Columbus ECLSS: five years of operations and lessons learned

Abstract

European Space Agency (ESA)'s Columbus laboratory module was launched and activated in early 2008. Since then, the Columbus Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) has been operating for almost five years, including its major European ECLSS assemblies such as Condensing Heat Exchanger (CHX), Condensate Water Separator Assembly (CWSA), Cabin Fan Assemblies (CFA) and Sensors. During these five years of operations trend analyses (further to some off-nominal events) allowed to get awareness and experience on ECLSS related issues, and associated countermeasures. Example of this is the issue of dust contamination revealed by smoke detector dirt collection and fans performance degradation, and condensate removal. The addition of an Add-On Return Grid (AORG) on Columbus Return Grid Sensor Housing (RGSH) in 2011, and the cleaning of CFAs in 2012, stabilized Smoke Detectors (SD) dirt collection and CFAs degradation first and improved the general Air Loop situation after. The problem cannot be declared completely solved as the dust can still enter from Node2 side through Inter-Module Ventilation (IMV) Supply Fan Assembly (ISFA), but an add-on grid on site is planned and in preparation.The condensate issue is still not completely solved, but two on-orbit tests (one on Columbus system side and one in collaboration with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)) are going to be performed to check for a final problem solution.The paper summarizes these five years of experience, provides an overview of the encountered issues on ECLSS, derives lessons learned useful for the continuation of Columbus activities and for the design of future modules. Nomenclature AFS= Air Flow Sensor AORG = Add-On Return Grid AST = Astrium Space Transportation