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