Fire Protection in NASA

Introduction 

Without fire, there would be neither space exploration nor NASA but keeping the fire under control always is a major and almost impossible challenge. Several times in their colorful history, NASA has lost control of its fires with devastating consequences. The only means of propulsion into space is combusting the highly unstable rocket fuel. Further, high fiction with air particles also produces ultra-heating of the rockets as they depart or return to earth. To avoid or mitigate on catastrophes, NASA has invested in extremely advanced avoidance and firefighting mechanisms. This is based on the fact that if space exploration is proven to be unsafe for NASA and the people outside NASA who may suffer third-party damage, then the programs may be discontinued . The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a branch of the U.S. federal government that conducts scientific research in Space through exploration. Fire protection is mandatory in this field because of the dangers that can occur from shuttle launches and studies done at their multiple facilities. 

There has always been fire risks and hazards related to space explorations, ever since the idea was mooted and attempted. “Since the 1960s, spaceflight missions have resulted in the accidental deaths of more than 20 astronauts. The most recent disaster, occurring near the end of the space shuttle Columbia's STS-107 mission in 2003, caused NASA to ground its shuttle program for more than two years.” (Melina, 2011, para. 1). On the 27 th day of January 1967, Apollo I caught fire at the launching pad with devastating consequences. Not only did NASA lose Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee but also precious years deep in the middle of the space race with the Soviet Union. More recently on the 1 st day of February 2003, Columbia shuttle exploded after re-entry killing seven astronauts and also raining debris all over Texas and Louisiana. Had the explosion been lower, chances are that the debris would have still been burning when it hit the ground starting thousands of fires. This is a reflection of just how bad things can get. As the quote above alongside the indicated examples suggest, fire is a hazard to astronauts and the general public alike. This places a massive responsibility upon NASA to ensure that they are prepared for any fire accidents that might happen when launching spaceships or when the rockets return to earth. 

To avoid incidents of fires and also offer competent extenuation in the case of an accidental conflagration, NASA has invested in advanced fire prevention and fighting systems. “ NASA’s Fire Protection Working Group has been around for years, but it recently held its first formal meeting. From June 25-27, representatives from all 10 NASA centers met at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to discuss fire protection requirements.” (Maher, 2013, para. 1). According to NASA. (2014), these meetings were since made annual and geared towards ensuring the highest level of preparedness in firefighting and prevention. The organization has been liaising with top fire-fighting experts and researchers to ensure the highest level of preparedness in the case of any unexpected incidents of fire. These efforts are not just limited to the earth but also to NASA stations that are now to be found outside space and in years to come, in other planets. The above quote and information is evidence that NASA has not stopped at recognizing fire as a serious threat but have also taken active steps to prepare for the management of the threat whenever it comes up on earth or space. These steps include liaising with the best in the business of firefighting across different industries to advance NASA’s capabilities. 

As part of its preparedness for fire prevention and fighting, NASA has created a massive fire-fighting force. This force not only has the leading brains in the business but also a state of the art and innovative technology for firefighting. “Kennedy Space Center (KSC) provides emergency fire and rescue services for employees and facilities across the center, covering everything from car accidents to launch pad fuel leaks. This protection includes 24/7 fire and ambulance services staffed by cross-trained paramedic/firefighters, an Emergency Operations Center and professional expertise regarding fire and life safety requirements for operations, facilities and processes at KSC.” (Hilton, 2016, para. 1). NASA has aspired to no longer be caught by surprise by a fire hazard more so when it is perceived to be capable of hurting the general public. According to The Telegraph. (2014), on the 22 nd day of August 2008, NASA shot down its own while loaded with two research satellites because it began to veer off course and create a fire risk to third parties on the ground. According to NASA (2017), fire prevention is at the center of the planning of any mission. The engineers ensure that everything is in order so that all fires used for the launch are controlled. Planning also ensures that as at the time of launching, there is neither lighting nor storms anywhere near the launch area. As an extra precaution, NASA also liaises with the fire departments all around the launch area in the case secondary fire erupt away from the locality of the launch. In the case a fire ensues at the launch area, two forms of attack have been developed. The first is starving the fire by spraying the fire with carbon dioxide while the second, called deluge entails literally flooding the fire zone with tones of water to quench the fire. The above establishes that NASA has a high level of preparedness for fire eventualities. It also supports the contention that the claim that NASA has prepared themselves on minor to major incidents. Their “cross-trained” department will be able to respond to any type of situation that can occur. 

References 

Hilton, T. (2016, December 5). Emergency Fire and Rescue . Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://kscpartnerships.ksc.nasa.gov/Partnering-Opportunities/Capabilities-and-Testing/Support-Services/Emergency-Fire-and-Rescue 

Maher, R. (2013, August 13). Fire protection working group holds first formal meeting . Retrieved October 08, 2017, from: https://sma.nasa.gov/news/articles/newsitem/2013/08/13/fire-protection-working-group-holds-first-formal-meeting 

Melina, R. (2011, April 01). The fallen heroes of human spaceflight. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://www.livescience.com/33175-the-fallen-heroes-of-human-spaceflight.html 

NASA. (2014, July 29). Fire protection working group puts focus on audits and training. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://sma.nasa.gov/news/articles/newsitem/2014/07/29/fire-protection-working-group-puts-focus-on-audits-and-training. 

NASA. (2017). Rocketology: NASA’s space launch system . Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://blogs.nasa.gov/Rocketology/tag/space-launch-system/ 

The Telegraph. (2014, October 29). Five worst accidents in NASA's history. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/11194485/Five-worst-accidents-in- Nasas -history.html