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A microwave powered solid waste stabilization and water recovery prototype was delivered to Ames Research Center through an SBIR Phase II contract awarded to Umpqua Research Company. The system uses a container capable of holding 5.7 dm3 volume of waste. The microwave power can be varied to operate either at full power (130 W) or in a variable mode from 0% and 100%. Experiments were conducted with different types of wastes (wet cloth, simulated feces/diarrheal wastes, wet trash and brine) at different levels of moisture content and dried under varying microwave power supply. This paper presents the experimental data. The results provide valuable insight into the different operation modes under which the prototype can be used to recover water from the wastes in a space environment. Further investigations and testing of the prototype are recommended.

This paper outlines the development of a real-time engine failure detection system for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) that is more sophisticated than the present redline methodology. The evolution of the real time failure detection system, called the System for Anomaly and Failure Detection (SAFD), is discussed along with some of the driving forces that have shaped its development activity. This paper also discusses the SAFD platform, which consists of the computer hardware and the operating system.