| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | 04 X3.01-8100 |
| SUBTOPIC TITLE: | Extravehicular Activity Systems |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | An Advanced Rapid Cycling CO2 and H2O Control System for PLSS |
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN
(Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
TDA Research, Inc.
12345 West 52nd Ave
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-1916
(303)422-7819
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER
(Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Gokhan O. Alptekin
galptekin@tda.com
12345 W. 52nd Ave.
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-1916
(303)940-2349
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
NASA's planned future missions set stringent demands on the design of the Portable Life Support Systems (PLSS) used to cool the astronaut and provide them with air. Dramatic reductions in weight, decreased reliance on supplies and greater flexibility on the types of missions are all needed. The CO2 and humidity control unit in the existing PLSS design is relatively large, since it has to remove 8 hours worth of CO2. If the sorbent regeneration can be carried out during the extravehicular activity (EVA) with a relatively high regeneration frequency, the size and weight of the sorbent canister can be significantly reduced.
TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) proposes to develop a compact, regenerable sorbent-based system to control CO2 and humidity in the space suit ventilation loop. The sorbent can be regenerated using space vacuum during the EVA, eliminating many of the duration-limiting elements in the life support system.
In the Phase I project, TDA will develop a suitable sorbent and carry out a preliminary design and engineering assessment of the system to determine whether the concept merits further research and development.
POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 100 WORDS)
The main benefit of our research to NASA is its ability to provide a lightweight, compact, and relatively simple CO2 and humidity control system for the Portable Life Support System. Reducing the weight and volume of the space suit is of critical importance to NASA. If the system progresses to flight hardware, we will partner with established NASA contractors who supply hardware to expedite the adoption of our system.
POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 100 WORDS)
The sorbents developed in the project is also applicable to a wide variety of industrial processes, which requires CO2 removal at moderate temperatures (i.e., CO2 cleanup from refinery gas stream). These sorbents can also be used in sorbent-enhanced water-gas-shift processes in hydrogen manufacturing.