The alarm at the space station failed to work properly because they were not connected.
False. The alarm failed because one of the alarms in the circuit failed to go off when part of the air purifier froze during an eclipse. The second alarm circuit was not connected up yet, but the primary alarm circuit was connected—it simply failed to function.
Explanation
The story clarifies that the space station had duplicate circuits operating independently, but the assistant reminded Jim that 'the second alarm circuit isn't connected up yet.' The failure occurred because during a rare eclipse by Earth's shadow, part of the air purifier froze up, and the single alarm in the circuit failed to go off. The statement oversimplifies and misrepresents the actual cause of the failure.