RMA for Vertical Translation in Multiple Gravity Situations

Last crawled date: 1 year, 11 months ago

Of the many challenges presented in this competition, the issue of effective and safe vertical translation in multiple gravity environments seemed the most difficult, and so that is the challenge I tackled first. The solution that I am proposing is an all-in-one combination ladder/staircase that would effectively address this challenge.
Unfortunately I came upon this competition too late to finish developing the complete restraint and mobility system, however this is the beginning of a system that would that would allow astronauts to navigate the station/habitation safely and comfortably. For missions that could extend many months or years, it's important that any RMA solution is both ergonomic and comfortable over the long term. This means that an ideal system would be integrated into the habitation or base structure and not require the astronauts to wear any special harnesses, gloves, or shoes to safely use the system.

*Note* The constraint that "The system shall require no reconfiguration or alteration to operate in 0g, 1/6g, 3/8g, and 1g" I interpreted to mean that no parts need to be removed or replaced in order for it to work in different gravity environments.*
The system works as follows:
In a 0G environment the ladder is stored vertically, allowing for full unobstructed access to the hatchways and providing hand-holds from floor to ceiling for the astronauts to use while maneuvering weight-less.
In gravity environments (1/6g, 3/8g, 1g) the ladder transforms into a staircase. To do this, a button is depressed in the floor below the bottom rung that releases a lock holding the base of the ladder in place. This allows the base of the ladder to slide along two channels embedded in the floor until it reaches the far side of the hatch opening and again locks into place, securing it.
This new configuration should be used in all gravity environments, and is of course strong enough to be used for training here on earth in 1G.

This design allows for astronauts to easily and safely translate vertically between floors even when they're hands are fully occupied. By not requiring them to where any special harnesses, shoes or gloves, they can focus on the tasks of the mission and not how they're going to move around the station/habitation.