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ISS crew turns on oxygen regeneration system

RIA Novosti

26/09/2006 12:35

MOSCOW, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - The 13th crew has repaired the Russian oxygen regeneration system at the International Space Station, a mission control spokesperson said Tuesday.

The Elektron system was turned off September 20 after high temperature damaged its rubber seals.

"Pavel Vinogradov, the commander of the 13th expedition, reported that the system has been turned on and functions properly," the source said.

The crew turned off the system after the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the station. When Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut Jeffrey Williams reactivated the system, they smelled an unpleasant odor and switched it off again.

The crew replaced one of the system's blocks, checked the electrical scheme and the thermal control.

Alexei Krasnov, head of the Russian space agency's piloted programs, said last week that the Elektron failure will not cause serious problems for the ISS crew, as the station has three oxygen regeneration systems, including Elektron.

This is not the first time the oxygen regeneration system has failed on the ISS. Williams and Vinogradov replaced a hydrogen disposal valve on their first spacewalk to ensure uninterrupted oxygen generation, and the disposal of used hydrogen.