{"id":52717,"date":"2016-06-15T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-15T19:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-386019"},"modified":"2023-07-26T14:48:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T18:48:45","slug":"nasa-glenn-successfully-ignites-largest-fire-experiment-in-space","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-glenn-successfully-ignites-largest-fire-experiment-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Glenn Successfully Ignites Largest Fire Experiment in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Engineers at NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia successfully conducted the first remote Spacecraft Fire Experiment, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/fire-in-the-hole-studying-how-flames-grow-in-space\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Saffire I<\/a>, carried inside an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle that departed the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 14.  The experiment\u2019s purpose is to learn how a fire might behave in a spacecraft after leaving Earth\u2019s atmosphere. Understanding how fire spreads in a microgravity environment is critical to the safety of astronauts who live and work in space as NASA prepares for long duration missions on the journey to Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Cygnus spacecraft and robotic arm of space station closeup with Earth visible below\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg 4940w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=900,600 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft is released from the International Space Station in this June 14, 2016, photograph taken by European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake. <strong>Credits: ESA\/NASA<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe first of our planned three Saffire experiments operated as designed which is a great credit to all the people at NASA who played a role in its development,\u201d said Gary A. Ruff, NASA\u2019s Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project manager.  \u201cThe success of this experiment opens the door to future large combustion experiments in the microgravity environment and directly supports the development of technologies and materials that will make deep space exploration spacecraft safer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Launched to the space station in an Orbital ATK Cygnus resupply cargo vehicle on March 22, Saffire remained in Cygnus for 81 days as supplies were offloaded by the station\u2019s crew.  After the supplies were offloaded and replaced with space station trash, Cygnus departed.  Cygnus was then maneuvered a safe distance from the space station before the experiment began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Saffire experiment took place in a 3-foot by 3-foot by 5-foot tall module equipped to characterize and document the burning of a sample material approximately 16 inches wide and 37 inches long.  Images and data captured from inside the module will be transmitted to Orbital ATK and relayed to Glenn over a period of up to eight days prior to Cygnus\u2019 destructive reentry to Earth.  Researchers at Glenn and 10 other U.S. and international government agencies and universities will analyze the data in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two subsequent flight experiments consist of Saffire-II, which will assess oxygen flammability limits using samples that are 2 inches wide and 12 inches long; and Saffire-III, which will assess a second large-scale microgravity fire.  Each module will be flown aboard an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle during a resupply mission to the space station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project that developed the Saffire flight systems is sponsored by the Advanced Exploration Systems Division in NASA\u2019s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The three Saffire units used components manufactured in facilities at Glenn, NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston and White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Three additional experiment modules will be designed and built by engineers at Glenn and launched in Orbital ATK cargo vehicles beginning in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To follow updates from NASA\u2019s Saffire experiment, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/nasa-ignites-fire-experiment-aboard-space-cargo-ship\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/nasa-ignites-fire-experiment-aboard-space-cargo-ship<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about NASA Glenn, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/glenn\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/glenn<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>-end-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frank Jennings, Jr.<br>\nNASA Glenn Research Center<br>\n216-433-2776<br>\n<a href=\"mailto:francis.t.jennings@nasa.gov\">francis.t.jennings@nasa.gov<\/a><br>\nJan Wittry<br>\nNASA Glenn Research Center<br>\n216-433-5466<br>\n<a href=\"mailto:jan.m.wittry-1@nasa.gov\">jan.m.wittry-1@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Engineers at NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia successfully conducted the first remote Spacecraft Fire Experiment, or Saffire I, carried inside an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle that departed the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 14.  The experiment\u2019s purpose is to learn how a fire might behave [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":54431,"template":"","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"16-021","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"RELEASE","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[]},"categories":[3190,2801,3142,2856,2735,2873],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA Glenn Successfully Ignites Largest Fire Experiment in Space","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-glenn-successfully-ignites-largest-fire-experiment-in-space\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-glenn-successfully-ignites-largest-fire-experiment-in-space\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg"},"articleSection":"Missions","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NASA"}],"creator":["NASA"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Centers & Facilities","White Sands Test Facility","Commercial Resupply","Commercial Space","Expedition 47","Glenn Research Center","International Space Station (ISS)"],"dateCreated":"2016-06-15T19:55:00Z","datePublished":"2016-06-15T19:55:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T18:48:45Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA Glenn Successfully Ignites Largest Fire Experiment in Space\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-glenn-successfully-ignites-largest-fire-experiment-in-space\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2016-06-15T19:55:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Missions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities,White Sands Test Facility,Commercial Resupply,Commercial Space,Expedition 47,Glenn Research Center,International Space Station (ISS)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"NASA\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":3,"featured_image":{"id":54431,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg","title":"27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o","alt":"Cygnus spacecraft and robotic arm of space station closeup with Earth visible below","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/52717"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/52717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165460,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/52717\/revisions\/165460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52717"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=52717"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=52717"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=52717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}