The oxygen supply system has failed in a module module of the Russian part of the International Space Station (ISS) but there is no threat to the crew, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said on Thursday.
The oxygen supply system at B Rabital Lab’s Zezveda Modi.l failed late Wednesday, but a second system is working normally on the US side, a Roscoms spokesman said.
“Nothing is endangering the security of the crew and the ISS,” the spokesman said, adding that the repairs would be carried out on Thursday to address the issue.
The issue arose after three new crew members – two Russian astronauts and an American astronaut – arrived at the ISS on Wednesday.
The problem is the latest ISS incident – the first of which was launched two decades ago in 1998 – after the crew discovered an air leak in a plane in August.
Roscombs insisted at the time that the leak was not significant and that there was no danger. But part of the problem was figuring out exactly where it came from.
The crew believes they have now found the source of the leak. A spokesman for Roscoms said he would receive proper instructions from Mission Control to complete future work on the problem.
Veteran Russian spacecraft Gennady Padalka was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying that Russian equipment aboard the ISS had passed along with its use.
“All the mediums of the Russian part are gone,” said Padalka, who holds the world record for most days spent in space.
He added that the equipment should only be used for 15 years when it was now two decades old.
Agence France-Presse
