When astronauts venture outside the International Space Station to perform critical maintenance, it is essential for them to access and store their tools quickly and conveniently. Every tool must remain securely attached to their spacesuit while still being readily available when needed.
A team of Florida Polytechnic University mechanical engineering students spent 10 months developing a one-handed wearable tool dock designed to make that process easier, faster and more efficient.
NASA put the team’s tool to the test at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, as part of the agency’s annual and highly selective Micro-g NExT Challenge.
“It was nerve-wracking knowing that 10 months of hard work came down to a 10-minute testing window,” said team lead Adrian Santos, a rising senior who aspires to be an aerospace engineer. “Watching the diver use our device flawlessly in each position on the astronaut’s tool belt gave us an incredible sense of relief.”
To succeed, their design had to allow an astronaut to install a tool without touching the dock’s receptacle or its probe. The system also needed to operate seamlessly despite the limited mobility caused by bulky spacesuits and gloves.
Florida Poly’s Team Silver Eclipse solved this by designing a cylindrical housing utility bolt – a two-part device about the size of a soda can with one part connecting to the tool and another to an astronaut’s utility belt. The pieces quickly attach and detach, utilizing a central spinning core inspired by a fidget spinner.
The design is intended to improve the current systems, which require astronauts to operate a button, switch or latch before stowing a tool, a challenge during long spacewalks that involve bulky gloves, limited sightlines and awkward body positions.
“I was impressed from the very beginning, and I liked that they were willing to try lots of new things and didn’t let any challenges through the process define them,” said Tyler Isaacs, a NASA propulsion engineer and the team’s industry mentor. “Their design is leaps and bounds ahead of their initial proposal and it’s cool to see them learn about themselves and take the feedback they received and really learn from it.”
A NASA diver operated the device underwater at its Neutral Buoyancy Lab to simulate the microgravity conditions of space. Guided by the student team, the diver attached and released a tool as he would in space.
It performed exactly as they’d envisioned.
“I was a little nervous at first wondering what would happen if something went wrong, but once the diver started using our device without us providing any more instructions, I felt so relieved and proud,” said Isabella Duran, a rising junior with her career sights set on aerospace engineering.
This marked Florida Poly’s second year in the prestigious challenge, joining only 12 other institutions nationwide, including Purdue University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
The members of Florida Poly’s Team Silver Eclipse are Santos, William Roche, Reynaldo Smearman, Duran and Cole Rhodes. The team’s faculty advisors were Dr. Alexander Murphy and Dr. Apurva Patel, assistant professors of mechanical engineering.
“This team’s success demonstrates Florida Poly students’ continued ability to develop innovative engineering solutions for the challenges that astronauts face in space,” Patel said.
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Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
