History of NASA’s Determination of Offgassed Products (Test 7)

NASA’s Determination of Offgassed Products (Test 7) from materials and assembled articles for spaceflight has evolved since the Apollo program for over 50 years to meet various habitable spacecraft non-metallic programmatic requirements. Now mandated by NASA STD-6016A Standard Materials and Processes Requirements for Spacecraft, all nonmetallic materials used in habitable flight compartments, with the exception of ceramics, metal oxides, inorganic glasses, and materials used in sealed containers must meet the offgassing requirements in NASA-STD-6001B Test 7. This manuscript presents the history of Test 7 beginning with the Apollo spacecraft nonmetallic materials selection guidelines and test requirements in 1967, in which tests were performed in mostly oxygen atmospheres, and progressing through Skylab, Space Shuttle, International Space Station non-metals testing and acceptance requirements with milder test environments, and now imposed on Commercial Crew Transportation, Space Launch System/Project Orion programs, and other NASA-funded programs. This review of the history of Test 7 presents the reader with a perspective on the development and changes undergone since inception to the present. Related NASA standard tests (some now former, discontinued, combined, or supplemental) including Test 6 (Odor Assessment), Test 16 (Determination of Offgassed Products from Assembled Articles), and Test 12 (Total Spacecraft Cabin Offgassing) are discussed in context.