Space Station Freedom Airlock: The Integration of IVA and EVA Capabilities in an Orbital Element

In order to meet mission goals, the Space Station Freedom (SSF) airlock must maximize crew efficiency while supporting a range of extravehicular activity (EVA) and intravehicular activity (IVA) operations. EVA will be a frequently planned occurrence on SSF. In order to maximize the usefulness of the limited EVA resource, overhead times must be minimized. This paper discusses how the SSF airlock outfitting design responds to both IVA and EVA requirements. An overview of the SSF airlock and the missions it must accomplish are also provided. The focus of this paper is on how the outfitting and man systems designs provide solutions to multiple requirements, explicitly stated as well as derived requirements. The Space Station airlock is evaluated as an integrated system in the functional assessments of the EVA task, and this paper explains how station common hardware and systems are adapted to the unique airlock environment.