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Propellant Off-Gassing and Implications for Triage and Rescue
Space suit fabric exposed to hypergolic propellants like MMH can off-gas harmful levels, especially as the material dries. This risk to flight and rescue crews necessitates careful decontamination procedures for space suits.
Area of Science:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Materials Science
Background:
- Space launch contingencies can release significant amounts of hypergolic propellants.
- The risk posed by propellant-off-gassing from contaminated space suit fabric to rescue personnel is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the off-gassing of hypergolic propellants from space suit fabric.
- To assess the potential health risks to flight and rescue crews due to propellant off-gassing.
Main Methods:
- Space suit fabric (similar to NASA's ACES II and OCSS) was exposed to dinitrogen tetroxide (N₂O₄) and monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) in permeation cells.
- Off-gassing kinetics were measured under simulated evacuation conditions without cabin airflow.
- Fabric was exposed to concentrated hypergolics, simulating permeation and leakage, followed by rinsing.
Main Results:
- Space suit fabric allowed immediate permeation of both liquid and vaporized MMH and N₂O₄.
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) off-gassing remained below the AEGL-1 8-h level.
- Monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) off-gassing peaked at levels approaching AEGL-2 10-min, correlating with fabric drying.
Conclusions:
- MMH off-gassing from drying suit material poses a potential health risk to flight and rescue crews.
- Decontamination times may be shortened if suit material is kept moist or removed before medical evacuation.
- Further studies with Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) or commercial crew suits are recommended.
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