▲ Image to Right: On Earth, a candle burns with a tall, yellow flame. In space, a smaller, blue flame burns on the center of the wick.

Fire in Space

If a fire were to break out on a spacecraft in orbit, astronauts would fight the flames in slightly different ways than they would on Earth. Fires in space are not the same as fires on Earth, but the best way to fight any fire is to keep it from starting.

As hot gasses from a flame rise, they create air currents that bring fresh air to the fire. This buoyancy is what makes a flame long and pointed here on Earth. In low gravity situations, there is no buoyancy from flames.

Convection, the movement of air, is an important way that heat is transferred to other spaces. Without air, fires don’t spread as rapidly. Ventilation fans on the Space Station replace natural convection and can supply the air a fire needs to burn. Under these circumstances, the fire can spread in any direction, rather than just upward.

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