Xenon Refueling Demonstration for On-Orbit Servicing Applications using Efficient High-Pressure-Ratio Compressor

Flight works is proposing to demonstrate efficient Xenon Transfer for On-Orbit Servicing applications. The proposed effort utilizes a high-pressure ratio compressor to transfer xenon at greater than 10 kg/hr and can achieve a 94% utilization of supply tank Xenon mass (300 psia to 3000 psia) at a max power of less than 200 W. The transfer is done through a multi-stage compression scheme with inter-stage heat exchangers to optimize the work done on the fluid and reduce waste heat. A Phase I demonstration of Xenon transfer is made possible by leveraging an existing compressor design developed by Flight Works work under another Phase I SBIR that determined the optimal compression staging scheme for Xenon and sized an on-orbit compressor for the targeted flow rate. This proposed effort’s use of government furnished equipment (GFE) Xenon will allow Xenon testing which otherwise would take up a major portion of a SBIR project’s budget. Testing with Xenon will allow verification of critical compressor behaviors that are impacted by the fluid properties that affect internal efficiencies (leaks/friction) and life (wear). The current plan had been based on testing an EDU compressor with CO2 as a low-cost substitute, but it will not be able to fully simulate Xenon. For example, CO2 has a different compressibility effect and so the pressure split across stages changes and heat release will be different. Another example is that parts will wear differently in Xenon vs. CO2 due to fluid differences (viscosity and density) but also due to the different chemical environment of the two fluids changing the surface material oxides that greatly drive material tribological interactions. This effort will allow rapid maturation of required Xenon transfer technologies and plan for Phase II to continue risk reduction testing for high cycle/highly reliable use in a microgravity environment.

The compressor is designed for the NASA Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway and can be used on any spacecraft using Xenon or other fluids such as helium, krypton, oxygen, methane, etc. Because it is highly scalable and designed to move inert gasses, refrigeration and thermal management tasks are likely candidates. These include electronics or optics cooling, and recompression systems. Scavenging gasses for processing in habitats or sampling missions, or even deflating structures for relocation or re-entry, are other potential applications.

Non-NASA applications include Xenon (and other propellant or gasses such as helium or krypton) on-orbit refueling of DoD and commercial spacecraft. The scalability and versatility of the system in compressing gases makes it an attractive candidate for numerous fluid systems.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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