Explore the vast range of titles available.

\"Brave astronauts, flaring rockets, and majestic launches are only one side of the story of spaceflight. Any mission to space depends on years--if not decades--of work by thousands of dedicated individuals on the ground. These are the people whose voices offer a friendly link to Earth in the void of space, whose hands maneuver rovers across the face of planets, and whose skills guide astronauts home. This book is a long-overdue history of three major centers that have managed important missions since the dawn of the space age. In Mission Control, Michael Johnson explores the famous Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany--each a strategically designed micro-environment responsible for the operation of spacecraft and the safety of passengers. He explains the motivations behind the location of each center and their intricate design. He shows how the robotic spaceflight missions overseen in Pasadena and Darmstadt set these centers apart from Houston, and compares the tracking networks used for different types of spacecraft. Johnson argues that the type of spacecraft and the missions they controlled--not the nations they represented--defined how the centers developed, yet these centers ended up playing vital national roles as space technology became a battleground for international power struggles in the Cold War years and even after. The most visible part of a conflict that was just as real as the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan and caused great global anxiety, mission control centers have served as symbols of national security in the public eye and pivotal links in the history of modern technology. Michael Peter Johnson is former director of the Skylab Oral History Project.\" --Publisher's website.

Understanding the effects of spaceflight on microbial communities is crucial for the success of long-term, manned space missions. Surface-associated bacterial communities, known as biofilms, were abundant on the Mir space station and continue to be a challenge on the International Space Station. The health and safety hazards linked to the development of biofilms are of particular concern due to the suppression of immune function observed during spaceflight. While planktonic cultures of microbes have indicated that spaceflight can lead to increases in growth and virulence, the effects of spaceflight on biofilm development and physiology remain unclear. To address this issue, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultured during two Space Shuttle Atlantis missions: STS-132 and STS-135, and the biofilms formed during spaceflight were characterized. Spaceflight was observed to increase the number of viable cells, biofilm biomass, and thickness relative to normal gravity controls. Moreover, the biofilms formed during spaceflight exhibited a column-and-canopy structure that has not been observed on Earth. The increase in the amount of biofilms and the formation of the novel architecture during spaceflight were observed to be independent of carbon source and phosphate concentrations in the media. However, flagella-driven motility was shown to be essential for the formation of this biofilm architecture during spaceflight. These findings represent the first evidence that spaceflight affects community-level behaviors of bacteria and highlight the importance of understanding how both harmful and beneficial human-microbe interactions may be altered during spaceflight.

To address the issues caused by the traditional document-centric system framework in manned spaceflight, such as complex intercrossing technical interfaces among systems, heterogeneous evolution in the development process, non-indexed top-level requirements, dynamic changes in technical management, and multi-level emergence of design issues and their impacts, this study adopts the MBSoSE (Model-Based System of Systems Engineering) approach to drive the digital transformation of the manned spaceflight system framework. A model-based manned spaceflight system framework is established, with modeling practices encompassing, including defining structured models and digital simulation models. These measures can provide more precise delineation of the overall technical scheme of the manned spaceflight system, enabling the verification and rapid iterative updating of the scheme.

The immune system is one of the most affected systems of the human body during space flight. The cells of the immune system are exceptionally sensitive to microgravity. Thus, serious concerns arise, whether space flight associated weakening of the immune system ultimately precludes the expansion of human presence beyond the Earth's orbit. For human space flight, it is an urgent need to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which altered gravity influences and changes the functions of immune cells. The CELLBOX-PRIME (= CellBox-Primary Human Macrophages in Microgravity Environment) experiment investigated for the first time microgravity-associated long-term alterations in primary human macrophages, one of the most important effector cells of the immune system. The experiment was conducted in the U.S. National Laboratory on board of the International Space Station ISS using the NanoRacks laboratory and Biorack type I standard CELLBOX EUE type IV containers. Upload and download were performed with the SpaceX CRS-3 and the Dragon spaceship on April 18th, 2014 / May 18th, 2014. Surprisingly, primary human macrophages exhibited neither quantitative nor structural changes of the actin and vimentin cytoskeleton after 11 days in microgravity when compared to 1g controls. Neither CD18 or CD14 surface expression were altered in microgravity, however ICAM-1 expression was reduced. The analysis of 74 metabolites in the cell culture supernatant by GC-TOF-MS, revealed eight metabolites with significantly different quantities when compared to 1g controls. In particular, the significant increase of free fucose in the cell culture supernatant was associated with a significant decrease of cell surface-bound fucose. The reduced ICAM-1 expression and the loss of cell surface-bound fucose may contribute to functional impairments, e.g. the activation of T cells, migration and activation of the innate immune response. We assume that the surprisingly small and non-significant cytoskeletal alterations represent a stable \"steady state\" after adaptive processes are initiated in the new microgravity environment. Due to the utmost importance of the human macrophage system for the elimination of pathogens and the clearance of apoptotic cells, its apparent robustness to a low gravity environment is crucial for human health and performance during long-term space missions.

Safety and stability are critical in manned space missions, requiring an environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) of spacecraft to operate reliably. This study analyzed the time-series characteristics of telemetry data, including total pressure, temperature, and humidity, to predict the ECLSS’s operational state. Existing algorithms for time-series forecasting, including ARIMA, LSTM, TCN, and NBEATS, often struggle with long-sequence forecasting and discrepancies in data distribution, which hinder their ability to deliver accurate predictions. To address these challenges, this study introduces a two-stage normalization method, mean instance normalization (MeanIN), designed to adjust input data distributions and restore output data distributions, thereby significantly enhancing predictive performance. Experimental evaluations on ECLSS telemetry data demonstrate that MeanIN consistently improves model accuracy, with the informer model achieving superior results in long-sequence forecasting tasks. These results underscore the efficacy of MeanIN and its potential to support critical applications in anomaly detection and predictive analysis for spacecraft telemetry data.

Extravehicular activity (EVA) is a key point and a difficult point for manned spaceflight tasks, as well as an inevitable trend in the development of the manned spaceflight industry. Equipment maintenance, load installation, and extravehicular routing inspection via EVA on the track are necessary to guarantee the safety and reliability of the long-term in-orbit operation of the China Space Station. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on the features of multiple tasks, diverse working modes, and strong systematic coupling during the EVA of the China Space Station (CSS). On this basis, the design, implementation technologies’ development, and in-orbit performance evaluation during EVA were expounded. In the space station system, an extravehicular reliability verification and evaluation system suitable for the requirement for EVA under the conditions of China’s multi-mission, multi-module combination, and repairable spacecraft was constructed. Finally, the in-orbit EVA implementation of the China Space Station since the launch of the core module to the present was summarized, and the subsequent application of the extravehicular technologies in manned lunar landing projects and optical modules was anticipated.

Medical support is one of the essential safety conditions for isolation or confinement experiments, as it enables the timely arrangement of actions to preserve the health of crew members and volunteers. Such analog experiments allow the testing of prospective medical technologies and methods for health support in long-term space missions and on-planet stations. In the current paper, we report the results of the medical control within the medical support system of the two model isolation experiments of the SIRIUS series, lasting for 4 and 8 months, respectively. The results indicate the prevalence of headache complaints, skin inflammatory reactions, and sleep disturbance during the longer confinement experiment. In addition, signs of vitamin D deficiency were revealed in 10 of the 12 objects. The data exchange with the scientific branch of the experiments provides for the in-time detection of early symptoms of disease, using samples of blood, urine, saliva, epithelia, etc. However, the issues of medical data confidence and, subsequently, of the crew members’ compliance with the medical staff, become pointed. In general, the work demonstrates the expediency of the investigations, including the data collection and analysis of the medical control indicators in further experiments, for the optimization of the medical support of both the analogous research projects and the development of the recommendations for the medical support of small autonomous groups, such as manned space missions.

National Federation of Press Women National Communications Contest, First Place for Autobiography/Memoir Delaware Press Association Communications Contest, First Place for Autobiography/Memoir In this one-of-a-kind memoir, Jack Clemons—a former lead engineer in support of NASA—takes readers behind the scenes and into the inner workings of the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs during their most exciting years. Discover the people, the events, and the risks involved in one of the most important parts of space missions: bringing the astronauts back home to Earth. Clemons joined Project Apollo in 1968, a young engineer inspired by science fiction and electrified by John F. Kennedy’s challenge to the nation to put a man on the moon. He describes his experiences supporting the NASA engineering team at what is now the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he played a pivotal role in designing the reentry and landing procedures for Apollo astronauts and providing live support as part of the Mission Control Center’s backroom team. He went on to work on Skylab and the Space Shuttle Program, eventually assuming leadership for the entire integrated software system on board the Space Shuttle. Through personal stories, Clemons introduces readers to many of the unsung heroes of the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions—the people who worked side by side with NASA engineers supporting reentry and landing for each Apollo mission and the software team who fashioned the computer programs that accompanied the crews on the Space Shuttle. Clemons worked closely with astronauts who relied on him and his fellow engineers for directions to their destination, guidance on how to get there, control of their fate during their journeys, and a safe return. He reveals problems, challenges, and near-disasters previously unknown to the public and offers candid opinions on the preventable failures that led to the loss of fourteen astronauts in the Challenger and Columbia tragedies. Highlighting the staggering responsibility and the incredible technological challenges that Clemons and his colleagues took on in the race to reach the moon and explore the mysteries of space, this book is a fascinating insider’s view of some of the greatest adventures of the twentieth century.

Seeking to reenergize Americans' passion for the space program, the value of further exploration of the Moon, and the importance of human beings on the final frontier, Claude A. Piantadosi presents a rich history of American space exploration and its major achievements. He emphasizes the importance of reclaiming national command of our manned program and continuing our unmanned space missions, and he stresses the many adventures that still await us in the unfolding universe. Acknowledging space exploration's practical and financial obstacles, Piantadosi challenges us to revitalize American leadership in space exploration in order to reap its scientific bounty. Piantadosi explains why space exploration, a captivating story of ambition, invention, and discovery, is also increasingly difficult and why space experts always seem to disagree. He argues that the future of the space program requires merging the practicalities of exploration with the constraints of human biology. Space science deals with the unknown, and the margin (and budget) for error is small. Lethal near-vacuum conditions, deadly cosmic radiation, microgravity, vast distances, and highly scattered resources remain immense physical problems. To forge ahead, America needs to develop affordable space transportation and flexible exploration strategies based in sound science. Piantadosi closes with suggestions for accomplishing these goals, combining his healthy skepticism as a scientist with an unshakable belief in space's untapped—and wholly worthwhile—potential.

In the face of escalating global competition in science and technology, complex product systems (CoPS) have emerged as a significant indicator of comprehensive national strength. The exploration of the catch-up phenomenon holds substantial implications for subsequent development of CoPS. Existing CoPS research often focuses on a single engineering task (such as high-speed rail) and market logic (such as the telecommunications industry), examining the catch-up phenomenon from a single or hard-power perspective. However, the China Manned Space Engineering Application System (CMSEAS), with its significant international influence and dual characteristics of scientific research and engineering development, presents a different scenario. Its market value is difficult to be reflected in a short time, making the relevance of existing research limited. This study selected CMSEAS as a case, and acquired data through interviews, internal meetings, on-site observations, official websites, archives, and other forms. Based on grounded theory, open coding, axial coding, selective coding, and a saturation test were carried out, and a catch-up model of CoPS was constructed by considering various influencing factors. The results show that the catch-up is driven by five major factors: support force is the basic condition for its gradual growth; the management system, technical capability, and human resource are interdependent and serve as the direct drivers of the catch-up; and social influence plays a significant role in propelling the catch-up indirectly. Notably, the setup of a general department, interaction among different factors, cultural soft power, and social influence serve as useful complements to previous studies.