NASA Alternate Fecal Canister On-orbit Performance and Applicability to Exploration Missions

NASA developed a collapsible canister for the collection and containment of fecal deposits on long range exploration missions as well as on space stations where mass and volume are of great impact on spacecraft and propulsion designs. Developed as an alternative to the exploration toilet hard-sided canister, the container is a smaller volume for stowage in the unfilled state which allows better use of constrained volume on smaller vehicles for longer missions while still providing the important features of odor and solid/liquid contents containment when in the filled state. A reduction in mass was also achieved for the alternate fecal canister itself, although weight of the lid and contents are common to both the hard-side canister, and the alternate fecal canister. Details of the design, flight build and certification, and technology demonstration on ISS will be discussed. The discussion will include interface requirements and design solutions for use with the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) as well as future extensibility for other toilet systems.