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International Space Station Life Support Systems
Marshall's Contribution to the "New Star in the Horizon"
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for designing and building
the life support systems that will provide the crew of the International
Space Station (ISS) a comfortable environment in which to live and work.
Marshall's scientists and engineers are working together to provide the
space station with systems that are safe, efficient and cost-effective.
These compact and powerful systems collectively called the Environmental
Control and Life Support Systems, or simply, ECLSS will:
- Recycle wastewater (including urine) to produce drinking (potable)
water
- Store and distribute potable water
- Use recycled water to produce oxygen for the crew
- Remove carbon dioxide from the cabin air
- Filter the cabin air for particulates and microorganisms
- Remove volatile organic trace gases from the cabin air
- Monitor and control cabin air partial pressures of Nitrogen, Oxygen,
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Hydrogen and Water Vapor
- Maintain total cabin pressure
- Detect and suppress fire
- Maintain cabin temperature and humidity levels
- Distribute cabin air between ISS modules (ventilation)
Marshall Space Flight Center is also responsible for the testing of these
systems. In Building 4755, chambers that simulates the environmental conditions
inside the ISS and prototypes of ECLSS hardware are used to integrate the
different components that will provide the crew with clean water and air.
Testing of the ISS ECLSS hardware al Marshall includes:
- Thoroughly testing systems or critical components of the systems to
estimate the time that it might need to be serviced or changed on-orbit
- Testing of the ISS Water Recovery and Management System using a selected
group of volunteers to generate wastewater that is recycled and analyzed.
The water is carefully tested at various stages of processing to assure
that it meets the ISS very stringent requirements of potability.
- Integration of the ECLSS hardware that will maintain the ISS cabin
air clean and with the proper ration of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
When all the ECLS systems are operational in the ISS, human life will no
longer be limited to the bounds of Earth. Scientist and engineers at NASA/Marshall
Space Flight Center are working to provide life support for humans in space.
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