Some of the WHC hardware serviced by COMET flew to the ISS aboard NG-21.
Jim Stephenson, Flow Manager for COMET, along with a host of his KSC teammates, was instrumental in processing first for COMET— servicing of the Waste & Hygiene Compartment (WHC).
The WHC, which provides the capability to collect crew urine for subsequent delivery to the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), was previously performed at KSC by a Russian team from Energia and NIICHIMMASH.
“Basically, my role in this project was the coordination of all the multiple disciplines from NASA KSC and JSC,” said Jim, who joined KSC in 1987. “Making sure to keep things moving and providing assistance to the teams and working to remove any obstacles.”
“There were a lot of folks helping make this happen, but without Peter Thorn and Jim Stephenson working together we would not have had this success,” said Curt Horanic, NASA’s ISS Technical Director.
“The WHC hardware is in two classes – wet and dry – the wet hardware requires servicing prior to launch for on-orbit use,” said Jim. “Until this time, a team from Russia, representatives from Energia and NIICHIMMASH, came to KSC for two weeks twice a year to service the hardware for flight. The pre-treat tanks are integrity tested and serviced with a pre-treat solution and the filters, hoses, sensors, and pumps undergo multiple disinfection fills and final flight servicing with silver water.”
NASA asked if COMET could perform this work and what it would take, which Jim said “set the wheels in motion and after two ESR’s [Engineering Support Requests], a mountain of data collection, procedure, OMRS [Operations and Maintenance Requirements Specifications] development, and a dry run, COMET successfully completed the first servicing of the hardware!”
COMET developed a coordinated plan to support servicing of this hardware by shadowing and capturing as much information from the Russians while they performed the work.
“We set up cameras to record and still photography as well; we also had to deal with the language barrier – having an interpreter on-site as well as getting technical data translated,” Jim said. “After all the data was gathered, Fluids Engineering began writing procedures, Design Engineering developed drawings and sketches, Integration Engineering developed OMRS requirements, and the supporting cast of Safety, Quality Assurance, Human Factors, Training, Technicians, Logistics, etc. began supporting with their expertise.
The COMET team performed a dry run of hardware servicing, which included Russian reps on site for consultation.
“I can’t say enough about the team and their dedication and professionalism,” said Jim. After all the hours spent researching and documenting the process, the team serviced this hardware like they had been doing it for years! They made the difficult look easy and kept safety in the forefront!”
With the first successful servicing of the WHC hardware by COMET, some of the hardware flew to the International Space Station aboard NG-21, the commercial resupply mission which launched on August 3, 2024.
The pre-treat tanks and urine filter hose are prepped for flight.
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