Watch the ISS Dump 172 Pounds of Trash Into Space: The Station Gets a New Trash Container That Throws Trash Bags into the Final Frontier So They Can Burn Up in the Atmosphere
- Nanoracks, a Houston-based private space company, has successfully tested new technology to streamline space waste disposal
- Trash container holds up to 600 pounds of trash inside the company’s Bishop Airlock
- Currently, astronauts have to collect trash and store it in the ISS for months while waiting for the Cygnus cargo vehicle to arrive and transport it.
- “Four astronauts can generate up to 2,500 kilograms of waste per year, or about two bins per week.”
Taking the trash out of the International Space Station just got a whole lot easier.
Nanoracks, a Houston-based private space company, has successfully tested a new technology that will streamline the waste disposal process in space.
On July 2, Nanoracks deployed a special trash container that can hold up to 600 pounds of trash inside its Bishop airlock.
The trash bag is then released, where it will burn on re-entry into the atmosphere, and the airlock is brought up empty.
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“Collecting trash in space is a long-standing, but not as publicly discussed, challenge aboard the ISS,” Cooper Read, Bishop Airlock program manager at Nanoracks, said in a statement. Pictured, new Nanoracks technology dumps waste into space
“This successful test not only demonstrates the future of waste disposal for space stations, but also highlights our ability to leverage the ISS as a commercial technology testbed, which provides insights on how we can prepare for the next phases of commercial LEO (Low Earth orbit) destinations,” said Dr. Amela Wilson, CEO of Nanocracks, in a statement.
Currently, astronauts have to collect trash and store it in the ISS for months while waiting for the Cygnus cargo vehicle to arrive and transport it.
After Cygnus completes its primary mission to the ISS, astronauts fill the spacecraft with trash before it is released from the station to deorbit – at which point the entire spacecraft burns up as it re-enters the spacecraft. earth’s atmosphere.
The company’s first test of the technology – conducted in partnership with NASA’s Johnson Space Center – contained approximately 172 pounds of waste including foam and packing materials, cargo transfer bags, clothing dirty crew, assorted hygiene products and used office supplies.
On July 2, Nanoracks deployed a special trash container that can hold up to 600 pounds of trash inside its Bishop airlock. Pictured is the International Space Station
“Four astronauts can generate up to 2,500 kilograms of waste per year, or about two bins per week, notes Nanoracks. The photo above shows the deployment of the new technology
“Collecting trash in space is a long-standing, but not as publicly discussed, challenge aboard the ISS,” Cooper Read, Bishop Airlock program manager at Nanoracks, said in a statement.
“Four astronauts can generate up to 2,500 kilograms of waste per year, or about two bins per week.
“As we enter an era where more and more people live and work in space, this is an essential function, just like for everyone at home.”
The new system is based on the flight-proven Nanoracks Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) and SmallSat (Kaber) deployers.
The company notes that Bishop provides a platform for proof-of-concept operations, as well as the ability to test subsystems and robotics, expose hardware to the radiation environment, and deploy satellites.
EXPLAINED: THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS 250 MILES ABOVE EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100bn (£80bn) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 400km above Earth.
It has been permanently occupied by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000.
The crews came mainly from the United States and Russia, but the Japanese space agency JAXA and the European space agency ESA also sent astronauts.
The International Space Station has been continuously manned for over 20 years and has been expanded with several new modules added and system upgrades
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions found in low Earth orbit, such as low gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have focused on human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency NASA spends around $3bn (£2.4bn) a year on the space station programme, with the rest of the funding coming from international partners including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far, 244 people from 19 countries have visited the station, including eight individuals who have spent up to $50 million on their visit.
There is an ongoing debate about the station’s future beyond 2025, when it is believed that part of the original structure will reach “end of life”.
Russia, a major partner of the station, plans to launch its own orbital platform around this date, with Axiom Space, a private company, planning to send its own modules to the station in parallel for purely commercial use.
NASA, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working together to build a space station in orbit around the Moon, and Russia and China are working on a similar project, which would also include a base in surface.
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