TDA has over a decade of experience in building life support equipment for NASA. We built a flight qualified backup oxygen system scheduled for use on the International Space Station and the all-catalytic trace contaminant control system used in the 1997 90 day closed loop test at Johnson Space Center. TDA focuses on air revitalization systems, including backup oxygen supply, trace contaminant control, CO2 removal and reduction. TDA has also been called on for fast turn-around support to deal with several NASA in-flight problems. Most of our life support work builds on our expertise in catalysts and sorbents.
Backup Oxygen Candle (BOCS): On a fast track schedule, TDA designed and built a completely passive (now power, no moving parts) cooling and housing system for a sodium chlorate (oxygen candle) backup oxygen system for the International Space Station. The system went from concept to flight certification in nine months, and is scheduled for launch to the ISS in the summer of 2004.
Trace Contaminant Control: TDA has a long history developing catalytic and sorbent based Trace Contaminant Control Systems (TCCS) to remove gaseous contaminants (hydrocarbons, halocarbons, alcohols and CO) from spacecraft air. TDA built the all-catalytic unit used in the 1997 90 day Early Human Testing Program closed life support test at Johnson Space Center, and is now completing a regenerable sorbent-based system. TDA has also developed and tested high temperature hydrocarbon and halocarbon oxidation catalysts as well as room temperature CO oxidation catalysts for NASA, and has provided fast reaction support to NASA to solve on-orbit problems.
CO2 Removal and Reduction: TDA is developing a sorbent and catalyst based system that integrates the removal of CO2 from spacecraft atmospheres with a Sabatier reactor to recover and recycle the oxygen in the CO2. We are also combining our high performance CO2 sorbents and radiator technology to build an emergency EVA system which will provide thirty minutes of oxygen, CO2 removal, humidity control and heat rejection in case the main space-suit life support system fails. The system requires no power and has no moving parts.
Incinerator Flue Gas Cleanup: Long-term missions may use plants to supply supplemental food and air purification. Such systems would burn waste biomass, and the flue gases would need to be cleaned. The unique part of TDA’s complete system built for NASA Ames is a catalyst that converts NO to NO2 (which can be easily removed by a water based scrubbing system).
Ammonia Oxidation: An important step in the recycle of spacecraft wastewater is the oxidation of hydrocarbons, alcohols and ammonia (NH3). TDA is addressing the key problem in this step, the conversion of ammonia to nitrogen and water without the production of NOx.
Space Radiators: TDA builds carbon composite space radiators that are significantly lighter and have better performance than competing designs.