William Atkins
Wednesday, 12 November 2008 19:16
Science -
Space
Page 2 of 3
The WRS uses a series of chemical treatment processes and filters to produce water clean enough to drink. This process is at work on Earth producing clean and drinkable water for people in Third World countries.
The
water recovery system has been in development and under manufacture for about ten years at the NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A., along with technical assistance from engineers at Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International Inc., Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
It is being installed in the orbiting station because carrying water to it with the space shuttle fleet and other spacecraft is very expensive.
NASA states that it costs about $15,000 per pint to bring fresh water up to the ISS from Earth.
In all, the new system decreases the amount of water and consumables that need to be uplifted to the Station each year by about 15,000 pounds (6,800 kilograms).
The WRS is the second piece of a comprehensive life support system for the Space Station.
The first piece is the Oxygen Generation System, which was installed on the ISS by the space shuttle Discovery crew in July 2006.
The two pieces consist of NASA's Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). The ECLSS will allow the crew members on the ISS to expand from three to six members.
Page three talks about comments from an astronaut and other people involved in the water recovery system.
