User: barnhard

Re: Twists on Station Recycling

On: Benford on Space Exploration

Guess what, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction ... Research work done in conjunction with the University of Maryland Aerospace Engineering Department on the potential use of biomass resistojet thrusters for Space Station reboost in the early eighties (Barnhard, Pellerito, Snyder, et.al.) showed that the cross-over point for using solid waste from astronauts to feed a biomass methane digester was approximately five astronauts. However, the problem is actually more complex than just having the necessary feed stock and a viable digestion process. As it would happen you need at least a more few things ... For example engines that could actually use the fuel ... (opps, been there done that ... McDonald Douglas tested resistojets in the early seventies which worked quite nicely). The brave souls doing this research work by no means solved all the engineering challenges, they merely showed that the waste could become a resource and that there appeared to be a pretty darn good case for making it one. Gary P. Barnhard Robotic Space Systems Engineer