Hydrazine (HZ) and monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) are highly toxic compounds used as fuels in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Main Engines and in its maneuvering and reaction control system. Satellite refueling during a mission may also result in release of hydrazines. During extravehicular activities, the potential exists for hydrazines to contaminate the suit and to be brought into the internal atmosphere inadvertantly. Because of the high toxicity of hydrazines, a very sensitive, reliable, interference-free, and real-time method of measurement is required. A portable ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) has exhibited a low ppb detection limit for hydrazines suggesting a promising technology for the detection of hydrazines in spacecraft air. The Hydrazine Monitor is a modified airborne vapor monitor (AVM) with a custom-built datalogger. This off-the-shelf IMS was developed for the detection of chemical warfare agents on the battlefield. After early evaluations of the AVM for hydrazine measurements showed a serious interference from ammonia, the AVM was modified to measure HZ and MMH in the ppb concentration range without interference from ammonia in the low ppm range. A description of the Hydrazine Monitor and how it functions is presented.
Hydrazine Monitoring in Spacecraft
1992
10 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Toxicology , Space Technology , Rocket Propellants , Gas detectors , Hydrazines , Liquid rocket propellants , Spacecraft contamination , Toxicity and safety hazard , Ion motion , Methylhydrazine , Monitors , Spectrometers , Vapors , Ammonia , Gas spectroscopy , Portable equipment , Real time operation , Space shuttle orbiters
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