Design of an interim space rescue ferry vehicle

This paper proposes a stop-gap nonoptimum vehicle for transferring astronauts from a tumbling stranded spacecraft to a nearby rescue spacecraft. The design is limited to the use of available or 'soon-to-be' available flight-qualified hardware and consists of three major components: the manned maneuvering unit, the personnel rescue enclosure, and the apogee kick motor capture device. The apogee kick motor capture device is modified to serve as the connection between the manned maneuvering unit and the personnel rescue enclosure. The performance of this interim rescue vehicle is analyzed with NASA flight simulation software to test the feasibility of the design. Results show that the control system of the manned maneuvering unit adequately limits uncommanded rotations during all simulated maneuvers in the primary control mode but not during transverse translations in the backup control mode. Impingement of thruster plumes on the personnel rescue enclosure is shown to be of some importance in certain maneuvers. The satellite stabilization mode of the control system is found to have significant rotational-to-translational coupling that has associated adverse effects on flying qualities, making the mode undesirable for the rescue mission.