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ISS Oxygen Generator Fails for Good

billyj4 writes "A balky Russian oxygen generator broke down on the International Space Station, but its two-man crew has a reserve air supply that would last about five months, NASA officials said Friday. The station's primary generator, which has been operating in an on-again, off-again fashion for months, stopped working last week and the station's crew has not been able to fix it. Mission managers say the unit has failed for good. Consequently, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and U.S. astronaut John Phillips will be relying on reserves until replacement parts arrive at the station in late August."

50 of 397 comments (clear)

  1. Vodka ? by krusaderu · · Score: 0, Funny

    Wanna bet that if their Vodka generator would brake they could fix it ? Anyway I wouldn't wanna be left in space knowing I have X days of oxigen left ... very stressfull ...

    --
    Hapiness is a state of mind, I'm happy. I think.
    1. Re:Vodka ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wanna bet that if their Vodka generator would brake they could fix it ?

      Da. Just remove the brakes and it vill vork again.

  2. balky? by utexaspunk · · Score: 5, Funny

    A balky Russian oxygen generator broke down

    I thought Balky was from Meepos?

    riiiidiculus!

    1. Re:balky? by DrEldarion · · Score: 1, Funny

      Unfortunately, that's how everything is. Thudercats, Disneyland, Pauly Shore movies...

    2. Re:balky? by AyeRoxor! · · Score: 4, Funny

      have you seen voltron since growing up? i don't know how i ever even thought that made sense!

      I'd like to see you walk up to the defender of the universe and say that to his FACE.

  3. Mmm, air by StratoChief66 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sure NASA says the parts are coming, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

    Oh No He Didn't!
    Oh Yes He Did!

    Ha ha ha, but seriously, I hope they don't die.

    --
    Frylock: "We should have cloned twenties, Jackson wouldn't have given a fuck."
    1. Re:Mmm, air by rabblerabble · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's unfortunate that they forgot the six packs of Perriair for this exact situation.

    2. Re:Mmm, air by Fallingcow · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, look on the bright side:

      ISS Oxygen Generator Fails for Good

      At least it didn't fail for evil.

    3. Re:Mmm, air by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
      Sure NASA says the parts are coming, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

      I found the tracking number, and it looks like you're right:

      NASA Express Package Tracking Results

      383456875421256 Qty 1 Korelev Vital Oxygen Generator Model 340
      383456875423858 Qty 12 Korelev 1 Month Supply Oxygen for Model 340

      2003-11-13 14:32 Kiev, RU Package Pickup
      2003-11-14 05:44 Moscow, RU Arrived Distribution Center
      2003-11-14 18:32 Moscow, RU Departed Distribution Center
      2003-11-15 05:44 Newark, NJ Arrived US Customs
      2003-11-18 02:14 Newark, NJ Cleared US Customs
      2003-11-20 22:33 Miami, FL Arrived Distribution Center
      2003-11-21 04:18 Miami, FL Departed Distribution Center
      2003-11-21 15:22 Cp. Cvl FL Arrived Space Port
      2003-11-21 15:22 Cp. Cvl FL Arrived Space Port
      2003-12-19 18:32 Cp. Cvl FL Out on Spaceplane for Delivery
      2004-02-22 02:19 Cp. Cvl FL Out on Spaceplane for Delivery
      2004-07-18 11:48 Cp. Cvl FL Out on Spaceplane for Delivery
      2004-10-22 09:18 Cp. Cvl FL Out on Spaceplane for Delivery
      2005-01-11 14:16 Cp. Cvl FL Out on Spaceplane for Delivery
      2005-05-13 11:38 Cp. Cvl FL Out on Spaceplane for Delivery

      Current estimated delivery date: 2005-08-03 by 4:30 pm
  4. typical by maharg · · Score: 4, Funny

    .. I guess they ran out of duct tape

    --

    $ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
    @(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
    1. Re:typical by StratoChief66 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Probably, because if I was up there and had some duct tape I know i would sneak up on the other astronaut in his sleep and double my oxygen reserve by taping his mouth and nose shut.

      But seriously, I hope they don't die.

      --
      Frylock: "We should have cloned twenties, Jackson wouldn't have given a fuck."
  5. Actually shows the IIS is some use by hey · · Score: 2, Funny

    Its a good place to try out tech that might be
    used in a more exciting mision.

    1. Re:Actually shows the IIS is some use by XanC · · Score: 1, Funny

      I still wouldn't touch IIS with a 10-foot pole. TinyHTTPd all the way!!

    2. Re:Actually shows the IIS is some use by Pakaran2 · · Score: 1, Funny

      However, to my knowledge, the ISS has crashed significantly more seldom than our IIS installation at work.

    3. Re:Actually shows the IIS is some use by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or maybe they should have sent up an Apache?

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  6. Time to go to Druidia by wiredog · · Score: 5, Funny

    with Mega-Maid.

  7. In related news... by elgatozorbas · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... the last food supplies only contained chili beans. Poor guys.

  8. Russians built Skylab? by FirstNoel · · Score: 3, Funny


    And I guess we had the Mir?

    --
    "Hmm. I am to metaphor cheese as metaphor cheese is to transitive verb crackers!"
  9. Call me crazy... by CyberSnyder · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...but I would be sleeping in my spacesuit!

  10. I'm not worried. by de_boer_man · · Score: 2, Funny

    If the reserve oxygen supply starts running low, I'm sure they'll send up the space cowboys. Those guys can do ANYTHING.

    --
    .sig wanted. Inquire within.
  11. Any mention of alien acid blood? by FerretFrottage · · Score: 1, Funny

    or is this just a "lowest price contractor-oh you wanted it to work" type of failure?

    All I know based on all the sci-fi horror flicks is Don't open the oxygen generator door.

    --
    "Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
  12. Re:Must find by ThatsNotFunny · · Score: 1, Funny

    In Soviet Russia, Oxygen generates YOU!

    --
    "Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine No Posessions?'" -- Elvis Costello
  13. Re:Very Stressful... by rampant+mac · · Score: 3, Funny
    "It stated in the Article snippet that they have 5 months of oxygen. How is that stressful?"

    Oh, I dunno... Maybe the remote possibility of RUNNING OUT OF OXYGEN AND DYING?

    What if the mission to send replacement parts fails? What if the escape vehicle doesn't work?

    I get a little stressed when we run out of coffee at work, to each their own I guess.

    --
    I like big butts and I cannot lie.
  14. What's next by MaGogue · · Score: 5, Funny

    First they ran out of supply line(2003), then they ran out of food(2004), and now they are running out of oxygen. What will the next thing be? Will they run out of orbit?

    1. Re:What's next by snorklewacker · · Score: 2, Funny

      Astronauts.

      --
      I am no longer wasting my time with slashdot
  15. Re:Obligatory..... by Gilmoure · · Score: 1, Funny

    In Russian Soviet, lame are so jokes!

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates
  16. on-again, off-again fashion by crucini · · Score: 2, Funny

    There's the problem. They should have operated it in an off-again, on-again fashion. Then when it finally got stuck it would be on.

    But was it a rectangular thing daubed with Rastafarian symbols?

  17. What? by Gilmoure · · Score: 1, Funny

    Napa doesn't deliver?

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates
  18. Armageddon Quote by dr_dank · · Score: 2, Funny

    Russian parts, American parts, all made in Taiwan!

    --
    Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  19. oxygen? by cashman73 · · Score: 3, Funny
    All Your Oxygen, Are Belong To Us!



    Somebody Send Us Up The Parts!



    1. Re:oxygen? by ricotest · · Score: 2, Funny

      Somebody Send Up Us The Parts!

      You need to study more Engrish, my friend :)

  20. Re:How did the Generator Fail? by spookymonster · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... why can we not send up a replacement machine?

    The good news: it's still under warranty

    The bad news: the manufacturer won't send out a replacement until they've received the broken unit

    The really bad news: Sergei threw the crate out after they unpacked it, so they've go nothing to ship it in

    The really, really bad news: When they do finally find something to ship it in, they're just going to kick it out of an airlock with a note attached: "If found, please return to We Scrub Air, Inc. P.S., sorry for landing on your grandmother"

    --
    - Despite popular opinion, I am not perfect.
  21. The O2 generator must run Windows... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    `_
    / \
    O O
    |||/
    |\/|
    \__/

    Hey there, partner! It looks like you're running out of oxygen!
    What would you like to do?
    • Sob helplessly
    • Regret your wasted life
    • Go into hysterics
    • End it all now
    • Kill all your fellow astronauts to conserve the remaining O2
    • Search for help on the Web

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  22. Re:Obligatory..... by vorpal22 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here... I'll fill in the rest of the obligatory unfunny stupid jokes so that we can get on with our lives and have an intelligent discussion on the subject of the ISS:

    Obligatory old Korean joke: Only old Koreans get stuck with no oxygen on ISS.

    Obligatory underpants gnome joke:
    1. Run out of oxygen.
    2. ???
    3. Profit!

    Obligatory beowulf cluster joke: The oxygen generators: If only they'd had a beowulf cluster of these.

    Obligatory MS joke: The oxygen generator must have been powered by Microsoft.

    Obligatory Apple joke: The oxygen generator was useless because it only had one button.

    Obligatory all-your-base joke: All your oxygen are belong to us! Someone sent us up the parts!

    Obligatory Strong Bad joke: SUFFOCAT'D!!!

    Obligatory everything else joke: The thought of Natalie Portman, petrified and naked, while they eat hot grits poured down each others' pants should help them to stave off suffocation, or at least be happy about it.

  23. Failure == Good? by Theovon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wouldn't it be better to say that it fails for BAD?

  24. Next time... by barfy · · Score: 1, Funny

    Don't be such a cheap ass, and buy the extended warranty!

  25. Quaid, Turn on the reactor by travvy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cohaagen, you got what you wanted; you must give those people air!

  26. Does anyone have by T-Ranger · · Score: 2, Funny

    The FedEx tracking number?

  27. Re:Very Stressful... by robertjw · · Score: 2, Funny

    What if the escape vehicle doesn't work?

    That would be a good time to start worrying. Until then, I think they are probably OK.

    I get a little stressed when we run out of coffee at work, to each their own I guess.

    You didn't say they were running out of coffee. That's completely different, if the coffee is getting low they should jump into that escape pod IMMEDIATELY, just in case.

  28. Hope they got the units right this time... by Ribald · · Score: 3, Funny

    A month down the road:

    "Hey, guys--bad news. Turns out we were using the consumption rates in gallons of oxygen per minute, when we thought we were using liters! Heh, sorry about that."

    "Guys? Hello?" ...

    --Ribald

  29. Re:ITS A DUPE by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 1, Funny
    It's like the nerd table in high school.

    Best description of Slashdot. Ever.

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  30. Don't put a biosphere up there by rdunnell · · Score: 1, Funny

    I fear outer space is not ready to take Pauly Shore back from whence he came.

  31. Re:Very Stressful... by neoform · · Score: 2, Funny

    "If you don't like that, there's always the option of never venturing outside."

    WHAT IF MY HOUSE BURNS DOWN THEN?! HUH?!

    --
    MABASPLOOM!
  32. 5 months? by earthbound+kid · · Score: 2, Funny

    One thing that always bugged me on Star Trek was that if any alien started draining the power supply, life support system would always be the first things to go. The ISS is a tin can compared to the Enterprise, yet they somehow manage to have a 5 month supply of air just floating around. Meanwhile, the Enterprise still has more than enough power to run phasers (which must use unbelievable amounts of power to disintegrate stuff), shields (which must use as much power to absorb that energy), impulse engines, warp drive, etc.

    I know, I know, "suspension of disbelief." It just seems like it would be more plausible if life support was always the LAST thing to start failing, instead of the first.

  33. Re:Entirely the wrong approach by Zeussy · · Score: 3, Funny

    And then a tiny flec of paint punches throught he plastic biome the whole thing deflates, pushes the station out of orbit, and some crappy Starbase 2009! Tv Series starts.

    Hmm relaxing by gardening plants, I can see where this is going, surely the astronauts are high enough?

  34. Re:How did the Generator Fail? by NardofDoom · · Score: 2, Funny
    Do you mind if we raise your taxes to pay for the newer, more robust oxygen generator and the cost-plus contract to get it developed?

    Didn't think so.

    --
    You have two hands and one brain, so always code twice as much as you think!
  35. I've been waiting since 1978 to say this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Chewy! Replace the negative power coupling!

  36. Re:fill in the blanks by WalterSobchak · · Score: 2, Funny

    Please, please mod the parent way up.

    A news item like this without "In Soviet Russia ..."? We can not let that happen!

    Alex

    --
    Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder
  37. Re:Well.. by SComps · · Score: 2, Funny

    LOL and of course it got mod'd offtopic to make sure nobody sees it anyhow. Mods have little to no sense of humor these days. :)

  38. Re:What is an oxygen generator? by DarthVain · · Score: 2, Funny

    Its a fancy name for a "Tree".