Water supply of long-term space flights on the basis of physicochemical processes for water regeneration

Paper number

IAC-17,A1,IP,31,x36066

Year

2017

Abstract

Due to the energy, volume and mass restrictions the physical-chemical processes of water and
atmosphere recovery will be used on the space station in the near future. The use of biological
processes a food production are the aims of the future.
At the present the structure of complex physical-chemical regenerative life-support systems and
so the compositions of water recovery systems have been formed. The regeneration systems need
to realize the maximum recovery and regeneration of water and oxygen from human liquids
waste, serving the needs of the crew with minimal use of reserves.
Based on the research and development works the main methods of water regeneration were
formed:
sorption-catalytic method for humidity condensate from the crew compartments and
greenhouses, the distillate from urine system, water from the CO2 reduction in Sabatier reactor,
the condensate of the vapors formed during drying of the waste;
- distillation for water reclamation from urine;
- reverse osmosis with pre filtration and subsequent sorption and the bacterial purification of the
regenerated water.
To implement these methods small-sized equipment, working in conditions of space flight is
developed.
In the case where the oxygen is produced from reclaimed water and food from stocks, selfsufficiency
of the complex life-support system is determined by the coefficient of water
recovery: the ratio of the regenerated water to the total water consumption. The recovery rate
achieved on the space stations were as follows: “Salyut” - 38%; “Mir” - 72%; International space
station ISS (Russian segment) – 38%; ISS in the future – 88%; space station with a full range of
regenerative life support systems – more than 94%. The minimum mass of the complex is
maximum self-sufficiency and maximum efficiency of the complex systems.
The report is based on the operation of space stations "Mir" and the ISS, the data for water
balance for different variants of construction of the LSS complex and regeneration technology,
energy-and-mass characteristics of modern and perspective systems of water regeneration and
includes recommendations for formation of a complex regenerative water recovery systems for
future space stations.

Abstract document

IAC-17,A1,IP,31,x36066.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

(absent)