A history of astronaut construction of large space structures at NASA Langley Research Center

During the 1970's through the early 1990's, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) conducted studies for the design and construction of large space structures in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The Langley studies focused on the design and construction of erectable space structures. The construction studies evaluated assembly methods using astronauts with and without mechanized foot-restraints. Astronaut construction was shown to be very effective and efficient when the structure and the construction methods were developed in parallel. This paper presents an overview of the LaRC astronaut construction studies of erectable structures, including a database of assembly rates and lessons learned. In addition this paper presents potential applications of erectable structure assembly methods using EVA astronauts and a suggested integrated approach for construction of large space structures.