On July 2, the International Space Station successfully ejected over 170 pounds of garbage (78 kgs) from stations’ commercial Bishop Airlock. This was accomplished through the use of the station’s commercial trash bag and an airlock system, which was designed by Nanoracks.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center developed a special bag that can hold all of the space station’s garbage. It features various items such as dirty clothes and packing materials and hygiene items used by astronauts.
The bag was discarded by the station’s commercial cargo ship and will burn up upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. The bag was jettisoned from the station’s commercial Bishop Airlock.
“The technology demonstrates a more efficient and sustainable model for eliminating waste aboard the ISS and furthermore highlights a critical new function and utility for all future commercial space stations,” Nanorocks said in a statement.
So far, astronauts had been storing the trash in the Space Station and sending it back to Earth on the Cygnus cargo vehicle.
“This was the first open-close cycle of the Bishop Airlock, our first deployment, and what we hope is the beginning of new, more sustainable ISS disposal operations,” Dr. Amela Wilson, Nanoracks CEO said.
Cygnus cargo vehicle used to collect the bags of trash before it was released from the space station for de-orbit. Later the entire spacecraft filled with bags of garbage used to burn up while reentering the Earth’s atmosphere.
With the new waste disposal system, the ISS crew can fill the container with up to 600 lbs of trash that will be then released after which the Airlock will be reinstalled empty.
This is the first time for ISS to dispose of garbage in an airlock disposal system. Frequent satellite launches are causing tremendous space traffic and accumulating space junk that is floating around in zero gravity. This space junk threatens the lives of those onboard the International Space Station. But the garbage generated by ISS is also adding up to the trash floating in space, until now. The airlock garbage system will be a significant waste management technology to decongest space.