View Single Post
  #8  
Old January 13th 14, 12:27 PM posted to sci.space.station
Jeff Findley[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 411
Default ISS mission extended to 2024

In article om,
says...

While I do not wish any harm onto crewmembers, it would be interesting
to have an event where a small hole punctures the pressure vessel in a
module and see how easy it is to fix, as this would provide valuable
experience to help design next generation ships (such as expedition ship
to Mars) where abandonning the ship/module is not an option.

Consider the rapid initial decision on whether to close hatch and let
module slowly depressurise vs leaving hatch open to give crews
opportunity to find and fix the hole ASAP. Once depressurized, it
becomes really hard to find the hole without any sound giving audible
hints on location.

Do they have tools for this ? For instance, in a depressurized module,
pressurise it just a bit so crew in EVA suit can use some microphone to
locate leak ?


It was under development in 1999. Not sure if it was actually sent to
ISS.

KERMIt, a Kit for External Repair of Module Impacts...
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/iss-99s.html

October, 1999 - NASA Orbital Debris Program Office
http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/ne...s/ODQNv4i4.pdf

Has NASA developped some sort of spray foam that can be applied and
rapidly set to seal a hole ? Or is the expectation that any such holes
would be fixed from the outside ? (since there would be tons of wiring
attached to pressure haul on the inside).

Does NASA/partners have precise metrics on air leak rate and other
aspects to decide whether to abandon module/close hatch or keep it open
and try to rapidly fix it ?

Or is that something that would be left to crews's judgement ?


Article with some info that you may find interesting:

Listening for leaks aboard the International Space Station with
ultrasonics
http://www.gizmag.com/iss-air-leak-detector/28133/

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer