Environmental Control System for an Experimental Crew Return Vehicle 972263
A small team of NASA engineers has been assembled at the Johnson Space Center, with the goal of developing an inexpensive space-capable vehicle. In order to minimize cost and development time of the experimental vehicle, it was desirable to build upon a previously-developed vehicle shape. The basic shape of the X-24A experimental lifting body was chosen for several reasons, and in the case of the Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS), the de-orbit cross-range capability of this shape provides for a minimal on-orbit time while waiting for landing opportunities, which in turn simplifies the ECLS. Figure 1 shows the X-38 vehicle body shape.
In keeping with the goal of rapidly developing an inexpensive and reliable vehicle, the ECLS was developed using simple, passive systems where practical. This paper provides an overview of the ECLS mission requirements and design, with emphasis on the philosophy used in its development. In addition, some initial testing and analysis results are presented to support the validation of the operational concept.
Citation: Dingell, C. and Hurlbert, K., "Environmental Control System for an Experimental Crew Return Vehicle," SAE Technical Paper 972263, 1997, https://doi.org/10.4271/972263. Download Citation
Author(s):
Charles W. Dingell, Kathryn M. Hurlbert
Affiliated:
NASA Johnson Space Center
Pages: 13
Event:
International Conference On Environmental Systems
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Also in:
SAE 1997 Transactions - Journal of Aerospace-V106-1
Related Topics:
Control systems
Technical review
Reliability
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