NewSpace emergency medical response optimisation: a systems thinking approach to autonomous decision-making and resource management for commercial space safety
NewSpace emergency medical response optimisation: a systems thinking approach to autonomous decision-making and resource management for commercial space safety
Emergency medical response protocols in space environments which have traditionally operated within a 10-day window, may prove inadequate for the expanding UK NewSpace sector. This paper develops a systems-based analytical framework to investigate constraints limiting faster emergency response and proposes interventions to achieve 8-hour response capabilities. Through a fourdimensional constraint analysis encompassing process architecture, strategic planning, technological infrastructure, and cross-system integration, we identify critical capability gaps within current space medical systems including autonomous medical decision-making, adaptive resource allocation, and crew medical expertise. Our analysis reveals how these constraints operate synergistically to amplify response delays, creating cascading system failures that cannot be addressed through incremental improvements. We therefore propose three system-level interventions designed to function as integrated subsystems within a broader emergency response architecture: (i) autonomous decisionsupport systems, (ii) dynamic resource management, and (iii) enhanced crew capability protocols. Employing a constraint-intervention mapping framework, we demonstrate how these interventions could be implemented concurrently to target response time reduction.
Dacre, Nicholas
90ea8d3e-d0b1-4a5a-bead-f95ab32afbd1
Brito, Mario
82e798e7-e032-4841-992e-81c6f13a9e6c
Arruda, Edilson
8eb3bd83-e883-4bf3-bfbc-7887c5daa911
Taani, Iman
67558223-b632-477f-9f78-f5fe5ae18c30
Yu, Huan
071c97e4-f277-4fdf-a6f8-e3fe25f98769
Bayer, Steffen
28979328-d6fa-4eb7-b6de-9ef97f8e8e97
Dacre, Nicholas
90ea8d3e-d0b1-4a5a-bead-f95ab32afbd1
Brito, Mario
82e798e7-e032-4841-992e-81c6f13a9e6c
Arruda, Edilson
8eb3bd83-e883-4bf3-bfbc-7887c5daa911
Taani, Iman
67558223-b632-477f-9f78-f5fe5ae18c30
Yu, Huan
071c97e4-f277-4fdf-a6f8-e3fe25f98769
Bayer, Steffen
28979328-d6fa-4eb7-b6de-9ef97f8e8e97
[Unknown type: UNSPECIFIED]
Abstract
Emergency medical response protocols in space environments which have traditionally operated within a 10-day window, may prove inadequate for the expanding UK NewSpace sector. This paper develops a systems-based analytical framework to investigate constraints limiting faster emergency response and proposes interventions to achieve 8-hour response capabilities. Through a fourdimensional constraint analysis encompassing process architecture, strategic planning, technological infrastructure, and cross-system integration, we identify critical capability gaps within current space medical systems including autonomous medical decision-making, adaptive resource allocation, and crew medical expertise. Our analysis reveals how these constraints operate synergistically to amplify response delays, creating cascading system failures that cannot be addressed through incremental improvements. We therefore propose three system-level interventions designed to function as integrated subsystems within a broader emergency response architecture: (i) autonomous decisionsupport systems, (ii) dynamic resource management, and (iii) enhanced crew capability protocols. Employing a constraint-intervention mapping framework, we demonstrate how these interventions could be implemented concurrently to target response time reduction.
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Submitted date: 18 June 2025
Accepted/In Press date: 26 June 2025
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Local EPrints ID: 507034
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/507034
PURE UUID: 0fa5a614-f90f-4c74-a2c6-cb267467111f
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Date deposited: 25 Nov 2025 17:56
Last modified: 26 Nov 2025 03:05
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Author:
Edilson Arruda
Author:
Iman Taani
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