Application of Aeronautics Human Factors to Spaceflight 932037

Aerospace human factors captures principles and findings of human behavior and performance as they apply in the aeronautics and the space environments. While there is a significant and growing body of aeronautical human factors data, space human factors remains limited. Fortunately, the similarities between spaceflight and airflight provide space planners with a valuable means of anticipating human-based issues, of leveraging from aeronautical human factors research and experience and of shortcutting what would otherwise be a long learning curve. This paper considers some of the areas where human factors research has made, or is making, significant impact on the conduct of airflight and where, with limited additional work, spaceflight could be brought to a similar level of understanding.