Current Exploration Suit architectures incorporate the use of a Suit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) to provide cooling for the crew member and suit electronics, which consumes approximately 10 lbs of feedwater per eight hour Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA). Historically, there have been two approaches to providing feedwater: enclosing a flexible bladder inside of a rigid pressure vessel (Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)) and housing a flexible bladder within the pressurized volume of the suit (Orlan). While the historical systems have worked well in the past, the demands on the Exploration Suit require that the future feedwater system have even lower mass and volume, be more robust, simpler to fill and maintain, and provide gauging to inform the crewmember of the amount of water remaining. This paper discusses the accomplishments of the Oceaneering-led C-SAFE team in developing and testing a prototype Feedwater Supply Assembly (FSA) for use in Exploration Suit development testbeds, such as NASA's Portable Life Support System (PLSS) 2.0. It reviews the preliminary requirements for the Exploration Suit FSA, design packaging considerations, gauging trades, and prototype hardware manufacture and testing. The paper concludes with recommendations for further development of this concept.
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