Space Fire! NASA Ignites Experiment on Private Cargo Spaceship [bestandroiddoubledinheadunit950.blogspot.com]

Space Fire! NASA Ignites Experiment on Private Cargo Spaceship [bestandroiddoubledinheadunit950.blogspot.com]

NASA’s Saffire experiments, which take place aboard the private Cygnus cargo spacecraft, are testing the way fire behaves in space, with the aim of helping researchers design safer space vehicles down the road.

The latest set of space-fire experiments has blazed up aboard the private Cygnus cargo spacecraft.

Mission controllers on the ground ignited NASA’s Spacecraft Fire Experiment II (Saffire-II) today (Nov. 21), shortly after the uncrewed Cygnus departed the International Space Station (ISS) following a monthlong stay.

The three-part Saffire program is investigating how fires spread in microgravity and aims to help researchers design safer spacecraft down the road. Saffire-I burned a piece of cotton-fiberglass cloth 1.3 feet wide by 3.3 feet long (0.4 by 1 meter) on June 14 aboard a different Cygnus, in what NASA officials described as the largest fire ever intentionally set in space.

Saffire-II adds to the data by igniting a variety of different materials, NASA officials said.

“The nine samples in the experiment kit include a cotton-fiberglass blend, Nomex and the same acrylic glass that is used for spacecraft windows,” they wrote in a description of Saffire-II.

Saffire-II’s samples are relatively small; each measures 2 inches wide by 12 inches long (5 by 30 centimeters). The final set of experiments, Saffire-III, will ignite a large-scale fire, similar to the one lit during Saffire-I, when its time comes during a future mission, NASA officials said.

All three Saffire experiments fly aboard the robotic Cygnus vehicle, which is built by Virginia-based aerospace company Orbital ATK.

This particular Cygnus arrived at the ISS on Oct. 23, loaded up with a variety of supplies, hardware and science gear. The spacecraft departed today and is scheduled to remain in orbit until Sunday (Nov. 27), when it will be steered toward a fiery death in Earth’s atmosphere. (Unlike SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule, Cygnus is designed to be disposable.)

The Saffire program is managed by NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems division.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

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[bestandroiddoubledinheadunit950.blogspot.com]Space Fire! NASA Ignites Experiment on Private Cargo Spaceship