Shuttle Crew Fixes Crucial Air Purifier
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From Times Wire Reports
Space shuttle Columbia’s astronauts successfully restarted a critical air purifier after it failed and threatened to cut short their two-week science mission, Kennedy Space Center officials reported. With a few twists and snips, commander Richard Searfoss removed one end of a small hose in the stalled carbon dioxide removal unit and blocked it with tape. He then reinstalled the hose, bypassing a leaky valve. When he turned on the carbon dioxide removal unit, the light came on. To everyone’s relief, it stayed on.
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