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Space Station Dogged By Oxygen Problems

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the room-to-breathe dept.

Alien54 writes "All of the Russian made Elektron oxygen generators on the International Space Station have failed. The three Elektron units on board the space station are the last of their kind. The company that manufactured them has gone out of business, and the engineer who almost single-handedly made the final adjustments of flight units died several years ago. Reportedly he retained some 'trade secret' about the final adjustments of the devices -- and it died with him. But NASA is not alarmed."

23 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Later in the news... by M1FCJ · · Score: 3, Funny

    Two astronauts do the kiss of life, transferring oxygen between each other because American astronaut won't let the oxygen cylinder go.

  2. Temporary fix by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


    If we could trap all the hot air from the presidential campaign in a big balloon and release it just as the ISS went by, maybe they could catch it and use it to keep the station going for a few more weeks.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    1. Re:Temporary fix by LastToKnow · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're suggesting that people actually live off that stuff? I'm sure most people would rather suffocate.

  3. Pulic domain enforcement by Jesrad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The company that manufactured them has gone out of business, and the engineer who almost single-handedly made the final adjustments of flight units died several years ago. Reportedly he retained some 'trade secret' about the final adjustments of the devices -- and it died with him.

    And THIS is why there should be public domain repositories actively developped by governments, possibly along with mandatory escrow clauses for failed companies' IP. They would collect and index works that fall in the public domain ("This land is your land" anyone ?) as soon as possible, and maybe even buy exclusive rights of dying proprietary technology to make them open standards forever. I'm pretty sure this sort of service could even be profitable.

    Private companies develop their own pool of patents and trademarks, why not the general public, too ?

    --
    Maybe we deserve this world ?
    1. Re:Pulic domain enforcement by David+McBride · · Score: 2, Interesting

      http://www.archive.org/

      "The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public."

  4. Alternatives by wetlettuce · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It seems to me that the actual process is pretty simple to actually produce the oxygen (Battery across two metal plates dipped in water, oxygen bubbles from one, hydrogen from the other - more info). Granted you have to ensure the quality of the supply and get rid of the hydrogen but surely this isn't beyond the expertise of NASA. They have known for years that there no expertise in fixing these units. Why have they not been designing and building replacements?

    1. Re:Alternatives by BusterB · · Score: 2, Interesting

      But help is on the way. ?Three completely redesigned units are currently in production,? a NASA source said. The new devices will not use the liquid-gel electrolyte system that has led to all previous units eventually breaking down. Instead, they will rely on a solid polymer electrolyte.

      Delivery of the first of these units is expected ?in March or April of 2005?, the source continued. How fast they really can be completed, tested and flight-qualified remains an open question in the severely underfunded Russian space program.

      In the longer term, NASA is examining the chance of speeding up a U.S.-built oxygen generator to have it available in four years, rather than the currently scheduled six years.

    2. Re:Alternatives by stevelinton · · Score: 2, Insightful

      In zero-gee the gasses don't bubble from the plates, they just sit there. This makes life much more complicated.

    3. Re:Alternatives by stevelinton · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ok. So now you have bearings and a motor. You have to run your oxygen, hydrogen and water hoses and power leads through the bearing somehow, and you need to make sure that the whole thing stays watertight even when it stops spinning and doesn't make too much noise.

      As the man from Pentagon said after their ballistic interceptor test failed again, "this is rocket science".

      I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it isn't simple.

    4. Re:Alternatives by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Actually, the Russian gadget does that; more or less.

      So far as I can tell, they don't spin the gadget, they set up a vortex in the electrolyte, and that gives you a pressure gradient (essentially artificial gravity) that gives the bubbles an 'up'- in this case an 'in'. They then feed the oxygen into the cabin and dump the hydrogen overboard.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    5. Re:Alternatives by CompressedAir · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes indeed they are, and that was a major factor in the design of the BOCS.

      The Mir Oxygen Candles used a powered fan to disipate the heat produced by the reaction. When the fan failed, the candle soon burned through its housing, causing the fire.

      Our system uses all passive cooling. The air flow that cools the candle is pulled through the Venturii housing by the oxygen expelled by the Candle. This also has the benefit of mixing the oxygen with the cabin air, preventing a dangerous pocket of pure oxygen.

      It is really pretty neat, but I know I am biased.

  5. I started reading this story... by Omkar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I started reading this story, and realized, when I clicked to RTFA, that I was up at 4:30AM, reading Slashdot, and clikcing through to read about some oxygen equipment failure that even NASA isn't worried about. Talk about exchanging sleep time for quality time.

  6. But NASA is not alarmed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Of course not, plenty of oxygen down here.

  7. Talking out of my ass by SimianOverlord · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's obvious what the "trade secret" is. The final part of the hose had been held on with a piece of chewing gum, and it's now become too dried and brittle to hold it together.

    --
    Meine Schwester ist sehr, sehr reizvoll - Nietzsche
  8. Push a random button by cL0h · · Score: 3, Funny

    Reportedly he retained some 'trade secret' about the final adjustments of the devices -- and it died with him.

    "Eenie meenie miney mo."
    click

    Nuclear meltdown averted!!

    --
    cL0h
  9. OSS. by iMMersE · · Score: 5, Funny

    See, this is what happens when you use ISS. You should have used OSS. You get free and open oxygen that way.

    --
    codegolf.com - smaller *is* better.
  10. Re:I started reading this story... then what? by MachDelta · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And then you replied to the freaking story?!

    You, sir, are officially addicted to slashdot.

    (C'mon in! Coffee is in the back, help yourself.)

  11. Submarines by Detritus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How about modifying and installing some of the equipment used on nuclear submarines? I'd think that after decades of service and experience at sea, it would be reliable and inexpensive by NASA flight hardware standards.

    --
    Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    1. Re:Submarines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ok, lets just check the formula

      infinite water supply
      infinite power supply from a nuclear generator

      equals O and H2

      hummmm where the hell did those guys put the water supply in space ???

      The russian device is very very simple but almost perfect in efficiency, and there lies the secret, MIR used those generators for years without problems... keep it simple and stupid but very tricky to tune :)

  12. Actually the crew isnt worried either about oxygen by imr · · Score: 2, Funny

    They have received their doom3 copy a few weeks ago and have locked themselves in various places of the station since. Oxygen is the least of their terror right now, but the banging on the walls of the station on the other hand....

  13. 'Trade Secrets' by Catmeat · · Score: 3, Informative
    and the engineer who almost single-handedly made the final adjustments of flight units died several years ago. Reportedly he retained some 'trade secret' about the final adjustments of the devices -- and it died with him. But NASA is not alarmed.

    Reportedly, this is quite common. NASA people working with their Russian counterparts have discovered that, from institutions down to individuals, they hand over technical information about as readily as a tiger hands over its teeth. It's just a simple way for them to gurantee job security but it does make life complicated when you're building a space station out of components constructed in both countries.

    To find out more about the whole mess, I recommend Star-crossed Orbits: Inside the U.S.-Russian Space Alliance by James Oberg

  14. We have them already. by infernalC · · Score: 2, Funny

    They are public libraries.

  15. 3rd grade science by aminorex · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's going to take 4 to 6 years to produce and
    deliver the u.s. built replacement for the elektron
    systems, according to the article.

    A smart third grader can make an oxygen generator
    with a battery, wire, salt and electrodes in 5
    minutes. For the 0g environment, we'll add a
    slow centrifuge.

    Remind me not to pay my taxes if this is the
    crap I get for it.

    --
    -I like my women like I like my tea: green-