rP (D MODULAR SPACE STATION (MSS) I An Architectural Thesis Program (0 Submitted to the Faculty of Architecture, Texas Tech University DC in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Degree of < J 3 BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE D 0 August 1976 by Raymond R. Nikel and Fred D. Ballinger 7^^^y^7 K (r The writers wish to thank the staff of NASA, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, for their cooperation and guidance in the 01 preparation of this program. In particular, we extend special gratitude III to the following individuals: to Robert Gordon (Public Affairs Officer) IW^SA for coordinating our activities while visiting the Johnson Space Center; to Maynard Dalton (Habitability Systems Engineer) for personally accom­ \ panying us on private tours of the Johnson Space Center facilities and (0 spacecraft mockups, for providing use of the Skylab film library, and for procuring NASA technical manuals pertinent to our area of research; < to astronaut Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin (scientist-astronaut of the Skylab II J mission) and Col. William R. Pogue (astronaut of the Skylab IV mission) 3 for their candid remarks relative to their personal experiences aboard Q the Skylab missions; and for the contributions of Clark Covington (Sys­ 0 tems Design Engineer), James C. Jones (Preliminary Design Engineer), and John Poindexter (Educational Programs Officer). We would also like to thank Professor Nolan E. Barrick (Chairman of the Division of Architecture, Texas Tech University) for granting us permission to investigate this thesis problem. Space architecture is a relatively new field and offers enormous opportunities for architectural consideration. DEDICATIOIM k (T (0 This program is dedicated to our wives, Margaret and Brenda, without whose sacrifice this document as well as our educational experience would not have been possible; and to our sons, Raymond and Brian, in whose generation deeper space exploration and colonization will be realized. We encourage their pursuit of this final frontier. V 111 (T J) ^ PURPOSE OF PROGRAM (0 The purpose of this program is to determine the require­ 111 ments or needs for the design of a Modular Space Station (MSS). The space station's internal configuration and external config­ \ uration will be the focal points of design consideration. (0 Emphasis, however, will be focused directly on the habitability criteria surrounding crew living/working volumes. It should DC be noted that the designs of space station subsystems are the < responsibility of NASA contractors and as such are already J provided for. It is our intention, then, to concern ourselves 3 with the requirements for the habitability aspects of a space D station design. 0 V Men's conception of themselves and of each other has always depen­ ded on their notion of the Earth...to see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the Earth together... (0 brothers who know now they are truly brothers. - Archibald MacLeish, during Apollo 8 flight, 1968. lU The first movements into space, which culminated in Apollo, cata­ lyzed our imagination. Skylab gave direction to our imagination. The Space Shuttle now gives license to our imagination. - Dr. Harrison Schmitt, Astronaut. t (0 The space effort is essentially a step in the evolution of man as a biological species and that the basic, usually unexpressed, long range objective of space exploration is the expansion of our DC species into yet another ecological niche, or series of niches, which happens to be estraterrestrial. - Dr. Ward J. Hess, Director < of the Space Sciences Center of the University of Missouri, Nov. 3, J 1965. 3 On attempting to reach the stars, Man may well be responding to a Q fundamental drive to explore and to adapt to a new environment. Space exploration may very well be the next and most logical step 0 in man's primeval urge to expand the ecological range of the human species. - Mitchell R. Sharpe, Author of the book. Living in Space, "The Astronaut and His Environment", 1969. I feel personally that the general goals of the space program are a natural continuation of the human adventure. It is unthinkable that our society, particularly Western society, can ignore this challenge. - Dr. Frederick Seitz, President, National Academy of Sciences, in Congressional testimony, 1963. ...any nation, to remain great, must lead in exploration of the k unknown and the discovery of new worlds. - Richard M. Nixon, 1968, fT IMOI^<^ 111 \ U) DC < J 3 D 0 k ^ ^ TAKLE OF COUfTKllTS Page 0 1, 0 ACKMOWLEDOMEISITS ii 2.0 DEDICAflOM iii 3.0 PRELUDE. iv 4.0 TABLE; OF CONTKIMTS vi 5. 0 LIST OF FIGURES xi 6.0 LIST OF TABLES xiii 7.0 PREFACE xiv < 8 . 0 INTRODOCTIOM l J 8 .1 Opening Remarks 1 3 8.2 Program Objectives 1 0 8.3 Client 1 Q 8 . 4 Project Feasibility 1 9.0 SITE AKAL-YSIS 3 9.1 Location 3 9. 2 Environment 3 9.2.1 Earth' s Atmosphere 3 9.2.2 Radiations 9 9.2.3 Meteoroids 9 IMDI^^ 1®-® mismim: 1®,1 fflisitsaacy <j»ff CliLemiit... ^ *«*..^..^^^.. 13 1®..!..! isiatiimnal 55sawis®rf QsMnmi-t-t.©© f<Q)C a,eirmBaTffi-!ti(c:s ((iSjaov)) ..^....**» 13 Spac® .MiniiBiaLiStaraitieaDi ((BSiSa)) ... 13 lffi-1-3 imsa ©bjetelti^is^es 13 1®.1.4 nasa ©rg-atnuLzaititaflBi . M 1®.1.5 FtQunjffliuag- attnd Btmtag-elt. .......... 15 1®-!-® Friogx-^ini Frissriities atEofffl Fiaumaiumg. ---...-..-....-...... IS l®-2 Itettiteia S-tates ISDaimmed Spa<ee F3Dogx«itis.. 21 1®-2.1 Im-ttEtodimctisMa 21 1®.2.2 Meromr^ Fnagrami 21 1®.2.3 (S^miTfil Frssgram......, ..... 21 1®.2.4 apoll© FW3)gr«im 22 1®.2.5 Skylab FEtoxgram 24 1®, 2- € a^)©ll©/S©3fTaz Pi?©^raM. 35 l®-3 FimltTaire nJndted States MajDnmed Frograms. 3® 1®.3.1 Space Shmttle 3® l®,3-2 Space ]Labs 4® 11-® SFACE sraflOM BEFIMKID 4S ^ 11.1 Introduction 48 11. 2 Space Lab Theme 48 (0 11.3 Operational Base Theme 48 11.3.1 Construction Base 49 Ul 11.3.2 Test Facility 49 11.3.3 Spacecraft Service Facility. 49 \ 11.3.4 Orbital Depot 49 (0 11.3.5 Cluster Support Base 49 12.0 HABITABILITY DEFINED 51 a < 13.0 MODULAR CONCEPT DEFINED 53 J 14.0 MODULAR SPACE STATION (MSS) 54 3 14.1 MSS Defined 54 D 14.2 Requirements Defined 54 0 14.3 MSS Internal Configuration Criteria. 55 14 . 3 .1 Program 55 14.3.2 Operations 55 14.3.3 Configuration 55 14.3.4 Subsystems 56 14.3.5 Safety 56 14.3.6 Reliability 61 V ^ 14.3.7 Maintainability 61 14.3.8 Habitability 62 (0 14.3.9 Facilities 64 14.4 MSS External Configuration Criteria. 67 Ul 14 , 4 .1 Program 67 14.4.2 Operations 67 \ 14.4.3 Flight Modes 67 14. 4. 4 Subsystems 68 14.4.5 Safety 68 (I < 14.5 Internal and External Configuration Criteria - Expanded Issue 68 J 14.5.1 Station Assembly 68 3 14.5.2 Structural Arrangement 68 Q 14.5.3 Windows 72 0 15,0 APPENDIX I LESSONS LEARNED FROM SKYLAB,,. 76 16,0 APPENDIX II ANTHROPOMETRIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ZERO-GRAVITY 91 17.0 FOOTNOTES 119 17.1 Text 119 17.2 Figures and Tables 120 18 . 0 ACRONYMS 122 ik 19.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY 123 19.1 Books 123 (0 19.2 Film Highlights (NASA Johnson Space Center Films ) 123 III 19.3 Magazine Articles-Brochures 124 19.4 Personal Interviews (NASA Johnson t Space Center) 125 0) 19.5 Skylab Experience Bulletins 126 19.6 Technical Manuals, Reports and DC Studies 127 < 20.0 CONCLUSION 128 Part I: Team Design External Configura­ J tion 128 3 Part II: Individual Design Station Module One 139 D Part III: Individual Design Station 0 Module Four 148 h^ (T ^ CO u111 i U) DC < J 3 D 0 V ^ LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page (0 9.1.0.1 Space Station Location 4 9.2.1.1 Temperature Range of the Atmosphere 6 Ul 9.2.1.2 Chemical Structure of the Atmosphere.,.. 6 u 9.2.1.3 The Earth's Atmosphere, Temperature and Pressure 7 t 9.2.1.4 The Protective Atmosphere 8 9.2.2.1 The Van Allen Radiation Belts 10 DC 9.2.2.2 The Earth's Radiation Belts 11 < J 9.2.2.3 The Earth's Magnetic Field 11 3 10.1.4.1 NASA Personnel and Facilities 16 Q 10.2.3.2 Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Spacecraft.. 23 0 10.2.4.2 U.S. Manned Spaceflight 27 10.2.4.3 Orbital Workshop 30 10.2,4,1 Skylab 31 10.2.4.4 Skylab Mission Sequence 32 10.2.4.5 CSM Docking and Skylab 34 10.2.6.1 Apollo/Soyuz Space Crafts 36 10.2.6.2 Mission Profile ASTP 37 ^ 10.3.1.1 Profile of Shuttle Mission 41 h 10.3.1.2 Space Shuttle Vehicle 42 (0 10.3.2.1 Spacelab 43 10.3.2.2 Spacelab 44 Ul 10.3.2.3 Spacelab Program Contributors 46 14,3.4.1 Modular Space Station Subsystem 57 \ 14.3.5.1 Common Hatch 60 CO 14.5.1.1 Payload Retention System 69 14.5.1.2 Manipulator/Payload Attachment.... 6 9 a 14.5.1.3 Payload Deployment/Retrieval Mechanism. 70 J 14.5.1.4 Typical Module Berthing 70 3 14.5.1.5 Shuttle Manipulator Reach Envelope 71 Q 14.5.1.6 Berthing Port Arrangement 71 0 14.5,2,1 Station Module Structural Arrangement,.