Bioastronautics (Wyle Labs Contract)

MEI provides systems engineering, design & development, payload integration and technical services in support of NASA Johnson Space Center, in Houston, TX. Tasks performed include fundamental and applied biomedical research; biotechnology development; operational space medicine; clinical laboratories; behavioral sciences; human factors engineering; spacecraft environment monitoring and management; space food laboratory; biomedical engineering; biomedical flight hardware requirements, design, fabrication, and testing; payload and hardware integration with Shuttle and the International Space Station; and space flight operations. Our engineers, scientists, and technical personnel provide integration of all components in the habitable volume of human spaceflight environments; analyze the interior volumes of the ISS to support a habitable and operational environment for the crew; provide payloads human engineering guidance on hardware development, and troubleshoot space-flight hardware integration for human factors concerns; and provide a visual, 3-dimensional graphic of the planned ISS environment. We are also active members in integrated product teams in the design, development, test, and evaluation of flight hardware integral to Space Medicine and Health Care Systems crew health functions. Typical of the projects completed include:

• Habitability Design Center (HDC) personnel designed, fabricated, and hosted evaluations of a full-scale Lunar Lander Ascent Vehicle mockup to assess habitable volume, ergonomic/anthropometric feasibility, design and placement of windows, displays and controls, and stowage concepts.
• The LIDS (Low Impact Docking System) test, in support of the CEV, involved verifying that a suited crewmember could translate through the LIDS tunnel in the event that pressure was lost in the lunar and/or crew module of the CEV. This test used a low-fidelity mockup suspended from the PGCS (Partial Gravity Counterbalance System) and crewmembers wearing the Mark III hybrid prototype planetary suit. Using Dartfish™ software, our engineers determined the clearance between the widest point of the crewmember and the inside edge of the LIDS tunnel.

Points of Contact
Management: Barbara Pearson, 281-283-6120. bpearson@meitechinc.com
Contract Administration: Linda Slaman, 281-283-6155. lslaman@meitechinc.com

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