spacetoday.net: ISS food problems blamed on previous crew

Posted: Thu, Dec 30, 2004, 8:35 AM ET (1335 GMT)
ISS illustration (NASA)

The food shortage on the International Space Station, which at one point threatened an evacuation of the station, was caused when the previous crew ate food intended for the station's current crew. The Expedition Ten crew of Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov said Wednesday that the Expedition Nine crew, Gennady Padalka and Michael Fincke, received permission from ground controllers before their October departure to dip into food supplied intended for the current crew. However, neither the crew nor controllers kept track of how much food was used, which meant that the current crew discovered only in late November that their food supplies were much lower than expected. The Expedition Ten crew rationed the remaining food, cutting back on entrees and other food staples and supplementing it with an abundant supply of desserts and candy. Chiao estimated that he and Sharipov lost a few pounds during this time. The food shortage ended with the docking late Saturday of a Progress cargo spacecraft, carrying enough food to last for several months.