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Vika or TGK is an oxygen generating system for spaceflight.''International Life Support''
- Kerry Ellis. Ask Magazine. APPEL Knowledge Services. It is a SFOG, or solid-fuel oxygen generator, a kind of
Vika was used on Mir when more than three people were on board. Vika needs a supply of canisters to work, which must be flown into space. An example of this is Progress M-34, which carried 60 canisters to Mir in 1997 along with other cargo. If ''Vika'' and ''Elektron'' stopped working, the station would have to rely on a limited supply of bottled oxygen.
In February 1997 a Vika chemical oxygen generator failed on Mir in the Kvant-1 module. It caught fire and spewed a torch-like jet of a molten metal and sparks across one of the
Oxygen Generators
Products. Molecular Products. The oxygen is cooled and filtered to remove dust and odours, and released into the space station atmosphere.
SFOG Lessons Learned
Mir Oxygen Spacecraft life support systems
- Kerry Ellis. Ask Magazine. APPEL Knowledge Services. It is a SFOG, or solid-fuel oxygen generator, a kind of
chemical oxygen generator
A chemical oxygen generator is a device that releases oxygen via a chemical reaction. The oxygen source is usually an inorganic superoxide, chlorate, or perchlorate. Ozonides are a promising group of oxygen sources, as well. The generators are usu ...
. It has been used on the retired Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
space station and the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
. It was originally developed by Roscosmos
The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a State corporation (Russia), state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space science, space flights, List of space agencies, c ...
to supplement the ''Elektron'' oxygen system on ''Mir''. A Vika module, also known as a "candle", contains about one liter of lithium perchlorate and can provide oxygen for one person for 24 hours.
After being adopted for use on the ISS, it had the NASA name SFOG, but they also sometimes use the Russian acronym TGK.
Vika on Mir
Vika was used on Mir when more than three people were on board. Vika needs a supply of canisters to work, which must be flown into space. An example of this is Progress M-34, which carried 60 canisters to Mir in 1997 along with other cargo. If ''Vika'' and ''Elektron'' stopped working, the station would have to rely on a limited supply of bottled oxygen.
In February 1997 a Vika chemical oxygen generator failed on Mir in the Kvant-1 module. It caught fire and spewed a torch-like jet of a molten metal and sparks across one of the Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
space station
A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...
modules, burning for around 14 minutes and blocking the escape route to the docked Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz () is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...
. The fire was eventually extinguished, and the crew was not harmed. A definitive cause of the accident was not determined because the fire destroyed the device. It was suspected that a torn piece of rubber glove worn during assembly likely contaminated the canister. Despite this incident, NASA decided it was still the best supplemental oxygen system available, and supported its use on the then-upcoming ISS. The US and Russia worked together to improve the safety of the system before using it on the new space station.
Vika on ISS
A backup to the temperamental ''Elektron'' system used on both the ISS and ''Mir'' is the ''Vika'' solid-fuel oxygen generator (SFOG), which contains a replaceable cartridge – a thin-walled steel tube with a three-part block of oxygen-releasing mixture based on lithium perchlorate. Two parts are tablets of the chemical mixture and the third one is the igniter tablet with a flash igniter. The igniter is struck by a firing pin when the device is activated. One cartridge releases of oxygen and burns for 5–20 minutes at .Products. Molecular Products.
See also
*Life-support system
A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outside ...
References
{{ReflistExternal links
* :File:Environmental.pdf (this has a small picture of an SFOG on the bottom left)SFOG Lessons Learned
Mir Oxygen Spacecraft life support systems