Telescience for the reduced gravity flight experiments

Area of Science:

• Space Science
• Aerospace Engineering
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Preliminary experiments for the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) require efficient testing.
• Parabolic flight experiments offer a microgravity simulation environment.
• Telescience capabilities can potentially streamline remote experimental operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate telescience capabilities within parabolic flight experiments.
• To assess the effectiveness of commercial airline telephone systems for data and voice transmission during these flights.
• To test the feasibility of conducting human physiological experiments using telescience support in a parabolic flight setting.

Main Methods:

• Telescience capabilities were integrated into parabolic flight experiments conducted on a small jet aircraft.
• Two commercial airline telephone systems were utilized for communication and data transfer.
• Data transfer methods included FAX, still TV image transmission, and general data transfer.
• A human physiological experiment was conducted as a sample application.

Main Results:

• Commercial airline telephone systems successfully supported voice communication.
• These systems facilitated various data transfer methods, including FAX and still image transmission.
• The telescience approach enabled the execution of a human physiological experiment during parabolic flights.
• Experiments were conducted in designated training and testing areas (C & K areas).

Conclusions:

• The integration of telescience capabilities enhances the efficiency of preliminary experiments for the JEM.
• Commercial airline telephone systems are viable for supporting diverse communication and data transfer needs in parabolic flight research.
• Telescience support is effective for conducting human physiological experiments in microgravity simulation environments.