ACTIVE FIREFIGHTER COOLING AND BREATHING SYSTEM

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I EFFORT IS TO DEFINE REQUIREMENTS, PERFORM TRADE STUDIES AND DEVELOP CONCEPT DESIGNS FOR A FIRE FIGHTER BACKPACK THAT PROVIDES BREATHING AND COOLING, TO MEET THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF THE USAF. SEVERAL SPECIFIC APPROACHES, INCLUDING ONES BASED ON PROVEN CRYOGENIC BREATHING SUIT COOLING TECHNOLOGY WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE USAF REQUIREMENTS DEVELOPED IN PHASE I. TRADE STUDIES WILL BE PERFORMED AND THE MOST PROMISING CONCEPT WILL BE DEVELOPED TO A PRELIMINARY DESIGN STAGE. MATHEMATICAL MODELS WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED TO PREDICT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. DUE TO THE EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF PRIOR DEVELOPMENT IN CRYOGENIC BREATHING AND COOLING TECHNOLOGIES, SPACE INDUSTRIES ANTICIPATES DELIVERING A MORE DETAILED DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM DESIGN AND ANALYSIS THAN IS IMPLIED IN THE PHASE I TOPIC DESCRIPTION.