Heat and Smoke Emission from Tests on the Saffire VI Experiment

The hazardous product release results from seven long-duration low-gravity fire tests are presented. These tests were conducted in low-earth orbit aboard a Cygnus spacecraft where the atmosphere pressure and oxygen concentration were varied to examine the effect of exploration atmosphere conditions. All of the samples were 40 cm wide. Four samples were PMMA and were 18 cm long. Two of these samples burned on both sides and the other two sample were attached to a plate that prevented fire on one side. The other three samples were cotton or a composite cotton/fiberglass blend that were 50 cm long. The cabin concentration of CO and CO2 were measured continuously in addition to the aerosol concentration. The aerosol concentration was determined using a light scattering device. The heat release from some of the tests was estimated using oxygen consumption calorimetry by measuring the oxygen consumption and the production of CO and CO2. These data were correlated with distributed temperature measurements in the spacecraft and the pressure rise. Overall, the pressure rise and temperature change were small but the smoke particulate rose to substantial levels and the gaseous products also achieved hazardous levels.