe McMann: His Life Lessons” on May 23, 2011. With over 40 years of experience in the aerospace industry, McMann has gained a wealth of knowledge. Many have been interested in his biography, progression of work at NASA, impact on the U.S. spacesuit, and career accomplishments. This interview highlighted the influences and decision-making methods that impacted his technical and management contributions to the space program. McMann shared information about the accomplishments and technical advances that committed individuals can make.

Joe McMann

1/4/2017 4:43:00 PM

An Interview with Joe McMann: Lessons Learned in Human and Hardware Behavior

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Pica Kahn conducted “An Interview with Joe McMann: Lessons Learned in Human and Hardware Behavior” on August 16, 2011. With more than 40 years of experience in the aerospace industry, McMann has gained a wealth of knowledge. This presentation focused on lessons learned in human and hardware behavior. During his many years in the industry, McMann observed that the hardware development process was intertwined with human influences, which impacted the outcome of the product.

Joe McMann

9/22/2015 6:35:00 PM

Apollo A-7L Spacesuit Certification and Mission Operations Details

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support As a result of his 50 years of experience and research, Jim McBarron shared his significant knowledge about Apollo A-7L spacesuit certification testing and Apollo 7 through 14 missions’ spacesuit details.

Jim McBarron

10/28/2015 1:30:00 PM

Apollo A-7LB Spacesuit Development for Apollo 15 through 17 Missions - Abridged Version

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support With over 50 years of experience with NASA spacesuit development and operations, as well as the U.S. Air Force pressure suit, Jim McBarron shared his significant knowledge about Apollo A-7LB spacesuit development. This included A-7L suit requirements and design changes implemented to establish the Apollo A-7LB extravehicular and A-7LB Command Module Pilot suit design baselines. Additionally, he identified tests performed for certification, and significant spacesuit configuration changes implemented to support the Apollo 15 through 17 missions, and he concluded by identifying noteworthy lessons learned.

Jim McBarron

4/22/2016 7:00:00 PM

Apollo Block I - Spacesuit Development

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Jim McBarron has over 40 years of experience with the U.S. Air Force pressure suit and NASA spacesuit development and operations. As a result of his experience, he shared his significant knowledge about the requirements and modifications made to the Gemini spacesuit, which were necessary to support the Apollo Block I Program. In addition, he provided an overview of the Apollo Block II Spacesuit competition test program conducted by the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. Topics covered included the program’s chronology; competition test program ground rules, scoring details, and final test results; and the implementation of resulting modifications to the Apollo Spacesuit Program. He concluded his presentation by identifying noteworthy lessons learned.

Jim McBarron

9/4/2015 1:33:00 PM

Apollo Block II - Spacesuit Competition

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Jim McBarron has over 40 years of experience with the U.S. Air Force pressure suit and NASA spacesuit development and operations. As a result of his experience, he shared his significant knowledge about the requirements and modifications made to the Gemini spacesuit, which were necessary to support the Apollo Block I Program. In addition, he provided an overview of the Apollo Block II Spacesuit competition test program conducted by the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. Topics covered included the program’s chronology; competition test program ground rules, scoring details, and final test results; and the implementation of resulting modifications to the Apollo Spacesuit Program. He concluded his presentation by identifying noteworthy lessons learned.

Jim McBarron

9/4/2015 1:34:00 PM

Apollo Spacesuit Modifications for the Apollo-Soyuz Project

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support With over 50 years of experience with NASA spacesuit development and operations, as well as for early U.S. Air Force pressure suits, Jim McBarron shared his significant knowledge about modifications to the Apollo spacesuit for use in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). This included requirements and design changes implemented to establish the ASTP spacesuit design baseline. Additionally, he identified Apollo spacesuit contact details including quantity of spacesuits delivered to support the Apollo and Skylab Programs, and the ASTP. He concluded by identifying a summary of noteworthy lessons learned with recommendations for future spacesuit development.

Jim McBarron

10/29/2015 2:00:00 PM

Apollo, Paintbrushes, and Packaging - An Interview with 40-year Spacesuit Veteran Ron Woods

Discipline: Life Support/Active Thermal Ron Woods exhibits a wealth of knowledge gathered in more than 40 years of experience with NASA and spacesuits. Many people are interested in his biography, progression of work at NASA, impact on the U.S. Spacesuit, and career accomplishments. Wright, from the JSC History Office, conducted this personal background interview with Woods. The interview highlighted the influences and decision-making methods that impacted his technical and management contributions to the space program.

Ron Woods

8/10/2015 1:30:00 PM

Arizona Geology Field Trip

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support A variety of hardware developers, crew, mission planners, and headquarters personnel traveled to Gila Bend, Arizona, in February 2008 for a CxP Lunar Surface Systems Team geology experience. Participating in this field trip were the CxP Space Suit System (EC5) leads: Thomas (PLSS) and Ross (PGS), who presented the activities and findings learned from being in the field during this KC. As for the design of a new spacesuit system, this allowed the engineers to understand the demands this type of activity will have on NASA’s hardware, systems, and planning efforts. The engineers also experienced the methods and tools required for lunar surface activity.

Gretchen Thomas

6/4/2015 8:49:00 PM

Chinese Spacesuit Analysis

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support This presentation will provide an overview of the Chinese EVA Spacesuits that were used last year as China became only the 3rd nation to perform an EVA from a spacecraft. This talk is a follow on from an AIAA talk given by Chuck Fulcher from Hamilton Sundstrand. An overview of the Chinese spacesuit and life-support system, were assessed from video downlinks during their EVA and from those assessments, spacesuit characteristics were identified and will be provided. The space suits will be compared against the Russian Orlan Spacesuit and the U.S. Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). In addition, China’s plans for future missions will be shown.

Lewis Croog

8/21/2015 9:23:00 PM

Conduct of Geologic Field Work During Planetary Exploration: Why Geology Matters

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support The science of field geology is the investigative process of determining the distribution of rock units and structures on a planet’s surface, and it is the first‐order data set that informs all subsequent studies of a planet, such as geochemistry, geochronology, geophysics, or remote sensing. For future missions to the Moon and Mars, the surface systems deployed must support the conduct of field geology if these endeavors are to be scientifically useful. This lecture discussed what field geology is all about—why it is important, how it is done, how conducting field geology informs many other sciences, and how it affects the design of surface systems and the implementation of operations in the future.

Dr. Dean Eppler

8/21/2015 2:47:00 AM

Crew Health/Performance Improvements & Resource Impacts with Reduced CO2 Levels

There have been a cluster of anecdotal reports that ISS crews are experiencing adverse health effects from on orbit exposure to CO2 levels well below the current Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentration (SMAC), which is 5.3 mmHg for 180 days of exposure. Developing evidence that this standard should be reduced to protect crew health is not a simple process. Dr. John James’ team looked at the reports of headaches by the crew during private medical conferences and matched these with CO2 levels around the time of these reports. They then compared these to CO2 levels when there were no reports of headache. Using benchmark dose modeling, they found that the risk of headache could be predicted in concentration ranges from 2 to 5 mmHg. However, the data are incomplete because there were insufficient data when crews were exposed to concentrations below 2 mmHg. James’ team also asked whether neuro-cognitive effects could be identified with CO2 exposure levels and found that these could not be associated with CO2 levels. Finally, they addressed the question of resource use to meet various levels of CO2 control if the SMACs were lowered. They estimated that CO2 restrictions approaching 2 mmHg would require substantial increases in power use and up-mass resources. They are refining their data on CO2 and headaches, and are looking at potential interactions of intracranial pressure and CO2 levels in eliciting ocular effects.

Dr. John James

3/21/2017 6:29:00 PM

Environmental Test Article

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support

Henry A Rotter Jr.

7/17/2013 6:23:00 PM

EVA Physiology & Medical Considerations Working in a Spacesuit

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support This “EVA Physiology & Medical Considerations Working in a Suit” presentation covers several topics related to the medical implications and physiological effects of suited operations in space from the perspective of a physician with considerable first-hand Extravehicular Activity (EVA) experience. Key themes include EVA physiology – working in a pressure suit in the vacuum of space, basic EVA life support and work support, Thermal Protection System (TPS) inspections and repairs, and discussions of the physical challenges of an EVA. Parazynski covers the common injuries and significant risks during EVAs, as well as physical training required to prepare for EVAs. He also shares overall suit physiological and medical knowledge with the next generation of Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) system designers.

Dr. Scott Parazynski

7/2/2015 5:00:00 PM

EVA Skills Training

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Dr. Parazynski and a colleague from Extravehicular Activity (EVA), Robotics, & Crew Systems Operations (DX) worked closely to build the EVA Skills Training Program, and for the first time, defined the gold standards of EVA performance, allowing crewmembers to increase their performance significantly. As part of the program, individuals had the opportunity to learn at their own rate, taking additional water time as required, to achieve that level of performance. This focus on training to one's strengths and weaknesses to bolster them enabled the Crew Office and DX to field a much larger group of spacewalkers for the daunting “wall of EVA” required for the building and maintenance of the ISS. Parazynski also stressed the need for designers to understand the capabilities and the limitations of a human in a spacesuit, as well as opportunities to improve future generations of space. He shared lessons learned (how the Crew Office engaged in these endeavors) and illustrated the need to work as a team to develop these complex systems.

Dr. Scott Parazynski

8/4/2015 3:15:00 PM

Extravehicular Activity Power, Avionics and Software 101

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Originally recorded May 6, 2011 EVA (extravehicular activity) systems consist of a spacesuit or garment, a PLSS (portable life support system), a PAS (power, avionics, and software) system, and spacesuit interface hardware. The PAS system is responsible for providing power for the suit, communication of several types of data between the suit and other mission assets, avionics hardware to perform numerous data display and processing functions, and information systems that provide crewmembers data to perform their tasks with more autonomy and efficiency. Irimies discussed how technology development efforts have advanced the state-of-the-art in these areas and shared technology development challenges.

Dr. David Irimies

2/8/2017 3:23:00 PM

Generation Y Perspectives

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Are you familiar with the famed Generation Y, or “Gen Yers?” Generation Y is projected to be 47 percent of the workforce by 2014. They were born roughly between 1977 and 2000, but that is definitely not their only defining factor. But who is this group, and what do they have to do with the future of the space program and the Johnson Space Center (JSC)? During 2007, a group of Gen Yers at JSC participated on a committee to address the NASA Headquarters strategic communications plan. Garret Fitzpatrick, along with his co-authors, created a presentation to share the Gen Yers’ perspective on their generation in conjunction with the strategic communications strategy released. This knowledge capture (KC) event is that presentation.

Garret Fitzpatrick

8/26/2015 1:57:00 AM

History of Underwater Simulation of Weightlessness for Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Training, Part 1

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support An attempt to clarify some vague memories of underwater studies of astronaut capabilities in space led Dr. John Charles to become acquainted with Sam Mattingly, one of the pioneers in the field, and to greater insights into Mattingly’s work simulating Gemini EVAs in the mid-1960s. Charles recounted major accomplishments by Environmental Research Associates (ERA), Mattingly’s company for contracting with NASA Langley on several early studies. ERA’s work was considered within the context of contemporary efforts to simulate weightlessness and the widespread development of neutral buoyancy facilities after ERA’s successful demonstration for Gemini 12.

Dr. John Charles

12/7/2016 3:53:00 PM

History of Underwater Simulation of Weightlessness for Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Training, Part 2

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support The technique of neutral buoyancy during water immersion was applied to a variety of questions pertaining to human performance factors in the early years of the space age. It was independently initiated by numerous aerospace contractors at nearly the same time, but specific applications depended on the problems that the developers were trying to solve. Those problems dealt primarily with human restraint and maneuverability and were often generic across extravehicular activity (EVA) and intravehicular activity (IVA) worksites. The same groups often also considered fractional gravity as well as weightless settings and experimented with ballasting to achieve lunar and Mars-equivalent loads as part of their on-going research and development. Dr. John Charles reviewed the association of those tasks with contemporary perceptions of the direction of NASA’s future space exploration activities and with Air Force assessments of the military value of man in space.

Dr. John Charles

12/7/2016 4:00:00 PM

Interview with Hank Rotter and Eugene Ungar, Part 1

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Discussion of flex hose issues

Henry A Rotter Jr.

7/2/2013 5:40:00 PM

Interview with Hank Rotter, Part 3

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support

Henry A Rotter Jr.

7/8/2013 5:50:00 PM

Interview with Hank Rotter, Part 4

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support

Henry A Rotter Jr.

7/8/2013 5:50:00 PM

Interview with Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Curator Cathleen Lewis

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Dr. Cathleen Lewis was interviewed by Rebecca Wright during the presentation of an “Interview with Smithsonian NASM Spacesuit Curator Dr. Cathleen Lewis” on May 14, 2012. Topics included the care, size, and history of the spacesuit collection at the Smithsonian and the recent move to the state-of-the-art permanent storage facility at the Udvar-Hazy facility in Virginia

Rebecca Wright

9/14/2015 5:00:00 PM

Launch, Entry & Abort, Intra-Vehicular Spacesuits

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Kenneth Thomas, senior spacesuit expert, presented information about Launch, Entry & Abort (LEA) spacesuits–part of an overall vehicle crew escape and survival system. These LEA spacesuits are worn during the launch and reentry to enhance crew survival. The U.S. has traditionally called these spacesuits Intravehicular Activity (IVA) spacesuits. The Russians refer to this type of spacesuit as “Rescue Suits.” Thomas discussed the success of the LEA suits and the consequences of eliminating their use or providing inadequate systems.

Ken Thomas

8/4/2015 4:30:00 PM

Lessons Learned From a Ship-and-Shoot Philosophy

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Ron Woods shared incredibly valuable insights gained during his 28 years at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) packaging Flight Crew Equipment for shuttle and ISS missions. In particular, Woods shared anecdotes and photos from various processing events. The moral of these stories and the main focus of this discussion were the additional processing efforts and effects related to a “ship-and-shoot” philosophy toward flight hardware.

Ron Woods

8/11/2015 2:20:00 AM

Lessons Learned from Fifty Years of Observing Hardware and Human Behavior, Part 1

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support With more than 40 years of experience in the aerospace industry, McMann has gained a wealth of knowledge. This presentation focused on lessons learned in human and hardware behavior. During his many years in the industry, McMann observed that the hardware development process was intertwined with human influences, which impacted the outcome of the product.

Joe McMann

10/15/2015 4:00:00 PM

Lessons Learned from Fifty Years of Observing Hardware and Human Behavior, Part 2

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support This presentation focused on lessons learned in human and hardware behavior. During his many years in the industry, McMann observed that the hardware development process was intertwined with human influences, which impacted the outcome of the product.

Joe McMann

10/15/2015 4:00:00 PM

Lessons Learned from Fifty Years of Observing Hardware and Human Behavior, Part 3

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support This presentation focused on lessons learned in human and hardware behavior. During his many years in the industry, McMann observed that the hardware development process was intertwined with human influences, which impacted the outcome of the product.

Joe McMann

10/15/2015 4:00:00 PM

Life Support Systems Part 4 (Smoke Detection and Fire Supression)

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support

Henry A Rotter Jr.

11/7/2011 7:43:00 PM

Life Support Systems Part 5 (Smoke Detection Lessons Learned)

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support

Henry A Rotter Jr.

11/7/2011 7:43:00 PM

Mars Robotics and Things I Wish I’d Learned in College

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support John D. Baker explored how Mars robotic missions are designed and operated. He also discussed a few basic concepts that will help future engineers and scientists develop key skills to use in aerospace projects.

John Baker

5/18/2016 2:00:00 PM

Near-Earth Asteroids: Threats and Opportunities

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Dr. Stan Love’s presentation reviewed the basics of NEAs: how many there are, how likely they are to hit the Earth, ways to prevent a threatening asteroid from hitting us, and some thoughts on human exploration of these interesting objects.

Dr. Stan Love

7/27/2015 8:11:00 PM

Orbiter Water Dump Nozzle Redesign Lessons Learned

Hank Rotter, NASA Technical Fellow for the Environmental Control and Life Support System, will provide the causes and lessons learned for the two Space Shuttle Orbiter water dump icicles that formed on the side of the Orbiter. He will present the root causes and the criticality of these icicles, along with the redesign of the water dump nozzles and lessons learned during the redesign phase.

Henry A Rotter Jr.

5/8/2017 6:30:00 PM

Overview of Spacesuits for Survival and Escape

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Dr. Jonathan Clark reviewed the pressure suit used for high altitude and space programs. Learning objectives included understanding the role that spacesuits play in crew survival and crew escape and recognizing the design tradeoffs (capabilities and limitations) and concerns that rescue and escape spacesuits have in a survivability situation.

Dr. Jonathan B. Clark

11/3/2015 8:30:00 PM

Personal Background Interview of Jim McBarron

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Jim McBarron exhibits a wealth of knowledge gathered from more than 40 years of experience with NASA, EVA, and spacesuits. His biography, progression of work at NASA, impact on EVA and the U.S. spacesuit, and career accomplishments are of interest to many. Rebecca Wright, from the JSC History Office, conducted a personal background interview with McBarron. This interview highlighted the influences and decision-making methods that impacted McBarron’s technical and management contributions to the space program. Attendees gained insight on the external and internal NASA influences on career progression within the EVA and spacesuit, and the type of accomplishments and technical advances that committed individuals can make. He concluded the presentation with a question and answer period that included a brief discussion about close calls and Russian spacesuits.

Jim McBarron

5/28/2015 9:31:00 PM

PLSS Lessons Learned

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Joe McMann provided his feedback of the current status of PLSS 2.0 presented at the May 31, 2012 PLSS 2.0 Design/Manufacturing Readiness Review.

Joe McMann

5/19/2015 6:19:00 PM

Post-Shuttle EVA Operations on ISS

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support The EVA hardware used to assemble and maintain the ISS was designed with the assumption that it would be returned to Earth on the Space Shuttle for ground processing, refurbishment, or failure investigation (if necessary). With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, a new concept of operations was developed to enable EVA hardware (EMU, Airlock Systems, EVA tools, and associated support equipment and consumables) to perform ISS EVAs until 2016 and possibly beyond to 2020. Shortly after the decision to retire the Space Shuttle was announced, NASA and the One EVA contractor team jointly initiated the EVA 2010 Project. Challenges were addressed to extend the operating life and certification of EVA hardware, secure the capability to launch EVA hardware safely on alternate launch vehicles, and protect EMU hardware operability on orbit for long durations.

Cinda Chullen

8/21/2015 1:52:00 AM

Rules of Thumb for Cost Estimating

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Gretchen A. Thomas presented "Rules of Thumb for Cost Estimating" on April 18, 2008. Thomas discussed best practices for estimating project costs.

Gretchen Thomas

8/12/2015 6:44:00 PM

SHARE Heat Pipe Experiment Part I

Identify lessons learned related to the SHARE Heat Pipe Experiment. Analyze the testing issues and actions taken. Identify development, testing and analysis actions which could have resolved the issues more effectively.

Eugene Ungar

9/27/2023 2:11:00 PM

SHARE Heat Pipe Experiment Part II

Identify lessons learned related to the SHARE Heat Pipe Experiment. Analyze the testing issues and actions taken. Identify development, testing and analysis actions which could have resolved the issues more effectively.

Eugene Ungar

9/27/2023 6:19:00 PM

Skylab A-7LB Spacesuit Development for Skylab SL-2 through SL-4 Missions - Abridged Version

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support With over 50 years of experience with NASA spacesuit development and operations, as well as the U.S. Air Force pressure suit, Jim McBarron shared his significant knowledge about Skylab A-7LB spacesuit development. This included A-7LB extravehicular (EV) suit requirements and design changes implemented to establish the Skylab A-7LB EV suit design baseline. Additionally, he identified spacesuit experience for the Skylab SL-2 through SL-4 missions. He concluded by identifying noteworthy lessons learned.

Jim McBarron

4/22/2016 7:05:00 PM

Spacesuit Development and Qualification for Project Mercury

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Jim McBarron has over 40 years of experience with U.S. Air Force pressure suit and NASA spacesuit development and operations. With the information he has collected as a result of his experience, he shared significant knowledge about Mercury’s full-pressure suit development and qualification program. Topics included suit selection, specification, system qualification, and production acceptance test requirements. McBarron also identified Mercury spacesuit modifications made for each mission and noteworthy lessons learned. He concluded the presentation by discussing an advanced spacesuit design proposed for the cancelled One-Day Mercury Program.

Jim McBarron

5/18/2015 7:48:00 AM

Spacewalk Incidents and Close Calls

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Jonathan B. Clark is an adjunct associate professor of Neurology and Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Clark served 26 years on active duty with the U.S. Navy, and qualified as a naval flight officer, naval flight surgeon, U.S. Navy diver, U.S. Army parachutist, and special forces military freefall parachutist. His assignments included heading a research centrifuge facility, an aeromedical department at a Marine aviation squadron, and the Neurology and Hyperbaric Medicine divisions at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute. He flew combat medical evacuation missions in Operation Desert Storm with the U.S. Marine Corps. Dr. Clark worked at NASA Johnson Space Center from 1997 to 2005, was a Space Shuttle Crew surgeon on six shuttle missions, chief of the Medical Operations Branch, and a senior Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aeromedical examiner (AME). He was a member of the NASA Spacecraft Survival Integrated Investigation Team from 2004 to 2007 and a member of the NASA Constellation Program EVA Systems Project Office Standing Review Board from 2007 to 2010. He was a Space Medicine Advisor for the National Space Biomedical Research Institute from 2005 to 2017. In 2008, Dr. Clark was an expedition physician supporting the Haughton Mars Project on Devon Island in the high Canadian Arctic. He was chief medical officer for orbital commercial space company Excalibur Almaz from 2007 to 2012, and chief medical officer for the Inspiration Mars Foundation since 2013. Dr. Clark was medical director of the Red Bull Stratos project, a manned stratospheric balloon freefall parachute flight test program, which on October 14, 2012, successfully accomplished the highest stratospheric freefall parachute jump (highest exit altitude) from 127,852 feet, achieving human supersonic flight (Mach 1.25) without a drogue chute at 843 miles per hour. In 2012, Dr. Clark joined the StratEx Space Dive project as the lead flight surgeon and medical advisor, and this project culminated in the new high altitude exit freefall record of 135,890 feet, reaching Mach 1.22 at 822 miles per hour in 2014. He is a space medicine consultant for commercial space companies, including Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Space Perspective. Dr. Clark is board certified in neurology and aerospace medicine and is a fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. His professional interests focus on the neurologic effects of extreme environments, crew resilience, and crew survival in space.

Dr. Jonathan B. Clark

9/16/2021 4:30:00 PM

Stories and More

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Mike Lawson briefly discussed pressure drop for aerospace applications and presented short stories about adventures experienced while working at NASA and General Dynamics, including exposure to technologies like the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart and the Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME).

Mike Lawson

8/10/2015 2:00:00 PM

STS-41G Extravehicular Activity

David Leestma was EV-1 for the STS-41G extravehicular activity (EVA) with Kathy Sullivan (first American female spacewalker). They conducted an EVA to fully demonstrate the feasibility of refueling satellites from the Space Shuttle, and performed the first contingency EVA task involving the Ku-band antenna. STS-41G was the fourth Space Shuttle mission to perform an EVA, and Leestma related his experiences with training, the spacesuit, and EVA tasks that were conducted on October 11, 1984 during this mission.

David Leestma

3/8/2017 9:17:00 PM

The Good Old Days of Apollo Flight Hardware Development

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support This presentation was previously titled "The Good Old Days of CTSD". Tom Sanzone shared his personal experiences of working in the CTSD, starting in 1968, and focused on the Apollo era when astronauts had as many as three custom-made EVA suits sporting their names and the empowerment of youth within NASA was strong – the average age of the Apollo 11 flight controllers was 26. He also mentioned the shuttle and station. The majority of the discussion was anecdotal, storytelling, covering four decades.

Tom Sanzone

9/29/2015 8:00:00 PM

The Size of the Universe and Where Will We Go?

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support As an avid engineer and amateur astronomer, Mike Lawson presented a perspective on the size of the universe and asked the question, “Where will we go?” This was an entry-level overview for the average space worker who really wanted to understand the size of stars and the distance between objects in space. Mike provided information about familiar orbital objects and elaborated more on galaxies during the discussion. He also explored where humans could go in space and the physical limitations of going there.

Mike Lawson

8/27/2015 12:30:00 PM

Thermal Protection System (TPS) Inspection and Repair

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Where necessity drives out-of-the-box thinking, Parazynski discussed a retrospective on the EVA tools and procedures efforts NASA went through in the aftermath of Columbia for the Space Shuttle TPS inspection and repair. He was the lead astronaut on this effort and participated in all the NBL, KC- 135, PABF activities, and in vacuum chamber and 1-G testing. He led the crew consensus reporting and helped develop the tools and techniques that were flown. Parazynski described how the EVA community worked together to resolve a huge safety issue (how to conduct EVA repairs on the Space Shuttle) and how work in the spacesuit was critical in overcoming a design limitation of the Space Shuttle.

Dr. Scott Parazynski

7/28/2015 4:00:00 PM

U.S. Spacesuit Joint Mobility

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support This joint mobility KC lecture included information from two papers, “A Method for and Issues Associated with the Determination of Space Suit Joint Requirements” and “Results and Analysis from Space Suit Joint Torque Testing,” as presented for the International Conference on Environmental Systems in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The first paper discusses historical joint torque testing methodologies and approaches that were tested in 2008 and 2009. The second paper discusses the testing that was completed in 2009 and 2010.

Jennifer Matty

6/3/2015 4:00:00 AM

Up Close and Personal with Hank Rotter Jr.

Hank Rotter Jr.

4/13/2023 12:11:00 PM

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