FLYWHEEL EXERCISE DEVICE (FLYWHEEL)
Research Area: Crew Healthcare Systems
Expedition(s): 21 and 22
Principal Investigator(s): ● Michael Cork, European Space Agency, Noordwijk,
Netherlands
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The Flywheel Exercise Device is used in Human Physiology studies of Muscular and Skeletal
Systems to prevent muscle atrophy, bone mineral density loss, and impairment of muscle
function in human beings as responses to long-duration weightlessness. It is a non-gravity
dependent exercise device that has been designed for resistance exercise training primarily to
counter neuro-muscular de-conditioning. The exercise device provides resistance against the
subject through the use of a spinning mass which must be rotated by winding up and releasing
an actuation belt. The Flywheel Exercise Device is a compact lightweight, resistive exercise
device using the flywheel principle, which allows for back, trunk and upper and lower limb
exercises. It is a multi-exercise device that will be tested as an onboard exercise
countermeasure allowing for the squat, dead lift and heel raise and other important exercises.
RESULTS
The purpose of the on-orbit activities
is to verify the proper operational
use of the hardware onboard the ISS
and assess a subset of the device’s
exercise modes from an operational
point of view and with regard to
vibrations. Frank de Winne, who was
the ESA astronaut who undertook
the on-orbit activities, was able to
confirm that the exercise device
withstood transportation to the ISS
and was working normally. The
vibrations caused by the Flywheel
Exercise Device exercise protocols on
board the ISS were measured. Such
measurements are performed for each new training device as the strong movements caused by
the device during use may disrupt the vibration-free condition for other experiments.
This investigation is complete and all results are published.
Frank de Winne training on the Flywheel Exercise Device in
October 2009 aboard the International Space Station. ESA image.