Sabatier Engineering Development Unit

Abstract

To facilitate life support system loop closure on board the International Space Station (ISS), the Node 3 Oxygen Generation System (OGS) rack contains a functional scar to accommodate a carbon dioxide reduction assembly (CRA). As part of the effort to better understand and define the functional scar, significant risk mitigation activities have been performed. To address integration risks, a CRA Engineering Development Unit (EDU) has been developed that is functionally equivalent to a flight CRA and is suitable for integrating with ground based carbon dioxide removal and oxygen generation systems. The CRA EDU has been designed to be functionally equivalent to the Sabatier Reactor Subsystem (SRS) portion of the CRA. The design of the CRA EDU and testing results in a stand alone configuration with simulated OGA and CDRA interfaces are reported. Carbon dioxide flow control is a major area requiring development since the size of the CO2 accumulator may result in periods of CRA starvation. The capability of the CO2 flow control algorithm to effectively manage integrated CRA operations is discussed.