Fluids Integrated Rack

Facility Description

The Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR), located in the U.S. Laboratory Module (Destiny), provides investigators from multiple disciplines with a large optics bench platform to integrate “mini-facilities” or configure components similar to those in experiments in ground laboratories. Developed by NASA’s Glenn Research Center, the FIR was launched to the ISSInternational Space Station in August 2009 on a Space Shuttle mission (STS-128).

The FIR accommodates experiments that address critical space exploration research and technology needs for advanced life support (i.e., air revitalization, water reclamation, etc.), power, propulsion, and spacecraft thermal control systems. The primary focus of these experiments involves boiling heat transfer, multiphase flow, liquid vapor interface control, and liquid and vapor evaporation and condensation, as they relate to the technological needs of various exploration spacecraft subsystems. Another key area of research is in the area of colloids to better understand the interaction of particles and their impact on products produced on Earth. The FIR can also serve as a platform for experiments that address human health and performance, medical technologies, and biosciences.