Electrolytic oxygen generation system Elektron-VM onboard the International Space Station: its past, present and future

Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Elektron-VM has been running onboard the International Space Station (ISS) since 2000 in the Service Module, and since 2022 in the Multi-purpose Laboratory Module. OGS generates oxygen by electrolyzing water. All the processing operations within the OGS occur inside the Processing Unit (PU). Presented in the paper are OGS performance data and PU process flow diagram. As of December 4, 2023, OGS Elektron-VM onboard the ISS had accumulated 5 488 days of running time having generated 13 343 kg of oxygen. PU No.11 has accumulated the maximum running time among all the PUs amounting to 2 334 days of running without unrecoverable failures since 2011 to date. Based on the experience of operation onboard the ISS the paper discusses key trends in the past, present and future upgrades of the Elektron-VM system. Potential PU running time to unrecoverable failure is estimated at 8 to 10 years, with more than 20 years of service life from the date of manufacture. Elektron-VM is the baseline system for future space stations, a lunar outpost and a vehicle for a mission to Mars.