Page 77 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

water while actually using less. Delta Faucet will look At the time, NASA did not have the funding to internally
to better understand how water flows through the produce a system that recycled consumables into
chip in the microgravity environment of the space water; therefore, it began to consider alternatives
station, where water forms into floating blobs rather such as the Nobel Prize-winning Sabatier process.
than cascading to the ground. This may help the The Sabatier process is a well-established water
company make shower heads that use water even production technology used for many years on Earth.
more efficiently.
NASA determined an enhanced Sabatier system could
In another example, Goodyear Tire is beginning (as reduce water resupply requirements by thousands of
of 2018) a series of investigations onboard the space pounds of water per year and close the loop in the
station to study how silica compounds form in the oxygen and water regeneration cycle. However, the
microgravity environment of space. Silica is an unique space-based Sabatier hardware for the space
important ingredient in passenger tires and serves station was not only a new way of creating water for
to reduce the “resistance” generated as a tire rolls along the crew members, it was also a pathfinder for new
the road. In typical automobiles, 5% to 15% of the fuel procurement contracts.
consumption is used to counter this rolling resistance. In the $65 million contract that NASA established with
Therefore, a reduction would result in greater overall private contractor UTC Hamilton Sundstrand Space,
automotive fuel efficiency. Silica can form into a variety Land & Sea, UTC would engineer the Sabatier system
of different structures even here on Earth. Goodyear with the stipulation that 100% of NASA’s investment
wants to find out if new versions of silica, which may would be refunded if the system did not perform upon
be able to offer even better rolling resistance, can be in-orbit activation. Throughout the development time
formed in microgravity.
frame, NASA provided UTC with milestone payments
Since 2011, the ISS U.S. National Laboratory has to meet UTC’s need for development cash flow.
successfully built the foundations of a diverse and Importantly, the agreement also removed more than
potentially impactful portfolio of commercial research. 70% of NASA’s standard requirements, and verification
As the 20th anniversary of permanent crewed presence of the remaining requirements was left as flexible
in LEO approaches in 2020, all indications are that as possible.
the R&D activities within that portfolio will continue The result was that a 249-kilogram (550-pound)
to grow and diversify. stainless steel cube the size of a small refrigerator
arrived via Space Shuttle Discovery on April 7, 2010,
and was operational by October of that year.
Piloting a New Procurement Paradigm
The system performed for more than 6 years in
Developing and maintaining water production on the
ISS is vital, yet it has presented many challenges as
well as new opportunities in the way capabilities are
procured. Through 2010, the space station’s life support
machinery produced breathable air by splitting oxygen
from water by using a process known as electrolysis.

The space station is a known
test bed for exploration; however,
procurement of the Sabatier system
demonstrated that the space

station can also be a launch pad NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock,
Expedition 25 commander, is photographed
for procurement options and with the Sabatier Assembly—just prior to
public-private partnerships. installation into Oxygen Generator System rack.
Image credit: NASA

63