SoFIE GEL Studies Flames On The International Space Station

The Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) Growth and Extinction Limits (GEL) experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) studies flame growth and extinction in an effort to improve fire safety in space.

This image shows a sequence of snapshots taken about 3 seconds apart. During this test point, the ambient oxygen concentration starts relatively high (28%). Initially, the flame is seen as yellow and sooty.

As the ambient pressure is reduced, the flame becomes bluer and continues to shrink until fully extinguished.

This gives researchers pressure limit data points for flame extinction that could help improve crew and spacecraft safety for future exploration missions.

jsc2023e013681 (3/9/2023) — Larger image