Lunar Lander Handling Qualities Experiments at the Vertical Motion Simulator
Flight vehicle “handling qualities” describe the ease and precision with which a pilot can execute a flying task and they depend upon numerous factors, such as vehicle response, guidance cues, and inceptors. Comprehensive handling qualities standards exist for aircraft, but to date, no such standard has been developed for space vehicles. To this end, NASA conducted six experiments at Ames’ Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) from 2007 to 2009 to study handling qualities of piloted spacecraft, for the flying tasks of lunar landing, orbital docking, and atmospheric entry. Over 30 astronauts from the Space Shuttle and Apollo programs participated in these studies as evaluation pilots.
Three lunar landing studies were conducted, using simulation models representative of the Apollo Lunar Module and the Altair lunar lander. Pilots began the landing approach at “low gate;” 1350 feet horizontally and 500 feet vertically from the landing site, traveling at 60 feet per second horizontally and –16 feet per second vertically. A high-resolution lunar surface visual database was created with a landing pad for pilots to target during descent (Figure 1). For this high-precision lunar landing task, evaluation pilots (Figure 2) were presented with various combinations of attitude control power, guidance cues, inceptor sensitivities, control response types, and display features. Pilots evaluated vehicle handling qualities for each configuration by providing commentary, Cooper-Harper ratings, and NASA Task Load Index ratings.
Learn more about these lunar landing studies in the following publications:
- Effects of Control Power and Guidance Cues on Lunar Lander Handling Qualities [external PDF]
- Effects of Control Power and Inceptor Sensitivity on Lunar Lander Handling Qualities [external PDF]
- Improved Lunar Lander Handling Qualities Through Control Response Type and Display Enhancements [external PDF]
