
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991                   TAG: 9104110657
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON                                LENGTH: Medium

FUTURE ASTRONAUTS TO USE VIRGINIA HANDRAIL IN SPACE

When future astronauts start building space station Freedom, they'll maneuver in weightlessness with a designed-in-Virginia handrail that was chosen on the current flight of space shuttle Atlantis.

Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jay Apt, who completed two days of space walks Monday, will have key roles in deciding whether the "oval" or "dog bone" handle is best - or some combination of the two.

The two types of handrails, named for their shapes, were among the numerous contributions to the Atlantis mission of the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.

One of the flight's missions was to test the handrails used by the astronauts on the shuttle's track-and-cart system, which also was partly designed at Langley and was tested on the Atlantis flight. The system is called CETA for Crew and Equipment Translation Aid.

"It consists of two track sections and an outrigger handrail," said Robin Edwards, a spokeswoman at the Hampton center. "They will use three carts to propel them down the track."

The main elements in the CETA experiment are the carts because all three use astronaut power to move.

One cart has electric motors that generate power when a crank-type handle is turned by the astronaut. Another operates like a railroad handcar, moving as the astronaut pumps a mechanical handle. The third cart is moved manually with the astronaut pulling himself along while standing on a platform.

In addition to deciding which type of cart is best suited for space construction, the astronauts will evaluate the two types of handrails.

The devices are more scientific than their names imply, Edwards said. The handrail devices can measure the loads placed on them by the astronauts.

In the meantime, the track equipment can measure force and velocity in the movement of the carts.

But a big part of the evaluation is subjective. The astronauts will decide which handrail is easier to grip, and whether the best way to move along the track is hand-over-hand pulling or a pushing-off technique, Edwards said.

"They're looking for as simple a concept as possible," she said.

NASA will need the track and cart system to move crews and equipment between living quarters and the exterior structure of the planned space station.

by CNB