September 18, 1997 STS-86 launch. Wendy Lawrence to replace Michael Foale.

MAXIMOV-MIR http://www.maximov.com/Mir/mir2.html

NASA Office of Space Flight - MIR Space Station http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/mir/Welcome.html

NASA SHUTTLE-MIR http://shuttle-mir.nasa.gov/

MSFC NASA MIR http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/mol/mir/mir.html

Ted Brattstrom's MIR page
http://165.248.121.94/MIR.html

On June 25th, a Progress M cargo supply ship collided with the Spektr Module of the Mir Space Station. Though the Spektr Module was damaged, none of the three crew members was injured.

The Progress M-34 was being remotely controlled by Mir Commander Vasily Tsibliev when the accident occured. The cosmonauts were conducting a practice re-docking maneuver when the cargo vehicle went off course. The M-34 collided with one of the solar panels on the Spektr module and tore a 30x40cm hole in the hull of the module. With their ears popping, the crew managed to quickly close hatches to the depressurizing module and were able to stop the loss of air from the rest of the station. Electrical power to Mir was cut in half due to the damage to the Specktr solar panel.

The Progress M-34 vehicle had already been unloaded of cargo and equipment (including parts required to repair the malfunctioning Elektron oxygen generator) and was filled with garbage when the accident occurred. The cargo craft moved away from the Mir complex and will be de-orbited after tests are conducted to help understand the cause of the accident.

A Progress M-35, scheduled for launch on July 5, will carry a special plate housing 22 cables to connect with the Spektr's solar panel arrays to tap its electricity and recarge the batteries in the Mir's Core Module. A five hour emergency spacewalk is being planned to re-enter the damaged Spectr Module in order to connect the power cables. The spacewalk is tentatively scheduled to begin on July 17 or 18.

MIR continues on. The Progress M35 was launched July 4 to bring supplies and repair materials to MIR. Ever since the Progress M34 "crash" with the Spectr solar panel and module, the MIR crew have been beset by a variety of problems.

With the puncture of the Spectr module, MIR began to lose air. The crew then cut the cables and closed the hatch to Spectr. Unfortunatly, Spectr had the newest and best solar panels, responsible for generating about 50% of the electrical needs. This lead to problems with the Gyrodyne stabilization system, which led to a changing spacecraft orientation, which led to a greater power problem as the remaining panels received less illumination. With the lower power, The O2 generators, cooling system and CO2 scrubbers had a series of problems, leading now to the interim use of the "candles" again for O2 production.

The crew has used the Soyuz thrusters to orient the spacecraft, and with improved power, the Gyrodyne system is back online. Light, temperature and humidity are still a problem, but that is coming under control.

With the arrival of the M35 Progress (and using the automatic docking system), new supplies and a new special hatch are being delivered. The current plan involves an IVA (Intra Vehicular Activity) whereby Mike Foale sits in the Soyuz, and the two Cosmonauts suit up and depressurize the connecting module to enable the opening of Spectr and the reconnecting of the power cables, placing a new hatch on, and possibly retreiving items from inside Spectr. This last option is the more dangerous one, as there may be sharp edges to catch the space suits, as well as "exploded" biological samples in the module. The inside of MIR modules is pretty crowded, and this makes manuvering in a space suit difficult.

Crew morale is good, and Mike Foale has been reported using the onboard Amateur Radio Station. Listen on 145.800 or 145.985. If you are near the US East Coast, or in Europe, you may hear MIR and the control station on 143.625. It helps to know Russian!

In an editorial note, Remember; the Russians have had a space station in orbit for 25 years, the Americans have been making drawings for the last 10-15 years. When the Russians build a space station, they expect to work on it to fix it and improve it. It is this frontier attitude which makes them the premier spacefaring nation.

MIR is the 8th Russian Space Station. It has been operational 11 years. Skylab was the USAs 1st attempt at a space station. It was occupied for about 6 months, about 20 years ago. It too had problems that were fixed in orbit.