Search Results

An important milestone in the ongoing effort by NASA to develop and refine closed-loop water recycling systems for human space flight was reached during the summer of 1996 with the successful completion of Phase II of the Lunar Mars Life Support Testing Program at Johnson Space Center. Part of Phase II involved testing a water-recycling system in a closed test chamber continuously occupied by four human subjects for thirty days. The Phase II crew began the test with a supply of water that had been processed and certified for human use. As the test progressed, humidity condensate, urine, and wastewater from personal hygiene and housekeeping activities were reclaimed and reused several times. Samples were collected from various points in the reclamation process during the thirty day test. The data verified the water-processing hardware can reliably remove wastewater contaminants and produce reclaimed water that meets NASA standards for hygiene- and potable-quality water.

Concentrated wastewater brines, produced by primary stage spacecraft water recovery systems, can be further processed to recover additional usable water supply. The Lunar Surface Systems Project at NASA-JSC identified brine dewatering technologies as a critical technology need. In response, the Exploration Life Support Office commissioned a study to summarize the technologies currently available, and recommend a development roadmap for future resources. This paper reviews some of the technologies under development within the government, in academia, and private industry, and outlines a proposed development strategy to meet technology needs for the Lunar Outpost.

BioSim is a simulation tool which captures many basic life support functions in an integrated simulation. Conventional analyses can not efficiently consider all possible life support system configurations. Heuristic approaches are a possible alternative. In an effort to demonstrate efficacy, a validating experiment was designed to compare the configurational optima discovered by heuristic approaches and an analytical approach. Thus far, it is clear that a genetic algorithm finds reasonable optima, although an improved fitness function is required. Further, despite a tight analytical fit to data, optimization produces disparate results which will require further validation.

This paper summarizes requirements, design concepts, and a baseline configuration for an Advanced Food Hardware System (AFHS) galley for the initial operating capability (IOC) Space Station. The AFHS program is being developed by McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co (MDAC). ILC Space Systems. Whirlpool, and Hamilton Standard under contract to NASA-ISC. Space Station will employ food hardware items that have never been flown in space such as a dishwasher. microwave oven, blender/mixer, bulk food and beverage dispensers. automated food inventory management, a trash compactor. and an advanced technology refrigerator/freezer. These new technologies and designs are described and the trades. design, development, and testing associated with each are summarized. Space Station objectives and constraints that impact the design of food hardware are described as are their implications for hardware selection, design, and test.

The Shuttle/Mir food system was based on a plan that included 50% U.S. food and 50% Russian food. Using inputs from crew evaluations, nutritional requirements, and analytical data, menus for each Long Duration Mission (LDM) were developed by the U.S. and Russian food specialists. The cosmonaut’ planned menus were identical while the astronaut’s menu differed slightly, based on personal preferences. Bonus food containers of astronaut’s favorite foods were provided to increase variety. Six out of 7 astronauts reported that the menu plan was seldom, if ever, followed. Five out of 7 astronauts ate most of their meals with the other crew members. In most cases, the bonus food containers were not opened until near the end of the mission. All crew members emphasized that variety was critical and that the use of Mir and Shuttle food together added a unique variety to the food system. Three of the 7 Mir astronauts lost significant weight during their stay on Mir.

This paper describes the hardware used and the experience gained during the Space Shuttle extravehicular activities (EVAs) or “spacewalks” of 1984. Seven EVAs on four missions were conducted with objectives including hardware verification, satellite repair, hydrazine transfer, and satellite retrieval. The hardware used on these flights falls into two categories - general EVA hardware (e.g. the Manned Maneuvering Unit) and mission-unique hardware (e.g. apogee kick motor capture device, used to retrieve the WESTAR VI and PALAPA B-2 satellites). The successful completion of the mission objectives resulted in an increased knowledge of EVA operations and a broader base of Space Shuttle capabilities which are applicable to future operations.

To satisfy a requirement to supply water to Mir station, a process for treating iodinated water on the Shuttle was developed and implemented. The treatment system consists of packed columns for removing iodine and a syringe-based injection system for adding ionic silver, the biocide used in Mir water. Technical and potable grade water is produced and transferred in batches using collapsible 44-liter contingency water containers (CWCs). Silver is added to the water via injection of a solution from preloaded syringes. Minerals are also added to water destined for drinking. During the previous four Shuttle-Mir docking missions a total of 2781 liters (735 gallons) of water produced by the Shuttle fuel cells was processed using this method and transferred to Mir. To verify the quality of the processed water, samples were collected during flight and returned for chemical analysis.

Future long-term space missions, such as a manned mission to Mars, will require regenerative life support systems which will enable crews more self-sufficiency and less dependence on resupply. Toward this effort, a series of tests called the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project have been conducted as part of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA's) advanced life support technology development program. The last test in this series was the Phase III test which was conducted September 19 - December 19, 1997 in the Life Support Systems Integration Facility at the Johnson Space Center. The overall objective of the Phase III test was to conduct a 90-day regenerative life support system test with four human test subjects demonstrating an integrated biological and physicochemical life support system to produce potable water, maintain a breathable atmosphere, and maintain a shirt sleeve environment.

High costs and extreme risks prevent the life testing of NASA hardware. These unavoidable limitations prevent the determination of sound reliability bounds for NASA hardware; thus the true risk assumed in future missions is unclear. A simulation infrastructure for determining these risks is developed in a configurable format here. Positive preliminary results in preparation for validation testing are reported. A stochastic filter simulates non-deterministic output from the various unit processes. A maintenance and repair module has been implemented with several levels of complexity. Two life testing approaches have been proposed for use in future model validation.

Micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) penetration hazards have been a concern for the large number of EVA’s (Extravehicular Activities) expected during the assembly and operation of the International Space Station (ISS). Earlier studies have shown large uncertainties in estimated spacesuit penetration risks. This paper reports the results of recent tests and analyses that have significantly expanded the Shuttle EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) hypervelocity penetration database and clarified our understanding of the associated risks. The results of testing have been used to develop improved estimates of the cumulative risk of penetration during EVA's through the first ten years after the beginning of ISS construction. These analyses have shown that the risks of MMOD penetration during EVA will be somewhat less than the risk of a critical penetration of the ISS itself over the same ten-year period.

The first two phases of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project [LMLSTP] involved housing human volunteers in closed chambers that mimic future extraterrestrial life support systems. The Phase I test involved one person living for 15 days in a chamber with wheat as the primary means of air revitalization. The Phase II test involved 4 people living for 30 days in a chamber with physical/chemical air revitalization and waste water recycling. The consequences of closure on microbial ecology and the influence that microbes had on these closed environmental life support systems were determined during both tests. The air, water, and surfaces of each chamber were sampled for microbial content before, during, and after each test. The numbers of microbes on the Phase I habitation chamber surfaces increased with length of occupation.

Hamilton Standard Space Systems International, Inc. (HSSSI) is under contract to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to develop a Water Processor Assembly (WPA) for the International Space Station (ISS) Water Processor Assembly. The WPA produces potable quality water from humidity condensate, carbon dioxide reduction water, water obtained from fuel cells, reclaimed urine distillate, shower, handwash and oral hygiene waste waters. This paper describes the WPA integration into the ISS Node 3. It details the substantial development history supporting the design and describes the WPA System characteristics and its physical layout.

Hamilton Standard Space Systems International, Inc. (HSSSI) is under contract to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to develop an Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) for the International Space Station (ISS). The International Space Station Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) electrolyzes potable water from the Water Recovery System (WRS) to provide gaseous oxygen to the Space Station module atmosphere. The OGA produces oxygen for metabolic consumption by crew and biological specimens. The OGA also replenishes oxygen lost by experiment ingestion, airlock depressurization, CO2 venting, and leakage. As a byproduct, gaseous hydrogen is generated. The hydrogen will be supplied at a specified pressure range above ambient to support future utilization. Initially, the hydrogen will be vented overboard to space vacuum. This paper describes the OGA integration into the ISS Node 3.

Two portable, collapsible water storage containers were developed to enable water logistics and storage on ISS. The first is a new version of the 44-liter Contingency Water Container (CWC) originally developed for the Shuttle Program. The new CWC uses a thicker Combitherm® film, VPCXX 140, as the bladder material. The second is a multipurpose 10-liter vessel, known as the Payload Water Reservoir (PWR), with a Teflon® bladder. Both of these collapsible vessels have Nomex® outer restraints for structural support, allowing them to withstand pressurization and resist puncture. The results of material longevity tests, the design and development of the two containers are briefly reported, and current and future water, wastewater, coolant and experiment fluid storage applications for the ISS are described.

This paper addresses fire and post-fire operational principles and techniques for extinguishing fire events aboard the US Segment of the International Space Station (ISS) through assembly mission 7A. Included is a brief description of ISS fire detection, suppression and cleanup assets. The paper reviews several fireground management fundamentals, including command and control, pre-fire planning, and the use of standard operating procedures. The majority of the paper describes fire detection, response and cleanup management and procedures, and their employment in several US fire scenarios. The paper concludes with a review of procedure validation and training techniques, and areas of open work.

An 84 day wheat crop was grown in the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC) at Johnson Space Center (JSC). The VPGC is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility used to evaluate the use of higher plants as part of a regenerative life support system. The chamber has 10.6 m2 of growing area consisting of 480 pots of calcined clay support media. The chamber is lit by very high output, cool white fluorescent bulbs. Five wheat seeds were planted per pot giving a seeding density of 227 seeds·m-2. Pots were irrigated with a modified half strength Hoagland's nutrient solution three or six times per day depending on the crop age. At the plant canopy, the average temperature during the test was 22 ° C, relative humidity was maintained at 69%, CO2 concentration was 1000 ppm, photoperiod was continuous light, and the light intensity averaged 350 μmol·m-2·s-1.

ANITA (Analysing Interferometer for Ambient Air) is a flight experiment precursor for a permanent continuous air quality monitoring system on the ISS (International Space Station). For the safety of the crew, ANITA can detect and quantify quasi-online and simultaneously 33 gas compounds in the air with ppm or sub-ppm detection limits. The autonomous measurement system is based on FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy). The system represents a versatile air quality monitor, allowing for the first time the detection and monitoring of trace gas dynamics, with high time resolution, in a spacecraft atmosphere. ANITA operated on the ISS from September 2007 to August 2008. This paper summarises the results of ANITA's air analyses and compares results to other measurements acquired on ISS during the operational period.

During Lunar missions, NASA's new Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) may benefit from mass savings and increased reliability by the use of a passive, capillary-driven Static Phase Separator (SPS) for urine collection, containment, and disposal in place of a rotary-fan separator and wastewater storage tank. The design of a capillary separator addresses unique challenges for microgravity fluid management for liquids with a wide range of possible contact angles and high air-to-liquid flow ratio. This paper presents the iterative process leading to a successful test in a reduced gravity aircraft of the SPS concept. Using appropriately scaled test conditions, the resulting prototype allows for a range of wetting properties with complete separation of liquid from gas.

NASA JSC has contracted with Hamilton Standard Space Systems International (HSSSI) to develop a combined CO2/H2O removal system for an advanced space suit. This system will operate with a novel solid amine sorbent that has demonstrated a large increase in capacity over previous solid amine sorbents. The concept will use two beds of the sorbent operating on a pressure swing removal process. This paper discusses the design, fabrication and testing of this prototype system. The overall system design consists of two sorbent beds, a spool valve for directing vacuum and process air, and a controller to monitor the overall process and switch the spool valve at the appropriate time. We will include a discussion of the quick-cast process used in the fabrication of major system components. Finally, we will present the results of testing the full-scale prototype at HSSSI, and its ability to remove CO2/H2O and be regenerated continuously.

Ground-based laboratory and closed-chamber human tests have demonstrated the ability of microbial-based biological processors to effectively remove carbon and nitrogen species from regenerable life support wastewater streams. Application of this technology to crewed spacecraft requires the development of gravity-independent bioprocessors due to a lack of buoyancy-driven convection and sedimentation in microgravity. This paper reports on the development and testing of membranebased biological reactors and addresses the processing of planetary and International Space Station (ISS) waste streams. The membranes provide phase separation between the wastewater and metabolically required oxygen, accommodate diffusion-driven oxygen transport, and provide surface area for microbial biofilm attachment. Testing of prototype membrane bioprocessors has been completed.