The MPCV-ESM Consumables Storage Subsystem

Abstract

Thales Alenia Space-Italia is part of a European consortium selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the design, development, qualification and supply to NASA of the European Service Module of the Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). The activity is in its phase B and is aimed at setting the technical, financial and management aspects for the following project phases. The development of the module includes the definition of the Consumables Storage Subsystem (CSS) functions, consisting of Water, Nitrogen and Oxygen storage and distribution to the Orion Crew Module.At its current stage, the CSS has been designed taking into account the particular constraints of the Orion system, in particular the limited available volume, the need of mass optimization and the safety aspects of a system that has to support crewed missions.Even if schedule constraints imposed the utilization of equipment derived from previous ISS programs as much as possible, specific design changes and developments have been identified to meet the requirements and improve the robustness of the design. This paper describes the CSS architecture and design solutions resulting from the phase A and early phase B activities, along with the results of the main analyses performed. It is to be noted that a number of requirements and design constraints are still under revision, which might potentially affect the CSS design as presented in this paper.