Vika was used on Mir when more than three people were on board.<ref name=david>[httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=FUtZwjleT3kC&pg=PA270&lpg=PA270&dq=Vika+oxygen&source=bl&ots=c1ojtq99y3&sig=hduoB3ZcMFuPLPh4EWPy1hiWq-0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xATsTpL5K4Xhtgfi0IimCg&ved=0CFkQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Vika%20oxygen&f=false David Michael Harland - '''The story of the space shuttle''' (2004) - Page 270] (Google Books link)</ref> Vika needs a supply of canisters to work, which must be flown into space.<ref name=david/> An example of this is [[Progress M-34]], which carried 60 canisters to Mir in 1997 along with other cargo.<ref name=david/> If ''Vika'' and ''Elektron'' stopped working, the station would have to rely on a limited supply of bottled oxygen.<ref name=david/>
{{quote box|width=22em|The fire was a “raging blowtorch" .. |—Mir crewmember onboard during the fire<ref name=ellis/>}}
