Chemical Leak on ISS

Random Utinni writes "It looks like the Russian Elektron system on the ISS may be causing problems again. Today the crew discovered potassium hydroxide leaking into the space station. This comes right after delivery of new ISS components and right before the arrival of a new crew and first female space tourist."

Comments

Re:Hrmm, Mir?

[dbIII]

Does anybody know what kinds of problems they encountered with the Mir? I know that it is not exactly applicable to this situation, just was curious.

I recall the oxygen generation unit on Mir had the same name and had some problems at various points - the book "Dragonfly" about NASA crew members experiences on Mir has something about it.

Re:Looks like they'll need another safety sign.

[bradkittenbrink]

They appear to block referrers from slashdot. Try hitting enter on the address bar.

Re:Hrmm, Mir?

[TubeSteak]

Does anybody know what kinds of problems they encountered with the Mir? I know that it is not exactly applicable to this situation, just was curious.

IIRC, most of the problems on the ISS have been a result of American craftsmanship.

The Russia built stuff is more primitive, but also a lot sturdier.

It does seem like the Elektron system has had some problems though.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5953450/
Sept 10, 2004
"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.
...
The current unit was installed earlier this year [2004], and began experiencing unwanted bubbling and consequent automatic shutdowns about two months ago. The shutdowns have been growing more and more frequent. For the two previous units, the same pattern of more and more frequent shutdowns was followed by a hard failure. The unit's design lifetime was originally one year."

Like many things in the space program, the Elektron units have been pushed waaaay beyond their rated lifespan & nobody has the original specs to build new ones.

TFA I liked above mentions that "Three completely redesigned units are currently in production," but says that getting them tested and certified is an open question, considering the state of the Russian space program.

Re:Hrmm, Mir?

[DerekLyons]

IIRC, most of the problems on the ISS have been a result of American craftsmanship.
 
The Russia built stuff is more primitive, but also a lot sturdier.

You don't recall correctly - as Elektron has had ongoing problems for several years now.
 
 

The [Elektron] unit's design lifetime was originally one year.

And the currently installed unit is the third such unit to be installed on the ISS. Each of the units only lasted as long as they did through heroic repair efforts - not by any intrinsic robustness of the Russian design. (The current unit in fact has had considerable problems over the past year - consuming many man hours in maintenance and repair.)

Re:kudos to the austronauts and cosmonauts

[IDontAgreeWithYou]

From Wikipedia:

Athletic and fit throughout his life, competent in martial arts such as chariot combat, wrestling, and archery, and later easily hiking miles each day and camping in the wilderness. Images of a fat "Jolly Buddha" or Laughing Buddha are actually depictions of either Maitreya the future Buddha (Chinese Mile Fo), or a 10th century Chinese monk, Budai Heshang (Japanese Hotei)