Reliability and Maintainability Problems Confronting Environmental Control/Life Support Systems for Long Duration Space Flight

The reliability and maintainability problems confronting environmental control/life support systems for long duration space flight present the designer with one of the most challenging tasks in the wide array of still unproved approaches to the design of manned space systems.

Examination of the realities of current equipment experience indicates that reliability and maintainability of most aerospace equipments are far from meeting requirements of long duration missions, and some concepts currently influencing designs are not applicable to the true characteristics of the manned spacecraft environment.

Several examples are given of analytical processes and design techniques which show promise of making progress toward practical goals. Emphasis is placed on the requirement to see reliability and maintainability progress made as an integrated part of an orderly design maturation process.