Trash Compaction and Processing System Development and Testing

The Trash Compaction and Processing System (TCPS) processes waste products in support of human operations in space. Functions include compressing the waste into a manageable tile, recovering and recycling water from the waste, sterilizing and stabilizing the residual tile, and the processing and cleaning of any gaseous byproducts. Sierra Space leveraged our previous developmental systems, built to demonstrate and evaluate waste compaction effectiveness and water recovery techniques, to develop an integrated TCPS. Following design, fabrication and assembly, testing was performed to evaluate trash processing, tile compaction, water recovery, power requirements, and gas sampling, all with and without bag enclosures. This paper will summarize the TCPS system and initial testing performed.