The NASA experiment on board the departing cargo vessel Cygnus (Cygnus) is designed to improve fire extinguishing methods in orbit.
Photo: astronaut Jerry Linenger puts on a mask after a fire on the Russian space station Mir in 1997.
NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger and his Russian crew members successfully survived the fire on board the now-defunct Russian space station Mir in 1997. Now the NASA experiment seeks to improve the odds for future space travelers.
The Fire Experiment spacecraft, or Saffire, during its debut launch on Tuesday aboard the departing cargo vessel Cygnus.
Now filled with debris and intended for its own fiery re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere next week, Cygnus serves as an orbital free flight laboratory for a new experiment on fires in space.
“The fire on the spacecraft is one of the biggest challenges for NASA and the international space research community,” said Jason Krusan, who oversees NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems program. During a fire on the World, which was caused by a faulty oxygen generator, thick, toxic smoke quickly filled the room, which adversely affected the crew’s ability to see and fight fire. To make matters worse, the flames blocked the crew’s route to one of the two Soyuz spacecraft that were used during emergency evacuation.
“We immediately started fighting fire,” Linenger later said.
“You had to respond to the situation, you had to keep your head on your shoulders, so I guess it was just a matter of survival.”
The flame does not spread under the conditions of microgravity of space, as it happens on Earth. Until now, scientists have only been able to test small fires in orbit or burn materials for two to five seconds under low gravity conditions on Earth tests, said Saffire lead scientist David Urban from the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
“Saffire will allow us to safely burn larger material samples without adding risk to the station or its crew,” added project manager Gary Raff. Sensors and cameras inside the Saffire module (3X5 foot module) will collect data and take pictures throughout the experiment, which should start 5 hours after the capsule leaves the International Space Station.
Cygnus left the orbital outpost at 9:30 am ET, on Tuesday.
During the experiment, which is carried out autonomously, the wire will heat up to ignite a piece of cloth, known as Sibal, which is a mixture of cotton and fiberglass.
The 16X37 inch pattern, located inside the Saffire module, will be burned from the bottom to capture how the flame spreads.
“Saffire seeks to answer two questions. Will upward flame spread continue to grow or will microgravity limit size? And what fabrics and materials will light up, and how will they burn? ”, Said Urban.
