Space station's oxygen generator back in action

Space station's oxygen generator back in action

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0501/05elektron/
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD, FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE"
Posted: January 6, 2005

The space station's Elektron oxygen generator is back in operation this
morning after troubleshooting by the lab's two-man crew. The Elektron was
re-activated at 7:13 a.m. EST (1213 GMT), according to NASA officials.

"Jim Oberg" wrote in message
...
Space station's oxygen generator back in action

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0501/05elektron/
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD, FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE"
Posted: January 6, 2005

The space station's Elektron oxygen generator is back in operation
this
morning after troubleshooting by the lab's two-man crew. The Elektron was
re-activated at 7:13 a.m. EST (1213 GMT), according to NASA officials.

So they fixed it before the Progress O2 tanks ran dry, right?

Jeff
--
Remove icky phrase from email address to get a valid address.

latest:

January 6 On-Orbit Status (from spaceref.com): Update on Elektron: The
Elektron remains off. All the activities planned for the Russian crewmember
yesterday were deferred to a later date so he could perform dedicated
troubleshooting on the Elektron. An electrical pump was temporarily
connected to the electrolyte circulation loop to remove the gas bubbles that
are causing the Elektron to shut down. During the activity, the excess
bubbles caused overheating of the pump, requiring water flushes to continue
the operation. The crew noted a reduction in the amount of bubbles as a
result of continued loop circulation. Excessive bubbles remained in the
system, however, and the attempted re-start of the Elektron at the
completion of yesterday s activity was unsuccessful. Specialists are
analyzing the data gathered today, and are developing new troubleshooting
procedures which were planned for today.

"Jeff Findley" wrote:
"Jim Oberg" wrote in message
...
Space station's oxygen generator back in action

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0501/05elektron/
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD, FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE"
Posted: January 6, 2005

The space station's Elektron oxygen generator is back in operation
this morning after troubleshooting by the lab's two-man crew. The Elektron was
re-activated at 7:13 a.m. EST (1213 GMT), according to NASA officials.

So they fixed it before the Progress O2 tanks ran dry, right?

Yes it briefly worked before all the reserves were expended. It
really doesn't matter that it briefly worked, after all we have
backups and reserves. And having those, we can dispose with having a
primary system in the first place.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

"Derek Lyons" wrote in message
...
Yes it briefly worked before all the reserves were expended. It
really doesn't matter that it briefly worked, after all we have
backups and reserves. And having those, we can dispose with having a
primary system in the first place.

I think the real problem here is that you're thinking like someone who's use
to working on a debugged, operational system. I'm guessing the Russians are
thinking more like engineers (aerospace engineers at that).

Every kg of O2 the Russians leave off of a Progress flight is a kg they have
available for other purposes. In the long term, they're betting that the
mass of the Elektron (and spare parts) is less than the O2 they would have
otherwise had to send up on Progress (in the form of gaseous O2 and those
nasty O2 generators that are sometimes called oxygen candles).

All they seem to care about is keeping the astronauts alive using the
minimum amount of up-mass. The time, effort, and money spent on keeping
Elektron going doesn't seem to concern them.

Jeff
--
Remove icky phrase from email address to get a valid address.

"Jeff Findley" wrote:
I think the real problem here is that you're thinking like someone who's use
to working on a debugged, operational system. I'm guessing the Russians are
thinking more like engineers (aerospace engineers at that).

No, I'm thinking like someone who is concerned about the ongoing
operability of the station.

Every kg of O2 the Russians leave off of a Progress flight is a kg they have
available for other purposes. In the long term, they're betting that the
mass of the Elektron (and spare parts) is less than the O2 they would have
otherwise had to send up on Progress (in the form of gaseous O2 and those
nasty O2 generators that are sometimes called oxygen candles).

Given that every Elektron to date has died irreversibly, and that the
current unit is the last one in existence... That's a damm poor bet.

All they seem to care about is keeping the astronauts alive using the
minimum amount of up-mass. The time, effort, and money spent on keeping
Elektron going doesn't seem to concern them.

Which is worrisome... Because Elektron repair is only one of many
tasks that the astronauts have.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

"Derek Lyons" wrote in message
...
"Jeff Findley" wrote:
I think the real problem here is that you're thinking like someone who's
use
to working on a debugged, operational system. I'm guessing the Russians
are
thinking more like engineers (aerospace engineers at that).

No, I'm thinking like someone who is concerned about the ongoing
operability of the station.

In that case, using gaseous O2 on Progress and shuttle flights (and
eventually HTV and ATV) is the simplest, most reliable way to go. Backup
solid O2 generators (oxygen candles) would be your backup.

Every kg of O2 the Russians leave off of a Progress flight is a kg they
have
available for other purposes. In the long term, they're betting that the
mass of the Elektron (and spare parts) is less than the O2 they would
have
otherwise had to send up on Progress (in the form of gaseous O2 and those
nasty O2 generators that are sometimes called oxygen candles).

Given that every Elektron to date has died irreversibly, and that the
current unit is the last one in existence... That's a damm poor bet.

You've got the numbers to back that up?

All they seem to care about is keeping the astronauts alive using the
minimum amount of up-mass. The time, effort, and money spent on keeping
Elektron going doesn't seem to concern them.

Which is worrisome... Because Elektron repair is only one of many
tasks that the astronauts have.

As I said earlier, the Russians aren't running their part of ISS any
differently than they ran Mir. They did, after all, use the Mir2 core and a
Mir2 add-on module as their primary contributions to ISS. This mode of
operation should concern NASA, but unfortunately due to poor planning and
limited budgets, NASA will be depending on Russia for life support and for
an emergency crew return vehicle for years to come.

You seem to see this as a Russian failure, I see it as a US failure.

Jeff
--
Remove icky phrase from email address to get a valid address.

"Derek Lyons" wrote in message
...
Given that every Elektron to date has died irreversibly, and that the
current unit is the last one in existence... That's a damm poor bet.

Reportedly, the Russians plan to send up a new O2 generator which is based
on a solid electrolyte sometime this year. Since Elektron is a liquid
electrolyte, and many Elektron problems seem to be related to bubbles in the
liquid, this new O2 generator has a shot at being less of a maintenance
hassle than Elektron.

So it seems the Russians are working on a more permanent fix on a timescale
of about a year. I doubt the US plans to have a similar O2 generator flying
in a years time.

Jeff
--
Remove icky phrase from email address to get a valid address.

"Jeff Findley" wrote in message
...
Reportedly, the Russians plan to send up a new O2 generator which is based
on a solid electrolyte sometime this year. Since Elektron is a liquid
electrolyte, and many Elektron problems seem to be related to bubbles in
the
liquid, this new O2 generator has a shot at being less of a maintenance
hassle than Elektron.

So it seems the Russians are working on a more permanent fix on a
timescale
of about a year. I doubt the US plans to have a similar O2 generator
flying
in a years time.

I just read a new JimO article about this issue:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6800245/

The US O2 generator is planned to fly on Node 3, which is scheduled to fly
sometime in 2008.

So the Russians have about three more years to work on their O2 generators
on ISS before the very first US model even flies. Let's hope the US model
works right the first time.

Jeff
--
Remove icky phrase from email address to get a valid address.

"Jeff Findley" wrote:

So the Russians have about three more years to work on their O2 generators
on ISS before the very first US model even flies. Let's hope the US model
works right the first time.

Yes. The all-singing-all-dancing Russian hardware once again gets a
free pass. It's all the US's fault.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL