Samuel H. Nassiff Spacecraft Design Division V-B CONSTRUCTION BASE Construction base design is sensitive to the operational concept for its intended use in support of large structure manufacturing and design in a hostile environment. Crew size and associated support is a major driver in sizing the construction base. The early construction base located in LEO will most likely be a "pilot station" and therefore limited in crew size compared with the full size base located in GEO because of cost, functions, and operations considerations. Base design requirements will be influenced by system safety analysis with respect to manufacturing and construction operations. Specific operations requiring analysis such as assembly operations, docking of transport vehicles, propellant transfer, maintenance operations, crew rescue, and radiation environment monitoring and emergency operations all contribute to design requirements. The physical configuration of the SPS will also be a determining factor in construction base design. Considerations such as whether a portion of the construction base is free-flying or entirely attached to the SPS structure, the degree of subsystem support provided by each element of the base for the fabrication process, and the physical proximity of each element with respect to each other and the SPS structure must be considered. Five major elements of the LEO and GEO orbital construction base are defined as follows: 1. Construction and Manufacturing Facilities 2. Orbital Construction and Support Equipment 3. Logistics Facility 4. Integration Management Facility 5. Crew Habitation Facilities Each element contains equipment that is used to perform certain functions and tasks commensurate with the required step-by-step SPS sequential construction operations. Tables V-B-l through V-B-7 list the functional elements, associated equipment, capability, and major systems needed for a LEO and GEO construction base. The five major elements, as listed above, are needed for both LEO and GEO construction bases. The major differences between the LEO and GEO construction and manufacturing facilities are due to the nature of the functions and tasks required for construction in the respective orbits. However, commonality of construction equipment should be used wherever possible in LEO and GEO for cost effectiveness and keeping crew training and man-machine interfaces within acceptable levels.
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