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The application of gas detector tubes to monitor the enclosed environment of a spacecraft was first done in the Skylab 2 mission. There were two contaminants of concern - carbon monoxide and toluene diisocyanate. In the Space Station Freedom program, measurement of trace contaminants in the Node 2 and Lab A atmosphere is required prior to the first entry of the crew. Since Node 2 is isolated from the trace contaminant control system for approximately 100 days during SSF building missions, it is anticipated that the Node 2 atmosphere may contain trace contaminants released over this period and some of these may exceed the acceptable levels. It will also be necessary to use gas detector tubes to measure the oxygen level since the Major Constituent Analyzer will not be powered before ingress.

Comparative tests were performed by Boeing, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) or Boeing subcontractors to select the optimum technology for waste water processing on Space Station Freedom (SSF). A Thermoelectric Integrated Membrane Evaporation Subsystem (TIMES) and a Vapor Compression Distillation Subsystem (VCDS) were built and tested to compare urine processing capability. A portion of the distillate recovered from pretreated urine; ie, the water which originates in the resupply food, is the basis for closed loop life support on SSF. Several other waste water “Challenge Solutions”, representing laboratory experiment waste water, were also comparatively processed with these two technologies. Performance, water quality and specific energy were compared for conceptual designs intended to function as part of the Water Recovery and Management (WRM) system.