Practical Applications of Cables and Ropes in the ISS Countermeasures System As spaceflight durations have increased over the last four decades, the effects of weightlessness on the human body are far better understood, as are the countermeasures. A combination of aerobic and resistive exercise devices contribute to countering the losses in muscle strength, aerobic fitness, and bone strength of today's astronauts and cosmonauts that occur during their missions on the International Space Station. Creation of these systems has been a dynamically educational experience for designers and engineers. The ropes and cables in particular have experienced a wide range of challenges, providing a full set of lessons learned that have already enabled improvements in on-orbit reliability by initiating system design improvements. This paper examines the on-orbit experience of ropes and cables in several exercise devices and discusses the lessons learned from these hardware items, with the goal of informing future system design.
Document ID
20160012382
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Moore, Cherice (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Svetlik, Randall (Engineering Research and Consulting, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Williams, Antony (Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)