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Completed TRL 5 (started at 4, targeting 5)
The Condensate Separator for Microgravity Conditions (COSMIC) technology demonstration will assess a condensate separator with a rotating seal design for humidity control on human spaceflight missions. The current state-of-the-art approach to humidity control has limitations that result in damage to the water processing system and diminished collection efficiency over time. To address these limitations, COSMIC combines condensate capture, removal, and pumping into one compact, low-power unit. It uses rotary inertial separation to efficiently collect liquid condensate from a high-volume gas stream and does not rely on chemical coatings or surface treatments. COSMIC is intended to enable longer duration missions and higher capacity crew environments. Flight tests aim to validate the condensate capture and seal design in relevant environments.
Problem Statement Current approaches to humidity control rely on a hydrophilic surface coating that is fouled by trace contaminants over time, leading to water carryover that causes damage to downstream hardware and the water processing system as well as diminished collection efficiency.
To address these limitations, COSMIC combines condensate capture, removal, and pumping designs into a single-stage compact unit that installs in-line downstream of a condensing heat exchanger (CHX). It uses rotary inertial separation to efficiently collect liquid condensate from a high-volume gas stream and does not rely on chemical coatings or surface treatments. COSMIC is intended to replace components like the slurper and water separator in the humidity control system currently on the International Space Station with a robust solution that is not affected by the presence of siloxanes or other trace contaminants and functions independently of surface wetting behavior in the CHX. It is designed to eliminate the resulting risk for water carryover that damages downstream components as well as siloxane-related contamination of the collected water and the corresponding degradation of the water processing system.
Technology Maturation Flight tests on aircraft following reduced-gravity profiles are expected to demonstrate the technology’s condensate capture and seal design in relevant environments. The separator is expected to be evaluated during reduced and microgravity phases on parabolic flights inside a watertight enclosure containing a compact air loop with water droplet injection that simulates the outflow from a CHX. Cameras and water detectors are expected to validate condensate capture, liquid removal, and seal performance throughout the flights, allowing assessment of microgravity design features and changes in liquid behavior. The flight tests aim to advance this innovation’s technology readiness level (TRL) to TRL 5. Lessons learned from the performance observations will be incorporated into follow-on flight designs.
Summary of May 8, 2025 Flight Test
• Within testbed limitations, COSMIC successfully demonstrated microgravity performance.
• Follow-on funding would allow for testbed updates to address water injector shortcomings, testbed condensation, and further investigate misting during hypergravity.
• Test passive water retention features at shutdown during microgravity.
- Streamlined: Combines condensate capture, removal, and pumping into a compact, lightweight, and low-power unit
- High performance: Uses rotary inertial separation to efficiently collect liquid condensate from a high-volume gas stream
Future Customers
- NASA and commercial crewed space missions
- Commercial low-Earth orbit destinations
- Water recovery systems as part of or in conjunction with in-situ resource facilities
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