False Fire Alarm Blares Out At Space Station

A beeping caution-and-warning alarm blared out on the Russian side of the International Space Station today but cosmonauts reported no signs of smoke or fire.

Station commander Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev said the smoke alarm went off in the Russian Zvezda Module, the core of the Russian segment of the outpost. They told flight controllers at the Mission Control Center outside Moscow that there was no sign or smell of smoke. One of the cosmonauts was working with a dust collector at the time. Dust in the past has set off alarms.

The Endeavour astronauts were gathering for a group photo at the time and hunkered down in the shuttle under an all clear was given.

The false alarm interrupted operations for less than 10 minutes.