Under New Program, Agency Will Pay For Service, Not
Equipment
NASA has awarded a sole-source contract to Hamilton Sundstrand
Space Systems International Inc. for water production services
aboard the International Space Station. The firm fixed-price
contract has a potential value of $65 million and extends through
Sept. 30, 2014.
Hamilton Sundstrand will provide equipment that uses the
station's excess carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce water and
methane. The methane will be vented into space, and the water will
be fed into the station's waste water system, where it will undergo
treatment before it is used.
Under the contract, NASA will not buy hardware, but instead will
purchase the water service. If the system does not work, NASA will
not pay for it.
"This is a fundamental shift in the way we do business," said
Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space
Operations. "In the business arrangement we have negotiated for
water production services, the contractor is responsible for all
system development and performance. The only requirements we have
imposed are those associated with safety and interfaces. This
provides a procurement and technology test bed for future
exploration systems, which need to operate in an environment far
from Earth, where routine resupply is not feasible."
The equipment employs a chemical process known as a Sabatier
reaction. The process is named for French Nobel laureate and
chemist Paul Sabatier, who discovered that hydrogen and carbon
dioxide produce methane and water at elevated temperatures and
pressures.
The Hamilton Sundstrand-provided hardware will be flown during
shuttle mission STS-130, which is targeted for launch in late 2009.
A checkout of the system is planned for May 2010. Hamilton
Sundstrand will retain title to the hardware and ensure it meets
NASA's space station safety and interface requirements.
Water is used on the space station
for a variety of purposes, including drinking, food preparation,
oxygen generation, electronic equipment cooling and hygiene. About
half of the station's water needs are obtained through recycling.
The rest of its water currently is transported by the space shuttle
or supply ships, including the Russian Progress and European
Automated Transfer Vehicle.
"We are very excited to provide this service to NASA," said Ed
Francis, Hamilton Sundstrand Space, Land & Sea vice president
and general manager. "Our experience providing environmental
control and life support systems and other hardware for the space
station gives us the insight needed to recognize areas we can help
NASA. This is a great example of how NASA and industry can work
together to benefit both."
Windsor Locks, CT-based Hamilton Sundstrand provides a number of
systems for the space station, including those that control
electrical power and process water, waste and air. The company has
been the prime contractor to NASA for astronaut spacesuits since
1981.