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Space Station Leak Found, Fixed
Rommel writes "NewScientist.com is reporting that the cause of the leak in the International Space Station has been found and fixed. The leak was found in a hose in the Destiny lab module. The hose was used to equalize pressure and eliminate fog between two panes of a window. While the leak was so slow it was unlikely to pose a direct threat to the crew for months to come, some equipment on the ISS is only certified to operate above a certain air pressure. The leak was originally mentioned on Slashdot a few days back."
...as they now get to make "first leak in space" jokes.
.. but they used Bart's diamond earing, right?
Destiny was designed and made in the US.
I was looking forward to watching the ISS sputter around the sky like a deflating balloon with a couple astronaughts hanging on for dear life and screaming bloody murder.
-- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
That's one small step for duct tape, one giant leap for mankind.
some equipment on the ISS is only certified to operate above a certain air pressure.
such as the crew maybe?
Yeah, but just think of all the tubing, wall panels, airlocks, windows, and god knows what else that had to be check. And especially since it was a leak in a piece of tubing, I'm surprised they found it so fast.
according to the article .03 psi per day it doesnt seem that serious. they would have had 33 more days to find it atleast.
The station's air pressure had dropped from the normal 14.7 psi to 14.0 psi. NASA have emphasised that the crew's health was not in danger, but some onboard equipment, including an air monitor, is only certified for use above 13.9 psi
it would seem that things were pretty close. but keeping in mind that it was only losing
-caf
I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
the leak was really Carl Rove, right?
<blockquote>where can you go after you've been to the moon? </blockquote>
Well, you can always try to get into the... Paris Hilton!!
But seriously folks, I'll be here all week.
Try the veal.
I'm reminded of a recent "Freefall" (web comic).
proof, n. A demonstration that a conclusion is implied by certain premises and axioms.
> Destiny was designed and made in the US.
Fine. We'll fire all the foreigners who helped, and we'll make a new one.
We'll call it... Destiny's Child!
I'll be here all week.
Tip your waitress.
...for telling the crew how to fix the leak using a roofing nail, some hair spray, and a roll of toilet paper.
The crew said they'd get right on it as soon as those supplies were delivered.
--
Generic Sig: End communication.
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I guess it wouldn't have been practical to dip the whole station in a tub of water.
"The spacecraft has apparently been taken over - "conqured" if you will - by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality I could be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves." - Kent Brockman
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I thought it was because those Russians left the door open after they argued over the sturgeon and tossed it out.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Childhood advice gone awry on Destiny: if you smell gas or hear a hissing noise, get out of the house.
Nothing but the finest in meaningless drivel
Sounds more like it was trying to equalize pressure between the space station and the vaccuum outside...
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Let's hear it for the inanimate carbon rod!
CB
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The hose was used to equalize pressure and eliminate fog between two panes of a window.
So.. someone left a window open?
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The $1.4 billion U.S. Destiny lab opened for business at the International Space Station Sunday, cracking the hatch on a new era of scientific discovery that one day could lead to human expeditions beyond Earth orbit.
Heh...cracking the hatch....leak...funny.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one the bus load of girls just went down.
Here is another good article from The Austrailian with more details. The pressure rose from 13.92 psi to 14.11 psi when the leak was sealed.
I'm just wondering when they can repressurize the station? After all, even with the leak fixed it wouldn't be a great idea to leave it with the lower pressure.
another IIS leaked fixed... ...oh wait...
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
Did they find the money leak that put this thing way over budget?
--- Ban humanity.
When aboard the space station, use Scotch brand magic transparent tape to affix photos of loved ones to the wall. NEVER EVER EVER use push pins, even Scotch brand magic push pins.
Dave Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.
Dave What's the problem?
CB
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*Don't* forget to reapply the patch after the next ISS service pack!
Just another memorable leak, found and patched. Good thing it wasn't in one of the windows, they'd have to relaunch the space station. :)
ls
Guesstimating from some info here, Denver, CO is ~12 PSI. A tall mountain in the US is ~10 PSI at the top.
Lousy, cheap NASA equipment! It wouldn't work down here on Earth anyways.
A witty [sig] proves nothing. --Voltaire
A replacement hose may be flown up to the station later in January on a Progress vehicle.
Egads, not even a spare hose. I guess it's a non-critical part but it still seems kinda lame.
It would be common sense that many of the hoses on various equipment would be the same. Then you'd have a bunch of spare hoses to repair all sorts of things. Or maybe I'm not thinking enough like an engineer.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
to pump some harmless/oderless colored gas through the station to just see where it was spewing out of? Their hightech tools, although they did work, are still not 100% fool proof.
Neither is my idea, but hey, how long would it take to run a colored gas through and then clear it out? A few hours maybe? I don't know. What do you think?
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All that farting will soon bring the air pressure back up!
Guess they won't be Sucking Vacuum after all.
Peace,
-McD
"Given the pace of technology, I propose we leave math to the machines and go play outside." -- Calvin
"The leak was originally mentioned on Slashdot a few days back."
I'm sure NASA is thanking the slashdot community for being the "original" source of the leak information.
Anyone else find the last paragraph of that article a bit scary?
"The leak was made more worrisome because the main oxygen generator, which has been working only sporadically, failed again last week. Russian flight managers are designing a way to fix it this week with spare parts already on the station."
Shouldn't the OXYGEN generators be...oh I dunno...WORKING most of the time? Failed again last week reminds me of the infamous furnace fighting scene from a Christmas Story.
I can just see a Russian cosmonaut banging on it with a wrench cursing...
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So where are the animated carbon rods, then?
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
...Otherwise: .03psi of air per day.
Engineer 1: We're leaking
Engineer 2: (thinking in head: hmmm, there's 1,418,550.14 pascals of air) What's the big deal? we have 129,000 years untill the air's all gone. Tell the astronauts to not worry about it.
Engineer 1: Makes sense to me. Let's get coffee.
-Bucky
And also interesting that the Russians claimed the leak had 'stabilized' while NASA stated that the pressure was still dropping - the Russians also have a few zillion years of public denials/minimalizations of disasters, right?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
I think it's interesting that initially the Americans tried to point the finger of possibility at just about anything capable of leaking built by the Russians, who of course have a zillion more years of experience building these things than we do...
References?
I recall both sides saying they had no idea where the problem was and that they were looking for it. I don't recall anyone placing any blame ahead of time, except perhaps for some slashdot trolls.
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This wasn't just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it. - Dorothy Parker
My guess is that the foam from the weekly foam-party was all-of-a-sudden visible from the outside
"If I was on the space station and there was a leak, that fucker would be found a lot sooner than a week."
If you were on the space station, the leak wouldn't have been accidental.
"Derp de derp."
This is in reference to Simpsons episode CABF03 The Great Money Caper.
Mir cosmonauts throw the sturgeon from the station in a fit of rage.... Read more here.
insert russian profanities
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I was reading a good page on low-pressure physiology (had to do witk HALO skydiving) where they did the calculations and figured out you're about equally screwed with or without O2 on Everest - if you don't bring O2, you're naturally sluggish and slow, but if you do, you have a hard time getting enough extra energy to make up for the extra weight you have to carry. There is a "sweet spot", but go very far outside of it and you might as well just breathe the thin air.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
...even 133t coders at NASA forget to delete[]!
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
99% of everything is sturgeon.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Considering the number of "minor" problems they've had during those "zillion" years, I would point the finger at them as well.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
transmission, here it is: "pssssssssssss..."
Actually several Russian components where mentioned including some type of air scrubber that the Russians fortunately had a spare on-board, as well as seals between several of the Russian modules...
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Actually, you can hold an alligator's jaw shut with an elastic/rubber band. Their "opening" jaw muscles are quite weak - but their closing ones ouch!
Maybe I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that when the last shuttle disaster occured, there was no contingency for docking with the Space Station in case of trouble. That itself seems like a HUGE design flaw. I hope this is wrong, because it would mean that the shuttle could not rescue people trapped on the Space Station either.
."
Is it true that only spacewalks and cargo transfers occur between these two specific orbitals?
Yeah, a manned-mission to Mars is looking more feasible every day . . .
"HAL . .
"Yes Dave."
"We're screwed - Set the controls for the heart of the sun."
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some equipment on the ISS is only certified to operate above a certain air pressure
Yeah. For example, my lungs are only certified to operate above a certain air pressure.
With reduced pressure, the thermal capacity of the cooling air is proportionally reduced. Combined with changes in forced air flow and microgravity not creating convectional cooling, you can have long-term overheating issues with equipment that consumes very little power.
This is solved on satellites with conductive cold/hot plates, but that results in much heavier equipment.
Regarding leakage rates, it's very difficult to estimate leak flow rates. The flow might be proportional to pressure squared, or cubed. If it's in an elastic seal, it may completely re-seal when the pressure drops to a specific level.
Humans can function at elevations of about 5psi (see the other posts about mountain climbers), and survive on a little less. Since O2 is less than 20% of the atmosphere, you can theoretically live on 1psi of pure O2. But secondary effects are killers at that low pressure, such as keeping enough moisture in the lung tissue. When near-pure O2 is used, it is usually at about 3psi or nearly the partial pressure of O2 at sea level.
changelog
2004012 08:37
* [patch] leak found in a hose in the Destiny lab module
* [bug fix] Jeannie has recovered from the flu
* [driver update] Marty is the new pilot
The score is now:
ISS 1
White House 0
I meant to post that under the "Everest catch-22" post.
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Dear MacGyver,
Enclosed are a paper clip, a drinking straw, and a rubber band. Please save my dog.
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You probably missed the Simpsons episode where the sturgeon incident took place. Flame away!
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
"If you were on the space station, the leak wouldn't have been accidental."
Hehe that was kinda funny. The mods took it a bit too seriously, though.
Getting around in space isn't like getting around a subway system. You can't just jump orbits. You have to know where you're going, and go there at launch, when you're pouring the enormous impulse into the vehicle. The ISS is at a very high inclination orbit in order to be reached by both Russian and American launch facilities. This orbit is a very "expensive" one in terms of energy at launch. Which means less payload.
Space is a very, very big place, and the shuttle (like any space vehicle that isn't mostly fuel) is just a big projectile. You shoot it very fast, very high, and just let it fall around the earth. It can't just pull up and meet with the station without a lot of fuel. You have to aim for it from the start.
-twb
The whole nationalist issue is a sick idea which has caused many silly conflicts.
Many of us have been working in more than one country, and that percentage is sure to increase with better transportation etc. Nationality is less and less important.
E.g: Does it make me 1/39'th french that I've lived and worked a year in France?
My brother worked a year in Hungary and his family lived there too, does this make his kids 1/6'th and 1/3'rd Hungarian?
-- From Denmark
Thanks for that reply. I was told once that it was about $10,000 a pound to put stuff in orbit. What you relate as a need for much more fuel issues, in addition to precision issues, certainly drives the point home that these people ARE risking their lives a GREAT DEAL MORE than people such as myself realize.
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Link
Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
When the cargo ship crashed into Mir while testing automated docking routines, Michael Foale's ears popped from the falling air pressure. Leaks are much easier to find with rushing air and popping ears.
It's like tires. When you have a blow-out, it is easy to see but a slow leak may go undetected for weeks until it overheats on that long trim to the relatives place for the holidays.
$#!^ happens, but why does it always have to happen to me???