Reserves of oxygen on the International Space Station are sufficient until next February, the Russian space agency reported Friday.
Alexei Krasnov, director of the manned flights programs of Roskosmos, was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying crews will be provided with oxygen even if the Elektron oxygen-generation system aboard the station – which has malfunctioned – is not repaired and U.S. space shuttles do not resume supply flights.
The Elektron device extracts oxygen from water. Replacement parts are scheduled to be sent to the station in August.
Meanwhile, the crew – Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and NASA astronaut John Phillips – are using standby oxygen producers. A cargo spacecraft recently delivered three times more oxygen to the station than usual.
The Elektron device stopped working earlier this month.
