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Orion Emergency Mask ApproachEmergency mask approach on Orion poses a challenge to the traditional Shuttle or Station approaches. Currently, in the case of a fire or toxic spill event, the crew utilizes open loop oxygen masks that provide the crew with oxygen to breath, but also dumps the exhaled oxygen into the cabin. For Orion, with a small cabin volume, the extra oxygen will exceed the flammability limit within a short period of time, unless a nitrogen purge is also provided. Another approach to a fire or toxic spill event is the use of a filtering emergency masks. These masks utilize some form of chemical beds to scrub the air clean of toxic providing the crew safe breathing air for a period without elevating the oxygen level in the cabin. Using the masks and a form of smoke-eater filter, it may be possible to clean the cabin completely or to a level for safe transition to a space suit to perform a cabin purge. Issues with filters in the past have been the reaction time, breakthroughs, and high breathing resistance. Development in a new form of chemical filters has shown promise to make the filtering approach feasible.
Document ID
20090020404
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Tuan, George C.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Graf, John C.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2009
Subject Category
Space Transportation And Safety
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-18371
2009-01-2460
09ICES-0206
JSC-CN-18274
Meeting Information
Meeting: 39th International Conference on Environmental Systems
Location: Savannah, GA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 12, 2009
End Date: July 16, 2009
Sponsors: Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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