KSC-97EC-0676 - STS-84 oxygen generator for Mir installation 


In the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, McDonnell
Douglas-SPACEHAB technicians prepare a Russian-made oxygen generator
for flight in a SPACEHAB Double Module. The oxygen generator,
manufactured in Russia by RSC Energia, will be carried aboard the
Space Shuttle Atlantis on Mission STS-84 for the Shuttles scheduled
docking with the Russian Space Station Mir next month. The nearly
300-pound generator will replace one of two Mir units that have been
malfunctioning recently. The generator functions by electrolysis,
which separates water into its oxygen and hydrogen components. The
hydrogen is vented and the oxygen is used for breathing by the Mir
crew. The generator is 4.2 feet in length and 1.4 feet in
diameter. STS-84, which is planned to include a Mir crew exchange of
astronaut C. Michael Foale for Jerry M.  Linenger, is targeted for a
May 15 liftoff. It will be the sixth Shuttle-Mir docking.

 
                                               4/19/97