John L. Crassidis
Professor
University at Buffalo
Dept of Mech & Aero Eng
Amherst, NY 14260
Phone: (716) 645-1426
Fax: (716) 645-3668
International Space Station
Determining the extent and location of leaks on the International Space Station (ISS)
is vital to maintain the operational status and safety of the station. The first
indication of a leak on the ISS will likely be a drop in internal pressure. However,
the gas leaving the station will likely cause a reaction force. Research is being performed
with
Dr. Srinivas R. Vadali to develop tools to determine approximate locations
and sizes of ISS leaks based on measurements from the attitude determination system.
The research has two specific goals:
Determine force and torque inputs from ISS attitude measurements
Quantify size and location of leaks from the determined forces and torques
The second item may have multiple solutions. Therefore additional information, such as
hatch closures, will be incorporated into the overall system tool in order to help
reject spurious solutions.
This work was sponsored by
United Space Alliance. Results from research can be obtained from:
Kim, J.-W., Crassidis, J.L., Vadali, S.R., and Dershowitz, A.L., “ISS Leak Localization Using Attitude Response,” AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Montreal, CA, Aug. 2001, AIAA Paper #01-4272.