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A re-configurable, portable test station was developed for integrating and testing real-time performance metrics for continuously assessing operator effectiveness in operationally-relevant spaceflight piloting tasks. The test station includes a single computer for hosting the vehicle simulation, rendering both graphical flight displays and a 3-D out-the-window view, and computing the performance metrics in real-time. The pilot interacts with the simulation using four displays (two piloting displays, one out-the-window display, and a mission summary display), a rotational hand controller, a translational hand controller, and a microphone. A fifth display provides a system status I engineering view for the experimenter. A key component of the simulation station is the real-time metrics engine and algorithms, which estimates pilot workload, situation awareness, and flight performance without interfering with the piloting task, or adding equipment or infrastructure to the flight deck. Workload and flight performance are estimated based on an analysis of the vehicle state (e.g., attitude, altitude, % fuel) and the pilot commands (e.g., hand controller movement), whereas situation awareness is estimated based on the comparison of the actual vehicle state and that spoken (and converted to text through an automatic speech recognition algorithm) by the flying pilot. This real time simulation station development is discussed in the context of four operationally-relevant spaceflight tasks: piloted lunar landing, Orion/MPCV docking operations with the International Space Station (ISS), and manual control of the spacewalking Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) jet pack near the ISS.

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Objective This project quantifies operationally relevant measures of flight performance and workload in a high-fidelity long-duration spaceflight analog, longitudinally across mission duration, using a portable simulation platform. Background Real-time performance measures allow for the objective assessment of task performance and the timely identification of performance degradations. Methods Measures of flight performance on a piloted lunar lander task were collected on 32 total crewmembers across 8 simulated space missions of 45 days each (623 total sessions). Results Mission duration demonstrated a significant effect on measures of flight performance across all campaigns. Flight measures showed a general pattern of peaking in accuracy during the middle-late quartiles of overall mission time, then degrading again towards baseline. On the workload measure, however, a general linear decrease in workload consistent with progressive task learning was observed in both campaigns. Conclusion This investigation demonstrated the disruptive effect of time in mission on some, but not all, aspects of task performance. While mission interval differentially impacted measures of flight accuracy, workload, by contrast, seemed to steadily decrease with in-mission time. Application While more work is needed, the observed discrepancy between progression of flight performance and workload assessment highlights the importance of sensitive and specific measurement tools for the tracking of distinct performance metrics.

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