Wed, Jan 14, 2004
ISS Status Report #04-3, 2 p.m. CST, Monday, Jan. 12, 2004
With the help of Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Flight
Engineer Alexander Kaleri, flight controllers traced the apparent
cause of a tiny pressure decay on the International Space Station
Sunday to a braided flex hose that is part of the window system in
the U.S. Destiny Laboratory.
After extensive pressure checks on Saturday and Sunday in the
Russian Progress resupply ship, the Pirs Docking Compartment, the
Soyuz return vehicle and the U.S. Quest Airlock revealed no leaks,
the crew used an ultrasound leak detector device for a second time
at the Lab window, and detected an audible hissing noise emanating
from the flex hose. That hose is hooked up to quick disconnect
devices as part of a system designed to vent into space any
condensation between the panes of glass to maintain the
window’s optically pristine quality.
Foale said he couldn’t hear any hissing noise from the
flex hose during a previous leak check last week because of other
ambient noise generated by operating payload racks in Destiny.
Sunday, those racks were shut down for a short time and the hissing
noise was obvious. Foale reported that as soon as the flex hose was
disconnected, the noise stopped. While additional evaluation is
needed for confirmation, the pressure in the Station appears to
have stabilized since the removal of the flex hose.
Although the leak may now be fixed, flight controllers are
planning to ask the crew to close several hatches aboard the
station this weekend, dividing the complex into three sections to
allow further leak checks and to gather additional baseline data on
normal air pressure fluctuations in portions of the Station. Flight
controllers will monitor the pressure in each section during the
weekend to gather air pressure data. All of the hatches are planned
to be reopened Sunday night. The isolated sections will include the
U.S. Destiny Lab; the Zarya Control Module, Quest Airlock and Unity
Node; and the Zvezda Service Module, Pirs Docking Compartment,
Soyuz rescue vehicle and Progress resupply vehicle. While the
hatches are closed, the crew will remain in the section that
includes the Zvezda living quarters module. To prepare, they will
begin moving some additional equipment into the living quarters on
Friday. Foale normally sleeps in the Destiny Lab while Kaleri
normally sleeps in Zvezda.
Foale and Kaleri repaired the Russian Elektron oxygen generation
system today and are scheduled to press ahead with repairs to the
Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system in the next week or so. In
preparation for the Elektron repair work, the pressure in the ISS
was increased late Sunday to about 14.2 pounds per square inch,
using remaining oxygen in the Progress resupply ship tanks. The
Progress will be discarded in about two weeks in advance of the
launch of a new resupply vehicle on Jan. 29 carrying food, fuel and
supplies for the crew.
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