Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned technology solutions provider, has been awarded a grant valued at $1.73 million by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), a nonprofit partnership with NASA, to review spatial disorientation by astronauts during spaceflight.

Spatial disorientation occurs when pilots become confused by visual or motion-related effects on their senses, which can lead to accidents. Building on studies Alion has conducted with the U.S. Air Force on spatial disorientation in the atmosphere, and by analyzing data from aircraft accidents and space missions, Alion will develop a tool to assist space pilots in real time to overcome spatial disorientation. Alion already has developed models of human response at different accelerations for the Air Force and will extend those models to study the effects of gravity on human response. Under the grant, Alion’s experts will use custom software to monitor the flight of the space vehicle — including speed, heading, pitch and altitude —and the actions of the pilot to determine causes of disorientation. The Alion team will devise countermeasures, such as display cues, audio cues and tactical vests that will alert the pilot when an orientation correction is needed. These onboard aids will be tested in aircraft that fly at zero gravity as well as in simulators. The period of performance runs through Aug. 31, 2011. NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a nonprofit consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight. The institute’s science, technology, and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.