The Analytical Control Program for the NASA Space Station Freedom Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Water Recovery Test

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) is of primary importance for scientific tests which involve the direct contact of test products with human participants. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), recognized this early in the Water Recovery Test (WRT) for the Space Station Freedom Program. An Analytical Control Program was established by NASA to provide independent oversight of WRT analytical procedures and policies. The program is governed by the Analytical Control Test Plan and Microbiological Methods for Water Recovery Testing (AC Plan), which includes discussions of Inter-Laboratory Verification, Quality Assurance/Quality Control (Laboratory Monitoring), Sample Tracking, Methods Review, Audit Procedures, and Data Validation.