Evaluation of the Space Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU) Displays

Abstract

In 1999, NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) initiated a Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU) project to increase shuttle mission safety by improving the crew's situation awareness, reducing their workload, and improving their performance. The primary focus of the project was a complete redesign of the current cockpit displays. To determine the effectiveness of the redesigns, a human-centered evaluation was conducted in the Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) at NASA JSC in 2003 and 2004. Measures of crew situation awareness, workload, and nominal and off-nominal task handling performance were made in a series of simulations of off-nominal flight situations during the dynamic flight phases of ascent and entry. The redesigned display formats yielded dramatic increases in situation awareness, reductions in workload, and improvements in performance.