Candle in the orbit: a burning space

On board the ISS continue experiments on combustion in weightlessness.

Fire in the orbit, where gravity is virtually absent, and the air pressure is strictly controlled, even visually does not look like that to which we are accustomed to on Earth. His behavior on board the ISS and the study of Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts to conduct experiments in this research project FLEX.

We show here that the combustion can occur at lower temperatures and requires less oxygen than at normal earth gravity. This is the most direct implications for the creation of new methods of fire suppression in spacecraft - for example, fire extinguishers are to use materials, better insulation flames from the air than conventional. Interesting, even the shape of the flame: it can burn while remaining virtually flat area and stretching up - besides, in space the concept of ... According to working with the project FLEX Professor Forman Williams (Forman Williams), it is even for the better, since accurate observations facilitates and simplifies the theoretical calculations.

The experiments were going on board the ISS at an altitude of 300 km above the earth's surface, is carried out in an isolated chamber and under the strict control of the Earth. The camera creates different conditions of pressure and oxygen content, which investigated the combustion of droplets of various flammable substances - from methanol to the heptane - burning no more than 20 seconds.

The first series of experiments conducted on the ISS in March 2009 to December 2011. The second started already in 2012. and will last approximately one year. It will allow scientists to study the combustion process in a space already under extreme conditions in the operating engines. So if the first stage has its primary objective the creation of new tools and systems for fire fighting in space, then the second will develop a more compact and efficient engines for spaceships.