Design of a Spaceflight Oxygen Compression System (SOCS)

Near-Earth operations allow NASA to leverage terrestrial capabilities to enable space activities via resupply. High-pressure oxygen (HPO2) for extra-vehicular activities (EVAs), where spacesuits use a 100% oxygen environment, are currently dependent on terrestrial capabilities. HPO2 is provided to ISS via routine resupply of pre-pressurized tanks, but this system poses a prohibitively high upmass for long-duration missions given its tank-to-oxygen mass ratio of 3:2. Projects at MSFC have previously examined requirements for onboard compression of oxygen generated by the Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA), which has a proven track record aboard the ISS. Necessary drying and purification subsystems have been developed and procured, but the oxygen compressor itself remains unsolved. Years-long pursuit of a commercial option faced severe obstacles, with many COTS compressors simply incompatible or unattainable due to stalled communications with reticent, unresponsive vendors. This project will act as risk mitigation for work anticipated to be funded for FY27 to design, build, and test a mechanical oxygen compressor. The work completed in this TID would carry out early fact-finding, research, and design tasks in order to build in breathing room for anticipated FY27 milestones. The $50k would be allotted to labor entirely. The end product will be a preliminary design for the oxygen compressor, ready for further refinement and build when Project funding becomes available.

We propose to design a compression system for refilling oxygen tanks for spacesuits, which currently entirely depend on resupply from Earth. High-pressure oxygen capabilities are considered enabling for long-duration space travel. The end product will be a preliminary design for the oxygen compressor, ready for further refinement and build when Project funding becomes available.

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.