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The water purifier for the International Space Station has failed - Astronaut News

The water purifier for the International Space Station has failed – Astronaut News

The water purification system installed on the American section of the International Space Station has failed and crew members will soon have to face repair.

The Water handler assembly WPA installed in the Tranquility unit has been discontinued due to a liquid leak. This tool is able to purify collected water from various sources and make it drinkable again. The crew is not in danger because on board the space station there are necessary spare parts for the repair and an adequate water supply.

Filtration, ion exchange, absorption, catalytic oxidation, and iodine are some of the wastewater treatment processes available in the system. Water handler assembly. This isn’t the first time WPA has failed, and it probably won’t be the last either. The space station has been in service for more than two decades and is increasingly showing signs of wear. In recent months, leaks have also appeared in the atmosphere that have weakened the oxygen supply and will require difficult and complicated repairs, and the astronauts on board have not yet discovered the true cause of this problem. A team of experts from the United States and Russia will begin investigating the matter at the end of May.

The International Space Station faces various inevitable reforms

This is certainly not the first recorded failure of the International Space Station. Inevitably, the life of the structure will require more and more frequent extraordinary maintenance activities in the future. Astronauts will have to spend more time on unscheduled repairs precisely because most of the modules that make up the current space station are in orbit for More than 20 years old.

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On October 20, the astronauts had to work through the night as several important equipment malfunctioned one after the other.

That night, the astronauts had to deal with the toilet collapsing in the Russian segment. In the same evening, the oxygen supply system also failed, also in the Russian segment. As if to make matters worse, the electric oven used to heat the food also malfunctioned.

In August 2020, the International Space Station underwent an in-depth analysis that focused on the long-discovered, well-known, and preserved problem of atmospheric loss. Serge Krikalov, director of the human space program at Roscosmos, stated that the problem of atmospheric loss has been around for some time, but also explained that it was never a source of danger to the crew; However, the sudden deterioration of the situation prompted specialists in the field to prioritize this problem.

In its more than 20 years of operational life, the International Space Station has suffered from electrical problems, atmospheric leaks, malfunctions in water filtration systems, toilet malfunctions, and additional unplanned vehicle activities, even a problem. Ammonia contaminationThe worst situation, including the fire, could happen on the International Space Station. Fortunately, this warning turns out to be due to a sensor malfunction and not an actual ammonia leak. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti He was on board the International Space Station when this emergency occurred.

EVA to repair alpha magnetometer

Last January, Russian astronauts discovered two new cracks in the structure of the International Space Station. The problem had been known for some time, but while keeping it under control, they didn’t notice it for long because the crew had to focus on other, more urgent matters.

Source: ScienceTimes.com