Nanoracks Bishop Airlock International Space Station Trash
Nanoracks’ Bishop Airlock was successfully cycled aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and disposed of around 172-pounds of waste, or as some like to say…’taking out the trash’. Typically, ISS astronauts collect trash and store it for months, awaiting for the Cygnus cargo vehicle to arrive and eventually haul their trash away.



Why eventually? Well, Cygnus is only able to haul the trash away after completing its primary mission at the ISS. Once that happens, astronauts fill the spacecraft with bags of trash before it’s released from the ISS for de-orbit, where the entire spacecraft is burned up upon reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Nanoracks’ innovative concept utilizes a specially designed waste container, mounted in the Bishop Airlock, that can be filled with up to 600-pounds of trash. The waste bag can then be released safely and the Airlock re-mounted empty. During the recent test, the 172-pounds of trash included foam, packing materials, cargo transfer bags, dirty crew clothing, hygiene products and used office supplies. We’re just waiting for Orbital Assembly Corporation to start building its proposed space station with artificial gravity.

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Nanoracks Bishop Airlock International Space Station Trash

This weekend was yet another historic milestone for the Nanoracks team. This was the first open-close cycle of the Bishop Airlock, our first deployment, and what we hope is the beginning of new, more sustainable ISS disposal operations. This successful test not only demonstrates the future of waste removal for space stations, but also highlights our ability to leverage the ISS as a commercial technology testbed,” said Dr. Amela Wilson, Nanoracks CEO.

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