The Nolan Safety Curtain

A Public Technical Disclosure

“If it keeps people alive, it should be free.”

Abstract

This paper describes a plasma-based atmospheric containment barrier system—the Nolan Safety Curtain—designed for emergency decompression compartmentalization in crewed spacecraft, space stations, and extraterrestrial surface habitats including lunar and Martian bases. The system uses magnetically confined cold atmospheric plasma to create passable barriers at bulkhead junctions, replacing or supplementing mechanical hatches for emergency compartmentalization.

Based on the plasma window technology demonstrated by Ady Hershcovitch at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the system integrates breach detection sensors, closed-loop noble gas recapture, independent emergency power (capacitor banks and battery backup), and dual-mode redundancy with mechanical hatches. Cold atmospheric plasma operates at near-ambient temperatures (29–32°C) and is already in clinical medical use, with five-year safety studies confirming no mutagenic or carcinogenic effects.

The space safety application is dedicated to the public domain. This publication establishes prior art to prevent any entity from patenting plasma-based emergency decompression compartmentalization systems for spacecraft and extraterrestrial habitats.

The Problem

Every pressurized crewed volume in space faces the existential threat of hull breach causing rapid atmospheric loss. Current compartmentalization relies entirely on mechanical hatches, which suffer from dust contamination (particularly lunar regolith), thermal cycling degradation, structural deformation from seismic events, lubricant outgassing, and the fundamental limitation that a sealed hatch is impassable—crew cannot move between compartments during an emergency while maintaining containment.

The Solution

The Nolan Safety Curtain uses magnetically confined cold atmospheric plasma to create a passable atmospheric barrier at bulkhead junctions. The system has no moving parts, no seals to degrade, and no mechanisms to jam. Critically, crew can pass through the barrier during an emergency while atmospheric containment is maintained.

Key system features include:

• Millisecond activation via plasma valve technology with nanosecond-scale ionization
• Argon feed gas producing a distinctive violet/purple visual warning glow
• Closed-loop gas recapture exceeding 95% recovery for resource-constrained environments
• Multi-modal breach detection using pressure, acoustic, and thermal sensors with fusion logic
• Independent emergency power with capacitor banks for initiation and battery backup for 30+ minute holdover
• True redundancy with mechanical hatches through completely independent failure modes

Human Safety

Cold atmospheric plasma is already FDA-pathway approved for direct clinical use on human skin. Operating temperatures of 29–32°C and approximately one second of passage exposure represent orders of magnitude less contact than proven-safe medical applications. Noble gas feeds minimize reactive species generation, and closed-loop recapture contains plasma chemistry within the barrier system.

Applications

• Orbital stations and transit vehicles: Corridor junction compartmentalization with no structural reinforcement requirements
• Lunar habitats: Immune to regolith contamination, thermal cycling, and moonquake-induced structural flex
• Martian habitats: Tolerant of dust storms and fines over multi-year mission durations
• Vehicle airlocks: Backup containment at rover garage and EVA access junctions

Public Domain Dedication

The space safety application of plasma-based atmospheric containment barriers as described in this paper is dedicated to the public domain. No license is required. No royalty is owed. No permission need be sought.

Build it. Use it. Keep people alive.

References

Patents:

• Hershcovitch, A. US Patent 5,578,831 (1995). Plasma window.
• Hershcovitch, A. US Patent 6,528,948. Plasma valve.
• Boeing. US Patent (2015). Shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc.
• US Patent Application 20110049303A1. Spacecraft radiation shield.

Scientific Literature:

• Hershcovitch, A. (1995). Journal of Applied Physics, 78(9), 5283–5288.
• Hershcovitch, A. (2008). Physics of Plasmas, 15, 057101.
• Li, He-Ping et al. Tsinghua University. 1-meter CAP jet demonstration.
• NASA/TM—2009-216096. Electromagnetic Wave Propagation in Magnetized Plasma.
• Rutkowski, R. et al. PMC7235715. 5-year CAP safety follow-up.
• Azzariti, A. et al. (2019). Safety implications of plasma-induced effects in living cells.

Programs:

• NASA Fission Surface Power Project (Kilopower/KRUSTY)
• DARPA DRACO nuclear thermal propulsion
• NASA ROSA next-generation solar arrays
• StarTram MHD window proposal

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Patrick Nolan is an attorney, U.S. Army veteran, and technologist based in Kirksville, Missouri.