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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Comparing Trash Disposal and Reuse Options for Deep Space Gateway and Mars Missions

Taking out the trash at NASA's newly proposed Deep Space Gateway (DSG) will not be a trivial task. While not the most important aspect of planning this cislunar outpost, there are several options that should be carefully considered since they may affect the crew as well as mission mass and volume. This study extends an earlier one, which focused on waste disposal options for a Mars Transit Vehicle. In that study, gasifying and venting trash along the way was found to noticeably reduce propellant needs and launch mass, whereas keeping processed trash on board in the form of radiation shielding tiles would significantly lower the crew's radiation dose during a solar particle event. Another favorable strategy was packing trash in a used logistics module for disposal. Since the DSG does not need much propulsion to maintain its orbit and Orion will be present with its own radiation storm shelter at the Gateway, the driving factors of the waste disposal trade study are different than for the Mars mission. Besides reviewing the propulsion and radiation shielding factors, potential drivers such as mass, power, volume, crew time, and human factors (e.g. smell) were studied. Disposal options for DSG include jettison of a used logistics module containing waste after every human stay, jettison of the same logistics module after several missions once it is full, regular disposal of trash via an airlock, or gasifying waste products for easier disposal or reuse. Conversely, a heat melt compactor device could be used to remove water and stabilize trash into tiles which could be more compactly stored on board and used as radiation shielding. Equivalent system mass analysis is used to tally the benefits and costs (mass, volume, power, crew time) of each case on an equivalent mass basis. Other more subjective factors are also discussed. Recommendations are made for DSG and Mars mission waste disposal.

Ewert, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2020

Development of an Adsorption System for the Trash Compaction Processing System designed for operation in the International Space Station Express Rack

A water recovery system that utilizes adsorption to work with the Trash Compaction Processing System, formerly known as the Heat Melt Compactor, is being designed at NASA Ames Research Center as an option to current state of the art micro-gravity water management systems and contaminant control systems used in space. The adsorption system will be used in conjunction with the International Space Station Vacuum Exhaust system to avoid both the complexities of gas liquid phase separation in micro-gravity and venting of Trash Compaction Processing System effluents to the spacecraft cabin. The adsorption system will allow the water and gaseous effluents generated during the Trash Compaction System operation to be removed in a matter that meets the Vacuum Exhaust System venting rate requirements. The Trash Compaction Processing System is planned to fly as a Technology Demonstration on the International Space Station in the space station EXPRESS Rack facility. This paper describes the trade space that the adsorption system must operate in using the EXPRESS Rack facilities resources including the use of the Space Station Vacuum Exhaust System. Also described in this paper are design solutions to allow the adsorption system to function within the Express Rack and Vacuum Exhaust System Parameters.

Heat Melt Compactor↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Sustainable Resource Recovery from Trash, Waste, and Overboard Venting

Space travel and planetary missions for long-endurance human presence require Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) loop-closure. The air and water resource loops are generally closed with their processes having been established through extensive development, testing, and long-term use on International Space Station. Closure of the air and water loops have enabled oxygen and hydrogen sustainability. Carbon sustainability has yet to be addressed. Waste and trash, which also contains hydrogen and oxygen and abundant carbon have not been developed to the extent air and water have. Waste and trash have generally been dealt with in terms of simple safening, storage, and disposal. In externally disposing of waste, which includes C1 and C2 hydrocarbon gases, lost resources not only increase mission cost they can result in space and planetary pollution that can lead to unfavorable public opinion. With all this in mind, we explore the idea of carbon sustainability within closed-cycle waste, trash, and C1/C2 reprocessing. Starting from the current ECLS System roadmap, we identify resources that are not yet captured in closed-cycle processes but are lost when crossing the thermodynamic boundaries of an open system. Such pseudo-resources are trash, waste, and the gaseous carbon products of carbon dioxide reduction. We then consider different means and processes for minimizing pseudo-resource loss so as to “close the carbon loop.” There are cases in which pseudo-resources need to be externally discarded, such as reducing spacecraft acceleration mass. In this case we examine various processes that can be beneficial to missions even when these pseudo-resources are lost. An example would be the conversion of waste into propellant, which can produce thrust while at the same time reducing mass for transit acceleration (and ultimately propellant mass at launch), in which case we propose a means for evaluating the value of converting waste into propellant for different propulsion systems.

waste↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Source Contaminant Control System Design, Operation, and Testing for the Trash Compaction and Processing System

The Trash Compaction and Processing System (TCPS) aims to reduce volume, biologically safen, physically stabilize, manage effluents, and recover resources from astronaut trash in the International Space Station (ISS). This process involves heating the trash to high temperatures, which in turn releases gaseous contaminants. Effluent management scenarios involve releasing these gases back to the ISS cabin after processing and/or directly venting these gases out to space via the Vacuum Exhaust System (VES). Concerns for recovering the gases back to cabin are crew health, safety, and spacecraft environmental impact. The Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) serves as a test system that supports TCPS development by conducting risk reduction activities associated with an ISS flight demonstration. Previous gas effluent studies were conducted on the HMC. The results consisted of contaminants from the trash exhaust to exceed Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMAC), which are selected airborne contaminants that can elicit toxicity symptoms to crewmembers via exposure. The Source Contaminant Control System (SCCS) aims to reduce that risk by converting the contaminants into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) vapor. The SCCS is composed of a carbon adsorbent bed, to avoid catalyst poisoning, and a catalytic oxidizer (CatOx), which promotes oxidation of the contaminants to CO2and H2O. In turn, the gases coming out of the SCCS should be compatible to the ISS cabin and systems such as the Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS). Preparation for SCCS testing alongside the HMC Gen 3 are currently underway at ARC. The main objectives are to evaluate CatOx efficiency by CO2conversion and characterize effectiveness of removal by comparing contaminant results before and after CatOx. This paper will report on the SCCS design, operation, and testing with results.

TCPS↗
NASA NTRS2026

The Trash Compaction Processing Systems (TCPS) Ground Unit Control Sample Testing

The Trash Compaction Processing System (TCPS) is being developed by NASA and Sierra Space to process crew trash for long-duration missions. The system compacts and thermally processes mixed spacecraft waste to reduce volume and stabilize the material while managing gas and liquid effluents. A Ground Unit (GU) located at Sierra Space in Madison, Wisconsin was used to run a series of tests using standardized control samples representing different trash conditions, including nominal, high liquid, high cloth, benign, and foam. Gas grab samples were collected during processing and analyzed to identify the compounds present in the effluent stream and compare the concentrations to the NASA spacecraft maximum allowable concentrations (SMACs). Additional testing included odor testing at White Sands Test Facility, aerosol measurements, microbiology, and tile characterization. Overall, the compounds detected in the gas samples were well below the SMAC limits for all trash models tested. The results from this testing are being used to help guide the verification approach and test planning for the TCPS Flight Unit that is planned for on-orbit testing on the International Space Station.

Control Samples↗
NASA NTRS1993

Space Station trash removal system

A trash removal system for space stations is described. The system is comprised of a disposable trash bag member and an attached, compacted large, lightweight inflatable balloon element. When the trash bag member is filled, the astronaut places the bag member into space through an airlock. Once in the vacuum of space, the balloon element inflates. Due to the large cross-sectional area of the balloon element relative to its mass, the combined balloon element and the trash bag member are slowed by atmospheric drag to a much greater extent than the Space Station's. The balloon element and bag member lose altitude and re-enter the atmosphere, and the elements and contents are destroyed by aerodynamic heating. The novelty of this system is in the unique method of using the vacuum of space and aerodynamic heating to dispose of waste material with a minimum of increase in orbital debris.

Petro, Andrew J.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Trash to Gas: Converting Space Waste into Useful Supply Products

The cost of sending mass into space with current propulsion technology is very expensive, making every item a crucial element of the space mission. It is essential that all materials be used to their fullest potential. Items like food, packaging, clothing, paper towels, gloves, etc., normally become trash and take up space after use. These waste materials are currently either burned up upon reentry in earth's atmosphere or sent on cargo return vehicles back to earth: a very wasteful method. The purpose of this project was to utilize these materials and create useful products like water and methane gas, which is used for rocket fuel, to further supply a deep space mission. The system used was a thermal degradation reactor with the configuration of a down-draft gasifier. The reactor was loaded with approximately 100g of trash simulant and heated with two external ceramic heaters with separate temperature control in order to create pyrolysis and gasification in one zone and incineration iri a second zone simultaneously. Trash was loaded into the top half of the reactor to undergo pyrolysis while the downdraft gas experienced gasification or incineration to treat tars and maximize the production of carbon dioxide. Minor products included carbon monoxide, methane, and other hydrocarbons. The carbon dioxide produced can be sent to a Sabatier reactor to convert the gas into methane, which can be used as rocket propellant. In order to maximize the carbon dioxide and useful gases produced, and minimize the unwanted tars and leftover ashen material, multiple experiments were performed with altered parameters such as differing temperatures, flow rates, and location of inlet air flow. According to the data received from these experiments, the process will be further scaled up and optimized to ultimately create a system that reduces trash buildup while at the same time providing enough useful gases to potentially fill a methane tank that could fuel a lunar ascent vehicle or other deep space mission.

Tsoras, Alexandra↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Source Contaminant Control System Design, Operation, and Testing for the Trash Compaction and Processing System

The Trash Compaction and Processing System (TCPS) aims to reduce volume, biologically safen, physically stabilize, manage effluents, and recover resources from astronaut trash in the International Space Station (ISS). This process involves heating the trash to high temperatures, which in turn releases gaseous contaminants. Effluent management scenarios involve releasing these gases back to the ISS cabin after processing and/or directly venting these gases out to space via the Vacuum Exhaust System (VES). Concerns for recovering the gases back to cabin are crew health, safety, and spacecraft environmental impact. The Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) serves as a test system that supports TCPS development by conducting risk reduction activities associated with an ISS flight demonstration. Previous gas effluent studies were conducted on the HMC. The results consisted of contaminants from the trash exhaust to exceed Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMAC), which are selected airborne contaminants that can elicit toxicity symptoms to crewmembers via exposure. The Source Contaminant Control System (SCCS) aims to reduce that risk by converting the contaminants into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) vapor. The SCCS is composed of a carbon adsorbent bed, to avoid catalyst poisoning, and a catalytic oxidizer (CatOx), which promotes oxidation of the contaminants to CO2 and H2O. In turn, the gases coming out of the SCCS should be compatible to the ISS cabin and systems such as the Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS). Preparation for SCCS testing alongside the HMC Gen 3 are currently underway at ARC. The main objectives are to evaluate CatOx efficiency by CO2 conversion and characterize effectiveness of removal by comparing contaminant results before and after CatOx. This paper will report on the SCCS design, operation, and testing with results.

Janine Young↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Suborbital Testing of the OSCAR Trash-to-Gas System

With the sustained human exploration of nearby celestial bodies on the horizon, a renewed outlook on crew waste management must be realized. Current waste management strategies aboard the International Space Station become impractical as we venture beyond low Earth orbit. Furthermore, for future exploration missions, extracting resources from various waste streams becomes increasingly advantageous. One method of combatting the long-duration waste management problem is by thermally degrading solid and liquid crew waste items into a chemically inert, ventable gas stream, a process known as Trash-to-Gas. The Orbital Syngas/Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR) is the state-of-the-art Trash-to-Gas system which has been designed to explore microgravity Trash-to-Gas concepts for improved mass/volume reduction and resource recovery from waste. OSCAR is a subscale testbed design that supports the NASA Logistics Reduction project under the Advanced Exploration Systems Program and Space Technology Mission Directorate Flight Opportunities Program to determine the feasibility of Trash-to-Gas technology for future use on long duration space missions. OSCAR has flown on two suborbital flight demonstrations aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle. This paper presents a high-level comparative analysis of these microgravity test campaigns with Earth gravity laboratory experiments. Solid-to-gas conversion, gas production & composition, and reactor temperature & pressure are compared to highlight the operational factors and performance differences within the microgravity environment for future optimization.

Ray P Pitts↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of a Mechanical Trash Compactor (Mpactor) for Exploration Missions

NASA is developing a mechanical trash compactor (Mpactor), a pneumatically driven trash compaction system, for human space exploration missions to manage trash items such as food packaging, sanitary wipes, clothing, tape, and other types of waste. The compaction system that is under development does not involve heating, water removal, or water recovery which eliminates the need for complex ancillary hardware required to manage gaseous effluents, as well as condense the water vapor. A system called the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) Compactor, intended for use in the micro-gravity environment, was developed at NASA Ames Research Center for the Constellation Program 2007. This CEV Compactor is being further developed and renamed the Mpactor (short for mechanical trash compactor). The Mpactor is being used to gather engineering data that will allow engineers and planners to scale a future design for different mission scenarios and to evaluate different bag materials and designs that help retain compaction.

transit vehicle↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Trash Compaction Processing System (TCPS) Technology Demonstration and Risk Reduction Updates FY23-FY24

The Next STEP Phase BTrash Compaction Processing System (TCPS) is being developed for a technology demonstration on the International Space Station(ISS) to process common spacecraft consumables trash such as food packaging and clothing to reduce trash storage volume, recover water, safen(e.g. reduce biological activity), and shape the trash for storage, jettison, reuse (e.g.,radiation shielding) and/or recycling. Sierra Space is developing the flight demonstration hardware and National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) continues to conduct risk reduction activities to exploreoperational scenarios, setting the stage for successful on-orbit tests. After the flight demonstration on ISS, the TCPS becomes available to be infused into NASA short-and long-term missions.This paper will discuss the rationale for the updated requirement definitions outlined in the 2023 International Conference on Environmental System TCPS paper and the ongoing risk reduction activities. In addition, drawing from lessons learned in the development of the TCPS, a discussion of other compression technologies will be introduced for various mission types.

Trash Compaction Processing System↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Trash Compaction Processing System (TCPS) Technology Demonstration and Risk Reduction Updates FY23-FY24 Presentation

The Next STEP Phase BTrash Compaction Processing System (TCPS) is being developed for a technology demonstration on the International Space Station(ISS) to process common spacecraft consumables trash such as food packaging and clothing to reduce trash storage volume, recover water, safen(e.g. reduce biological activity), and shape the trash for storage, jettison, reuse (e.g.,radiation shielding) and/or recycling. Sierra Space is developing the flight demonstration hardware and National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) continues to conduct risk reduction activities to exploreoperational scenarios, setting the stage for successful on-orbit tests. After the flight demonstration on ISS, the TCPS becomes available to be infused into NASA short-and long-term missions.This paper will discuss the rationale for the updated requirement definitions outlined in the 2023 International Conference on Environmental System TCPS paper and the ongoing risk reduction activities. In addition, drawing from lessons learned in the development of the TCPS, a discussion of other compression technologies will be introduced for various mission types.

Trash Compaction Processing System↗
NASA NTRS2014

Investigation of Bio-Regenerative Life Support and Trash-to-Gas Experiment on a 4-Month Mars Simulation Mission

Future crewed missions to other planets or deep space locations will require regenerative Life Support Systems (LSS) as well as recycling processes for mission waste. Constant resupply of many commodity materials will not be a sustainable option for deep space missions, nor will stowing trash on board a vehicle or at a lunar or Martian outpost. The habitable volume will decline as the volume of waste increases. A complete regenerative environmentally controlled life support system (ECLSS) on an extra-terrestrial outpost will likely include physico-chemical and biological technologies, such as bioreactors and greenhouse modules. Physico-chemical LSS do not enable food production and bio-regenerative LSS are not stable enough to be used alone in space. Mission waste that cannot be recycled into the bio-regenerative ECLSS can include excess food, food packaging, clothing, tape, urine and fecal waste. This waste will be sent to a system for converting the trash into high value products. Two crew members on a 120 day Mars analog simulation, in collaboration with Kennedy Space Centers (KSC) Trash to Gas (TtG) project investigated a semi-closed loop system that treated non-edible biomass and other logistical waste for volume reduction and conversion into useful commodities. The purpose of this study is to show how plant growth affects the amount of resources required by the habitat and how spent plant material can be recycled. Real-time data was sent to the reactor at KSC in Florida for replicating the analog mission waste for laboratory operation. This paper discusses the 120 day mission plant growth activity, logistical and plant waste management, power and water consumption effects of the plant and logistical waste, and potential energy conversion techniques using KSCs TtG technology.

Trash-to-Gas↗
NASA NTRS2014

Investigation of Bio-Regenerative Life Support and Trash-To-Gas Experiment on a 4 Month Mars Simulation Mission

Future crewed missions to other planets or deep space locations will require regenerative Life Support Systems (LSS) as well as recycling processes for mission waste. Constant resupply of many commodity materials will not be a sustainable option for deep space missions, nor will storing trash on board a vehicle or at a lunar or Martian outpost. The habitable volume will decline as the volume of waste increases. A complete regenerative environmentally controlled life support system (ECLSS) on an extra-terrestrial outpost will likely include physico-chemical and biological technologies, such as bioreactors and greenhouse modules. Physico-chemical LSS do not enable food production and bio-regenerative LSS are not stable enough to be used alone in space. Mission waste that cannot be recycled into the bio-regenerative ECLSS can include excess food, food packaging, clothing, tape, urine and fecal waste. This waste will be sent to a system for converting the trash into the high value products. Two crew members on a 120 day Mars analog simulation, in collaboration with Kennedy Space Centers (KSC) Trash to Gas (TtG) project investigated a semi-closed loop system that treated non-edible biomass and other logistical waste for volume reduction and conversion into useful commodities. The purposes of this study are to show the how plant growth affects the amount of resources required by the habitat and how spent plant material can be recycled. Real-time data was sent to the reactor at KSC in Florida for replicating the analog mission waste for laboratory operation. This paper discusses the 120 day mission plant growth activity, logistical and plant waste management, power and water consumption effects of the plant and logistical waste, and potential energy conversion techniques using KSCs TtG reactor technology.

trash to gas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Investigating Waste Preparation Methods for Trash-to-Gas Technologies

Trash-to-Gas technologies show promise in addressing the need for a proper waste management system onboard a long-duration space mission. However, there is a clear need to better understand how the initial waste preparation can affect the overall conversion efficiency. Factors such as the waste size, moisture content, and packing density can have significant impacts on the reactor performance. This paper will focus on the effects of various pre-processing steps on the overall solid-to-gas conversion on the state of the art Trash-to-Gas system developed at NASA Kennedy Space Center. These results will help inform future Trash-to-Gas technologies on what types of supporting subsystems will be necessary to operate effectively for exploration missions.

Trash to Gas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Investigating Waste Preparation Methods for Trash-to-Gas Technologies

Trash-to-Gas technologies show promise in addressing the need for a proper waste management system onboard a long-duration space mission. However, there is a clear need to better understand how the initial waste preparation can affect the overall conversion efficiency. Factors such as the waste size, moisture content, and packing density can have significant impacts on the reactor performance. This paper will focus on the effects of various pre-processing steps on the overall solid-to-gas conversion on the state of the art Trash-to-Gas system developed at NASA Kennedy Space Center. These results will help inform future Trash-to-Gas technologies on what types of supporting subsystems will be necessary to operate effectively for exploration missions.

Trash to Gas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Reduction of Equivalent System Mass of a Trash Compaction Processing System with an Emphasis on Improved Thermal Efficiency

A device known as the Trash Compaction Processing System or TCPS has been under development at NASA as part of the Advanced Life Support and Logistics Reduction Program Waste Management element. The TCPS processes trash that includes a variety of components such as plastic pouches that contain wet food and drinks, used cloth towels and t-shirts, adhesive tapes, deodorant, and many other items. The TCPS uses heat and pressure to compact the waste composite into a sturdy and well-defined shape designed to fit in a storage area on a spacecraft. The TCPS removes water from the trash and renders it safe against microbial activity. The focus of this paper is on methods for reducing the Equivalent System Mass of a TCPS with an emphasis on increasing the thermal efficiency of the system.

Trash Compaction Processing System↗
NASA NTRS2012

Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG) Project Overview

Technologies that reduce logistical needs are a key to long term space missions. Currently, trash and waste generated during a mission is carried during the entire roundtrip mission or stored inside a logistic module which is de-orbited into Earth's atmosphere for destruction. The goal of the Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG) project is to develop space technology alternatives for converting trash and other waste materials from human spaceflight into high-value products that might include propellants or power system fuels in addition to life support oxygen and water. In addition to producing a useful product from waste, TtSG will decrease the volume needed to store waste on long term space missions. This paper presents an overview of the TtSG technologies and future plans for the project.

Hintze, Paul↗