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Continuous removal of carbon dioxide is one of the most critical processes in a spacecraft air revitalization system. Recovery of the waste carbon dioxide and its subsequent conversion to oxygen become essential for long-duration human space missions beyond Low-Earth orbit where re-supply of consumables such as oxygen is neither practical nor economical.

Thus all spacecraft systems, including those for the separation of metabolic carbon dioxide and water from a crewed vehicle, must be minimized with respect to mass, power, and volume.

The design and evaluation of a Vacuum-Swing Adsorption (VSA) system to remove metabolic water and metabolic carbon dioxide from a spacecraft atmosphere is presented. The approach for Orion and Altair is a VSA system that removes not only 100 percent of the metabolic CO2 from the atmosphere, but also 100% of the metabolic water as well, a technology approach that has not been used in previous spacecraft life support systems. ...The approach for Orion and Altair is a VSA system that removes not only 100 percent of the metabolic CO2 from the atmosphere, but also 100% of the metabolic water as well, a technology approach that has not been used in previous spacecraft life support systems. The design and development of an Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Sorbent Based Atmosphere Revitalization system, including test articles, a facility test stand, and full-scale testing in late 2008 and early 2009 is discussed.

For the CEV, the sorbent-based atmosphere revitalization (SBAR) system must remove all metabolic water, a technology approach that has not been used in previous spacecraft life support systems. Design and development of a prototype SBAR, a full scale and subscale facility test stand, and other aspects of the SBAR development program is discussed.

CO2 removal, recovery and reduction are essential processes for a closed loop air revitalization system in a crewed spacecraft. Typically, a compressor is required to recover the low pressure CO2 that is being removed from the spacecraft in a swing bed adsorption system. ...Typically, a compressor is required to recover the low pressure CO2 that is being removed from the spacecraft in a swing bed adsorption system. This paper describes integrated tests of a Temperature-Swing Adsorption Compressor (TSAC) with high-fidelity systems for carbon dioxide removal and reduction assemblies (CDRA and Sabatier reactor).

It is part of an effort to predict results, via simulation, of changing a spacecraft CO2 removal system's operational configuration. The mathematical and numerical modeling approach, with emphasis on identification and independent verification of important adsorption physics, is described.

For Orion, the approach is taken that all metabolic water must be removed by the Sorbent-Based Atmosphere Revitalization System (SBAR), a technology approach that has not been used in previous spacecraft life support systems. Design and development of a prototype SBAR, a facility test stand, and subsequent testing of the SBAR in late 2006 and early 2007 is discussed.

The approach for Orion is a VSA system that removes not only 100 percent of the metabolic CO2 from the atmosphere, but also 100% of the metabolic water as well, a technology approach that has not been used in previous spacecraft life support systems. The design and development of the Sorbent Based Atmosphere Regeneration (SBAR) system, including test articles, a facility test stand, and full-scale testing in late 2007 and early 2008 is discussed.

An important aspect of air revitalization for life support in spacecraft is the removal of carbon dioxide from cabin air. Several types of carbon dioxide removal systems are in use or have been proposed for use in spacecraft life support systems. ...Several types of carbon dioxide removal systems are in use or have been proposed for use in spacecraft life support systems. These systems rely on various removal techniques that employ different architectures and media for scrubbing CO2, such as permeable membranes, liquid amine, adsorbents, and absorbents.

CASE/A is a versatile modeling package that will prove beneficial during all phases of a spacecraft design program, from the initial conceptual design trade studies through the actual flight, including pre-flight prediction and in-flight anomaly analysis.

Accumulation and subsequent compression of carbon dioxide that is removed from the space cabin are two important processes involved in a closed-loop air revitalization scheme of the International Space Station (ISS). The 4-Bed Molecular Sieve (4BMS) of ISS currently operates in an open loop mode without a compressor. This paper reports the integrated 4BMS and liquid-cooled Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressor (TSAC) testing conducted during the period of March 3 to April 18, 2003. The TSAC prototype was developed at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC)1. The 4BMS was modified to a functionally flight-like condition at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)2. Testing was conducted at MSFC. The paper provides details of the TSAC operation at various CO2 loadings and corresponding performance of the 4BMS.

Following a series of anomalies of the carbon dioxide removal assembly (CDRA) on the International Space Station (ISS), a CDRA teardown, test, and evaluation (TT&E) effort found that the sorbent material was not retained as intended by the packed beds and that presence of the sorbent in the check valve and selector valves was the cause of the failure of these components. This paper documents the development of design data for an in-line filter element. The purpose of the in-line filter is to provide temporary protection for on-orbit CDRA hardware until the bed retainment system can be redesigned and replaced.

Performance testing of the International Space Station Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly flight hardware in the United States Laboratory during 1999 is described. The CDRA exceeded carbon dioxide performance specifications and operated flawlessly. Data from this test is presented.

This paper describes testing of four-bed molecular sieve (4BMS) development hardware in support of future operations of the International Space Station (ISS) Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA). During 1998, testing of a MSFC 4BMS included operations with the 4BMS inlet air drawn directly from the cabin atmosphere instead of the baseline air source downstream of a Condensing Heat Exchanger (CHX), operating with high carbon dioxide (CO2) loading, and long duration operation in a power save mode. Additionally, testing with increased coolant water temperature was performed to determine effects on the systems CO2 removal performance.