Advanced Portable Fine Water Mist Fire Extinguisher for Spacecraft

Fine water mist (FWM) is a promising replacement technology for fire suppression on the next generation of manned spacecraft. It offers advantages in performance, ease of cleanup, compatibility with on-board environmental systems, and ability to recharge during a mission. ADA Technologies has designed and built a prototype hand-held extinguisher that successfully extinguished test fires in an atmosphere of 34% oxygen and 8 psia total pressure, representing manned spacecraft environments. In this Phase II SBIR project ADA proposes to advance this FWM prototype toward production status by incorporating design improvements compatible with space-based operation and validating the new configuration in fire tests in the spacecraft environment chamber (34% O2 & 8 psia) operated by team member Colorado School of Mines. We will also plan for microgravity (aircraft) testing and prepare a Flight Qualification Test Plan to be used to estimate costs for flight qualification of the hardware. Finally, the production prototype will be tested against UL standard 711 class 2B and 5B flammable liquid fires. A comprehensive specification and drawing package will be prepared. All Phase II project activities will be directed toward advancing the TRL of the technology to Level 8. In Phase II we have added a partner experienced in the production and qualification of flight test fixtures and experiments. ADA has also initiated discussions with a NASA contractor for spacecraft as well as with a commercial supplier of fire protection equipment to take this technology into the broader commercial marketplace, targeting aerospace and flammable fuels storage as early market segments.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.