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Tonya Sanders
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Dryden Flight Research Center
NASA Mentor: Regina Maddock
Abstract
The Constellation Program was established by NASA to pursue and develop technologies for opening the space frontier and providing new information regarding the universe. The spacecraft designed to carry forward this mission is the Crew Exploration Vehicle, or CEV. To support NASA's endeavor, Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is assisting in the testing and integration of the vehicle's Launch Abort System (LAS). Specifically, the center's Flight Test Office (FTO) handles risk management and systems engineering aspects of the Abort Flight Test (AFT) program, whose goal is to implement risk reduction processes and lessons learned from human space flight experience. This paper is intended to provide an overview of the risk reduction practices associated with the design and testing of the CEV Launch Abort System.
NOTE: This internship was sponsored by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.
Tonya Sanders from Independence, Missouri, is a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. In 2008, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri S&T, and is currently pursuing a Master's degree with an emphasis on aerospace control systems. Recently, Tonya was selected for the NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP) fellowship by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where she participated in a summer internship in 2007. Tonya has also held an internship position at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and has traveled to Johnson Space Center on several occasions to participate in the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Program with other students from Missouri S&T. Tonya will earn her Master's degree in May 2010, and plans to pursue a career in aircraft operations and flight test engineering.
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