Oxygen generator fails on space station

September 12, 2004
The main oxygen generator on the International Space Station has failed, but NASA said Thursday there is plenty of oxygen on board to sustain the station's inhabitants for the foreseeable future. A backup generator and other methods of oxygen production also are available to the crew should they be needed, the agency said.

Gennady Padalka and Michael Fincke, the cosmonaut and astronaut now on board, will attempt to repair the problem Friday.

Padalka believes there is a clog in the manifold that he can easily remove to get the device running again. The Russian generator has broken down repeatedly because of air bubbles in the line, but after an initial check that was found not to be the problem this time.

According to Rob Navias, NASA spokesman, there is no cause for alarm. "We are fat on oxygen, we are fat on resupply and backups," he said.

In addition to the backup unit, which Russian station managers say could be up and running quickly if needed, there are oxygen-generating devices called candles that could supply months of oxygen, Navias said. Oxygen-generating candles caused a fire on the Russian MIR space station in 1997, but they have been improved since then.

Initially, NASA planned to draw air from the Russian resupply ship docked to the station over the weekend, but station managers decided that would not be necessary. They will meet Monday to re-evaluate the situation.

Padalka and Fincke are scheduled to return to earth in October aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule now docked with the space station.