Space Station Leak Found, Fixed

Space Station Leak Found, Fixed 225

Posted by simoniker on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:18PM from the no-more-whooshing dept.

Rommel writes "NewScientist.com is reporting that the cause of the leak in the International Space Station has been found and fixed. The leak was found in a hose in the Destiny lab module. The hose was used to equalize pressure and eliminate fog between two panes of a window. While the leak was so slow it was unlikely to pose a direct threat to the crew for months to come, some equipment on the ISS is only certified to operate above a certain air pressure. The leak was originally mentioned on Slashdot a few days back."

Space Station Leak Found, Fixed

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Hack comics all over the country rejoice... (Score:4, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:20PM (#7954197)

...as they now get to make "first leak in space" jokes.

Didn't read the article... (Score:3, Funny)

by Michael Crutcher ( 631990 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:22PM (#7954227)

.. but they used Bart's diamond earing, right?

Damn... (Score:5, Funny)

by Loki_1929 ( 550940 ) * writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:24PM (#7954247) Journal

I was looking forward to watching the ISS sputter around the sky like a deflating balloon with a couple astronaughts hanging on for dear life and screaming bloody murder.

To paraphrase... (Score:5, Funny)

by technomom ( 444378 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:24PM (#7954248)

That's one small step for duct tape, one giant leap for mankind.

pressure (Score:5, Funny)

by marshall_j ( 643520 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:24PM (#7954251) Homepage

some equipment on the ISS is only certified to operate above a certain air pressure.

such as the crew maybe?

Be honset now... (Score:4, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:25PM (#7954261)

the leak was really Carl Rove, right?

Re:To the Moon! (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:25PM (#7954264)

<blockquote>where can you go after you've been to the moon? </blockquote>

Well, you can always try to get into the... Paris Hilton!!

But seriously folks, I'll be here all week.

Try the veal.

Vaguely apropos (Score:4, Funny)

by The Famous Brett Wat ( 12688 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:25PM (#7954265) Homepage Journal

I'm reminded of a recent "Freefall" [purrsia.com] (web comic).

Re:bet it was made by foreigners (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:27PM (#7954282)

> Destiny was designed and made in the US.

Fine. We'll fire all the foreigners who helped, and we'll make a new one.

We'll call it... Destiny's Child!

I'll be here all week.

Tip your waitress.

Special thanks to McGyver.... (Score:4, Funny)

by eggoeater ( 704775 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:27PM (#7954285) Journal

...for telling the crew how to fix the leak using a roofing nail, some hair spray, and a roll of toilet paper.
The crew said they'd get right on it as soon as those supplies were delivered.

--
Generic Sig: End communication.

Water Test (Score:5, Funny)

by Wun Hung Lo ( 702718 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:27PM (#7954291)

I guess it wouldn't have been practical to dip the whole station in a tub of water.

Re:Didn't read the article... (Score:5, Funny)

by MysticGlyph ( 706776 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:28PM (#7954297) Homepage

This is actually a bit frightening when you think about it. If it took them nearly a month to find this problem imagine if it were a much more serious threat. You would hope that the station would have sensitive enough monitering equipment to detect where problems are occurring. I would probably think twice about spending my powerball winnings on a vacation to the ISS and wait till the Hilton is on the moon, ...no not Paris you dirty minded /.er, although 0-Gravity sex... ...nevermind.

Re:pressure (Score:5, Funny)

by maharg ( 182366 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:29PM (#7954302) Homepage Journal

No, nothing that critical - just the air monitor - Doh !

Kent Brockman reports on the incident... (Score:5, Funny)

by Chuck Bucket ( 142633 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:29PM (#7954317) Homepage Journal

"The spacecraft has apparently been taken over - "conqured" if you will - by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality I could be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves." - Kent Brockman

Equalizing? (Score:5, Funny)

by Tebriel ( 192168 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:32PM (#7954355)

Sounds more like it was trying to equalize pressure between the space station and the vaccuum outside...

The real hero? (Score:5, Funny)

by Chuck Bucket ( 142633 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:33PM (#7954357) Homepage Journal

Let's hear it for the inanimate carbon rod!

CB

Windows? (Score:4, Funny)

by skinfitz ( 564041 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:34PM (#7954373) Journal

The hose was used to equalize pressure and eliminate fog between two panes of a window.

So.. someone left a window open?

Re:Damn... (Score:5, Funny)

by sharkey ( 16670 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:36PM (#7954390)

I was looking forward to watching the ISS sputter around the sky like a deflating balloon
Not me. I'm just hoping they don't drop a sturgeon on my car.

Cracking the hatch ;) (Score:5, Funny)

by Cat_Byte ( 621676 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:37PM (#7954401) Journal

From the original story of the launch:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The $1.4 billion U.S. Destiny lab opened for business at the International Space Station Sunday, cracking the hatch on a new era of scientific discovery that one day could lead to human expeditions beyond Earth orbit.
Heh...cracking the hatch....leak...funny.

Re:Windows? (Score:2, Funny)

by ElGuapoGolf ( 600734 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:41PM (#7954462) Homepage

Not quite, but as someone with some experience in the matter, I can guarantee you that somehow, someway, GM (General Motors) had a hand in this.

Don't believe me? Drive an older GM car thru a carwash, and watch that window sealant leak.

Re:right in the nick of time...i guess. (Score:5, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:43PM (#7954475)

Are you using an old Pentium for your calcuations, or do you just work for NASA? They'd be down to 13.01 psi thank you very much! :)

Re:Water Test (Score:5, Funny)

by *weasel ( 174362 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:43PM (#7954477)

Hollywood told me that even Tim Robbins could locate this kind of problem in under a minute with 1 Dr Pepper-in-a-bag.

I'm frankly shocked that the reality isn't how it was presented.

Another day- (Score:5, Funny)

by IWantMoreSpamPlease ( 571972 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:46PM (#7954507) Homepage Journal

another IIS leaked fixed... ...oh wait...

Other leaks (Score:5, Funny)

by HarveyBirdman ( 627248 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:47PM (#7954520) Journal

Did they find the money leak that put this thing way over budget?

The lesson here? (Score:5, Funny)

by ZipR ( 584654 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:48PM (#7954528)

When aboard the space station, use Scotch brand magic transparent tape to affix photos of loved ones to the wall. NEVER EVER EVER use push pins, even Scotch brand magic push pins.

Could be a software issue... (Score:4, Funny)

by Chuck Bucket ( 142633 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:48PM (#7954534) Homepage Journal
- Dave Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
  HAL I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.
  Dave What's the problem?
CB
Attention astronauts! (Score:4, Funny)

by S.I.O. ( 180787 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:51PM (#7954562)

*Don't* forget to reapply the patch after the next ISS service pack!

Another Patch (Score:2, Funny)

by Linus Sixpack ( 709619 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @02:53PM (#7954578) Journal

Just another memorable leak, found and patched. Good thing it wasn't in one of the windows, they'd have to relaunch the space station. :) ls

Feed the crew beans! (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:02PM (#7954670)

All that farting will soon bring the air pressure back up!

"originally mentioned" (Score:3, Funny)

by zontroll ( 714448 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:07PM (#7954702)

"The leak was originally mentioned on Slashdot a few days back."

I'm sure NASA is thanking the slashdot community for being the "original" source of the leak information.

Uh.. (Score:5, Funny)

by Remlik ( 654872 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:08PM (#7954719) Homepage

Anyone else find the last paragraph of that article a bit scary?

"The leak was made more worrisome because the main oxygen generator, which has been working only sporadically, failed again last week. Russian flight managers are designing a way to fix it this week with spare parts already on the station."

Shouldn't the OXYGEN generators be...oh I dunno...WORKING most of the time? Failed again last week reminds me of the infamous furnace fighting scene from a Christmas Story.

I can just see a Russian cosmonaut banging on it with a wrench cursing...

Re:pressure (Score:5, Funny)

by camusflage ( 65105 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:15PM (#7954796)

such as the crew maybe?

I was told, second-hand, the story of a NASA contractor who was in a meeting with some NASA engineers. As all geeks should know, hard drives require air pressure to work (floating heads and all that). When the subject of a loss of air pressure on the ISS came up, one of the NASA engineers started talking about how all the experimental data would be lost because the HD's would fail. It wasn't until the contractor said "Uhhh, what about the crew?" that they had even entered folks' minds about being similarly sensitive to a loss of air pressure.

At least nasa got the units right... (Score:5, Funny)

by bucky0 ( 229117 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:16PM (#7954808)

...Otherwise:
Engineer 1: We're leaking .03psi of air per day.

Engineer 2: (thinking in head: hmmm, there's 1,418,550.14 pascals of air) What's the big deal? we have 129,000 years untill the air's all gone. Tell the astronauts to not worry about it.

Engineer 1: Makes sense to me. Let's get coffee.

Re:Water Test (Score:3, Funny)

by EvilTwinSkippy ( 112490 ) writes: <{yoda} {at} {etoyoc.com}> on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:17PM (#7954820) Homepage Journal

I suppose they keep a case of Dr. Pepper on hand for the occasion.
What's the going rate to get a Kilogram in orbit?

Re:I would like to think... (Score:2, Funny)

by NanoGator ( 522640 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:30PM (#7954944) Homepage Journal

"If I was on the space station and there was a leak, that fucker would be found a lot sooner than a week."

If you were on the space station, the leak wouldn't have been accidental.

Re:Would it be feasable.. (Score:2, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:35PM (#7954995)

Yeah, fill the station up with a stinky smell then go outside and sniff about until they find where it is leaking out.

For those of you unable to receive the audio (Score:2, Funny)

by Anonymous Cowabunga ( 738559 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @04:03PM (#7955272)

transmission, here it is: "pssssssssssss..."

Re:Windows? (Score:4, Funny)

by addaon ( 41825 ) writes: <(addaon+slashdot) (at) (gmail.com)> on Monday January 12, 2004 @05:25PM (#7955966)

I sympathize. I used to have a '68 volvo with a built-in shower.

Some Equipment... (Score:3, Funny)

by ari_j ( 90255 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @05:40PM (#7956174)

some equipment on the ISS is only certified to operate above a certain air pressure

Yeah. For example, my lungs are only certified to operate above a certain air pressure.

Space Station changelog (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @06:15PM (#7956588)

changelog 2004012 08:37 * [patch] leak found in a hose in the Destiny lab module * [bug fix] Jeannie has recovered from the flu * [driver update] Marty is the new pilot

Leak Finding Performance (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @06:16PM (#7956607)

The score is now:

ISS 1
White House 0

Gratuitous Family Guy Reference (Score:3, Funny)

by ari_j ( 90255 ) writes: on Monday January 12, 2004 @07:21PM (#7957322)

Dear MacGyver,

Enclosed are a paper clip, a drinking straw, and a rubber band. Please save my dog.

Peter Griffin

There may be more comments in this discussion. Without JavaScript enabled, you might want to turn on Classic Discussion System in your preferences instead.

Hack comics all over the country rejoice... (Score:4, Funny)

Didn't read the article... (Score:3, Funny)

Damn... (Score:5, Funny)

To paraphrase... (Score:5, Funny)

pressure (Score:5, Funny)

Be honset now... (Score:4, Funny)

Re:To the Moon! (Score:1, Funny)

Vaguely apropos (Score:4, Funny)

Re:bet it was made by foreigners (Score:1, Funny)

Special thanks to McGyver.... (Score:4, Funny)

Water Test (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Didn't read the article... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:pressure (Score:5, Funny)

Kent Brockman reports on the incident... (Score:5, Funny)

Equalizing? (Score:5, Funny)

The real hero? (Score:5, Funny)

Windows? (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Damn... (Score:5, Funny)

Cracking the hatch ;) (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Windows? (Score:2, Funny)

Re:right in the nick of time...i guess. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Water Test (Score:5, Funny)

Another day- (Score:5, Funny)

Other leaks (Score:5, Funny)

The lesson here? (Score:5, Funny)

Could be a software issue... (Score:4, Funny)

Attention astronauts! (Score:4, Funny)

Another Patch (Score:2, Funny)

Feed the crew beans! (Score:1, Funny)

"originally mentioned" (Score:3, Funny)

Uh.. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:pressure (Score:5, Funny)

At least nasa got the units right... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Water Test (Score:3, Funny)

Re:I would like to think... (Score:2, Funny)

Re:Would it be feasable.. (Score:2, Funny)

For those of you unable to receive the audio (Score:2, Funny)

Re:Windows? (Score:4, Funny)

Some Equipment... (Score:3, Funny)

Space Station changelog (Score:1, Funny)

Leak Finding Performance (Score:1, Funny)

Gratuitous Family Guy Reference (Score:3, Funny)

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