SPACE LAB TECHNOLOGIES, LLC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: H4

Description

<p>The portable life support system (PLSS) of the advanced extravehicular mobility unit (AEMU) provides the necessary environment for a crew member to operate within the space suit.&nbsp; Within the PLSS, the oxygen ventilation loop provides carbon dioxide washout, gas temperature control, humidity control, and trace contaminant removal.&nbsp; Historically, there have been issues with the measurement of air flow for the oxygen ventilation loop.&nbsp; With the Apollo EMU, there were humidity issues with the implemented flow meter.&nbsp; For the Space Shuttle/ISS EMU, the flow sensor was a flapper/microswitch combination that only measured a discrete threshold for flow.&nbsp; This proposal provides an analog method to measure the continuous air flow.&nbsp; This new method meets the low pressure drop requirement and allows operation beyond low earth orbit (LEO) with radiation tolerant electronics.&nbsp; Per the solicitation, a prototype will be developed during phase I to verify this new technology.</p>