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Project Title:  Spinal Elongation and Its Effects on Seated Height in a Microgravity Environment Reduce
Fiscal Year: FY 2012 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
 Start Date: 12/11/2007  
End Date: 10/01/2011  
Task Last Updated: 02/07/2012 		 Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Rajulu, Sudhakar  Ph.D. / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  Code SF3 
2101 NASA Pkwy 
Houston , TX 77058 		 Email: sudhakar.rajulu-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-3725  
Congressional District: 22 
Web:  
 Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Young, Karen  Lockheed-Martin / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: Miranda Mesloh is no longer a Co-Investigator.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. Directed Research 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Perchonok, Michele  
Center Contact: (281) 483-7632 
michele.perchonok22@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 7340  		Solicitation / Funding Source: Directed Research 
Grant/Contract No.: Directed Research 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program: Shuttle/ISS 
TechPort: No  		No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:   		No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) HSIA:Risk of Adverse Outcomes Due to Inadequate Human Systems Integration Architecture
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) HSIA-401:We need to determine how HSI can be applied in the vehicle/habitat and computer interface Design Phase to mitigate potential decrements in operationally-relevant performance (e.g. problem-solving, execution procedures), during increasingly earth-independent, future exploration missions (including in-mission and at landing).
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: ISS 20, ISS 21, ISS 22, ISS 23, ISS 24, ISS 25, ISS 26

STS-128, STS-129, STS-130, STS-132, STS-133, STS-134

NOTE: End date should be 10/1/2011, per E. Connell/JSC (Ed., 9/16/2011)

NOTE: Start date should be 12/11/2007 (from 6/02/2008) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (5/19/2009)

NOTE: End date should be 06/30/2012 (from 9/30/2011) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/17/2009)

NOTE: End date corrected to 9/30/2011 (from 9/30/2010) per S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/2009)

Task Description: The primary objective of this project is to provide information pertaining to changes in seated height due to spinal elongation in a microgravity environment. The proposed experiment aims to collect seated height data for subjects exposed to microgravity environments, provide information relating to seated height rate of change over time, and feed new information regarding the impact of elongation upon seated height into the design of Constellation systems. Historical data indicates that spinal elongation occurs when crewmembers are subjected to microgravity. As a result, in as little as two days, the typical crewmember will exhibit increases in stature of up to 3 percent. However, spinal elongation impact data has been collected only for crewmembers in standing postures, and that too, from a limited pool of subjects. Due to the criticality of seated height in the design of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a better understanding of the effects of microgravity/spinal elongation on seated height is necessary. Small changes in seated height that may not have impacted crew accommodation in previous programs will have significant effects on crew accommodation due to the layout of seats in the CEV.

The proposed study will directly measure changes in seated height for crewmembers in the Shuttle cockpit. An anthropometer will be used to record measurements to the top of the head of a seated subject, and an orthogonal photograph will be taken in order to measure seated height based on scaling references of known sizes as well as verify the posture and positioning remained consistent throughout the study. Data gained from this study will provide better information to CEV designers. Accurate measurements of crew seated height growth will be valuable for vehicle and habitation designers for future programs as well.

See also https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=690

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: This study will provide information on spinal elongation and how space flight will affect accommodation and design requirements. This information may also be useful for people who suffer from back pain and back compression on Earth.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2012 
Task Progress: During the FY11, this project was able to complete data collection during two Shuttle flights for a total of 29 participants for the conclusion of the study. Thirty-two subjects consented to participate in the spinal elongation experiment, including ISS backup crewmembers. Two subjects were not able to participate during their mission due to Shuttle launch date slips. The PI team was able to achieve the total number of subjects for this experiment during this fiscal year. The PI team was able to analyze the results of seated height growth as well as stature growth which was an optional measurement for the participants. A final report and corresponding memos were generated and submitted as part of the project’s milestones to inform stakeholders of the spinal elongation results and to update all requirement documents as necessary.

The pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight data was used to determine results for the change in seated height due to microgravity.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/25/2020) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Young K, Rajulu S. "Effect of microgravity on seated height: preliminary results." 18th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, Houston, TX, April 11-15, 2011.

18th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, Houston, TX, April 11-15, 2011. , Apr-2011

Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Young KS, Rajulu S. "Changes in seated height in microgravity." Appl Ergon. 2020 Feb;83:102995. Epub 2019 Nov 15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102995 ; PubMed PMID: 31739138 , Feb-2020
Back to Search Results    
Project Title:  Spinal Elongation and Its Effects on Seated Height in a Microgravity Environment Reduce
Fiscal Year: FY 2011 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
 Start Date: 12/11/2007  
End Date: 10/01/2011  
Task Last Updated: 10/12/2010 		 Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Rajulu, Sudhakar  Ph.D. / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  Code SF3 
2101 NASA Pkwy 
Houston , TX 77058 		 Email: sudhakar.rajulu-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-3725  
Congressional District: 22 
Web:  
 Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Young, Karen  Lockheed-Martin / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Mesloh, Miranda  Lockheed-Martin / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: Leah Norrell is no longer a Co-Investigator. Miranda Mesloh has been added as the current Co-Investigator.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. Directed Research 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Woolford, Barbara  
Center Contact: 218-483-3701 
barbara.j.woolford@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 7340  		Solicitation / Funding Source: Directed Research 
Grant/Contract No.: Directed Research 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program: Shuttle/ISS 
TechPort: No  		No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:   		No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) HSIA:Risk of Adverse Outcomes Due to Inadequate Human Systems Integration Architecture
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) HSIA-401:We need to determine how HSI can be applied in the vehicle/habitat and computer interface Design Phase to mitigate potential decrements in operationally-relevant performance (e.g. problem-solving, execution procedures), during increasingly earth-independent, future exploration missions (including in-mission and at landing).
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: ISS 20, ISS 21, ISS 22, ISS 23, ISS 24, ISS 25, ISS 26

STS-128, STS-129, STS-130, STS-132, STS-133, STS-134

NOTE: End date should be 10/1/2011, per E. Connell/JSC (Ed., 9/16/2011)

NOTE: Start date should be 12/11/2007 (from 6/02/2008) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (5/19/2009)

NOTE: End date should be 06/30/2012 (from 9/30/2011) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/17/2009)

NOTE: End date corrected to 9/30/2011 (from 9/30/2010) per S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/2009)

Task Description: The primary objective of this project is to provide information pertaining to changes in seated height due to spinal elongation in a microgravity environment. The proposed experiment aims to collect seated height data for subjects exposed to microgravity environments, provide information relating to seated height rate of change over time, and feed new information regarding the elongation of the spine forward into the design of Constellation systems. Historical data indicates that spinal elongation occurs when crewmembers are subjected to microgravity. In as little as two days, the typical crewmember will exhibit increases in stature of up to 3 percent. However, data has been collected only for crewmembers in standing postures, and a limited pool of subjects was available.

Due to the criticality of seated height in the design of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a better understanding of the effects of microgravity on seated height is necessary. Small changes in seated height that may not have impacted crew accommodation in previous programs will have significant effects on crew accommodation due to the layout of seats in the CEV.

The proposed study will directly measure changes in seated height for crewmembers in the Shuttle cockpit. An anthropometer will be used to record measurements to the top of the head of a seated subject, and an orthogonal photograph will be taken in order to measure seated height based on scaling references of known sizes as well as verify the posture and positioning remained consistent throughout the study.

Data gained from this study will provide better information to CEV designers. Accurate measurements of crew seated height will be valuable for vehicle and habitation designers for future programs as well.

See also http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/Spinal_Elongation.html

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: This study will provide information on spinal elongation and how space flight will affect accommodation requirements. This information may also be useful for people who suffer from back pain and back compression on Earth.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2011 
Task Progress: During the FY10, this project has been able to collect data during 4 Shuttle flights for a total of 22 participants. Thirty-one subjects have consented to participate in the spinal elongation experiment, including ISS backup crewmembers. The PI team has been able to collect pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight data from 22 subjects. The PI team was expected to achieve the total number of subjects for this experiment this fiscal year; however, due to Shuttle launch dates slipping, not all participating subjects were able to complete this experiment in FY10.

The in-flight data from the four Shuttle flights was used to determine preliminary results for the change in seated height due to microgravity. These preliminary results were also presented at the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) meeting. The results of the simulated microgravity flights, completed in FY09, were also presented at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society conference.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/25/2020) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Young K, Mesloh M, Rajulu S. "Preliminary Results of the Effect of Spinal Elongation in Microgravity on Seated Height." Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) 81st Annual Meeting,, Phoenix, AZ, May 9-13, 2010.

Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 2010 Mar;81(3):336. , Mar-2010

Papers from Meeting Proceedings Young KS, Mesloh M, Rajulu S. "Development of methodology to gather seated anthropometry data in a microgravity environment." Presented at the 3rd International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE), Miami, Florida, 17-20 July 2010.

Conference proceedings. 3rd International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE), July 2010. , Jul-2010

Back to Search Results    
Project Title:  Spinal Elongation and Its Effects on Seated Height in a Microgravity Environment Reduce
Fiscal Year: FY 2010 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
 Start Date: 12/11/2007  
End Date: 10/01/2011  
Task Last Updated: 10/07/2009 		 Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Rajulu, Sudhakar  Ph.D. / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  Code SF3 
2101 NASA Pkwy 
Houston , TX 77058 		 Email: sudhakar.rajulu-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-3725  
Congressional District: 22 
Web:  
 Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Young, Karen  Lockheed-Martin / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Mesloh, Miranda Sue Lockheed-Martin / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: Leah Norrell is no longer a Co-Investigator. Miranda Mesloh has been added as the current Co-Investigator.
Project Information: 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Woolford, Barbara  
Center Contact: 218-483-3701 
barbara.j.woolford@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 7340  		Solicitation / Funding Source: Directed Research 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program: ISS 
TechPort: No  		No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:   		No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) HSIA:Risk of Adverse Outcomes Due to Inadequate Human Systems Integration Architecture
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) HSIA-401:We need to determine how HSI can be applied in the vehicle/habitat and computer interface Design Phase to mitigate potential decrements in operationally-relevant performance (e.g. problem-solving, execution procedures), during increasingly earth-independent, future exploration missions (including in-mission and at landing).
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: ISS 20, 21, 22

NOTE: End date should be 10/1/2011, per E. Connell/JSC (Ed., 9/16/2011)

NOTE: Start date should be 12/11/2007 (from 6/02/2008) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (5/19/2009)

NOTE: End date should be 06/30/2012 (from 9/30/2011) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/17/2009)

NOTE: End date corrected to 9/30/2011 (from 9/30/2010) per S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/2009)

Task Description: The primary objective of this project is to provide information pertaining to changes in seated height due to spinal elongation in a microgravity environment. The proposed experiment aims to collect seated height data for subjects exposed to microgravity environments, provide information relating to seated height rate of change over time, and feed new information regarding the elongation of the spine forward into the design of Constellation systems. Historical data indicates that spinal elongation occurs when crewmembers are subjected to microgravity. In as little as two days, the typical crewmember will exhibit increases in stature of up to 3 percent. However, data has been collected only for crewmembers in standing postures, and a limited pool of subjects was available.

Due to the criticality of seated height in the design of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a better understanding of the effects of microgravity on seated height is necessary. Small changes in seated height that may not have impacted crew accommodation in previous programs will have significant effects on crew accommodation due to the layout of seats in the CEV.

The proposed study will directly measure changes in seated height for crewmembers in the Shuttle cockpit. An anthropometer will be used to record measurements to the top of the head of a seated subject, and an orthogonal photograph will be taken in order to measure seated height based on scaling references of known sizes as well as verify the posture and positioning remained consistent throughout the study.

Data gained from this study will provide better information to CEV designers. Accurate measurements of crew seated height will be valuable for vehicle and habitation designers for future programs as well.

See also http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/Spinal_Elongation.html

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: This study will provide information on spinal elongation and how space flight will affect accommodation requirements. This information may also be useful for people who suffer from back pain and back compression on Earth.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2010 
Task Progress: During the FY09, this project has progressed in development of the flight hardware, including microgravity flights; crew training; and crew baseline data collection for several subjects.

The Spinal Elongation PI team completed three microgravity flights, assessing the restraint methods and techniques to be used for the in-flight procedures and simulating the preliminary in-flight procedures to be performed by the crewmembers in orbit. The three flights provided much insight into the procedure for restraining a person in microgravity in the Shuttle seat. The first flight proved that the restraint system on the seat, used in a nominal configuration, was not sufficient to restrain a person in the seat. The subjects were not in full contact with the seat pan, resulting in inaccurate sitting height data. As a result, a second flight was performed to test different restraint system options, adding additional Velcro restraints, rerouting the restraint system currently on the seat, etc. The results showed that rerouting the restraint system was the best method to restrain a subject and had the least cost and schedule impact. A third flight occurred, testing out the final restraint system routing and additional measurements were collected to verify the results from flight number 2. A final summary report was submitted during FY09 with the results from each of the three microgravity flights.

The information obtained from the microgravity flights resulted in updates to the crew procedures and the design of the custom anthropometer hardware. This fiscal year, the custom anthropometer assembly was fabricated and shipped to KSC in preparation for the first flight of the experiment, STS-128.

Flight data from STS-128 is now in-house and will be compared to the baseline data.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/25/2020) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2010
Back to Search Results    
Project Title:  Spinal Elongation and Its Effects on Seated Height in a Microgravity Environment Reduce
Fiscal Year: FY 2008 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
 Start Date: 12/11/2007  
End Date: 10/01/2011  
Task Last Updated: 03/17/2009 		 Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Rajulu, Sudhakar  Ph.D. / NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  Code SF3 
2101 NASA Pkwy 
Houston , TX 77058 		 Email: sudhakar.rajulu-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-3725  
Congressional District: 22 
Web:  
 Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Young, Karen  Lockheed-Martin/ NASA Johnson Space Center 
Norrell, Leah  Lockheed-Martin/ NASA Johnson Space Center 
Project Information: 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Woolford, Barbara  
Center Contact: 218-483-3701 
barbara.j.woolford@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 7340  		Solicitation / Funding Source: Directed Research 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program: ISS 
TechPort: No  		No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:   		No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) SHFH:Space Human Factors & Habitability (archival in 2017)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) HSIA:Risk of Adverse Outcomes Due to Inadequate Human Systems Integration Architecture
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) HSIA-401:We need to determine how HSI can be applied in the vehicle/habitat and computer interface Design Phase to mitigate potential decrements in operationally-relevant performance (e.g. problem-solving, execution procedures), during increasingly earth-independent, future exploration missions (including in-mission and at landing).
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: ISS 20, 21, 22

NOTE: End date should be 10/1/2011, per E. Connell/JSC (Ed., 9/16/2011)

NOTE: Start date should be 12/11/2007 (from 6/02/2008) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (5/19/2009)

NOTE: End date should be 06/30/2012 (from 9/30/2011) per B. Woolford/S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/17/2009)

NOTE: End date corrected to 9/30/2011 (from 9/30/2010) per S. Steinberg-Wright/JSC (4/2009)

Task Description: The primary objective of this project is to provide information pertaining to changes in seated height due to spinal elongation in a microgravity environment. The proposed experiment aims to collect seated height data for subjects exposed to microgravity environments, provide information relating to seated height rate of change over time, and feed new information regarding the elongation of the spine forward into the design of Constellation systems.

Historical data indicates that spinal elongation occurs when crewmembers are subjected to microgravity. In as little as two days, the typical crewmember will exhibit increases in stature of up to 3 percent. However, data has been collected only for crewmembers in standing postures, and a limited pool of subjects was available.

Due to the criticality of seated height in the design of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a better understanding of the effects of microgravity on seated height is necessary. Small changes in seated height that may not have impacted crew accommodation in previous programs will have significant effects on crew accommodation due to the layout of seats in the CEV.

The proposed study will directly measure changes in seated height for crewmembers in the Shuttle cockpit. An anthropometer will be used to record measurements to the top of the head of a seated subject, and an orthogonal photograph will be taken in order to measure seated height based on scaling references of known sizes as well as verify the posture and positioning remained consistent throughout the study.

Data gained from this study will provide better information to CEV designers. Accurate measurements of crew seated height will be valuable for vehicle and habitation designers for future programs as well.

See also http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/Spinal_Elongation.html

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: This study will provide information on spinal elongation and compression for people who suffer from back pain on Earth.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2008 
Task Progress: New project for FY2008.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/25/2020) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2008
Back to Search Results