Is SpaceX Contaminating the ISS?

Contamination aboard the International Space Station can be a serious thing. You don't want mould or bacterial films growing in a closed and supposedly sterile environment. But it can be more subtle than that. Most of us are familiar with the "new car smell", not just in a new car, but from other, new products, including electronics. It's caused by the outgassing of volatile compounds. and NASA takes steps to ensure that it is minimized on the ISS, where it can affect delicate and sensitive instruments.

Sensors aboard the ISS have detected increases in contamination during resupply missions where the SpaceX Dragon capsule is docked at the station. The exact cause of the contamination isn't known, but it is definitely correlated with the Dragon capsule.

SpaceX, meanwhile, is looking at its ingredients. “SpaceX has scrutinized all external material selections on Dragon and is working with suppliers to custom-develop low outgassing variants of qualified materials to help improve the molecular deposition rate,” says the company, adding that NASA pre-approved all the materials used in the first Dragon design.

Antonius de Rooij, author of the Space Materials Database, believes the capsule’s paint is the likely problem. For one, he says, “the white painted surface is very large, meaning that even low outgassing products can have a large contamination effect.”

Technically, this is an interesting problem. But perhaps more important is NASA's response, which, as the reporter points out, lacks transparency. I'll be following this story to see what happens and what the effects are on SpaceX, which will be launching a new  Crew Dragon capsule to the ISS in 2019.