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Ask the SI:

A fire in space, in three moments

A plastic rod burning in a gentle airflow on the International Space Station.
A rod burning in BASS-II. NASA photograph, from PSI.

22.7%

The most oxygen any real fabric or plastic was burned in. A Moon habitat plans 34%.

Stop a fire before it starts, by choosing materials that are hard to light in the air the crew will breathe.

What the experiments measured

How much oxygen the material studies reached

Every test on a real fabric or plastic stopped near normal air. Only BRE, a gas burner built to imitate a solid (blue), reached the oxygen planned for the Moon.

What it becomes on a spacecraft

Rules for which fabrics, plastics and foams may fly, and how much oxygen a cabin can hold.

And on Earth

Simpler microgravity flames validate fire models that are then applied to fires on Earth.

PSI record, BASS-II

NASA's words

“Prevention is achieved by controlling ignition sources and through material selection, which depends on understanding flammability limits.” NASA challenge statement

Three dots mean NASA's own record names the experiment for that job; two mean it supports it.

What works in space works on Earth

  1. 1976

    Lighter air tanks for firefighters

    Built with NASA's Johnson Space Center from spacesuit technology. A 30-minute air supply at 20 pounds, 13 pounds less than the tanks before it.

    NASA Spinoff

  2. 1978

    A fire detector that ignores dust

    Made for the space shuttle. It tells particles from a fire apart from dust, so it raises fewer false alarms, with uses in places such as mines.

    NASA Spinoff

  3. 1982

    Safer clothing for firefighters

    A NASA and U.S. Fire Administration project put light, fire-resistant materials first made for astronauts' suits into firefighters' gear.

    NASA Spinoff

NASA lists these three as examples for this challenge. They came from spacesuit and shuttle engineering, not from the experiments in this archive. What the experiments themselves offer on Earth is below.

Material flammability standards5 experiments

How materials are screened and ranked for fire risk.

NASA's words
  • BRE. A burner that emulates condensed fuels gives a repeatable way to rank the flammability of materials.“Quasi-steady burning corresponding to various condensed-phase materials (such as PMMA and Nylon) was observed”
  • BASS. Radiative heat-release data feeds performance-based material selection and fire models.“extend heat release data from tests like the NASA cone calorimeter test”
  • Saffire-I. Results test whether NASA's material selection criteria hold up, which informs flammability screening generally.“help to validate NASA’s material selection criteria”
  • Saffire-II. Results test whether NASA's material selection criteria hold up, which informs flammability screening generally.“help to validate NASA’s material selection criteria”
  • Saffire-III. Results test whether NASA's material selection criteria hold up, which informs flammability screening generally.“help to validate NASA’s material selection criteria”

Smoke detection4 experiments

What early smoke looks like to a detector, before there is a flame.

NASA's words
  • SAME-R. Particle-size data for early, pre-flame smoke supports better smoke detector design.“can lead to technology for an advanced fire detector”
  • SAME. Particle-size data for early, pre-flame smoke supports better smoke detector design.“provide technology for an advanced fire detector”
  • DAFT. The modified instrument design carries over to other sealed environments.“such as submarines or underwater laboratories where accurate detection of smoke can save lives”
  • SAME smoke modelling. Particle models that support better smoke detectors.“This would directly lead to better smoke detection devices”

Fire models2 experiments

Simulation tools checked against clean microgravity flames, then applied to fires on Earth.

NASA's words
  • BASS-II. Simpler microgravity flames validate fire models that are then applied to fires on Earth.“These models can then be used to more accurately study flames on Earth”
  • BASS flame-spread modelling. Improved fire modelling and safety standards on Earth.“which betters fire safety standards”

Sealed environments1 experiments

Submarines, aircraft and other places where a fire cannot be escaped.

NASA's words
  • FLEX. Fire safety in other sealed or low-pressure environments.“advance fire safety in confined and reduced-gravity environments, such as submarines or high-altitude aircraft”

Cleaner combustion12 experiments

Engines, burners and power plants that waste less fuel and emit less soot.

NASA's words
  • E-FIELD Flames. Electric fields as a way to cut pollutants from practical burners.“The use of electric fields to control flames can reduce the production of harmful pollutants in practical terrestrial combustion.”
  • CFI. Cool-flame chemistry underpins cleaner, high-efficiency engines.“Cool flames play a key role in the development and selection of new fuels and the design of advanced engines”
  • FLEX-2. Benchmark droplet data for cleaner, more efficient liquid-fuel combustors.“The combustion of liquid fuels is the overwhelming energy source in the transportation sector.”
  • Cool-flame CFD. Engine knock, efficiency and emissions.“Advances low-temperature combustion understanding relevant to engine knock, efficiency, and emissions”
  • Cool-flame transitions. Low-temperature chemistry for engines and turbulent combustion.“particularly relevant to combustion in highly turbulent flow fields”
  • CFI-G. Cool-flame kinetics for more efficient, ultra-lean engines.“This should facilitate the development of more efficient internal combustion engines.”
  • Flame Design. Lower-soot, more efficient combustors and power plants.“improving efficiency and reducing pollutant emissions in terrestrial combustors”
  • CLD Flame. Better soot and extinction models for practical burners and engines.“Diffusion flames are the flame type of most practical combustion devices.”
  • s-Flame. Better engine and burner performance through validated flame chemistry.“improving performance in terms of power, efficiency, pollutant emissions, and reliability”
  • SPICE soot analysis. Lower pollutant emissions and cleaner industrial combustion.“the insights help reduce pollutant emissions, optimize combustion efficiency”
  • SLICE. Cleaner, more efficient engines and industrial burners.“Findings will inform the development of cleaner, more efficient engines and industrial burners.”
  • SPICE. Soot-formation data for cleaner fuels and combustion processes.“Could possibly provide insights to better fuel formulations and combustion processes.”