Search Results

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 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.

The design of a vacuum-swing adsorption process to remove metabolic water, metabolic carbon dioxide, and metabolic and equipment generated trace contaminant gases from the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) atmosphere is presented. 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 paper provides a summary of current work accomplished under technical task agreement (TTA) by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) regarding the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) as well as future planning activities in support of the International Space Station(ISS).Current activities computer model development, component design and development, subsystem/integrated system testing, life testing, and government furnished equipment delivered to the ISS program. A long range plan for the MSFC ECLSS test facility is described whereby the current facility would be upgraded to support integrated station ECLSS operations. ECLSS technology development efforts proposed to be performed under the Advanced Engineering Technology Development (AETD) program are also discussed.

The design of a Vacuum-Swing Adsorption (VSA) system to remove metabolic water and metabolic carbon dioxide from the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) atmosphere is presented. 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.

NASA's Constellation Program, which includes the mission objectives of establishing a permanently-manned lunar Outpost, and the exploration of Mars, poses new and unique challenges for human life support systems that will require solutions beyond the Shuttle and International Space Station state of the art systems. In particular, the requirement to support crews for extended durations at the lunar outpost with limited resource resupply capability will require closed-loop regenerative life support systems with minimal expendables. Planetary environmental conditions such as lunar dust and extreme temperatures, as well as the capability to support frequent and extended-duration Extra-vehicular Activity's (EVA's) will be particularly challenging.

The International Space Station (ISS) modules Nodes 2 and 3 are progressing through the design phase into integration, test, and verification. This paper gives a status of the Nodes 2 and 3 Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) design progress since 1999 (ICES paper 1999-01-2146). The Node 2 Design Review 2 was completed in March 2001. Node 2 is currently in the hardware integration/test phase at Alenia Spazio. The ECLSS for Node 2 includes inter- and intramodule ventilation, temperature and humidity control, distribution of atmosphere samples, low pressure and recharge oxygen and nitrogen, fuel cell and wastewater, and fire detection and suppression. Changes/challenges since 1999 have included the addition of a low temperature loop coolant bypass around the Common Cabin Air Assembly condensing heat exchanger and resolution of common hardware and verification issues. The current status of hardware integration and testing is also discussed.

The design of a vacuum-swing adsorption process to remove metabolic water, metabolic carbon dioxide, and metabolic and equipment generated trace contaminant gases from the crew exploration vehicle (CEV) atmosphere is presented. 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.

A primary concern in creating a water reclamation system for long-duration manned space flight is the control of microbial contamination which can jeopardize water quality, compromise human health, and degrade constituent materials of the system. The microbial ecology facility in the Analytical and Physical Chemistry Branch of the Materials and Processes Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is addressing this concern by means of experiments investigating the interaction of bacterial species in the development of a biofilm and their response to the introduction of additional species or to disinfection. Both static and recycling water systems are used. In static experiments, varied sequence and timing of species introduction in binary bacterial biofilms on 316L stainless steel elucidate the mechanisms involved in biofilm formation.

The Russian space program has maintained crews on long duration space flights nearly continuously over the past two decades. As a result, a strong emphasis has been placed on the development of regenerative life support systems. One of these systems is a urine processor which has been operating on-orbit since 1990. The U. S has also been developing urine processing systems to reclaim water from urine over the past twenty years. This paper will describe the two different technologies used for urine processing for long-term human presence in space and will compare the operating characteristics of the two systems.

Flight experiments are being developed to assess the microgravity performance of U.S.-developed physical/chemical life support technologies baselined for operation on the International Space Station (ISS). The experiments will take advantage of flight opportunities available on the Space Shuttle prior to the production of ISS flight systems. Early microgravity demonstrations of these technologies will allow the ISS life support system to be developed from flight-proven processes, thereby reducing programmatic risks and enhancing overall life support efficiencies. This paper will provide an overview of the life support flight experiment program.

Testing of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. Laboratory baseline configuration of the Atmosphere Revitalization Subsystem (ARS) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been conducted as part of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) design and development program. This testing addressed specific questions with respect to the control and performance of the baseline ARS subassemblies in the ISS U.S. Laboratory configuration. The test used pressurized oxygen injection, a mass spectrometric major constituent analyzer (MCA), a four-bed molecular sieve carbon dioxide removal assembly (CDRA), and a trace contaminant control subassembly (TCCS) to maintain the atmospheric composition in a sealed chamber within ISS specifications. Human metabolic processes for a crew of four are simulated according to projected ISS mission timelines. The Integrated ARS Test (IART) builds upon previous integrated ECLSS testing conducted at MSFC between 1987 and 1992.

The baseline Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) for the International Space Station (ISS) includes regenerative and non-regenerative technologies for Temperature and Humidity Control (THC), Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS), Fire Detection and Suppression (FDS), Atmosphere Revitalization (AR), Water Recovery and Management (WRM), Waste Management (WM), and Vacuum System (VS). The U.S. Lab module will contain complete THC and ACS subsystems and an open loop AR including a Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA), Trace Contaminant Control Subassembly (TCCS), and a Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA). An Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) is added with the U. S. Hab module, along with the WRM and WM subsystems. The final baseline configuration is a closed water loop and partially closed atmosphere loop and represents the best available mature technologies.

The appropriate role of human testing in life support systems design has been a key concern for human spacecraft development. This discussion intensified over the past one and a half years as the International Space Station (ISS) evaluated the risk associated with the baseline program while conducting cost and schedule convergence activities. The activity was carried from the traditional top-level discussion to evaluation of the specific Space Station Life Support concerns associated with human interaction, weighed against cost impacts. This paper details the results of this activity, providing the rationale for the present ISS approach.

This paper describes the development plan for a comprehensive research and diagnostic tool for aspects of advanced life support systems in space-based laboratories. Specifically, it aims to build a high fidelity tabletop model that can be used for the purpose of risk mitigation, failure mode analysis, contamination tracking, and testing reliability. The work envisions a comprehensive approach involving experimental work coupled with numerical simulation to develop this diagnostic tool. The use of an index matching fluid (fluid that matches the refractive index of cast acrylic, the model material) allows making the entire model (with complex internal geometry) transparent and hence conducive to non-intrusive optical diagnostics. Experimental and modeling work to date will be presented.

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. 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. Sorbent systems have been used since the first manned missions. The current state of key technology is the existing International Space Station (ISS) Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA), a system that selectively removes carbon dioxide from the cabin atmosphere. The CDRA system was launched aboard UF-2 in February 2001 and resides in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory module. During the past four years, the CDRA system has experienced operational limitations.

As the International Space Station's (ISS's) various habitable modules are placed in service on orbit, the need to provide for sustaining engineering becomes increasingly important to ensure the proper function of critical onboard systems. Chief among these are the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) and the internal thermal control system (ITCS). Without either, life on board the ISS would prove difficult or nearly impossible. For this reason, a ground-based ECLSS/ITCS hardware performance simulation capability has been developed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The ECLSS/ITCS sustaining engineering test bed will be used to assist the ISS program in resolving hardware anomalies and performing periodic performance assessments. The ISS flight configuration being simulated by the test bed is described as well as ongoing activities related to its preparation for supporting ISS Mission 5A.