Full name

Specialized experimental design office for spacecraft life support systems

Specialization

Research and development of promising regenerative life support systems for orbital stations, interplanetary spacecraft and planetary bases based on physical/chemical and biological means.

Research and development of promising systems for the provision of gas composition for deep-water apparatus and diver complexes.

Research and development of systems for the provision of gas composition and water supply for closed-cycle underground protection facilities.

Research and development of environment-engineering general-purpose systems based on physical/chemical and biological processes for various sectors of industry.

Work conducted under conversion programs.

Research & engineering services

Research and development work to devise sophisticated engineering systems and specially designed equipment.

Testing of specially designed engineering equipment. Test equipment for conducting tests is offered: a vibration-testing machine, a shock stand, environmental chambers, a vacuum-testing stand.

Examination of developmental solutions obtained for life support systems and general-purpose environment-engineering systems.

Research & engineering products

Technologies and design implementation of electrochemical systems and apparatus for: potable water conditioning and purification; carbon dioxide concentration, water electrolysis, humidity condensate and carbon dioxide.

Technologies and design implementation of systems and apparatus for removal of contaminants from water and carbon dioxide from the cabin atmosphere, trace contaminants and water vapor via absorption, adsorption, adsorption/catalytic and photocatalytic processes.

Design implementation of apparatus for biological processes such as vitamin green-houses, biofilters to remove microcontaminants from air, apparatus for mineralization and recycling of non-regenerable products of life.

Automated data bases interfaced with a problem simulation system for a decision taken under risk and uncertainty conditions, for synthesis of a process structure and simulation models for analyses of functioning of sophisticated engineering systems.

Engineering systems for data acquisition and automatic control of production processes.

Brief description of division’s activities

Specialized experimental design office for spacecraft life support systems was set up in 1965 for research and development life support systems for manned spacecraft.

In December 1967 first prototypes of regenerative life support systems for ground lab.complex were supplied and successfully tested. The test results proved the possibility of using regenerative life support systems.

Achievements

Life support systems were developed for the lunar program, Salut orbital stations.

In the 1980s – 1990s a complex of long-operational regenerative life support systems was installed on space station Mir. The complex supplied water and oxygen by physical/chemical means from products of life as well as ensure the removal of carbone dioxide and contaminants from the cabin atvmosphere.

The introduction of regenerative system complex on space station Mir made it possible to reduce the mass of water and oxygen delivered from earth by 80%; to decrease cargo traffic to the station by over 5.6 tons per year; to cut annual operation costs by over $28 million; to reduce launches of Progress supply ships by 4 ships per year.

Currently the following systems are operated successfully on the international space station:
- a system for water recovery from humidity condensate;
- a system for urine feed and pretreatment;
- a system for oxygen generation by water electrolysis;
- a set of cartridges for the removal of trace contaminants from cabin atmosphere.

Partnership

The Federal space agency (Moscow);

RSC Energia (Korolev);

The Khrunichev enterprise (Moscow);

Experimental engineering works - RSC Energia (Korolev);

The Institute of medical/biological problems, RAN (Moscow);

Gagarin cosmonaut training center (the Star city);

JSC Gelimash (Moscow);

JSC Lazurit (N.Novgorod);

JSC Malakhit (St.Peterburg);

JSC Severmash (Severodvinsk).

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