A Human Factors Evaluation of the Space Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade
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Authors
Westenhaver, Michael S.
Subjects
Human Factors
Mental Workload
Situation Awareness
Space Shuttle
NASA
Display Design
Mental Workload
Situation Awareness
Space Shuttle
NASA
Display Design
Advisors
Schmidt, John K.
Bursch, Daniel
Date of Issue
2012-09
Date
Sep-12
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
During the late 90s, NASA retrofitted the Space Shuttle fleet with a glass cockpit. The new displays replicated legacy formats developed in the 70s, and did not leverage 20 years of display technology and human factors advances. To address this shortcoming the Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU) was initiated to reduce mental workload (MW), increase situational awareness (SA), and enhance performance. Despite the CAU demonstrating improvements in MW, SA, and performance, it was cancelled. Consequently, recorded astronaut data from using the baseline and CAU cockpit configurations was never tied back to cockpit design. This study assesses the CAU design employing human factors principles, evaluates baseline and CAU simulation data, and traces MW and SA differences back to CAU design modifications. Significant improvements were found in all measures and across all conditions. These improvements were found to be greater for ascent scenarios than for entry. From the findings, recommendations for the design and evaluation of future spacecraft cockpits are made.
Type
Thesis
Description
Human Systems Integration Report
Series/Report No
Department
Space Systems Operations
Human Systems Integration
Operations Research (OR)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.