24 October 2003 12:57
Mission control denies reports of malfunctions at ISS
Russian and U.S. Mission Controls have denied suggestions that the lives of the International Space Station's (ISS) crewmembers are in danger.
Some media outlets quoted astronaut Eduard Lu as saying during a TV link-up with the Houston Space Center that the ISS's systems responsible for control over the atmosphere, radiation levels and water supplies had malfunctioned. Johnson Space Center spokesman Rob Navias has said that all the station's systems were operating normally. He denied any threats to the crew, adding that the crewmembers had confirmed this during yesterday's news conference.
Russia's Mission Control has not confirmed reports about the alleged technical problems at the ISS either. "We are constantly in touch with the cosmonauts and know that all the ISS systems are functioning normally," a Mission Control source said. He added that "during a news conference on Thursday evening, the crewmembers said that they felt well and that the station's systems were operating as usual. There was no chance for Lu to make this statement earlier today since this information was circulated in Moscow at 8:00 a.m., when the cosmonauts were still sleeping," he said.
The Washington Post reported earlier on Friday that some NASA experts are concerned about the state of the ISS health monitoring system. They were opposed to the eighth mission's launch to the ISS. Meanwhile, NASA head Sean O'Keefe told The Washington Post that the crewmembers are in no immediate danger, adding that if the station's equipment is not replaced within the next six months, the conditions at the ISS could worsen.
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