Spacecraft Fire Safety
Fire Scenarios and Training
The science of fire protection
engineering has developed considerably since the
design of the Space Shuttles
and the International Space Station (ISS). Today,
fire safety researchers can quantify ignition, flame
spread, fire growth mechanisms, and complex systems.
The use of advanced computer models allows the most
probable Earth-based fire scenarios to be analyzed,
especially in relation to the desired
levels of protection.
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A subject engaged in a Virtual Reality test
similar to those that will be used to train astronauts in fire response
techniques.
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But before
spacecraft and
habitat
designers can make use of
this new capability, the tools must be evaluated
to determine if they can be used to accurately
analyze fire scenarios in the low- and partial-gravity
environments
found in space.
Researchers in the Fire Scenarios
and Training portion of the program will perform
this verification by synthesizing data from
all of the research in FPDS to better define "design" fires
(a quantitative description of the characteristics
of a fire) and script response
strategies. And the results of these evaluations,
in turn, will feed back to the other
areas of fire safety research to ensure that
test requirements and conditions are continuously
improved.
Products
Researchers will deliver products
in two categories:
- Tools to define and analyze fire scenarios for exploration spacecraft and habitats
- Simulations of fire and fire-response scenarios for system evaluation and crew training
and Accessibility Certification