In the early 21st century, the private commercial space transportation industry demonstrated that commercial human space flight is both technologically and economically feasible. In 2004, the United States Congress responded by passing legislation authorizing the Department of Transportation to license and regulates commercial human space flight. / This thesis examines and assesses the U.S. commercial human space flight vehicle licensing and regulatory law. Tort liability is inextricably linked to the success of the commercial human space flight industry and to that end this thesis provides an analysis of U.S. tort liability law in the event of a commercial human space flight vehicle accident.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-154) / Microfiche. / xvi,154 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (M.S. in Astronautical Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, Dec. 2004. / Thesis Advisor(s): Sherif Michael. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-110). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-110). Also available on the Internet.

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Laboratory and feral lineages of mice were subjected to cephalad (+GZ) accelerations, for 1.8 seconds, aboard a solid fuel rocket. Spectrophotometric analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage retrieved post launch revealed significant (p < .001) elevations of protein in the lungs of experimental mice. Sudden transient imposition of a mean +GZ acceleration of 6.22 ± .47 (SD) G, at lift-off, may have induced hypervolemia of basilar pulmonary microvasculature with concomitant migration of fluid and protein from intravascular to juxta-alveolar perivascular compartments. Exudates may have entered bronchiolar airways subsequently gravitating toward alveoli.

The problem of developing a generalized impulse as a function of a set of parameters is investigated. The proposed generalized impulse alters an existing orbit by producing, over some period of time, a change in velocity, ΔV, as well as a change in position, Δr. The generalized impulse is described by parameters associated with an instantaneous change in velocity as well as parameters associated with an atmospheric skip trajectory. Closed form solutions are obtained through several changes of independent variable, the use of modified Chapman variables and the consequent analytical integration of the uncoupled equations. The closed form solutions contain between two and six parameters depending on the complexity of the desired skip trajectory. Fuel optimal transfer orbits are obtained using the generalized impulse along with Keplerian arcs and instantaneous changes in velocity. Families of coplanar and noncoplanar transfers for circular orbit to circular orbit are numerically generated. The generated transfer trajectories involve the rendezvous of two vehicles. The orbits are not globally optimal but rather optimal for the specified number and type of velocity impulses specified. The optimal solution to the nonlinear problem is determined via sequential quadratic programming which satisfies the Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions for constrained minimization. It is found that for transfer between coplanar and noncoplanar orbits, solutions using the generalized impulse compare favorably with solutions obtained by optimal control theory. Numerical solution to complex problems involving transfer from general orbit to general orbit were not obtained. / Master of Science

A novel method of reducing the spin of a rotating symmetric body, similar to many earth orbit satellites, is by allowing small, despin weights to unwind from about the satellite so that they absorb some, or all, of the satellite angular momentum. This technique which has been used successfully on several U.S. satellites is commonly referred to as yo-yo despin. Several studies of the motion of a system such as this have been published where it was assumed that the motion was two-dimensional (i.e., without coning). This dissertation presents a comprehensive study of the yo-yo despin problem which includes a derivation of two-dimensional results as well as a three-dimensional or exact solution. The results presented are sufficient for rudimentary design computations and provide examples of the corrections necessary to apply to two-dimensional computations for their applications as estimates for the general motion. An approximate solution of the three-dimensional equations of motion is also presented along with an example of the accuracy obtained by the approximation. The equations of motion are derived in a straightforward manner using the vectorial methods of Newtonian mechanics. The Euler equations for a rigid body are used to describe the motion of the rigid body itself. The moment acting on the body through the tension in the yo-yo cables is unknown and it is necessary to apply the second law of Newton to a despin weight so that sufficient independent differential equations are available for the solution of the problem variables. These relations give three first-order differential equations and two second-order ones. An expression for the cable tension is also obtained. This system of equations is integrated numerically by a standard Runge-Kutta process. Two singularities require special attention: first, at the initial instant the fundamental inversion matrix for the Newton equations is singular; and second, special care must be taken at a point in the integration where a discontinuity is found to occur. Outside of these special points, the integration process is quite routine although some cases require precautions near the end of the despinning process in order that the integration is stopped before violent tumbling occurs. In order to discuss the motion relative to a fixed reference axis the Euler angles, and Euler angle rate equations are also integrated. A point of interest concerning the derivation of the equations of motion is that the Lagrange technique cannot be used without modification due to internal constraints which do work. After a numerical study of several typical examples, one concludes that for initial coning angles of less than 10° a two-dimensional analysis is sufficient for determining many important design variables such as maximum cable tension and despin time, although the cable length is somewhat overestimated and problems may occur in the release of the weights if only a two-dimensional analysis is considered. If one desires information on the angular trajectory of the body in inertial coordinates, a study of the problem must be made using the exact three-dimensional relations or the approximate three-dimensional relations. The approximate expressions save the investigator a great deal of effort and apparently provides excellent results. / Ph. D.

Historical accounts depict NASA's interactions with American citizens beyond government agencies and aerospace firms since the 1950s and 1960s as efforts to 'sell' its human space flight initiatives and to position external publics as would-be observers, consumers, and supporters of such activities. Characterizing citizens solely as celebrants of NASA's successes, however, masks the myriad publics, engagement modes, and influences that comprised NASA's efforts to forge connections between human space flight and citizens after Apollo 11 culminated. While corroborating the premise that NASA constantly seeks public and political approval for its costly human space programs, I argue that maintaining legitimacy in light of shifting social attitudes, political priorities, and divided interest in space flight required NASA to reconsider how to serve and engage external publics vis-à-vis its next major human space program, the Space Shuttle. Adopting a sociotechnical imaginary featuring the Shuttle as a versatile technology that promised something for everyone, NASA sought to engage citizens with the Shuttle in ways appealing to their varied, expressed interests and became dependent on some publics' direct involvement to render the vehicle viable economically, socially, and politically. NASA's ability and willingness to democratize the Shuttle proved difficult to sustain, however, as concerns evolved following the Challenger accident among NASA personnel, political officials, and external publics about the Shuttle's purpose, value, safety, and propriety. Mapping the publics and engagement modes NASA regarded as crucial to the Shuttle's legitimacy, this case study exposes the visions of public accountability and other influences -- including changing perceptions of a technology -- that can govern how technoscientific institutions perceive and engage various external publics. Doing so illuminates the prospects and challenges associated with democratizing decisions and uses for space and, perhaps, other technologies managed by U.S. government agencies while suggesting a new pathway for scholarly inquiry regarding interactions between technoscientific institutions and external publics. Expanding NASA's historical narrative, this study demonstrates that entities not typically recognized as space program contributors played significant roles in shaping the Shuttle program, substantively and culturally. Conceptualizing and valuing external publics in these ways may prove key for NASA to sustain human space flight going forward. / Ph. D.