A Manned Systems Simulator for Design and Research

This paper describes the Integrated Manned Systems Simulator (IMSS), which is a Convair division laboratory tool for optimizing displays, controls, and vehicle dynamics in manned aerospacecraft. The focus of the simulator is a psychologically acceptable replica of a spacecraft´s flight deck, complete with instruments, controls, and out-of-the-window view. The simulator can also be used to check out control and display hardware as it becomes available during the development of a manned-flight project, to check out the operation of the various vehicle subsystems which have interfaces with the crew, and to study man´s role in aerospace flight. The IMSS, capable of simulating most space-vehicle operations, is company-owned and is housed in a 5,000-square-foot building of its own. Principal elements are a modular flight deck, a unique visual environment generation system (using fine-line monochrome TV), a data station for recording and displaying test results in real time, and computing facilities (analog, hybrid, and digital), which are available as needed by means of a set of land lines. The flight deck may be enclosed in nearby or remote, speciallybuilt enclosures or in the simulator´s quiet room. Intended to be a design and research tool, IMSS is not a trainer, though it could be so used. Consequently, flight deck configurations for different studies are expected to draw heavily on the simulator´s kit of modular parts. The flight deck is of the fixed-base type.