National Academies Press: OpenBook

Practical Applications of a Space Station (1984)

Chapter: Front Matter

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Practical Applications of a Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18603.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Practical Applications of a Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18603.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Practical Applications of a Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18603.
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iOC58ii3 PB84-i94794 Practical Applications of a Space Station National Research Council, Washington, DC. Corp. Source Codes: Oi9O26OOO Sponsor: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington. DC. i984' i04p Languages: English NTIS Prices: PC AO6/MF AOi Journal Annbuncement: GRAI84i8 Country of Publication: United States i ^MMrtfintrart No.: NSR-09-0i2-i06 Bis report examines the potential uses of a special station I civil and commercial applications. Five panels of experts Blesenting user-oriented communities, and a sixth panel BYi dealth with system design considerations, based their Bles on the assumption that the station would be a large Hform, capable of housing a wide array of diverse BVumnnts, and could be either manned or unmanned. The BVi's Resources Panel dealt with applications of remote Blng for resource assessment in such user areas as Bhulturo. hydrology, and mineral exploration. The Earth's BJ-onmpnt Panel dealth with the earth's atmosphere and its ^^flract on society, and gave consideration to upper atmosphere research, global chemical cycles, weather, and climate. The Ocean Operations Panel looked at both science and applications atid considered subjects such as coastal preservation, fisheries development, mineral extraction, ocean pollution, sea ice monitoring, oil and gas exploration, and commercial shipping. The Satellite Communications Panel assessed the potential role of a space station in the evolution of commercial telecommunication services up to the year 2OOO. The Materials Science and Engineering Panel focused on the utility of a space station environment for materials processing. Descriptors: *Space stations; Natural resources; Space communication; Remote sensing; Exploration; Earth atmosphere; Upper atmosphere; Weather; Climate; Cargo transportation; Sea ice; Ocean environments; Water pollution; Fisheries; Coasts; Data processing; Utilization; Natural gas Identifiers: Space exploration; Spaceborne experiments; Space processing; Mineral exploration; Oil exploration; NTISNASNRC: NTISNASA Section Headings: 22B (Space Technology-Spacecraft); 48C* (Natural Resources and Earth Sciences—Natural Resource Surveys); 84C (Space Technology--Manned Spacecraft); 84G (Space Technology--Unmanned Spacecraft)

REFERENCE COPY FOR LIBRARY USE ONLY Practical Applications ofa Space Station Space Applications Board Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council NAS-NAE NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington 1984 LIBRARY

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in l9l6 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of l863, which establishes the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in l964 and l970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. This study by the Space Applications Board was conducted under Contract No. NSR 09-0l2-l06 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This report is available from the Space Applications Board, National Research Council, 2l0l Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington DC 204l8. Printed in the United States of America.

SPACE APPLICATIONS BOARD George A. Barter, Chairman, TRW Incorporated James W. Plummer (Chairman until January 26, l983), Lockheed Missiles and Space Company George S. Benton, Johns Hopkins University Ralph Bernstein, IBM Corporation Donald N. Brown, Ocean Data Systems, Inc. Jon Davidson, Superior Oil Company Joseph J. DiNunno, Consultant Robert T. Filep, Communications 2l Corporation Robert F. Mills, Decision Images Hugh Nichols, Howard County, Maryland J. Robert Porter, Earth Satellite Corporation John G. Puente, Macom Incorporated Thomas F. Rogers, Consultant

Willis H. Shapley, Consultant John W. Townsend, Jr., Fairchild Space & Electronics Company Victoria J. Tschinkel, Florida Department of Environmental Regulation Elizabeth L Young, Public Service Satellite Consortium Milton W. Rosen, Executive Director IV

STUDY PANELS, OBSERVERS, AND STAFF Joseph J. DiNunno, Director PANEL ON EARTH'S RESOURCES A. Richard Baldwin, Chairman, Cargill Incorporated G. Robinson Barker, St. Regis Paper Company John E. Estes, University of California Sheldon Haas, General Electric Company Christian J. Johannsen, University of Missouri Robert F. Mills, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection PANEL ON EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT Lawrence R. Greenwood, Chairman, Ball Aerospace Corporation William L. Chameides, Georgia Institute of Technology John W. Firor, National Center for Atmospheric Research C. Gordon Little, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Frank R. Malinowski, Santa Barbara Research Center Abraham Schnapf, formerly RCA Astro-Electronics Thomas H. Vonderhaar, Colorado State University PANEL ON OCEAN OPERATIONS James H. Guill, Chairman, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company Michael P. Guberek, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Arnold M. Hanson, University of Washington T. K. Treadwell, Texas A&M University

PANEL ON SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Donald B. Nowakoski, Chairman, Western Union Gino J. Coviello, American Satellite Company Donald K. Dement, Novacom Incorporated Donald C. MacLellan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Douglas 0. Reudink, Bell Telephone Laboratories Thomas F. Rogers, Consultant Elizabeth L. Young, Public Service Satellite Consortium PANEL ON MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING Robert A. Laudise, Chairman, Bell Telephone Laboratories Norman G. Anderson, Argonne National Laboratory Martin E. Glicksman, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Kenneth A. Jackson, Bell Telephone Laboratories Morton E. Jones, Texas Instruments, Incorporated James Lago, Merck, Sharp and Dohme David J. Larson, Jr., Grumman Aerospace Corporation Robert F. Sekerka, Carnegie Mellon University August F. Witt, Massachusetts Institute of Technology PANEL ON SYSTEM DESIGN Albert E. Sabroff, Chairman, TRW Incorporated James H. Cook, IIT Research Institute Barbara C. Corn, BD Systems Incorporated J. Allen Cox, Honeywell Systems and Research Center Robert Morra, Martin-Marietta Aerospace Robert F. Pelzmann, Jr., Lockheed Missiles and Space Company Fritz C. Runge, McDonnell-Douglas Astronautics David H. Staelin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology VI

OBSERVERS National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ivan Bekey Dudley G. Mcconnell Dixon Butler Robert Naumann William T. Carey Mark B. Nolan Philip E. Culbertson William A. Oran James A. Dunn William L. Piotrowski Burton I. Edelson William P. Raney Frank Garcia Jack Salzman Don Gerke William C. Snoody Daniel H. Herman Louis R. Testardi Stephen S. Holt Shelby Tilford Ray Hook James C. Welch Robert R. Lovell Dell P. Williams III National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration James Purdom John Sherman Harold Yates U.S. Department of Agriculture Richard A. McArdle Bureau of Land Management David W. Allen Office of Technology Assessment Philip P. Chandler European Space Agency Ian W. Pryke Vll

SPACE APPLICATIONS BOARD STAFF Milton W. Rosen, Executive Director (after July 23, l983) Clotaire Wood, Executive Director (until July 8, l983) Laurence F. Gilchrist, Deputy Director Victoria M. Benjamin, Administrative Assistant Barbara A. Candland, Administrative Assistant (until October 7, l983) Betty S. Brown, Administrative Secretary Vlll

PREFACE In the spring of l982, the Space Applications Board was asked to conduct a study about the potential uses of a space station for civil and commercial applications. The request came from NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. The study was to be only one of several agency and contractor studies aimed at developing and evaluating requirements for a manned space station program. In requesting the study, NASA made it clear that the justification for development of a space station must be based on many considerations, of which space applications would be only a part. The Space Applications Board accepted the assignment, with a goal of providing an objective assessment of a manned space station, or, alternately, a large unmanned space platform, for use in satisfying future application program requirements. To conduct the study, the Board brought together about 30 recognized experts from the various user communities. The group spent a week at Snowmass, Colorado, engaged in an intensive effort to address the following study tasks: Review space applications requirements for the l990s Identify desired technological advances Identify requirements for a space station to facilitate applications programs Assess the utility of a human presence to space applications The group was not asked to evaluate the cost effectiveness of a space station relative to other possible alternatives. The assignment was to determine possible future application program needs, and then to assess how well a space station might satisfy those needs. £x

The summer study participants were divided into panels representing five user-oriented communities, and a sixth panel dealing with system design considerations. The system design panel examined requirements of the various applications missions from the standpoint of commonality, and with an objective of defining technical requirements that could be used for the conceptual design of a space station. Each of the five user panels was structured to represent applications programs with similar characteristics. The Earth's Resources Panel dealt with applications of remote sensing for resource assessment in such user areas as agriculture, hydrology, and mineral exploration. The Earth's Environment Panel dealt with the earth's atmosphere and its impact on society, and gave consideration to upper atmosphere research, global chemical cycles, weather, and climate. The Ocean Operations Panel looked at both science and applications and considered subjects such as coastal preservation, fisheries development, mineral extraction, ocean pollution, sea ice monitoring, oil and gas exploration, and commercial shipping. The Satellite Communications Panel assessed the potential role of a space station in the evolution of commercial telecommunication services up to the year 2000. The Materials Science and Engineering Panel focused on the utility of a space station environment for materials processing. One early problem for the panels was lack of a clear definition of space station capability or constraints. For purposes of the study, it was assumed that the station would be a large platform, capable of housing a wide array of diverse instruments, and could be either manned or unmanned. I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to the panel chairmen and the panel members for the concentrated effort that was required to produce the chapters of this report. Observers and resource persons from NASA, NOAA, and other agencies of government and industry were helpful in providing information and comment. Finally, I wish to thank the Space Applications Board staff for their work in preparing this report for publication. George A. Barter Chairman Space Applications Board

CONTENTS OVERVIEW l EARTH'S RESOURCES Introduction 7 Present Status 8 Technologies Needed ll Possible Uses of a Space Station to Support Data Acquisition and Processing l3 The Role of Man l6 Cone lus ions • l8 EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT Introduction l9 Upper-Atmospheric Research 20 Global Chemical Cycles 24 Weather 28 Climate ,. 33 Cone lus ions 38 Re ferences 39 OCEAN OPERATIONS Introduction 4l Current Status of Remote Sensing of the Oceans .... 43 The Need for Ocean Data—Major Uses 46 Requirements for Spacecraft for Oceanic Remote Sensing 52 Future Needs 56 Conclusions 58 References 58 XI

SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Major Domestic Satellite Communications Services .. 60 Developments Expected Through the l980s 66 Potential New Services, l990-2000 67 Conclusions and Recommendations 69 References 7l MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING Introduction 72 Brief History of NASA's Materials Processing in Space Program 73 Present Status of NASA's Materials Processing in Space Program 75 The Role of Man in Space 79 Materials Science and Engineering Requirements for a Space Station 8l Conclusions 82 SYSTEM DESIGN User Design Requirements 84 Manned System Design Issues 87 Cone lus ions 88 XII

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The demonstrated capabilities of the Space Shuttle and rapid advancements in both ground- and space-based technology offer new opportunities for developing space systems for practical use, including a manned space station and one or more unmanned space platforms. The Space Applications Board conducted a study to determine the technical requirements that should be considered in the conceptual design of a space station and/or space platforms so that, if developed, these spacecraft would have utility for practical applications.

Practical Applications of a Space Station is a formal report of the study, in which six panels met, one in each of the following areas: earth's resources, earth's environment, ocean operations, satellite communications, materials science and engineering, and system design factors. Each panel was asked to consider what practical applications of space systems may be expected in their particular areas beginning around 1990. The panels were also asked to identify technological progress that would need to be made and that should be emphasized in order for space systems with practical uses to have greater utility by the time a space station might be available.

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