Computer Failure at ISS
A baffling, unprecedented computer failure in the Russian section of the International spac Station has U.S. and Russian engineers rushing to find and repair the problem, Russian station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, along with Russian flight controllers worked through the night to effect repairs. Appearing Tuesday, the problem was thought to possibly be due to the installation of new solar arrays by the visiting Atlantis shuttle crew, and it was speculated the failure could be a result of electrical power rather than computer software.
All three computers used for command and control failed as well as three guidance computers providing auxiliary power for vital station functions. Failure of these computers means that thrusters are inoperative and can’t be used to change the stations position. Normally, large gyroscopes are teamed with the computers to stabilize the station in its orbit, and for the time being Atlantis’ thrusters are being used in place of the station’s computers. Although the shuttle is due to leave the station to return to Earth on Tuesday, NASA has made plans to keep the shuttle docked with the space station another day to help with controls if the computers are not back in operation by the 19th of June. The crew of the shuttle has been instructed to cut power to such noncritical equipment as lighting to conserve power if it should be necessary for the shuttle to stay an extra day.
Early Thursday one primary and one auxiliary computer system were restarted, amid an apparently false alarm in the Russian Zayra module as the computers were restarted, restoring power to the capsule. Intensive efforts are ongoing to restore the rest of the computers. Computers controlling navigation and life support systems generating and purifying oxygen are still down. If the oxygen generator is not running, the station has a 56- day supply of oxygen available. The station has been using backup systems for life support and the shuttle thrusters have been helping the station maintain orbit, but, if the computer systems cannot be restored the three crew members could be forced to return from the mission.
The $100 billion International Space Station is mainly operated by the U.S. and Russian space agencies with contributions from the Canadian, European, and Japanese space agencies. The space station is about half finished, with three years to go until the space shuttles, the only vehicles able to transport large components and assemble the station while in orbit, are due to be retired.
This entry was posted on Friday, June 15th, 2007 at 12:51 am and is filed under Public Relations, Space Agency News, Technical Concerns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
