Research on the possibility of ignition of materials by electrostatic discharge in pure oxygen environment at different pressures

In spacecraft environments, spacesuits materials such as textiles, leather, or other materials are used in a pure oxygen environment. The materials are in serious risk of being ignited by electrostatic discharge (ESD) and may cause fire and even disasters or death of astronauts. In this paper, a well sealed chamber was first developed for ignition test. Then, ignition tests of four textiles and leather materials were carried out under oxygen pressures of 42 kPa, 101 kPa and 142 kPa using different ESD models. It is concluded that the materials are more easily ignited at higher oxygen pressure.