From Space Shuttle to Space Station - Graduating from paper to electronic media

Operations procedures are carried on rhe Shuffle Orbirer in loose-leaf b o o b . NASA inrends ro srore similar procedures for Space Srarion primarily in elecnonic media, ro be execured onboard at fued and portable display workrarions. Conversion from paper fo elecnonic media imposes penalties, such as loss of our excellent facilities for manipularion of physical books, rapid scanning, browsing, erc. The aurhor claims rhar rhe display of paper-image equivalenrs is a poor design choice for crew procedures in Space Srarion operarions. This is because rhe formars, and modes of use, of paper procedures are adapred to rhe arrribures of paper, bur are nor well suired ro rhose of rhe display screen. The compurer-driven medium is porenr enough fo do much more rhan compensare for rhe lost advantages of paper. Through a dynamic user interface described here, ir can offer smarr, responrive arsisrance rhar will make procedure execuion fasrer, more accurare, and more acceprable ro crewmembers rhan fned geomeriy displays. I n a broader sense, rhis work shows that for domains where a railored interface is appropriate, elecrronic media, offen perceived as cumbersome in hnndling information from paper docwnenrs, can be surprisingly robusr in communicating such informarion IO irs users. -. Paper Procedures For Space Shuttle While the Shuttle Orbiter is on the pad awaiting launch, a NASA official enters it and places critical paper documents in dedicated stowage areas. Collectively called the Flight Data File (FDF) for historic reasons. these loose-leaf books weigh about 95 pounds for most flights and have exceeded 150 pounds for a Spacelab flight. The FDF comprises a minimum of 25 titles, with some books duplicated in different onboard locations. Copies are also provided in Mission Control Center. "he preponderance of information in the FDF books is operations procedures. These govern the management of the vehicle and onboard systems, and the pursuit of all mission objectives. Standards for writing procedures. and for management and conuul of the endre Flight Data File are well documented [SI. FDF modifications are made via change request forms approved by the Crew Procedures Control Board, a governing body which includes an astronaut representative. Responsibility for managing and producing the books lies with the Orbit Procedures and FDF Section in the Flight Activity Branch, Mission Qperations Directorate at NASA JSC. The same organization will be responsible for control of the Space Station equivalent of the FDF. They have supported M m E efforts on the Space Station Flight Data File since late 1985 [4], and are sponsors of the present work. Electronic Procedures for Space Station The Space Station analog to the FDF, including all crew procedures. is intended by NASA generally to be stored in, and used from, elecmnic media instead of paper. This change is consistent with both the thrust of changing technology and the mandate from the U. S . Congress for emphasis on automation and robotics in the Space Station Program [I]. Crew procedures are those whose execution is managed by a human user, whether or not computer assisted. Excluded are procedures embedded in onboard core systems and procedures to be generated by software in real time, e.g., for control of core systems. With some exceptions, including emergency safety-critical operations, NASA intends for crew procedures to be executed from display screens at fixed and portable workstations onboard the Station. The multi-disciplinary Space Station Operations Task Force has suggested [141 that, "One specific goal for reducing the cost of operations is the effective use of scarce resources on the manned base. Crew time will be one of the most expensive and scarce resources ..." Computer assistance in executing individual procedure steps is already planned [ I l l ; examples arc retrieving data from sensors and transmitting commands to onboard systems. The broader issue of a user interface designed specifically to facilitate the use of electronic procedures must be explored with a view toward improving crew efficiency. Importance of the User Interface User interfaces (a.k.a. human-computer interfaces) are often regarded as mere front-end attachments to a system. The interface to be proposed here is pervasively interwoven with functionality, and cannot be so regarded. In designing it, the author has proceeded in accord with Donald Norman's view [7]: "The needs of the user should dominate the design of the interface, and the needs of the interface should dominate the design of the rest of the system." To help evaluate the needs of the user in Shuttle and Station environments, scheduled interviews were conducted by MITRE with approximately 30 NASA JSC workers, including astronauts, flight directors and