- Author
- Linford, R. M. F.
- Title
- Experiments With the Skylab Fire Detectors in Zero Gravity.
- Coporate
- McDonnell-Douglas Corp., St. Louis, MO
- Report
- NASA SP-298,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Book or Conf
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society for Testing and Materials and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Space Simulation. Paper No. 8. May 1-3, 1972., New York City, NY, 41-56 p., 1972
- Keywords
- fire detectors | fire prevention | Skylab program | ultraviolet radiation | weightlessness | simulation | combustion chambers | flame propagation | aerospace environments | warning systems
- Identifiers
- detection systems
- Abstract
- The Skylab fire detector is the first known device for alerting the crewmen of a manned space vehicle to the presence of an on-board fire. The detector is extremely sensitive to the low-level ultraviolet radiation emitted by burning materials. To evaluate the sensitivity of the detection system, it was necessary to record the detector output while viewing typical spacecraft materials burning in the appropriate environment. The zero-gravity environment of space flight eliminates the convection associated with an earthbound fire and, therefore, it was essential that the experiments be conducted under weightless conditions. To conduct the test, small samples of spacecraft materials were ignited in a 5 psi oxygen-rich atmosphere inside a combustion chamber. The chamber free-floated in the cabin of a C-135 aircraft, as the aircraft executed a Keplerian parabola. Up to 10 seconds of zero-gravity combustion were achieved. The Skylab fire detector tubes viewed the flames from a simulated distance of 3 m, and color movies were taken the record the nature of the fire.