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NASA Will Intentionally Burn Unmanned Orbiting Craft In Space (phys.org)
An anonymous reader writes from an article on Phys.org: NASA said it will test the effects of a large fire in space by setting off a blaze inside an orbiting unmanned space craft. NASA has set off tiny controlled fires in space in the past, but never tested how large flames react inside a space capsule in space. The goal is to measure the size of the flames, how quickly they spread, the heat output, and how much gas is emitted. The results of this experiment, dubbed Saffire-1, will determine how much fire resistance is needed in the ultra-light material used in the spacecraft and the astronaut's gear. It will also help NASA build better fire detection and suppression systems for their spaceships, and study how microgravity and limited amounts of oxygen affect the size of the flames.
wheres the oxygen?
We are now intentionally polluting space.
The goal is to measure the size of the flames, how quickly they spread, the heat output, and how much gas is emitted.
Said every pyro ever.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Burning an orbiting spacecraft inside an orbiting spacecraft?
I mean, I get the idea of needing to provide oxygen to the fire, however... why not just create a capsule to burn whatever it is you want burned and make the shell strong enough to withstand the burn temperature of whatever it is you want burned? Then supply oxygen through a hose of the same material that can withstand the burn temp?
Isn't that pretty damn simple, how can NASA not understand that.
There's no how flames react, because the material being burned is at a certain temperature and the shell encasing the fire can withstand a certain temperature. Surely they are not that ignorant.
There's no reality to limited amounts of oxygen, it's an exact amount as to how much is needed to make the material inside ignite.
That really seems like it was not written per math, it seems like someone who was high wrote it.
Maybe they need to employ people differently.
This sounds like one of the more useful things I've ever heard nasa do.
I suggest they put a few Pinto's in low-earth orbit and have them rear-end each other. Such research would answer flames-in-space as well as some critical questions dating back to the 70's.
They are setting off the fire inside a box inside the spacecraft. They are storing the data during the burn and transmitting it after the burn, so clearly they expect the spacecraft to survive.
They could set the Van Allen belt on fire.
Not just blowing off hot air...
you telling me that after billions of dollars and many years the effects of a fire in space are only now being tested? Really???
From TFA, that appears to be exactly the plan.
Only, don't you suppose it is a good idea to place this capsule and run this experiment on board an unmanned spacecraft? So if something goes terribly wrong, you don't have an exploding capsule on board a manned spacecraft such as a Soyuz ferry or the International Space Station?
We either have a fire on board or Harold is breathing heavily again, either way I've got a problem.
I just hope they do this in the memory of Grissom, White, and Chaffee. That was one of my first early childhood scars.
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
So instead of "stop, drop and roll", it's presumably "stand perfectly still so the flames will starve quickly"?
On the other hand, since astronauts aren't routinely passing out in a cloud of their own exhaled CO2, I guess there's enough forced air circulation to keep the flames going more than long enough.
Or are they going to wait until it's someone else's shit flying around in space that's a risk to spacecraft before crying off how much dangerous junk is in orbit around earth?
ANY reactant that is exothermic will work. We on earth have "plenty" of O2 and so we use things that oxidise quickly. Plenty O2 compared to the excess amount generally found in the universe.
Anyone who's played FTL will confirm that.
Just saying, I can't see NASA burning a manned spacecraft.
Seriously, Bigelow should do this as well. They have a cloth structure, so it be good to see how it can withstand a fire.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
...when oxygen is the supplier.
So who's going to light the match? Beavis or Butthead?
Wasn't in space.
Unmanned, you say
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife