Cape Canaveral - Russia's troubled Mir space station temporarily has lost its means of generating oxygen but crew members are in no immediate danger, the US space agency said yesterday. A solid fuel oxygen generating system was not working and the primary oxygen generation system, which had been shutdown to conserve power, could not be reactivated, NASA said in a status report.
The two Russians and one American aboard Mir did not appear overly concerned by this, the latest in a long string of mechanical breakdowns to affect the 11-year-old station. "I believe the crew members are asleep on board. This is not a critical issue for them," a NASA spokeswoman said. NASA said there was enough ambient oxygen in the cabin air to last several days.