Sierra Space wins NASA contract to develop trash compactor for use in space
Sierra Space yesterday announced that it has won a NASA contract to develop trash compactor for use in space and test it on ISS by 2026.
The system’s goals will not only be to reduce the volume of waste, but to recover all the water contained within it.
Current primary waste systems in space cannot reclaim water or effectively reduce the volume of trash in a manner necessary for long-term space travel. The TCPS [Sierra’s compactor] is being developed to recover nearly all the water from the trash for additional use. This capability may be vital not only for deep space exploration but also for commercial orbital facilities or extraterrestrial bases. As a stand-alone system, TCPS only requires access to power, data, and air-cooling interfaces and it provides a simple user interface to facilitate crew interactions.
The key to this development is that it isn’t being developed by NASA solely for ISS. Sierra will own the product, and design it to be used on any in-space operation, from space stations to lunar bases.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Sierra Space yesterday announced that it has won a NASA contract to develop trash compactor for use in space and test it on ISS by 2026.
The system’s goals will not only be to reduce the volume of waste, but to recover all the water contained within it.
Current primary waste systems in space cannot reclaim water or effectively reduce the volume of trash in a manner necessary for long-term space travel. The TCPS [Sierra’s compactor] is being developed to recover nearly all the water from the trash for additional use. This capability may be vital not only for deep space exploration but also for commercial orbital facilities or extraterrestrial bases. As a stand-alone system, TCPS only requires access to power, data, and air-cooling interfaces and it provides a simple user interface to facilitate crew interactions.
The key to this development is that it isn’t being developed by NASA solely for ISS. Sierra will own the product, and design it to be used on any in-space operation, from space stations to lunar bases.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
When I read the headline, I thought it referred to “space junk” like dead satellites and other orbiting debris.
Imagine a Starship, approaching a used orbiting booster, etc., opening an alligator door and taking in the object to be reduced to bits. After dozens of such captures, it adjusts to a low orbit and spews out the bits in a stream, guaranteed to be incinerated.
Then rendezvousing with a tanker, it refills with propellant, fires its engines to raise its orbit, and begins processing another batch.