Aerospace Medical Association 84th Annual Scientific MeetingMay 13, 2013
Red Bull Stratos Medical Operations
Medical Mission Control and Operational Planning for the
Red Bull Stratos Project
Jennifer Law, MD, MPH Alejandro Garbino, MD, PhD
Jonathan Clark, MD, MPH Rebecca Blue, MD, MPH
Sharmila Watkins, MD, MPH
Shawn Goughnour
Disclosure InformationJennifer Law, MD, MPH
I have no financial relationships to disclose.
I will not discuss off-label use and/or investigational use in my presentation.
Introduction
• Red Bull Stratos flight test program– Incremental testing including thermal vacuum
chamber tests, unmanned balloon flights, and manned balloon flights
– Increasingly complex coordination between technical systems and project management required
Evolution of RBS MCC
120K Thermal Vacuum Chamber TestNovember 2011Brooks City-Base, TX
Evolution of RBS MCC
Unmanned Balloon FlightsDecember 2011 / January 2012Roswell, NM
Evolution of RBS MCC
Manned Balloon FlightsMarch / July / October 2012Roswell, NM
RBS Medical Team
Mission Medical
Air Doc
Field Medical
Tail Rig Capsule
RecoveryForward
RigMedical
Helo
Many elements + time criticality = Medical Mission Control
Medical Mission Control Team
• Purpose– Provide medical input to Mission Director in
MCC– Coordinate the medical team– Maintain field medical teams’ situational
awareness
TIMELINE STATUS
LOCATIONSDEVIATIONS
Holds
WeatherTroubleshooting
ParachutistECLSS
CapsuleParachutistField teams
Objective
• Describe planning and concept of operations for the Red Bull Stratos medical mission control team
• Present our lessons learned
Methods
“Field Medical” (Back Room)
“Mission Medical” (Mission Control Center)
Communications
• Comm board– Mission Med Field Med
• Dedicated radio channel– On-site only
• Text messages• UNICOM • Cell phone• Satellite phone
IT Setup
• Personal laptops/tablet computers– Secured wireless network
• Video downlinks
• ECLSS panel
• Shared map
Procedures
• Medical Countdown Timeline– Key milestones of relevance to the medical team– Created based on the master countdown timeline– Situational awareness
– Cue for updates
– Template for recordkeeping
– Holds/deviations communicated to field teams
Contingency Plans
• Medical Support Plan Rev. E– Three medevac scenarios and response actions– Contact info for treatment facilities
• Supplements– Ebullism protocol– Negative Gz protocol
– Low Altitude Abort Contingency Medical Response Plan
– Medical Team Mishap Plan
Results
• Flight test program successfully completed in 2012
• Integrated medical mission control team provided input to MCC
• Rapid response capability• Good situational awareness
– Regular updates between medical mission control team and field medical teams
– Field teams reached parachutist within minutes of each landing
Results
• Medical plans refined over time– Medical Support PlanRev E
• Became more specific as team gained operational proficiency– MBF3: scripted low altitude
abort response plan
Real-Time Operational Issues
• Personnel: scheduling conflicts– Need for personnel redundancy
• Procedure: possible break in prebreathe – Remote consultation with aerospace physiologist
– Discussions with mission management
– Guideline to make up any air break
Discussion
• Very successful program
• Careful analysis of possible risks and response actions
• Incorporation of team members’ expertise and knowledge learned throughout the program
Lessons Learned
• A well-coordinated medical mission control team was invaluable
• Situational awareness critical
• Coordination before each flight necessary for preparation
• Personnel and procedural adaptability and redundancy
Conclusion
• Our experience demonstrated the value of– Mission control– Operational procedures and redundancy– Contingency response plans
• Red Bull Stratos medical mission control concept of operations can be used as a model for future commercial spaceflight or high altitude programs
Acknowledgments
• The medical team acknowledges the invaluable contribution to the spaceflight scientific community that Felix Baumgartner is making by releasing his data obtained throughout the Red Bull Stratos Project.
• The authors also acknowledge the invaluable support of the following:– Red Bull N.A– The Red Bull Stratos team– Col Joe Kittinger, USAF (ret)– Art Thompson, Scott Loftin, and the Sage Cheshire Aerospace Team– Jackie Voss and the Reidel team– Jay Nemeth and the FlightLine Films team– Scott Gillies, Red Bull Media House– University of Texas Medical Branch– Baylor College of Medicine– Jeffrey Sutton, MD, PhD– National Space Biomedical Research Institute through the NASA
cooperative agreement NCC 9-58– Space Medicine Clinical Research Training Program