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BBC: International Space Station: Smoke triggers alert on board
Alarms were triggered on board the International Space Station after the crew reported smoke and the smell of burning plastic.
The incident centred on the Russian-built Zvezda module which provides living quarters, Russian media report.
The ageing space station has suffered a number of failures over the years and a Russian official recently warned of outdated hardware and failing systems.
These include air leaks, misfiring engines and cracks.
Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said later that all systems were back to normal.
Reuters: Smoke detected in Russian module on space station - Roscosmos
Roscosmos said a smoke detector and an alarm were set off on the Zvezda service module, which provides living quarters for crew members on the ISS, when batteries were being recharged overnight.
RIA, citing audio communications broadcast by the U.S. space agency NASA, reported that Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky had seen and smelled smoke and that French astronaut Thomas Pesquet said the smell of burnt plastic or electronics had spread from the Russian segment to the U.S. section.
You know the saying about where there's smoke, there's ... um ... something you might want to look into.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 11 2021, @02:34PM (2 children)
Is energy really the problem? I figure it's volume, which can be increased with larger stations and inflatable modules.
If energy is the problem, just add more panels. Or fusion. Or a window.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 11 2021, @07:30PM
It is a manpower problem. Hydroponics is traditionally labour intensive. There have been recent advancements in automation but they haven't been tested in space yet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 11 2021, @09:45PM
The problem with adding more panels or reactors is that you have to dump heat somewhere. Not as easy in vacuum as a planetary surface. There's nothing trivial about creating a self-contained ecosystem.