MOSCOW, (Sputnik) – Designer of Electron-BM, an oxygen supply system mounted on the International Space Station (ISS), Alexey Kochetkov on Thursday told Sputnik that the system failure was not caused by technical issues or manufacturing inconsistencies.
It was the third time the system failed in seven days. Earlier, the ISS crew reported on the system’s breakdown on 14 and 19 October but managed to fix it.
He refused to comment further and advised to submit all the other questions to Rocket and Space Corporation Energia that is affiliated with Roscosmos, a Russian state corporation responsible for space programs.
The representative of Roscosmos’s press service told Sputnik that, when, on Wednesday, the system’s failure occurred, the ISS’s crew disassembled it to find the defect.
Despite the Russian oxygen supply system being out of order, the crew is not in danger since the ISS is also equipped with the US system that functions normally.
Earlier, Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka told Sputnik that such a problem occurred because “all the modules of the Russian segment [of the ISS] are worn out”. The Zvezda Service Module, where the Russian oxygen supply system is mounted, began to operate in 2000.
Electron-BM, an oxygen supply system, started to function onboard the ISS in 2000. The system is able to produce 160 litres of oxygen each hour and can provide enough oxygen for 6 persons.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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