International Space Station Major Constituent Analyzer On-Orbit Performance

The Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) is a mass spectrometer based system that measures the major atmospheric constituents on the International Space Station. A number of limited-life components require periodic change-out, including the ORU 02 analyzer and the ORU 08 Verification Gas Assembly. The m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inNASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI). Conference Proceedings
Main Authors Gardner, Ben D, Erwin, Phillip M, Cougar, Tamara, Ulrich, BettyLynn
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Hampton NASA/Langley Research Center 16.07.2017
Subjects
Constituents
Filaments
International Space Station
Ion sources
Multinational space ventures
Space stations
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) is a mass spectrometer based system that measures the major atmospheric constituents on the International Space Station. A number of limited-life components require periodic change-out, including the ORU 02 analyzer and the ORU 08 Verification Gas Assembly. The most recent ORU 02 and ORU 08 assemblies in the LAB MCA are operating nominally. For ORU 02, the ion source filaments and ion pump lifetime continue to be key determinants of MCA performance. Finally, the Node 3 MCA is being brought to an operational configuration.