Last week I wrote about the changes in the space capsule seat. In short, the seat was turned 180 degrees and raised in an upwards position which presented solutions for many of the issues related to hatch collision, internal volume and outlook.
The seat itself is a major subsystem, volumetric wise, and it is important to understand in details how it should be designed before making any conclusion on the total geometry of the capsule. So, the seat has gotten special attention this last week.
The previous two seats I produced were made entirely using flat metals plates forming the ergonomic geometry for the body. This is very time consuming work and you basically start from scratch, each time a new seat has to be produced.
I always wanted to create a uniform shape for holding the body using some kind of casting process but never got around this, but now it is time. If I invest some time in creating a model for future casting of seat elements the process of creating future seats will be much faster. Also, the comfort factor will be raised, the overall size will be more optimized and we will save weight (even though I don’t care much about this)
The seat design for Tycho Deep Space II is based on simple 2D laser cut aluminum ribs and top flanges to hold the uniform shape. The total configuration is still based on the compact Kazbek seat used in Soyuz capsules.
Soyuz Kazbek seats are tailored individually for each astronaut by placing the person in an over sized seat shape and pouring in plaster. The perfect ergonomic shape provides optimal acceleration absorption for the body especially during hard Soyuz landings on land.
I am currently trying out a slightly different approach. I nicked a large block of polystyrene in which I am carving out the shape using a spoon. Later, I will add a 10 mm layer of plaster for final ergonomic fitting and to create a smooth surface for final glass fiber molding. I can either choose to use this glass fiber model in the final seat or go all fancy duplicating this using carbon fiber.
I will continue spoon-digging until I have the correct depth and shape. Looking forward to testing a glass fiber seat shape very soon!
Do not forget our 8 tonnes thrust TM65 liquid propellant engine test on Saturday. Nominal T-0 time is 1400 Copenhagen time (8 am NYC time). As always, you will find high res live feed during the day, on our website or Wired, with English speaking commentators telling you all about procedures, the test and results.
Stay tuned!
Ad Astra
Kristian von Bengtson
