Enhancing Safety of NASA Astronauts with IoT Simulation

• Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation
• Sensors - Accelerometers

• Aerospace
• Buildings

• Product Research & Development
• Quality Assurance

• Digital Twin
• Mesh Networks

• Testing & Certification

NASA's Orion Crew Module, designed for long-duration missions into deep space, required a clear understanding of the dynamic loads generated during water impact to maintain the spacecraft’s structural integrity and increase the safety of the crew. The water landing of a craft like the Orion Crew Module is a complex and changeable event, subject to the dynamics of the vehicle’s structure and sub-structures, such as its heat shield, as well as atmospheric and water conditions. Creating a computer simulation of this event is difficult and especially sensitive to such input variables as mesh density, boundary conditions and contact interfaces. To ensure that simulations reflect real-life conditions as accurately as possible, physical test data is needed to correlate to and anchor the finite element (FE) simulation models. The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) sought to establish a clear understanding of the specific modeling methods needed to perform dynamic simulations of the Orion Crew Module water landings.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. Founded in 1958, NASA employs over 18,000 staff. The organization is known for its space exploration missions and technological advancements in the field of aerospace. For its next generation of spacecraft, NASA is developing the Orion Crew Module, designed for long-duration missions into deep space, with a new design and new life-support, propulsion, thermal protection and avionics systems.

NASA called on Altair’s ProductDesign group to develop this critical simulation model, working as part of the larger NESC assessment team. NASA built a full-scale boilerplate Crew Module to perform the required physical testing. This Crew Module was primarily built from steel with reinforcements so that it could be analytically treated as a rigid body. It was instrumented with several data-collecting devices, such as accelerometers, strain gauges, an inertial measurement unit and pressure sensors. The team placed photogrammetric targets on the outside surfaces to accurately measure the Crew Module trajectories, along with high-speed video cameras at strategic locations. Altair ProductDesign positioned accelerometers in the virtual model to replicate those from the physical test. Additionally, the model incorporated 25 feet of water depth and 13 feet of air height to match the drop test conditions. Once the simulation team members received the physical test data, they adjusted the model by varying input parameters, finding that acceleration data was the most reliable factor.

• The results from the mesh sensitivity study matrix revealed that mesh size ratios of Crew Module to fluid are very important in obtaining good correlation. Altair ProductDesign’s efforts proved so valuable that the NASA Engineering and Safety Center presented its Group Achievement Award to the Crew Module Water Landing Modeling Assessment Team. The team was commended for its “outstanding contributions…on an accelerated schedule” for the coordination of efforts that contributed substantially to the achievement of the NESC mission. The NESC Honor Awards are given each year to NASA Center employees, industry representatives, and other stakeholders for their achievements in engineering, leadership, teamwork and communication. The awards formally identify individuals and groups who have made outstanding contributions to NESC’s mission, demonstrate engineering and technical excellence, and foster an open environment.

• Increased confidence in simulation
• Improved landing safety systems
• Performed more than 60 physical drops of the module at slightly different impact angles and velocities