Just wondering

[Dambuster]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts128/status.html:

1810 GMT (2:10 p.m. EDT)
During this extra time now available to the crew with the first KSC landing option waved off, commander Rick Sturckow and pilot Kevin Ford are going to sharpen their flying skills by practicing runway approaches using a software program loaded onto a laptop.

Anyone know which program this is? Orbiter?

 

[DaveS]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts128/status.html:



Anyone know which program this is? Orbiter?

It's a program called PILOT which is short for Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer. And no, it's not Orbiter.

 

[Dambuster]

Yeah, I guessed it would be some NASA program. Thanks for the quick answer!

 

[Arrowstar]

Dave,

How does that software work? Does it interface with the Orbiter and its various systems (say, the HUD, RHC, etc), or is it just a laptop program?

 

[DaveS]

Dave,

How does that software work? Does it interface with the Orbiter and its various systems (say, the HUD, RHC, etc), or is it just a laptop program?

Just a laptop program with an RHC-duplicate joystick. I believe it only deals with the HAC phase and final approach to landing. It's usually mounted in front of the CDR HUD unit.

 

[Moonwalker]

To me the only question on that always was: does it effectively increase crew skills?

The Shuttle was operated for, I guess, more than 15 years without the opportunity to use something like that. To me it doesn't really seem to make a difference. Especially when I think about the Apollo days! Skill is something the crew already brings along when they enter their vehicle. And I can't imagine it gets lost/less just within 10-12 days during the mission after several month (maybe more than a year in particular cases) and countless hours of training.

On a manned mission to Mars such a training sofware aboard would make sense indeed. But in case of the Shuttle program it seems that this is something like software firewalls: it makes people "feel" safer...

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[bradfirj92]

I disagree. When dealing with something as unpredictable as space flight there is no such thing as too much practice.

 

[insane_alien]

it;d be more awesome if the flight computers rerouted the effects of all the controls in the cockpit to sim.

ultimate simpit.

 

[Moonwalker]

I disagree. When dealing with something as unpredictable as space flight there is no such thing as too much practice.

Right. But landing of the Shuttle on a site that is meteorologically predictable and observable very well does not really depend on laptop training. On a flight to Mars, such simulations would make more sense I think. But landing the Shuttle was done for the majority of flights without any laptop training program aboard.

 

[clickypens]

Right. But landing of the Shuttle on a site that is meteorologically predictable and observable very well does not really depend on laptop training. On a flight to Mars, such simulations would make more sense I think. But landing the Shuttle was done for the majority of flights without any laptop training program aboard.

I know what you're saying, and yeah, I guess you're right to an extent. But too much practice never hurt anybody. I imagine all those pilots who landed a Shuttle with no sim practice would've loved to have to opportunity. I mean, I'm getting pretty good at landing things in orbiter, but even without wind or other meteorological phenomena, it's different every single time. The more times I practice it, though, the more similar the results become.

 

[David413]

Having had the opportunity to watch crews practice with this sim, it's more about procedure reviews and crew coordination than actual flying. And although most of the shuttle program flights did manage to land fine without the laptop sim, they all did procedure reviews the day before landing. It provides a little more depth of realism to the crew discussions and practice the day before landing since everything happens pretty quickly from the HAC to the runway. Crew resource management and coordination between the CDR, PLT and MS2 is well scripted, but practice makes perfect. That's the real benefit of PILOT.

 

[Moonwalker]

Now it makes a difference to me. Because I thought the basic task is just to simulate landing which alone would not make the real landing more perfect/reliable in my point of view (especially whilst landing well within limits anyway). Procedure reviews and coordination can't be wrong of course, just like take off and landing briefing in commercial aviation.