Conference 7.286::space

    Radio Moscow announce that Yuri Work day has been cut to
    5 1/2 hour, he is in 'good health' but is growing incressingly
    tired so his worked day was shorten.
    
    Also for the second time this week Radio Moscow anounced a 
    physical check up, I can only rember once before that this has
    happen -  it was just before Alexandria Lavakian (?SP) had
    his irregular heart beat.  But on the same news cast they 
    said Yuri was given the go ahead to try for the end of the
    year.  Yuri voice now sound deeper and simular to a person
    with a mild cold as compaired to several months ago, this
    could be do to several reason including changing of microphones
    difference in the density of the atmosphere being used , just
    being tired , a cold , etc
    
    john
    

    Any one have any ideas as to why they need a larger airlock,
    and to what end it would dock to.  I can only think of one
    that makes sense. If it was docked to the front docking
    ball it would act as a seperator between the ball and 
    the Soyuz TM unit, thus larger units (more people etc)
    could be put into this area and still maintain air lock
    between MIR, the EVA/ball section and still Keep Soyuz
    TM section closed.  This is a nice safty feature as if the
    air lock in comprimised, most likly the Soyuz TM would still be
    in good shape untill repairs etc could be made.
    
    If it is like the older KVANT unit, howerver, I dont think
    it has been reported that fully two dimentional docking
    can be done, maybe the unit will be updated as this two
    dimention docking will be very important and the MIR
    complex grows. One demention docking would require MIR
    to  move at a large fuel expense.
    
    john
                            

    I think that are using the docking ball itself as the airlock for
    EVA. It seems to me that it would be undesirable to do this in the
    future as it would inhibit access between modules and require that
    one port be kept unused.
    
    The Kvant style module would work on any of the front ports since
    it has a Soyuz style docking mechanism on the 'front' and the reverse
    on the 'back' (i.e. it will accept a Soyuz/Progress type vehicle).
    They could put it between the Soyuz and the docking ball or on one
    of the lateral ports.
    
    It is possible but unlikely to be like the 'Star' modules (like Cosmos
    1267 on Salyut 6 and C 1443 on Salyut 7) as they tend not to have dual
    docking mechanisms. 
    
    gary

    Radio Moscow announce this am (10-NOV-87) that a new Progress
    ferry was being ready to launch to the MIR complex and that the
    Progress 32 unit was now being unloaded of its fule and water.
    
    I would put this as Progress-33 and the track record is that it
    will be launch within a week of the Radio Moscow announcement.
    There is a launch window opening about every two to three days
    but the most Progress units have been launch on Tuesday.
    
    I found it strange that only now the water and fule were being 
    unloaded from P-32, this mean the Gyro stablization must be 
    working very well.   Progess units are usually deorbited over
    the Pacific and can make a nice visual sigthing in the Western
    Part of the US.
    
    John
    

    Todays (17-NOV-87) MIR's AOS & LOS were late by apx 10 min.
    This is the first Major MIR Complex Orbital change in a long
    time.  Yuri could be heard giving a Press interview and discribing
    the MIR complex.
    
    ( this was based on NASA element set # 902 )
    
    john
    

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet MIR mission:  New PROGRESS cargo to go up
Date: 17 Nov 87 14:41:38 GMT 
 
    The cosmonauts on board the USSR's MIR space station complex have
completed the unloading of the PROGRESS 32 cargo carrier and are
preparing to receive PROGRESS 33 (it will probably have been launched
by the time you read this).  This will be the 13th vehicle to reach
MIR, and the 8th Progress.  The total cargo carried to MIR (22.5 tons)
by the PROGRESS tankers now exceeds the mass of the MIR core section. 
While half of that is fuel, air, food, and water, that still means
about ten tons of hardware has been added to the station from these
cargo carriers alone (though not all of it may still be there). 

    Meanwhile, the reports are that Yuri Romanenko is getting tired,
and is now down to a 5-hour work day for the research.  Considering he
has been up there for 284 days now that is not surprising.  It has
been confirmed that the crew replacing him and Alexander Alexadrov
will be a three-man group containing a doctor. 

    If you want to consider where the US is relative to the Soviets,
and where the US shall be until the Space Station gets into Earth
orbit, look at the following:  Even if all Space Shuttle flights take
place on the current schedule, we cannot exceed the USSR's space
experience for any given year during the next decade if all they did
was keep a minimum crew of two people on MIR.  Yet their plans call
for MIR to have between 6 and 9 man occupation for a least some
periods by 1991.  If you believe that such experience is not going to
useful, then you cannot consider humans to have any worthwhile
function in space.  The Soviets have committed themselves to have at
least one working, occupied space station from now on (i.e., for at
least several decades).  In the US, people are still arguing whether
it is a good idea.  Let us keep the commitment to the Space Station,
and thus become a true space faring nation. 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: PROGRESS 32 - some interesting maneuvers
Date: 20 Nov 87 23:38:09 GMT
  
    The Soviets finally detached the PROGRESS 32 tanker from their MIR
space station on November 17, but have not yet launched PROGRESS 33.
They were, however, trying some interesting tests with PROGRESS 32
before they removed.  On November 11 and again apparently on November
14, they undocked the PROGRESS, moved it away from the station, then
redocked it to the KVANT addition (ten ton module) on the MIR complex.
Since the PROGRESS was destroyed in atmospheric reentry as usual after
removal, it is certain that this was not some failure in the
separation - the cosmonauts would not really be able to repair any
guidance on it, and they announced this maneuver once on Radio Moscow
that I heard.  They are just practicing this for future missions. 

    Why separate a PROGRESS spaceship from the station?  First recall
that the seven ton PROGRESSes contain about one ton of cargo and 1.5
tons of fuel, water, and air in tanks.  Also, before the tanker is
dropped, and indeed throughout its attachment to the station complex,
the spare fuel in the PROGRESS' own fuel system (separated from that
supplied to the station) is used to boost the stations orbit, thus
saving both fuel and wear on MIR's rockets.  Finally, the PROGRESS is
also used to dump the solid garbage from the station and burn it up in
the atmosphere, rather than just push it out the airlock, where it
might damage the station. 

    Three possibilities suggest themselves:  First is that they can
then move a PROGRESS off when they are bringing a new SOYUZ crew up.
Up to now the PROGRESS must be discarded whether it could serve useful
purposes or not.  Now it can be moved off, a visiting crew brought up
for a short stay, and then reattached for further use when they leave.
Secondly, the Soviets have talked about a new type of PROGRESS-derived
craft - a free flyer that would be used to run certain very
low-gravity experiments (e.g., crystal growth) away from the station,
then return to the station for study of the results before new
experiments are added.  Finally, as they add side modules to MIR'S side
docking ports for dynamical stability, they will want to keep the axis
of the station as heavy as possible, and the core station mass nearly
constant.  That may suggest that keeping a PROGRESS where it can be
added to the station within hours of a visiting crew leaving might be
useful.  The mass of the PROGRESS and SOYUZ spaceships are nearly the same. 

    Whatever the reasons, the Soveits are clearly finding new ways to
use what they have to the best advantage.  That only makes good
engineering sense.  Let us get the Space Shuttle flying again so that
we can continue to do the same, as was being done before the
CHALLENGER tragedy. 
 
                                                    Glenn Chapman
                                                    MIT Lincoln Lab

    AW&ST reported last week that progress 32 was used to try out new,
    more efficient, docking techniques.  The empty progress 32 was undocked
    and backed out about 1.5 miles.  It was then redocked using the
    new technique.  Makes sense what?  Try out the experimental technique
    with an empty tanker, rather than risk losing a full one.
    
    Mike H.

    The operating habits of MIR's Crew and that of the Tracking Ships
    seems to be changing, also the Radio Call Sign of MIR has been
    changed.  These leads me to believe that the Crew will be coming
    home soon. It does not look like a new crew will take over.
    So At last the US may still have a chance to have the first
    permanently man space station - if they get to work...
            
    I would not expect it to happen untill after the 8th of Dec
    to go for the 9 month recored.
    
    john
    
    

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space                                              
Subject: PROGRESS 33 docks to USSR's MIR and upcoming cosmonaut change.
Date: 24 Nov 87 18:42:34 GMT
 
    The USSR launched the PROGRESS 33 cargo craft on November 21, and
successully docked it to the rear port of the KVANT/MIR space station
complex today (November 23).  This craft contains about 2.5 tons of
fuel and supplies.  Interestly, there was only six days elapsed time
total between the undocking of PROGRESS 32 and the docking of PROGRESS
33.  The Soviets are now keeping the rear docking port nearly as fully
occupied as possible, without having a new PROGRESS launched, before
the old one re-enters Earth's atmosphere. 

    Yuri Romanenko, the long duration cosmonaut on MIR, has now
achieved 291 days on this mission, and will exceed 300 days on
November 2.  In mid-December, he and Alexander Alexandrov (who has
been up there since July 29) are expected to be replaced by a
three-man crew consisting of an unnamed doctor, Alexander Serebrov (a
cosmonaut researcher), and Vladimir Titov (mission commander). 
Serebrov and Titov were both on the SOYUZ T-8 unsuccessful docking
with SALYUT 7 in April of 1983, caused by the failure of the SOYUZ's
radar and problems with a manual dock.  In addition, Titov was on the
SOYUZ T-10A mission, the September, 1983 pad fire and aborted flight -
not the luckiest cosmonaut.  This switchoff crew, the second in a row
if they do it, will try for a one-year mission, according to official
Soviet statements. 

    If they are successful with this, then MIR will be well on its way
to helping create the permanent human habitation of space.  Now if only
the budget problems will not slow down the NASA/international station.
 
                                    Glenn Chapman
                                    MIT Lincoln Lab

    	In the December, 1987 issue of SKY AND TELESCOPE astronomy
    magazine, there is an excellent article about the KVANT (Quantum)
    observatory module aboard MIR, complete with detailed diagrams and
    photographs of the module.
                                           
    	Larry
                  

    Thanks for tip on SKY & TELESCOPE - also in that issue there is
    an image of the MIR complex taken by a 90 inch Telescope. It is 
    not a great picture but when you consider MIRs 100 meter is but
    10 arc sec or so, it is truly a remarkable image The resolution
    of the image ( my guess ) is about 10 meters square.
    
    Radio Moscow  on 2nd of  DEC announce that  Yuri Romanenko  had 
    set a new worlds record for walking the Thread Mill in space. I 
    would think that the increase  in  physical  exercise is a sure 
    sign for a trip home.   Exercise would be use to bring back the
    lost muscle tone before deorbiting.
    
    
    
    

    Radio Moscow and TASS had an article yesterday that the present
    crew of the MIR complex will soon be coming home, in the mean time
    a new crew is training for a lauch to MIR.   RM did not give any
    more details , the TASS radio reception was garbled but it look
    like it had given the names of the new crew.  Older Radio Moscow
    broadcast announce that 'working crews' to MIR will be limited to
    six months , this is because the working efficiency is decresed
    after six months.  
    
    Aviation Week said the old crew would return to Earth on the 
    31st of DEC.  but I think it may be earlier.
    
    john
    
                       
    

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: New cosmonaut crew for Soviet MIR and long duration men coming down
Date: 11 Dec 87 15:34:37 GMT
 
    The long space flight of Yuri Romanenko aboard the MIR space
station is finally coming to a close.  After a continuous 308 days to
date he has already exceeded the previous record of 237 days (set by
the SOYUZ T-10B crew on SALYUT 7 in 1984) by more than 30%.  His
lifetime total is now 412 days (10% longer than Leoid Kizim's
previous record).  Even Alexander Alexandrov, the "short term"
replacement for Alexander Laveikin done July 29, has now spent 142
days on MIR and has a lifetime total of 291 days (149 from SOYUZ
T-9/SALYUT 7 in 1983). 

    There is however some peculiarities with the upcoming replacement
cosmonauts that will fly to MIR at the end of this month.  Previously
the Soviets have announced the crew for that flight, but now they are
not giving out the names for the SOYUZ TM-4 mission.  Instead they
have simply stated that two flight crews have left for the Baikonour
Cosmodrome today (Dec. 10) to prepare for a mission by one set of
them.  This suggests that the takeoff will be sometime after Dec.
17, with the Romanenko and Alexandrov returning by the end of the
month.  The mystery about the replacement crew may come from one of
them having a cold or the like, so that whether the prime or backup
crew will fly is not yet certain. 

    One thing is obvious, crew switchoffs have now become a standard
procedure in the Soviet space station program.  They do not even make
a big thing about them any more.  Let us work for the day when the
same is true for the USA. 
 
                                 Glenn Chapman
                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

    ideal launch windows for TM-4 (assuming no MIR orbit change)
    would happen on DEC  16, 18, 23, 25, and the 27.
    

    LONG-DURATION SPACE EXPEDITION IS DRAWING TO AND END.

	The space travelers aboard the orbital complex MIR
	are about ready to come home after a record-setting
	space mission. The orbital mission, the longest in 
	the history of cosmonautics, is drawing to an end,
	Yuri Romanenko, the commander of the main crew, has 
	been staying in zero gravity for 315 days. Pilot engineer 
	Alexander Alexandrov, who replaced his colleague 
	Alexander Laveikin, has been working in space for
	almost five months.

   .BOOSTER ROCKET AND SOYUZ TM-4 AT LAUNCH SITE for a 3 Man Crew


   	BAIKONUR COSMODROME DECEMBER 21 - At dawn today a booster 
	rocket 	in conjunction with the Soyuz tm-4 spaceship was
	launched  at 14:18 Moscow time.  They will visit the
	+TAIMYRS+ for a week, then Yuri Romanenko and Alexander
	Alexandrov would return to earth. a research cosmonaut of the
	new crew would return together with them. test pilots Anatoly
	Levchenko and Alexander Shchukin have been prepared for this
	role. a flight engineer, Musa Manarov or Alexander Kaleri, would
	remain aboard the station together with the mission commander.

	For this to have happen the Cargo Spacecraft Progress-33
	was jetterson on November 21 at 11:16 Moscow Time.  This
	will leave the read docking port of KVANT open for TM-4
	to dock to. The Jetterson of P-33 also changed the orbit
        of the MIR complex , that is why there was a window open
    	on the 21st of Dec.

	I am not sure which crew was on the TM-4 as of Sunday
	the final Crew had not been chosen. The two Crews are:
	Commanders Vladimir Titov and Alexander Volkov, pilot
	Engineers Musa Manarov and Alexander Kaleri, researcher
	Cosmonauts Anatoly Levchenko and Alexander Shchukin.


    

    re:16 
    I made a few typos, the jetterson of P-33 was on 
    Saterday the 19th of DEC
    
    an it shoud be the rear docking port of Kvant not the
    read docking port of Kvant
    
    jb
    

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soyuz TM-4 flys Monday and 30 month missions planned later
Date: 20 Dec 87 14:20:48 GMT
 
    The USSR has announced that the Soyuz TM-4 mission to the
Mir/Kvant space station will be launched on Monday Dec. 21 at 11:00
hours UTC (6:00 am EDT).  The three man crew will releave Yuri
Romanenko (who has been up there 315 days, the world's long duration
record holder) and Alexander Alexandrov (who has spent 145 days on
Mir).  The Soyuz mission will be 7-8 days so the current Mir crew will
be coming down around Dec. 30th, as they had previously stated. 

    The Soyuz TM-4 crew is still a bit of a mystery.  The commander is
Vladimir Titov  (Soyuz T-8) and the cosmonaut researcher/flight
engineer is Alexander Serebrov (Soyuz T-8 and the Soyuz T-10A pad fire
abort).  The third memeber is a doctor, but they keep on failing to
give out the person's name, so what ever problem they have is still
happening.  This will be the third successive full or partial switch
off for the Russians. This crew is expected to stay up there for 400
days. 

    In addition, a couple of days ago while commenting on Romanenko's
long duration a Soviet medical spokesman said that before a Mars
mission would occur they intended to have people with 30 months of
continuous zero G experience!  That time is equal to a low energy
conjunction class Mars mission (the planets are on opposite sides of
the sun during the launch) where the crew would spend 1.5 years at the
planet.  Either they are playing it safe by considering the Mars 1/3 G
to be the same a zero G for the crew, or they intend that at least
part of the mission would stay in orbit to explore Phobos and Deimos
(the Marsian moons).  If they continue to expand their mission
durations with a 30% increase for each long crew they would reach that
time in 1995-6, and certainly by the end of the century. There is a
very good low energy conjunction mission possible in 2001. They sound
as if they are doing the ground work to be ready for such a mission if
they decide to go ahead it. 

    The USSR's space station is now becoming permanently manned. 
Meanwhile the congress has just reduced the NASA/international space
station funding by $300 million to $425 - bearly enough to get the
work started.  Even then they can only spend $200 million during the
first 6 months, after which a review will take place before the rest
is spent.  That review is timed for just when the shuttle is planned
to fly - any problems there and we may be in trouble.  There seems to
be a difference in commitment to space between this country and the
Soviet Union.  Let us try and change that. 
 
                                   Glenn Chapman
                                   MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Correction to Soyuz TM-4 mission information
Date: 21 Dec 87 05:06:25 GMT
 
     A correction to my posting of earlier today on the Soyuz TM-4
mission. While Vladimir Titov (Soyuz T-8 and Soyuz T-10A) is still the
mission commander, Serebrov is no longer the flight engineer.  He has
been replaced by Mosha Romara (age 36), while the third man is Aton
Lekenkov (age 46 - spelling of both uncertain).  Romara is listed as
an ex test pilot. This is the first flight for both.  There mission is
stated as being a long duration one, with visits to Mir during their
time by "several other crews including international ones".  The
reason for the crew change has not been stated (Serebrov was on the
mission as of last month). 
 
     Yuri Romanenkov and Alexander Alexandrov will return to Earth on
New Year's Eve. 
 
                                  Glenn Chapman
                                  MIT Linclon Lab.

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soyuz TM-4 launched to Mir
Date: 21 Dec 87 21:23:18 GMT
 
    The Soviet Soyuz TM-4 flight was successfully launched today (Dec
21) at about 6:15 am EDT.  On board where Vladimir Titov (mission
commander), Musa Manarov (flight engineer), and Anatoly Levchenko
(scientist cosmonaut). They will arrive at Mir on Dec. 23 to replace
Yuri Romanenkov and Alexander Alexandrov who will return to Earth on
New Year's Eve (probably in their Soyuz TM-3 capsule). 

    One interesting point here is that there has been no mention of
the Progress 33 supply ship being dropped as of yet.  Normally the
Progress is removed from the rear docking port a couple of weeks
before the visiting crew arrives.  However as of a few days ago the
Mir/Kvant complex did not appear to have undergone the maneuvers that
accompany the separation of the Progress (they normally use the
Progress' engines to boost the station just before leaving).  Perhaps
they are going to pull the Progress away from the station and leave it
there while the crew exchange takes place. This is the first full
exchange yet attempted - all previous switchoffs have involved one of
the old crew staying on when the new ones come up. 

     How times have changed.  Five years ago I speculated on when a
Soviet launch would occur based on the orbit of Salyut 7, the time of
Sun set at the recovery site, and subtle clues on the shortwave.  Now
they announce the launch time and I get up early to watch a live
broadcast of the mission (including pictures from within the capsule)
on CNN.  Now let us have some shuttle lift offs to watch too. 
 
                                  Glenn Chapman
                                  MIT Lincoln Lab.

    Soyuz TM-4 element set
    87 104A 355.77044626 -00000556
    51.6225 267.1835 0030735 220.7511 133.5092 15.99672170 orbit 5
    
    Should have docked today 23 DEC 87 to the rear of KVANT
    jb
    

Soviet -- DOCKUP COMPLETED now 5 Cosmonauts in SPACE

The spacecraft SOYUZ TM-4 docked with the orbital complex MIR 
on DEC 23 at 15:51 MOSCOW time.  At 17.20 (MOSCOW time), after 
the checking of the air-tightness of the  docking assembly, 
Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov and  Anatoly Levchenko moved to 
the compartment of the research complex.  There was a good pass
just after this over the Eastern Coast of the US and I was able
to pick up the radio transmission of the new Crew.  They seem
to be much softer spoken then the 'shouting' of Yuri and should
not pop the pass band as much, so it should be easier to copy
then in NBFM.

The five soviet cosmonauts will stay on board the MIR orbital 
complex for 7 days. in the course of joint work they will conduct 
a series of scientific, technical, medical and biological experiments. 
Yuri Romanenko and Alexandra Alexandrov will pass over to the new 
crew their experience of operating the equipment and then after
concluding the planned work, cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko, 
Alexandra Alexandrov and Anatoly Levchenko will return to the earth 
on board the SOJUZ TM-3 spaceship, while Vladimir Titov  and Musa 
Manarov will continue their work on the near-earth orbit.

It is interesting to not that the spelling of Soyuz coming from
the Cuba relay of TASS is spelled SOJUZ. It seems to have happen
to many times to be just a dropped bit in transmission.


    

    'Sojuz' is how it is spelt on my plans of the launch vehicle which
    are from Czechoslovakia. It appears to be the normal spelling.
    
    gary

    The old crew, and one of the new, landed this morning, presumably
    leaving Soyuz TM-4 in orbit. No word on the health of the returning
    crew.
    
    This was about all I could get from CNN. 
    
    gary

    More details and film from CNN...
    
    It was TM-3 that returned. Romanenkov (sp?) looked in good spirits
    as he was being removed from the descent module.
    
    They mentioned several times that the results of medical tests on
    Romanenkov will determine whether or not a manned Mars mission is
    viable.
    
    gary

    At lunchtime I swung the dish over to the channel that carries news
    feeds on their way to Japan and caught about 20 minutes of video of the
    landing. I just missed the 'thumpdown' but watched them open the
    descent module and help the cosmonauts out. At least two of the
    cosmonauts were able to walk, so the guy who has been up for 100 days
    or so appears to be in good shape. The new exercise regimen would
    appear to have helped. Unfortunately all of the sound was in Russian.
    They showed some interesting views of mission control in Moscow.
    
    gary 

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soyuz TM-4 docks at Mir with replacement crew on board
Date: 24 Dec 87 18:28:31 GMT
 
    The USSR's Soyuz TM-4 ship docked with the with the Mir/Kvant
space station complex today (Dec. 23) bringing up a three man crew
consisting of Vladimir Titov  (Soyuz T-8 and the Soyuz T-10b launch
pad failure), flight engineer Musa Manarov (age 36, new cosmonaut) and
Anatoly Levchenko (scientist cosmonaut - age 46 and also new).  In an
interesting alteration from expectations only Titov and Manarov will
be staying on board Mir - Levchenko will return with Yuri Romanenko
(who has been up there 321 days, the world's long duration record
holder - previous record was 237 days) and Alexander Alexandrov (who
has spent 152 days on Mir).  The Soyuz TM-3 will bring them down on
Dec. 31th/ Jan. 1st, as they had previously stated. This change is
actually consistent with other things that they have stated - that for
well being of the crew it is necessary to have a separate stateroom
for each crew member - Mir has two small rooms (each with a bed, desk,
and its own window).  The expectation is that this new crew will stay
up there about 400 days. 

    The Soviets are now referring to Mir as a "Permanently operational
space station", very much indicating that they intend to occupy it
from now on until its replacement with Novy Mir in the 1990's.  They
first tried this on Salyut 7 in Nov. '84, but the commander of the
replacement crew got ill.  That was probably an early trial as they had
stated that Salyut 7 was too old a design to be used for permanent
occupancy (they probably tried it due to delays in the building or
launching of Mir and the Kvant module ). With Mir they have already
done one partial replacement (July '29th) and appear to be very strong
on keeping this space station fully used.  Also there is another trend
here.  The long duration crews consist of one veteran cosmonaut, and
one (or more) younger rockies.  This makes sense from the point of
view of having one person who has the experience to take care of
problems, yet is also training a new person to pass that in orbit
experience onto in the environment in which they are going to work. 
That to my mind beats ground based training after the basics have been
learned (be it noted that the new cosmonaut typically has 5 to 7 years
of ground training before going up there). 

    Meanwhile here I just found out that the $425 million approved for
the NASA space station contains $100 million taken out of other NASA
space programs.  Note that when the shuttle was being built it ran into
a funding barrier at $1,000 million a year (1973 dollars, equal to >$2
billion present day money). That had bad impacts on the shuttle design
and timing.  The station funding looks like it is saturating at 1/4
the shuttle level.  Does any one have an idea how we can convince the
Congress to do otherwise? (Or get some private group to invest the
money to really do something).  Something that will work please!
 
                                   Glenn Chapman
                                   MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Date: 28 Dec 87 05:00:28 GMT
 
    The Soyuz TM-4 mission to Mir is now nearing a close with the
cosmonauts checking over both the TM-3 (brought up in July) and the
current TM-4 capsules.  Assuming that they find no problems they will
remove Anatoly Levchenko's couch from the TM-4 and transfer it to the
TM-3, where he will accompany Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Alexandrov
to ground, with a separation from Mir on either Dec. 29 or 30. 

    The Soviets have also announced that on June 21 they will fly a 3
man mission to Mir with a Bulgarian guest cosmonaut.  That flight will
be of 10 days duration and the announcement specifically stated that
they will meet Titov and Manarov in orbit on Mir - consistant with the
open statement that the long duration crew will be up there for more
than one year.  It is interesting that the Bulgarian's get the first
place in the new series of intercosmos guest missions (though this has
been known for at least a year).  The last Bulgarian mission, Soyuz 33
with Georgi Ivanov (Bul) and Nikolai Rukavishnikov in Oct. '79, failed
to dock to Salyut 6 and returned to earth after only 2 days. The
stated cosmonaut for the new mission is Alexander Alexandrov, who was
the backup man for Soyuz 33 (he is no relation to the current Mir
cosmonaut of the same name). 

    This announcement of a flight date 6 months from now makes the
lack of a specific launch date much in advance of the current Soyuz
TM-4 even stranger.  Also they had previously stated that this would
leave a 3 man crew on Mir, not the 2 man one now up there.  Obviously
something went wrong that made some of the timings of TM-4 uncertain. 
 
    It is interesting to note that the Bulgarian mission is slated for
the date when NASA now says the shuttle is likely to fly.  Hopefully
there will be more than just Soviet block astronauts up there during
that week. 
 
                                  Glenn Chapman
                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Date: 29 Dec 87 19:12:54 GMT
 
    The Soyuz TM-2/3/4 mission to Mir ended this morning (Dec. 29th)
when the capsule returned to earth bringing Anatoly Levchenko from the
Soyuz TM-4 team,  Yuri Romanenko from TM-2 and Alexander Alexandrov
from TM-3 to ground.  It has not been stated yet which craft they
brought down though it is probably the Soyuz TM-3 brought up on July 22. 

     Romanenko now is the world duration record holder with 326 days
on the current Mir mission, 37% greater than the previous record of
237 days set by the Soyuz T-10B crew 237 mission on board Salyut 7 in
Oct. 1984 (set by Leonid Kizim, Validimir Soloyev and Oleg Atkov).  In
addition he has 96 days from the Soyuz 26/Salyut 6 flight in Oct. '77
and 8 days from the Soyuz 38/Salyut 6 mission in Sept. '80.  This
gives him a lifetime total of 430 days in orbit, 15% longer than
Kizim's previous record of 373 days (he is the second man to exceed
one year total in space). The length of this Mir mission is best
illustrated by the 161 days Alexander Alexandrov has accumulated since
he replaced Alexander Laveikin on July 22th (Laveikin went up with
Romanenko in Feb., but developed a medical problem).  That time, is on
top of the 149 days he spent in the Soyuz T-9/Salyut 7 mission of Jun.
'83, giving him a total of 310 days.  By comparison highest time of a
currently active US astronaut is 70 days (Owen Garriott from Skylab 3
and STS-9), while the highest US time ever was the 84 days of the
Skylab 4 three man crew in Nov. '73. Indeed alone Romanenko has
accumulated more time than the combined total gained by the Skylab 3
(59 day) and Skylab 4 (84 days) crews. 

    Though Soyuz TM-4 was successful even this landing added to the
strangeness of this current mission, which was mentioned in my last
Space Digest posting (Dec. 28th vol 8, no. 90). Not only was the
launch date announced a few days in advance, the landing date stated
after the launch was Dec 31, so they brought them home early.  Perhaps
this is due to the weather conditions at the landing site.  That is
added to a change in the original crew list and the leaving of only
Titov and Manarov on board, not all three. I wounder when we will find
out why all these changes. 

     Well at least the news media is noting this mission as a
preparation for possible Soviet Mars flights.  Maybe that will
convince people that assumption that if we do not go to the planets
the Soviets will not either is not valid. 
 
                                  Glenn Chapman
                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    It will be interesting to watch the decay of the Kvant
    aux unit.  It was used as the space tug to dock the Kvant
    Astrophysical Lab to MIR then put into a higher orbit, since
    then it has been in a decaying orbit.  Ploting its decay ,
    and depending on solar conditions and movement of MIR it looks
    like in the next 5 months or so the two space craft will be
    again in the same plane.
    
    Will they dock, will the space tug be used for a second mission
    possible to dock a new unit or a trip to Salyut 7, will they 
    colide or will it be deorbited to keep out of the MIR complex
    orbital plane.
    
    Tune in  4 to 6 months from now to find out. Has anyone heard of
    anything or any has ideas about this being a planed event or just
    an accidentail passing.
    
    jb
    

From: bob@its63b.ed.ac.uk (ERCF08 Bob Gray)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: In ORBIT of 9 Jan 1988.
Date: 14 Jan 88 17:07:41 GMT
Organization: I.T. School, Univ. of Edinburgh, U.K.
 
    Quotes After 326 Days In Space - 
 
    Yuri Romanenko, record breaking cosmanaut, said:

	"We know and feel, we are sure we will not stop at this 300
	day flight.  The next comrades will take it further and, of
	course, much is being said about Mars."
 
	"For us, Mars is getting nearer and nearer."
 
	"We are pleased we have completed this - it will, without
	doubt, help all our comrades who fly further, higher, and
	more interestingly."
 
    Ex-cosmanaut and the new chief of the Yuri Gagarin cosmanaut
training centre, Vladimir Shatalov, said that apart from Earth
observation, there was a lack of consistency about the space effort. 
 
    On crews in space he said:
 
	"Relaxation on board is the Achilles' Heel.  It is necessary to
	have good collections of books, videos, tapes, and regular
	televisual contacts with families."
 
	"Sometimes you also need to be alone in the cabin.  As space
	stations are improved, so oppertunities for relaxation are
	increased."
 
    Oleg Gazenko, Director of the Biomedical Problems Institute of the
U.S.S.R. Ministry of Health, said: 
 
	"I believe that man could easily work for 18 months or two
	years in orbit.
 
	"There is no doubt that man could make the Solar System
	habitable and perpetuate his race."

    re.28
    can't you imagine being born and live in space, then have to come
    to earth. 

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Progress 34 launched and Soviet Shuttle on the pad report
Posted: 22 Jan 88 05:53:52 GMT
Organization: The ARPA Internet
  
    The Soviet Union has launched Progress 34 today (Jan. 21), the
tenth unmanned freighter to travel to the Mir/Kvant complex so far,
and will be the 16th vehicle total to dock to the space station.  As
usual this will bring up about 1.5 tonnes of fuel/water/air and 1
tonne of other supplies and equipment. Note that this shows how much
work is going on at the Mir station, Salyut 6 & 7 had 12 Progress'
each visit them during their 5 year operational lifetimes, while Mir
is less than two years old so far. 

    On board Mir itself Vladimir Titov and Musha Manarov have now been
in orbit for 31 days, already exceeding the USA's Skylab 2 mission of
May '73. Medical studies on Yuri Romanenko, who holds the orbital
record at 326 days, have indicated that he actually was in better
shape after this mission then he was after the 96 day Soyuz 26/Salyut
6 mission in Dec '77.  They attribute this to their exercise program
and some medicines.  The Russian doctors see no reason that the
current mission cannot go the full year that they plan for Titov and
Manarov. 

    Also there was an interesting statement on the shortwave that the
a Soviet fully reusable spacecraft (ie. shuttle) was being prepared
for launch now using an Energya booster core.  This was the same sort
of statemnet that was released just before the first Energya liftoff. 
This somewhat contradicts previous announcements that the next Energia
launch would occur in May-June and would not be a shuttle test. 

    Soviet progress continues.  At least if the current AWST issue is
correct this has finally generated some movement on the part of the
President, if he does announce the expected plans in the state of the
Union speach. 
 
                                          Glenn Chapman
                                          MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: PROGRESS 34 docks and more Soviet Shuttle news.
Date: 26 Jan 88 03:32:23 GMT
                                                        
    The USSR's PROGRESS 34 unmanned cargo craft docked with the
MIR/KVANT space station today (Jan. 23).  It will deliver about 2.5
tons of food, fuel, water, air, and instruments.  The total mass
delivered to MIR by the ten PROGRESS exceeds the total initial mass of
the station (22 tons). 

    In another area, some interesting information has been released
about the previous SOYUZ TM-4/3 mission last Dec. 21, 1987.  Recall
that TM-4 went up with Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov (who are
currently on MIR) plus Anatoly Levchenko.  When the return craft
(using SOYUZ TM-3) came down, Levchenko was the pilot for Romanemko
and Alexanderov, the long duration crew being replaced.  It now
appears that this is all connected with their space shuttle program. 
Levchenko was sent up to check his response to weightlessnes, i.e.,
how quickly he recovers from the space adaption syndrome.  In most
future missions at least one crewman will have the same purpose.  In
addition, about an hour or so after he landed, Levchenko got into a
jet trainer and flew it to a air base with an escort plan.  The
purpose is to see how well he could preform in a standard flight
situation after spending time in zero gravity and being hit by the
reentry forces.  Again this is related to their shuttle program. 

    It is interesting how widespread the recognition of the power of
the Soviet space program is becoming.  There have been three BLOOM
COUNTY cartoons on the Soviets being ahead in space.  The same thing
was stated on Wall Street Week this last Friday.  Now that people are
recognizing that the USSR is pushing ahead of the USA, maybe they will
do something about it. 
 
                                          Glenn Chapman
                                          MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: USSR's Mir station fully manned for one year now.
Date: 10 Feb 88 05:06:06 GMT
                                                           
    The Soviet Union has today achieved an important milestone in
human habitation of space.  As of Feb 6th there has been a human being
in space every day for the past year.  As of Feb. 8 their space
station, the Mir/Kvant complex, has been permanently occupied.  The
second long term crew of Vladimir Titov and Musakhi Manarov have now
been in orbit for 50 days with statements still being made that their
missions will last one year.  Among the things they have been working
with is a new type of furnace for material processing.  Called an
electron/radiation reflection furnace it is described as being used in
the fusion and crystallization of materials by the application of
radiation.  It sounds like a furnace that uses light (or perhaps
electron beams) to melt the samples.  The furnace was dilivered by
Progress 33 on Nov. 24 to the previous Mir crew, Yuri Romanenko and
Alexander Alexandrov. Romanenko has been interviewed several times now
by the press, and appears to be in very good shape, inspite of some
statements otherwise by the Guardian Newspaper in England.  (I have
not read the article - would someone in the UK please give me a date
reference to it). 

    There has been several conflicting statements on how many
additional "Star" modules (20 Tonne expansion unites) will be added to
Mir during their watch. Aleksey Lenonov, the director of the Gagarin
Cosmonaut Training Center, has stated in an interview in Flight that
two modules will be added to Mir this year, which would raise its mass
to 90 Tonnes and nearly double its useable volume from the current
about 150 to 250 cubic meters (8827 cubic feet).  Other reports have
said that either one or even no modules will be sent to Mir in 1988. 
To say the least the situation is confusing. 

    So now the human race has now really entered the space age.  Too
bad the United States was not the one to do it. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

 ** SESS **

 I have monitored six of the Soviet Space Support Ships, it
 is very unusually to have so many active unless ships are being
 replace or a new mission is about to happen . Has anyone heard 
    of anything about to happen?

 The following is a list of the Ships I have monitored in the last
 few days:


 UIVZ   Cosmonaut VLADISLAV Volkov     Civil
 UKFI   Cosmonaut Yuri GAGARIN         Civil
 UUVO   Cosmonaut VALDMIR KOMAROV      Civil
 UUYG   MORZHOVETS                     Civil
 UUYZ   NEVEL                          Civil
 UZYY   Cosmonaut VIKTOR PATSAEV       Civil


 The AKADEMIK SERGEY KOROLOV (A.S.K.) is obvious by its absence, I have
 not heard any VHF MIR communication since the 7th of Feb, but 
 that may be normal as the present orbit of MIR makes passes only
 during the normal cosmonauts sleeping hours, so on of the above
 ships could be a replacement for the A.S.K.
 UISZ   AKADEMIK SERGEY KOROLOV        Civil
    

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: New EVA planed on USSR's Mir station
Date: 16 Feb 88 05:23:07 GMT
 
    The USSR has announced that the current Mir/Kvant space station
crew of Vladimir Titov and Musakhi Manarov will being doing a space
walk later this week (about Feb. 17 or so - though in one report they
said it may as late as the next week).  The purpose of this EVA is to
replace one of the solar panels on the third (vertical) solar array
that was erected by Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Laveikin (the second
Mir crew) last June 13/16th.  This 22 square meter (237 sq. ft.) solar
cell addition consists of 4 sections attached to 10.5 meter (34.5 ft.)
tower.  According to the reports one of these sections is to be
replaced with a new panel using "new semiconductor" cells. This may
suggest that the replaced section will use Gallium Arsenide solar
cells, such as were installed in additions/repairs to the previous
Salyut 7 station by Vladimir Layakhov and Alexander Alexandrov on 1/3
Nov. '83.  If so this should increase the power produced by the third
panel from 2.5 KW to 3.1 KW on the basis of the Salyut 7 results,
yielding a total station power of 13.6 KW.  The panels were probably
brought up on Progress 34 last month. This will be the first space
walk for either crew member.  They have accumulated 57 days of orbital
time on this flight so far, and will exceed the Skylab 3 mission of 59
days on Feb. 17th (that is the second longest US mission). 

    EVA construction, repair or space station improvement is now a
standard feature of every long duration Soviet space mission.  Such
extravehicular activity has occurred on every long duration Russian
crew on Mir. Indeed, every main crew manning Salyut 7, starting with
Soyuz T-5 in 1982, also did such space walk work with the exception of
the Soyuz T-14 flight (Sept. '85) which had to come down after just
two months due to the illness of the mission commander.  That is
exactly what you would expect for true permanent manned space station
operations. 

    The Soviets are now constantly expanding the "envelope" of their
space station operations.  Meanwhile the next US Space Shuttle launch
has been delayed at least to Aug. 14th.  I hope that by the end of
this year this country will finally again have put men and woman in
space. 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

    I guess that's what bugs me the most about our respective space
    programs, while we are still trying to decide what _YEAR_ we might
    launch our next shuttle in, the Russians are already bootstrapping
    their space presence (I refer to the assumption that the GaAs solar
    cells they are putting up were made from ingots grown on a previous
    flight....  If they aren't doing this yet, it's only a matter of
    time....)
    
    Willie

    I got a different message from Radio Moscow, it was worded 
    funny but went something like this:
    
    The Cosmonauts will be taking a space walk the end of this 
    month to replace the Solar Batteries with ones that will last
    longer.....
    
    to me I read into this that the old ones are not working correctly.
    that is  way the replacements are required, they
    may have decided to update for more power but this is not the main
    reason.
    
    I can also remember a conversation between Yuri Romanenko and
    FCC asking if he could connect up the new solar batteries so that
    he could run the air conditoinor unit longer, as far as I know
    Yuri never did get to run the air condition unit longer.
    
    I am also wondering about the use of the word 'SOLAR BATTERIES'
    vs 'SOLAR PANEL' to me a battery is the storage device and
    what they seem to be talking about is a collection device.
    
    jb
    

    re:.36
    
    A solar battery is the same thing as a solar pannel.  The photovoltaic
    pannels act like a battery in that they each produce DC and that they
    are composed of many discrete devices that can be hooked-up in similar
    series/parallel combinations.
    
    Other space power systems, like the solar dynamic power systems,
    now planned for the second stages of the space station, produce
    an AC current.
    
    Tony

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Dry run of Soviet Mir station space walk + Bulgarian crew list
Date: 22 Feb 88 16:57:12 GMT
 
    The current crew on the Soviet's Mir station, Valdimir Titov and
Musakhi Manarov, held a dry run of their upcoming space walk on Feb.
19th. They put on and checked out their space suits, but did not enter
the air lock.  The walk will occur sometime next week now. 

    They have also released the crew members of the June 21, '88
mission bringing the Bulgarian cosmonaut to Mir.  The scheduled guest
is Alexander Alexandrov (who was the backup for the Soyuz 33 mission
of Apr. '79) and his backup is Krasimir Stoyanov.  Anatoly Solovyov is
the mission commander (he was the backup commander for the Soyuz TM-3
flight in July '87). Viktor Savinykh the flight engineer has an
interesting background, with a flight on Soyuz T-4/Salyut 6 74 day
flight in Mar. '81, and the Soyuz T-13 100 day mission in June '85
(which repaired the frozen Salyut 7). 

    Yuri Romanenko, the long duration crewman (326 days on Mir), is
stated to have recovered except for some weakness in some muscles.  He
has offered to come to Europe to refute the published stories that he
was very weak, provided that the papers there pay for his trip. To date
the papers have not accepted his offer. 

     The Soviet program continues to move ahead.  Some day ours will too.
 
                                              Glenn Chapman
                                              MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet space marketing successes
Date: 23 Feb 88 17:08:16 GMT
 
    The Soviet marketing program has scored two notable successes in
the past month.  First, a West German firm, Kayser Threde, has signed
up for 3 launches of materials science processing experiments on the
Soviet's "Foton" spacecraft.  It appears that "Foton" is a
modification of their standard short duration return capsule, which in
turn is a reworked version of the Vostok craft that Yuri Gagarian
first flew in.  The satellite weighs about 5-7 tonnes, and the return
portion is spherical in shape.  Each launch will contain about 100 -
150 kilograms (220 - 330 pounds) of material processing and life
science experiments.  Kayser Threde, which makes hardware for the West
German Aerospace Research Establishment (DFVLR), has previously done
25 experiments on the space shuttle, including laser experiments on
the West German D1 spacelab mission (interesting as some reports say
that at least some of the experiments will be devoted to developing
instruments to measure atmospheric pollution from space).   However
the very long wait for the next shuttle opportunity has made then seek
contracts with the Soviets.  The USSR's Litsenzintorg agency won over
the People's Republic of China in a competition for those launch
contracts.  Negotiations have been going on with both countries for
the past year, with the Soviets getting the contract in December, but
the information only being announced in the past month.  They are
apparently paying $15,000 per Kilogram for the experiments (note that
is cheap - the numbers here are per Kilogram of equipment, excluding
the capsule mass).  Launches will occur between 1989 and 1992. 

    The second contract was with Payload Systems of Wellesley, Mass.
to do some biochemical crystal growth processing on board the Mir
space station. The Soviets will grow crystals, which will then be used
to do X-ray crystallography research to help determine the crystal
structure of the samples.  The materials are basically proteins
produced by biotech firms which are trying to synthesis drugs and the
like.  The Soviet work will be limited to processing materials in
sealed containers, making observations on how the crystals are
growing, and returning the samples to Earth.  The X-ray analysis would
be done by the companies involved.  Payload Systems is acting as a
broker for several such firms.  The company was founded by Byron
Lichtenberg (who flew on STS-9 in Nov. '83), and was originally
orientated towards doing the same work on the shuttle.  They have
received both Defense and Commerce department approval for these
flights that will take place starting in 1989. 

    Life has not been all good for the Soviets though in this field. A
large photographic satellite (Cosmos 1906) failed on Jan 31, and was
destroyed by the Soviets.  It was producing Landsat type pictures for
their Soyuzkarta marking agency.  Also on Feb. 17th they lost a Proton
booster when the third stage failed to separate, destroying the 3
Glonass military communications satellites on board.  That will make
more difficulties for them in marking the Proton. 

    Nevertheless the USSR is the place to go these days if you want to
get a product quickly from space.  I thought it was supposed to be
Free Enterprise that would commercialize space first?  Something is
wrong here. 
 
                                         Glenn Chapman
                                         MIT Lincoln Lab.

    
 Soviet Space Plans for MIR Missions (120-metric-ton Goal)

June    1988	Bulgarian Cosmonaut visit

3rd QTR 1988	2nd Scientific module, to be installed on one of the
		radial ports, it will include an EVA hatch, optical devices

Nov     1988	French guess cosmonaut visit for 30 days

Late    1988  	
Early   1989	MIR-4 crew to replace Titov and Manarov

Early   1989    3rd module for material science 

2nd half  89	4th module for life science or astrophysical (uncertain)

Mid to 
late    1990	5th module and final module

Mid to
late    1990	Austrian guess cosmonaut visit


other news  Will the Next Space Complex be

The Russian Fourth generation orbital complex will be 100 tons 
launch by ENERGIA with  PROTON launch modules of up to 20 tons.


Here are the Russian Space  Goals 
  how do they compare with the US

1988-89: Project Phobos to study one of Mars Moon
1992-94: Establish a manned outpost for departures to the Moon and Mars
         an for the reception of Martian returned soil samples
1992-94: Project Columbus, to deploy low Mars orbit satellite, deliver
         a Mars Rover to the surface drill and return samples
	 (USSR is seeking international partners for this project)
1994   : Project Vester to prove the Asteroids to be developed by
         CBES and ESA
1995   : Project Corona to explore the Sun then Jupiter
1996-98: A long term/duration rover to Mars
1999   : ESTABLISH AN UNMANNED LUNAR LABORATORY WITH ROVERS



    

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviets install new solar array on Mir in EVA
Date: 29 Feb 88 23:37:19 GMT
 
    The current crew on the Soviet's Mir station, Valdimir Titov and
Musakhi Manarov, held their first space walk on Feb. 26th.  This four
hour EVA was used to replace one of the quadrants of the third
(verticle) set of solar panels on the Mir/Kvant complex.  There was no
statement exactly as to what type of solar cells were added (Silicon
or Gallium Arsenide).  Parts of the space walk were broadcast live on
Soviet television.  The crew is now into its 68th day in orbit. 

    By the way, it has just come to my attention that Owen Garriott,
the Skylab 3 crewman which held the most hours of zero G time for
currently active US astronauts retired recently (due to the shuttle
problems).  That leaves just John Young with 34 days experience and
Paul Weitz (Skylab 2 and STS-9) with 33 days as the maximum time for
active American space travelers (all higher time ones have left the
program).  An interesting point will develop if Jean-Loup Chretien,
the French spationaut which spent 7.8 days on Soyuz T-6/Salyut 7 in
June 1982, makes the expected 30 day flight to Mir at the end of this
year. Then France will become the nation which has an active astronaut
with the most orbital experience outside of the Soviet cosmonauts,
and the USA moves into third place there.   One point - all his time
will be obtained on Soviet space stations. 

    While people here are still trying to put up the Industrial Space
Facility, a man tended free flyer with no life support system, the
Soviets have continued to gain experience on board a real space
station.  Let us not assume that ISF can every let us do what the
Soviets are doing now. 
 
                                              Glenn Chapman
                                              MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Progress 34 leaving USSR's Mir and more Soviet marketing moves
Date: 2 Mar 88 20:01:34 GMT
 
    The Soviet crew on the Mir/Kvant complex, Valdimir Titov and
Musakhi Manarov, have just finished refueling the station with from
Progress 34 tanker, adding about 1 tonne of oxidizer/fuel. Currently
they are filling the vehicle with garbage and in about a day or so
they will separate the Progress from Mir, sending it for a reentry
destruction.  When that happen they will boost the station using the
Progress' rockets.  NOTE to Mir watchers:  Any Mir visibility times
after Mar 3rd are probably suspect until the data from these maneuvers
appears in the station's orbital parameters. 

    There is now information from several sources now that the Soviets
will launch two 'Star' expansion modules (20 tonne, 50 cubic meter
additions) to Mir this fall/winter.  These will be sent up very close
together in time, probably so that the station will have only a
limited period with one module docked.  That would make the station
asymmetric and produce difficulties in balancing it against the
gravity gradient of Earth, whereas two modules would make it symetric
about the axis of the Mir core.  There are indications that this will
occur before the French cosmonaut flies to Mir later this year. 

    The West German firm, Kayser Threde, which signed up with the
Soviets for material processing on their "Foton" (or Photon)
satellites has now paid them a non-refundable 100,000 Marks ($150,000
US) up front money for the first flight. 

    With regard to the recent purchase by Payload Systems of
processing time on Mir for crystal growth experiments a snag has
occurred. Rep. Nelson (from the Florida district of the Kennedy Space
Center if I remember correctly) has vowed to hold committee meetings
on this to try and block the sale.  He has been quoted as saying that
if it turns out that the project is legal under the current laws then
new laws should be made to make it illegal.  European and Japanese
biotech companies will just love that - they will be able to do such
work in Zero G for years before American business can do so.  Since
the crystals are proteins which are used to obtain the structure of
materials slated for bioengineering production it will give them a
real advantage down on Earth. It may be embarrassing to have to do
such deals with the Soviets, but if these prove that useful products
come from orbit then it will be for the best in the long run.  Somehow
the idea of selling them US surplus grain (which is piling up in bins)
and getting back orbital processing time on a space station seems like
a great deal to me for this country. 
 
                                              Glenn Chapman
                                              MIT Lincoln Lab

    on March 4 at 6 hours lg[need to do badot letter to fig change]
    min Moscow time Progress 34  departed from the platform.  The
    spacecraft was then oriented and its propulsion system started up
    on commands form ground control.  As a results of deceleration,
    the spacecraft went to a descent trajectory, entered the dense layers
    of the atmsophere, and ceased existence.
    
    I always like how Tass describes the deorbiting of a satellite
    they also call Progress 34 a space truck
    
    
    The crew aslo did a series of experiments of melting and
    crystallization of varous materias when heated by a concentrated
    flow of radiant energy.  The experiments involved a mirror-beam
    furance
    
    also a lot of music is being beam up to mir during the 5 and 6 of
    march, not much news but some of the music was not in Russian but
    in english
    'your eyes are the eyes of a women in love and so how they gave
    you away'   neat music for someone in a tin can for 9 to 12 months
    
    jb
    .
    

MAR   24   TASS		SPACE PICTURE BOOK  + HOME PLANET +	
			EDDISON-WESLEY and the Soviet MIR PUBLISHING HOUSE
			will be publish a big-format book of color photo of the
			Globe made from space and pronoucments by cosmonauts
			of various countries. Each will be in native tongue
			plus translation in Russian and English next.
			maybe on sale next September.

MAR   26   TASS		Progress-35 cargo spacecraft docked with the manned
			complex MIR at 1 hr 22 min Moscow time.  Mutual
			search, approaching, mooring and docking was done
			with the help on on-board automatic system controlled
			by mission control Centre in cooperation with
			ground command and measuring complex and cosmonauts
			Titovnan Manarov.  P-35 docked with Kvant Module.
			It brought fuel, foodstuffs, water , equipment, 	
			instruments , mail, periodical and a video tape
			of the Olympic Ice Hockey games.

MAR   26   AP		SL-4 Booster Burns UP over Texas.  Pieces of the
			Soviet rocket launch in the week broke apart Friday
			night as it re-entered the atmosphere over Texas,
			producing a spectacular light show.  The lights,
			reported at about 10:30 pm were seen accrosed E.
			Texas and as far away as Shreveport, La. and S.
			Arkansas.  IT appears to be an object that correlates
			with the Soviet launch of the Progress 35
    

From: glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Progress 35 docks with Soviet Mir Space Station
Date: 28 Mar 88 14:41:50 GMT
 
    The Soviet Union docked the Progress 35 tanker with the Mir/Kvant
complex on Mar 26 between 8 and 9 pm EST (Progress 34 had been
undocked from the Mir on Mar. 3 and was destroyed on Mar.4th).  The
Progress is bringing about 1 Tonne of fuel/oxygen/water and 1.5 tonnes
of supplies to their space station.  This is the 11th Progress docked
to Mir since its launch in Feb. '86. All combined they have carried up
27 Tonnes of material to the station, more than the 22 Tonne mass of
the Mir central core, but less than the combined orginal mass of Mir
plus Kvant.  Note that the older Salyut 6 and 7 stations each only
received 12 Progress cargo craft in 5 years of operation. 

    On board the station Vladimir Titov and Musahi Manarov have been
in orbit 98 days now, well excess of the 84 day Skylab mission (the
longest US flight).  The plans are still for this crew is to stay in
orbit for one year.  According to Flight International the first
module to be sent to Mir will be late this year, and will contain the
both a small observation module and a larger airlock.  It will dock to
the rear axial end of the space station, and stay there for some time.
This will be done shortly before the French mission to Mir, which
will occur in November.  The crew that will go up with the Jean-Loup
Chretien, the French spationaut, will stay on Mir for a month (giving
them 5 people in orbit for that period - a new record sized crew for a
mission longer than 10 days).  The Titov and Manarov will come down
with Chretien in late December, giving them the year mission. 

    Among the things brought by the Progress was video tapes of the
winter Olympics hockey games (where the Russians captured the Gold
metal).  All the comforts of home for those that inhabit Earth's first
and only permanently manned space station.  Maybe someday we will be
there to. 
 
                                           Glenn Chapman
                                           MIT Lincoln Lab.

    [I just love sophisticated journalism...]

From: joe@hanauma.stanford.edu (Joe Dellinger,ESMB 471,7230463,4153244824)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: "Soviet Space Trash Light Up Texas Sky"
Date: 5 Apr 88 08:36:20 GMT
Organization: Stanford University Dept of Geophysics (SEP)
 
    Reprinted without permission from the DALLAS MORNING NEWS, [It's
much longer than this, lots of oohs and ahs which I edited out]: 
 
    Soviet Sky Show
 
    What flashed across the Texas sky Friday night (March 25) like a
high-voltage sparkler was Soviet space garbage.  A cargo rocket used
to resupply a manned Soviet space station [MIR] disintegrated about
10:50 PM CST as it reentered the atmosphere over San Antonio, said Lt
Col Ivan Pinnell, a spokesman for NORAD. 

    The crumbling spacecraft blazed a brilliant southwest to northeast
trail that was visible for about 75 seconds in Texas, Arkansas, and
Oklahoma. 
 
    "It was beautiful," said San Antonio resident Rita Carrillo. "The
colors changed from yellow to gold to red to pink, and it dripped fire
as it flew across the sky...I thought it must be Halley's Comet."
[Considering that Comet Halley is far from Earth now, and was not very
visible nor moved very fast from our perspective when it *was* near
Earth in 1985-86, I seriously doubt it! - LK] 
 
    Motorists on I-35 near Waco pulled over to watch what looked like
the sparks caused by a car dragging a loose muffler... 
 
    The rocket was the second stage of the PROGRESS 35 satellite,
launched on Thursday... 
 
\    /\    /\    /\/\/\/\/\/\/\.-.-.-.-.......___________
 \  /  \  /  \  /Dept of Geophysics, Stanford University \/\/\.-.-....___
  \/    \/    \/Steve Cole steve@hanauma.stanford.edu decvax!hanauma!steve\/\.-.

    GEE,,   what burns yellow red pink
    I have fogotten all my basic chemistry
    
    but any how RE:46 they did give it better coverage
    then the normal 11 pm news, where better = longer....
    
    pictures at 11
    
    john
    

    The Soviet SESS ( Space Event Support Ships) has a new
    vessel as of the 12 of April (Astronautics Day)
    
      AKADEMIK NIKOLAI PILYUGIN
    
    Such vessels are meant for communication with manned spacecraft
    and orbital stations.  The Soviet Union has a wide network of
    Ocean_Going centers to monitory its flights as almost half of their
    orbits around the Earth is over the waters surface.  The incress
    of the number of research vessels for tracking spacecraft is also
    connected with the implementation of international space programmes,
    specifically PHOBOS project, and of the sun with the use of automatic
    space stations.
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Future Soviet Guest Cosmonaut Missions to MIR
Posted: 26 Apr 88 22:41:32 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The USSR has announced more information about their guest
cosmonaut program for the next few years.  First the Bulgarian visitor
mission, with Alexander Alexandrov as the guest, will be launched on
June 7.  The current schedule for the French mission is for a flight
in late September or October (Jean-Loup Chretien is still slated as
the visitor).  This is earlier than other statements of a November
mission. Also scheduled for this year is an Afghan cosmonaut, though
no time is set - maybe they want to get him up there quickly before
the Soviet military withdrawal in his country is finished.  Finally,
they have signed the Austrians up to send a visiting cosmonaut to MIR
in 1992. 

     By the way, the June 7 mission suggests that MIR observation
schedules are not likely to be useful starting in the last week of
May.  A week or so before a mission flies to MIR, they use the fuel in
their current PROGRESS tanker craft to boost the station orbit, and
then discard the useless cargo ship. 

     On board the station Vladimir Titov and Musahi Manarov have now
been in orbit for 128 days.  Most of the work being mentioned these
days is their use of the KVANT astrophysics facility.  Again there are
conflicting reports about the when the next "Star" expansion module
(20 tonne, 50 cubic meter sections) will fly to MIR, though all
sources say that at least one will go up by the end of this year. 
Also the slated month for their shuttle/ENERGIA test is now June. 

     The Soviets are not expanding their manned space missions at a
tremendous pace; this was rather a uneventful month for them.  Yet
every year now they are breaking new ground in manned exploration,
maybe slowly, but certainly surely.  This program of theirs is the
living example of how "slow but steady wins the race". 
 
                                               Glenn Chapman
                                               MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Progress 36 docks with Mir
Posted: 16 May 88 13:46:05 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The USSR has today (May 15) docked Progress 36 with the Mir/Kvant
space station.  The cargo craft will deliver about 1 Tonne of
fuel/air/water and 1.5 Tonnes of equipment, destined for use on the
Bulgarian visiting mission scheduled for June 7th.  This is the 12th
Progress to visit Mir, the previous generation of Soviet stations
(Salyut 6 and 7) received only 12 cargo craft each during their
separate 5 years of operation.  Mir has been in orbit 2.2 years so
that this shows Mir to be twice as active in supply usage as the
previous generation of stations.  This is not surprising as Mir has
been occupied for 547 days (continuously for 472 days).  By comparison
Salyut 6 had 669 days of occupancy, and Salyut 7 had 712 days.   Thus
the real difference with Mir is that it is being used more intensively
than the previous Soviet space stations.  Also the Progresses have now
brought considerable equipment to Mir which has stayed on board (total
mass brought by cargo craft now almost exceeds the mass of Mir and
Kvant togeather and the operational station weight now appears to be
over 50 Tonnes). Note that Vladimir Titov and Musahi Manarov have now
been in orbit for 146 days on board the Mir complex. 

    Just compare this operational capacity to the suggestion by the
Cogressional Budget Office that we wait until 2005 for the
NASA/International space station.  That is just the type of leadership
the United States needs to be a third rate space power. 
 
                                               Glenn Chapman
                                               MIT Lincoln Lab

BELIEVE IT OR NOR

About as good as any title, a joint US Soviet SDI mission to MIR
was set up for this Aug/Sep.  The US would launch a SDI satellite
in near MIR orbit, the Soviets would launch a SDI team of American
Astronauts and Soviet SDI Cosmonauts to the MIR complex.  Once at
MIR the SDI team would use the US MMU and fly to the SDI satellite
and use a Magnetic Brick to pick up the SDI package ( apx 40 lb)
The magnetic brick is being use as both the Astronauts hands are
needed to fly the MMU thus the magnetic brick would be used to
hold the SDI package...  There are some problems, most important
is the fact that the MMU does not fit threw the MIR ports, both
are about 31.5 inches in diameter and the MMU is apx 33 inches
in diameter.  Several proposal have been suggested to redsign
the MMU or simple mount them on the outside the progress or
Soyuz unit... but all seem scrub for now but there are hints
that something may still be done.
    
    
    
For more information the article appeared in this week AW 16 may 88
    
                             
    

    Yeah, I had to read the article a couple of times. What a truly
    bizarre idea. Maybe an April 1 press release??
    
    I liked the quote from some source that said 'That idea is dead.
    But you never know what SDIO will come up with at the next full
    moon' (or words to that effect).
    
    gary

    Things look good for the Guest Cosmonaut launch on the 7th of June
    
    the SESS ( soviet support ships) are up to 5 but a 6th one should
    be added before the launch.  It is normal to have 6 ships in the
    Alantic for a man launch, two weeks ago there were only 2 ships,
    and then last week 4 now 5.
    
    things to watch for
    MIR will be visable in the northern US, watch for the docking
    and 7 to 8 days latter the undocking and deorbiting of the
    visting team in TM-4
    
    CNN is broadcasting the Soviet News while the summit is on,
    it could have some intereting space news.
    
    jb
    

    Supposedly, the Discovery Channel is playing Vremya (spelling?,
    the Soviet nightly news) with english translation during the summit
    but I haven't seen it in the TV guide.
    
    gary

>    Supposedly, the Discovery Channel is playing Vremya (spelling?,
It is a partial (but substantial) replay of Vremya hosted by Hodding Carter;
some analysis of the style and substance follow the actual replay.

I watched it yesterday, but there wasn't anything "big" on space
unfortunately.

-parthi

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet manned space plans for the rest of 1988
Posted: 26 May 88 16:14:30 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The Soviets have a rather aggressive mission schedule in man
related activities for the rest of this year.  First is the June 7th
Bulgarian mission, for which they held the "traditional" preflight
press conference on May 22 (well they have done it for the last 4
missions).  The crew consists of Victor Savinyhk (commander with 75
days on Soyuz T4/Salyut 6 and 168 days on Soyuz T13/Salyut 7 in June
'85 - the Salyut rescue mission), Anatoly Stoyanov (rookie cosmonaut:
Flight engineer) and Alexander Alexandrov (Bulgarian - backup on Soyuz
33 - Apr. '79).   Then in August there will be the Afghan guest
mission (crew not yet named), and in October/November the French month
long mission with Jean-Loup Chretien.  In addition the next Mir
expansion module will lift off about September (according to Alexander
Dunayev of Glavcosmos - their commercial marketing agency).  It is
described as an energetics module, with more living area, and possible
a larger air lock (weight about 10-20 Tonnes and living area addition
50 - 100 cubic meters: my estimates).  It probably will contain more
solar panels just by its name (and the drawings of some of the modules). 

    For the future additional "star" modules (also called heavy
Cosmos) will be launched every 5 months, with 1989 containing first a
technology module, followed by the Priroda remote sensing addition. 
The French should be upset about that - Priroda was planed to be up
for their mission as of last year. 1990 will see either the Medilab
life science addition or a scientific research module.  Mir will be
completely assembled by mid 1990 under current plans.  Mir 2 is in
advance design, planed for 1994-95, and will use Energyia for
launching the core section. 

    On board Mir/Kvant Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov have now been
up for 5 months.  They are preparing to do a space walk to repair the
failed British /Dutch X-ray telescope on board Kvant.  For the record
it appears that the Progress 35 tanker was undocked on May 5, and the
Progress 36 launched on May 13th (to clear up the uncertainty
generated by my May 11th posting). 

    In the unmanned area the major mission is the two Mars/Phobos
flights which will lift off this July 7th and 12th.  Also on May 15th
their new medium (SL-16) booster was used to orbit Cosmos 1943, an
intelligence satellite the size of a school bus.  The SL-16 is similar
to the strap on booster of the big Energyia launcher. 

    The strength of the Soviet's manned program is shown by the
percentage of their launches that are devoted to that activity.  If
things go according to plans there will be 3 Soyuz flights in 1988.
This should give them about 825 man days of orbital experience, (with
an additional 47 man days for guest cosmonauts).  Progress tankers are
now arriving every 45 days on average, so that you would expect 8 this
year, delivering 18.4 Tonnes of cargo/fuel/air and boosting the
station each time they leave.  With the Mir module addition that will
give them at least 12 man related mission, or about 12% of their
flights (without counting the shuttle mission).  They also would have
767 manned days for Mir, against Salyut 7's 712 days total, and 23
months of permanent occupancy. 

    Success goes not to the swiftest, but to the most persistent in
the space business.  Consistency of policy has not happened in this
country in Space exploration for nearly two decades now.  It shows. 
Let us change that. 
 
                                               Glenn Chapman
                                               MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Summit Ad
Posted: 26 May 88 13:10:01 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    In today's Washington Post, the daily paper of Federal big-whigs,
are articles about summit preparations and about a summit T-shirt
authorized by Tass's popular music branch on sale here in DC, 
 
    There is also a full-page ad in the first section by the Planetary
Society. 
 
		THE WAY TO MARS
 
	We have before us a historic opportunity to
	fulfill an ancient dream, to help preserve
	this world and to venture forth to another.
 
    The Planetary Society is the largest space-interest group in the
world.  For the last four years it has advocated Mars as the principal
long-term goal for the US and Soviet space programs - robotic
exploratory missions and long-duration space flight, leading to the
epochal first landing of humans on another planet.  Since then the
moribund US-Soviet Space Co-operation Agreement has been renewed; US
scientists will work on the forthcoming Soviet _Phobos_ mission, and
Soviet scientists will work on the US _Mars_Observer_ mission, and
three bills are now before the US Congress setting the goal of human
exploration of Mars and encouraging US-USSR cooperation towards that goal. 
 
    General Secretary Gorbachev has just explicitly called for a joint
US-Soviet unmanned mission of discovery to Mars - important for its
scientific harvest; for its potential to bring the two nations
together in a great common enterprise; and, along with other robotic
missions as a necessary precursor for joint human voyages to Mars
early in the 21st century.  Mars has now entered the realm of
discourse between heads of government. 
 
	[ There follows a Mars Declaration, concluding notes,
	  and a long list in small type of Planetary Society
	  luminaries ]
 
/f
========================================================================
Received: by decwrl.dec.com (5.54.4/4.7.34)
	id AA11939; Thu, 26 May 88 15:18:37 PDT

    Baikonur Cosmodrome 
    
    The last perlauch tests on the booster rocket and Sojuz TM-5 spacecraft
    are being concluded.  The launch is skedule for 18:03 Moscow Time
    on the 7th of June
    
    Soviet Cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Viktor Savinykh and Bulgarian
    National Alexander Alexandrov were endorced as the mixed crew to
    be blasted off to sapce atop the Soviet +Soyuz TM-5+ spaceship.
    
    During the upcomming 10 day mission a total of 40 scientific ,
    nature studies, technological, astrophysics and mediocal/biological
    experiments will be conducted in the interest of Bulgaria's National
    economy.  The research program is codename + SHIPKA + .  Some of
    the experiments include process to produce composit alloys of tungsten
    alluminium and alluminium-cooper with a mixture of iron.
    
    The Cosmonauts will take a rare souvenire - A Blooming Orchard -
    along with them into orbit.  It will not be just a reminder of the
    beauty of Earth but the flower has grown from seeds planted on the
    MIR platform.
    
                                                   
    jb
    

    CNN was to have carried the launch live at 10am EDT. I guess that
    put us 6 hours behind at present.
    
    Lots of pix of the Energia complex in the weeks AW&ST. Supposedly
    one of the pads is from their 'super booster' program of the late
    60's and early 70's. I wonder if the Soviets said that or AW&ST
    was drawing their own conclusions.
    
    gary

The launch was successful and it is expected that they will dock with Mir
on Thursday (BBC news report).

jb

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet crew about to do EVA for X-ray telescope repair
Posted: 28 Jun 88 14:30:57 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The Soviet's long duration Mir crew of Vladimir Titov and Musahi
Manarov (now up for 190 days, more than half a year) is preparing to
make a space walk to repair the British/Dutch X-ray telescope on the
Kvant astrophysical module.  A 40 kilogram (88 pound) electronic
portion of the system will be replaced in an Extra Vehicle Activity
scheduled for Thursday June 30.  The equipment for this EVA was
brought up on the last Progress (36) and the Soyuz TM-5 mission.
Currently the Titov and Manarov have checked out the space suits and
only need to pass the medical checkout the night before the mission
for the go ahead.  One point here - again the cosmonauts on board are
repairing space station elements, but unlike such work here they do
not have the luxury of doing a test run in a water simulation tank.  
When you are on board the station for that long problems will arise
that must be handled by the crew without ground preparation.  Yes the
ground cosmonauts can try things out in the simulator and tell them
what works best, but in the end success depends on the general orbital
skills of the people on the station. 

    The Soviets are getting very used to solving problems that way. 
Not only have they done it several times on Salyut 7 and now Mir but
they are even using it commercially.  For example, the Payload Systems
people were talking to the Glavcosmos people (who market their space
systems) about training the cosmonauts for the materials processing
experiments they are paying for to be done on Mir.  The Soviets
suggested that they should train a team in use of the equipments and
materials which in turn would train the cosmonauts that use it. 
Payload's people said no, they would rather train the cosmonauts
directly.  Glavcosmos's man answered "but what if they have been on
the station for months when you are ready to begin."  The Payload
people gave that as an example of the change in thinking they
underwent when going from short duration shuttle experiments to longer
ones on a station. 

    One other point, as expected the Soyuz TM-5 capsule was left up at
Mir during the last mission, and Bulgarian crew came down in the Soyuz
TM-4 that Titov and Manarov went up in.  That gives them a fresh
capsule, good for another 6 months. 

    Well at least the Shuttle is finally moving towards the launch
pad.  Now it must fly again if this country is to catch up. 
 
                                                    Glenn Chapman
                                                    MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Mir and solar flares
Posted: 5 Jul 88 19:41:24 GMT
 
    A rather interesting point concerning Mir was made by Bill Higgins
of Fermi Lab in a mail message to me.  He said: 
 
> I encountered a brief headline about a "magnetic storm" that's supposed
> to hit this planet this week and stopped to wonder:  What do Mir and Salyut
> cosmonauts do when there's a solar flare?   Obviously they don't pack up
> and go home.  Is there a "storm cellar" arrangement aboard Mir?  Can you 
> explain the details?
 
    He raises a good point about the solar flare.  There is no storm
shelter on the Mir station.  However they are located in Low Earth
Orbit (LEO), below the Van Allen radiation belts.  This means that
Earth's magnetic field protects them from the proton particles of the
flare.  The X-rays from that event I think are rather soft, so the
station itself has enough mass that the cosmonauts are safe. 
Nevertheless they are located at an orbit >70 degrees inclination. 
That starts putting them near to where stuff leaks through at the
magnetic poles, especially as flare tends to distort the magnetic
field lines (note that the North Magnetic Pole is located well within
northern Canada - about 78 degrees latitude).  I would suspect that
would give them substantially higher radiation levels than normal.  It
is interesting that they went ahead with the space walk under these
conditions. 

    Speaking of the EVA, Titov and Manarov on board Mir went out this
morning (June 30) for 5 hours to try and fix the British/Dutch X-ray
telescope on the Kvant module.  The current information I have is
either the repair did not work, or was not finished.  They plan
another EVA in a few days.  I will post more when I get more information. 

    Does anyone out there know what NASA does during similar flares
for high inclination Shuttle orbits?   Hopefully this will become
an issue that we are in space enough to consider. 
 
                                                   Glenn Chapman
                                                   MIT Lincoln Lab

    re: solar flares on MIR
    
    I believe I read somewhere about how the crew of MIR would 
    handle a dangerous solar flare.  I think they rotate the
    MIR station such that the Sojuz unit is directed into
    the storm, this is only good for small storms, on large
    ones I believe they put on there space suits and entre
    the Sojuz TM for deorbiting.
    
    I will check my notes and see if I can find the TASS
    article.
    
    jb
    
    

    The repair of the British/Dutch X-RAY telescope on the
    Kvant module had to be called off.  The extreem cold
    of outter space made the tools used by the cosmonauts
    brittle and they broke.  The crew is perpariing for
    another EVA but not time was given.
    john
    

              
    
    Preparations continue for Soviet Afghan Space Flight
    From information from TASS I have learned that
    If all goes as planed on the 29th of Aug a joint Soviet-Afghan
    crew will be launch on a Soyuz-TM to the MIR space complex.
    One of the main tasks of the orbital research will be the space
    photography of Afghanistans Territory.  This will help in the discovery
    of new mineral wealth deposit and water sources, specify the country's
    geological map, and find the most suitable places for building
    a major irrigation project and for the prediction of possible
    earthquakes. The final crew will not be name until just
    before the launch.
    
                                                  
    In Other news from the MIR station -  the Cosmonauts took several
    series of photographs of separate areas of the Soviet Union Territory
    East of Dushanbe and in the area of the Toktogul Reservoir.  I find
    this be the same general location of  Tom Clancy's fictional
    SDI ground base Laser site in his book THE_CARDINAL_OF_THE_KREMLIN
    In an interview with the press Tom Clancy was asked how he new
    of this location and he said he had obtain satellite photo
    of the test site thorough not non-goverment sources.  I took this to
    mean via the SPOT satellite..  In his book the satellite photo
    are reproduce and the features such as the Hexagonal Trasmitter
    Array , Apt Bldg, Guard Towers etc are shown.
    
    jb
    
                                                 
    
    

    If the launch happen as planed 08:23 MSK then
    monitor 121.750 MHz FM or use the following kepller
    set to track TM-6                              
    
Thanks to the Geoffrey Perry for the following sets
(synthetic 2-line for TM6 done before launch)

TM-6
1 99999U          88242.17292000 0.03000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    00
2 99999  51.6000 052.6000 0015000 113.0000 247.0000 16.24715000    10
    
    has anyone heard about the launch??
    john
    

    The launch took place this morning (televised on CNN). Docking with
    Mir is scheduled for Wednesday.
    
    gary

    from MOSCOW AUG 29 TASS:
    The Soviet launched a Soyuz TM-6 spaceship maned by
       Pilot cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov
       Physician Vladimir Polyakov and
       Afghan Research Cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand.

One of the goals will be to do remote sensing fo the Earth with a view
of obtaining materials of space photography of the territory of
Afghanistan from board the orbital complex MIR, including the high
mounton and difficult to access areas for gas and ore.




    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soyuz TM-6 mission launched to Soviet Mir space station
Posted: 29 Aug 88 21:12:10 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The USSR launched the Soyuz TM-6 "Afghan" mission to the Mir space
station between 8:23-8:25 am Moscow Daylight Time (0:23-25 EDT) today
(Aug 29).  On board were Col. Vladimir Lyahkov, mission commander (age
47; Soviet Air Force; 2 previous flights: Soyuz 32 in Feb 1979 for 175
on Salyut 6 and Soyuz T9 in June 1983 for 149 days on Salyut 7), Dr.
Penkov? (Age 36; first flight - sorry the radio was noisy so that is
the best guess at his name), and Capt. Abdol Ahad (Afghanistan Air
Force guest cosmonaut).  The Mission will dock with Mir on Aug. 31,
and be returning to Earth on Sept. 6.  The purpose is to observe
Afghan territory for the Afghans (the joke running around is that he
is to observe the Soviet troop withdrawal). 

    On the Mir/Kvant complex they will be joining Vladimir Titov and
Musahi Manarov who have now been up for more than 9 months (253 days).
This already makes them the 2nd longest duration space crew,
exceeding the Soyuz T-10B crew 237 mission on board Salyut 7 in Oct.
1984 (set by Leonid Kizim, Validimir Soloyev and Oleg Atkov).  The are
closing in on the 326 day record set by Yuri Romanenko last December. 
By comparison the maximum space time of any active US astronauts is
held by John Young with 34 days experience and Paul Weitz (Skylab 2 and
STS-9) with 33 days (all higher time ones have left the program).  The
longest US time ever was the 84 days of the Skylab 4 three man crew in
Nov. 1973.  Indeed Manarov and Titov have individually accumulated more
time than the combined total Skylab 4 crew.  Note: the beginning of
August marked the 10th anniversary of the date when Soviet cosmonauts
exceeded the US in manned space experience. 

    There are several interesting things about this mission.  First
the actual crew makeup was not announced in advance.  Indeed the
Afghan who flew, Capt. Ahad,  was second in line several months ago
behind Col. Mohammad Dauran. Does this mean this Soyuz TM-6 group was
the backup crew?  Next they did not broadcast the flight live on short
wave, though the announcement was made about 2 minutes after takeoff. 
CNN showed the flight about 10 minutes later.  Most recent flights
have gone out live - suffering from lack of audience? Also has been
statements to the effect that the doctor will not be coming down on
Sept 6, but will stay up to check over Manarov and Titov.  But when
will he come down? The guest cosmonaut - French mission is set for
Nov. 21 (date just announced). They will come down about Dec 23, with
Manarov and Titov plus Jean-Loup Chretien (the probable Frenchman).   
That leaves no room for the doctor, who would have to come down about
two months later, at the next landing window in late February (ie. a 5
month mission minimum). 

    Two other points.  First they have said now several times on short
wave that a new Energia is on the pad (without the shuttle).  Launch
date is not given, nor is the cargo.  Secondly, there is the tale that
singer John Denver is about to purchase a mission to Mir for himself
for $10 million (with the first live TV special by a "star" from space?).  
That is the current going rate for a manned flight to their station. 

    The Soviet space program is clearly into the operational space
station phase.  Their crews carry out the business of a permanently
manned outpost in orbit without much fanfare.  Here we get lovely
paintings of what tomorrows space station will look like.  Yet only
now is Congress giving the funds to do some of this work (the $900
million for this year).  Still there are those calling for us to study
yet again what to build.  While others act we debate. 
           
                                                    Glenn Chapman
                                                    MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soyuz TM-6 mission - more information
Posted: 30 Aug 88 18:08:56 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    Some additional information about the Soyuz TM-6 mission that was
launched on Aug. 29th.  The Physician is named Dr. Valery Polyakov
(Age 47) while some reports (the New York Times) are giving the Afghan
cosmonaut's full name as Capt. Abdol Ahad Mohmand (Age 29).  The
statements of when the doctor will come down are confusing.  The NYT
report said Dr. Polyakov will return on Dec. 21 with Valadimir Titov
and Musa Manarov (the long duration space crew). However, that would
leave the French spaceman, Jean-Loup Chretien, on board. Hence, 5
current possibilities are: Polyakov stays at least until a Feb. 1989
mission (none has been announced) or later; Chretien stays longer than
1 month (rather unlikely);  one of Titov or Manarov stay longer (also
unlikely) or they play some tricks with Soyuz's (bring down two
capsules at once, while sending up a replacement etc.); or finally
Polyakov comes down on Sept 6th (unlikely as they have already stated
he will not).   With these partial crew changes and combinations of
short and long duration people following these Soviet flights is
starting to get rather difficult. 

    This may be my last posting for this mission - I am heading off to
New Orleans until after the mission ends.  I will fill people in after that. 
 
                                                Glenn Chapman
                                                MIT Lincoln Lab

    Did anyone see the article in today's Manchester (NH) Union Leader
    about the good doctor on yesterday's flight?
    
    Seems (according to the article) that he was sent up to provide
    24 hour a day medical attention for the crew members that are going
    for a full year in space and that he will be up for at least a year.
    
    Perhaps that answers why it was difficult to figure out his return
    schedule!
    					Bill
    

    
    rep .69
    
    I do not think that the Good Doctor who is aboard the MIR station 
    will come back with the long durantion  crew in a Soyuz TM craft.  I would 
    not believe they would return our space heros without an experience fresh
    pilot  -  the TM units only hold 3. But maybe they are waiting
    for the Soviet Space Shuttle....  sorry no Tardus
    
    For this to work, a new crew with two pilots will have to dock
    to MIR, one to stay as the new crew's pilot and the other to
    bue the space jockey to return our space heros. It is intersting 
    to think the good Dr. would stay a year, but you know what they 
    say about a Dr that threats himself.  I think he will return 
    after the Sept crew, thus he would get to see the results of
    the two long term crew, and two set of new crews, but Tass
    has not announce how long the Dr house call will be.
             
    But back to the serious side, the new crew will be coming back
    in the TM-5, it was intersting to note that the seats etc are
    cusomized to each person, and one of todays assignment is transfering
    the seats form TM5 to TM6 and TM6 to TM5's, or at least the
    pading of the seats.
    
    jb
    
    
    
    

    rep .70
    
    I think I made a translation error
    I dont think they were talking about seats, but customized
    equipment which I took to means seats but more likly it is
    their suits
    
    jb
    

    You may have been right about the seats (or at least molded inserts
    for the seats). On previous visits I have seen video of the cosmonauts
    transferring the seats between the Soyuz spacecraft.
    
    gary

** TM5  has trouble **
The return space capsules from the MIR space station had problems
this morning, after seperateing from the MIR space station all systems
were go for a retrofire to rentered the Earth's atmosphere.
As they started the retrofire the main computer shut down putting
the Soyuz TM-5 space craft into a dangerous orbit.  RM said that
they would try again on Wedsday and that the problem was caused
but a computer glitch.   I found TM-5 talking in the 'clear'
on 121.750 MHz about 4 to 5 min ahead of the MIR complex.
If there was serious trouble I would have expected that they
would scrable the transmission but maybe they can on the TM units.
Actually it looks like MIR is late by 4 to 5 min and TM-5 is
about MIRs orbit.  The TM5 was using Push to talk, and I first picked them up
at 11:01 Z and last heard them at 11:04 at which time I 
started picking up the 166 MHz TLM form I assume MIR              
until it was shut off at 11:09:44 Z                               
    john
    


    

    Valery Polyakov (according to a TASS news article) will remain at
    the MIR station together with TITOV and  MANAROV (TM) till the end
    of the long-term expediton after the return oof earth of TM5.
    Meditcal expermiments codenamed 'LAYRINTH', 'ZGEYSER' AND 'SLEEP'
    will be coducted.
    One is to do with what and how the cosmonauts are dreaming about.
    LABYRINTH experiment is to stufy the interaction of the vestibular
    apparatus and the vison of man in conditions of a space flight.
    Still another codenamed 'SHAMSHAD' experiment about the initial
    stages of the adaptation to space flight conditons and others 
    called STATOKINETICS ZPOTENTIAL ZLABYRINTH ZFORECAST ZPOLL AND 
    DREAM-K
     

    TM5 landed ok and the Cosmonauts are fine, 
    one interesting partis the new information on
    how a TM unit is design.  It uses an infarred
    detector to sense the horizon and that and the
    fact that they were doing a landing at sunrise                  
    caused several problmes.
    
    jb
    
 

    sept 6 1988 at 02:55 MSK the Soyuz TM-5 spaceship undocked from
    the MIR complex. Following undocking at 0:335 the Globe-shaped living
    compartment separated and the cre prepared to switch the motro to
    deceleration,  However  , a malfunciton in the orientation system
    occured and the main computer switche off the Kick moter fearing
    that the TM5 had started to tumble.  The Cosmonauts changed over
    from automatic control to manual controled and decide to pospone
    the landing for 3 hours.  An analysis showed that the malfunction
    was an infrared horizon sensor which enables the ship to orient
    itself to the rim of the earth.  This was one of the first if 
    not the first sunrise landing and sunrays prevented the sensor from
    coming into ooperaton the cosmonaut said.  The computer fearing
    loss of orientation switche off the deceleration motor then 
    switche dover to the standby sensor and a simular situation recurred.
    Seven min later the infrared sensor came into action but if they
    continued they would overshoot the landing site by 700-800 km and
    land in Chinese Territory, there fore the cosmonauts cut off the
    motor.
    
      The Cosmonauts began preparing for a 2nd attemped, this time
    the orientation data was keep in the computers memory independently
    of the operation of the infrared sensors, however, this time, the
    motor fired for only 6 seconds instead of 230 sec.  The motro had
    stopped unexpectedly, the reason was do to failing to reset the
    computer clock for total motor burn for the last time.
    
      It was decided to put off the landing for 24hours for the next
    window for landing in Kazakhstan else they would have to dump into
    the ocean near one of the Support Ships (SESS)
    
    The propulsion unit of the craft was started up on commands from
    on-board systems at 04:01 MSK and the TM5 begin braking.  The
    results was a landing 160 KM South East of th ecity of Dzhezkazgan
    Sovie tKazakhstan at 04:50 MSK.
    
    Both Kosmonnauts are felling well after landing
    

    Sounds like those particular cosmonauts did not get much training
    at manual reentry.
    
    At about 9:45 last night I happened across a news feed with the
    familiar face of Jim Oberg. He mentioned while waiting for the
    interviewer to come on line (newsfeeds can be up for a long time with
    people at either end chatting over the audio circuits) that these 'PR
    launches' with crew that haven't been through the full cosmonaut or
    astronaut training were even more hazardous than regular flights and
    that the launch of TM-5 was somewhat rushed. 
    
    He also mentioned that maybe this would be enough of a scare to
    stop carrying Afghans, senators and country music singers into space.
    
    Someone commented earlier about leaving the Dr on board Mir and
    how they would handle the return of the long term crew (in the past
    they have sent up a fresh pilot to handle reentry). Maybe, if the
    Dr approves, they will let this crew pilot their own reentry. This
    would be a logical step if they are indeed moving towards a manned
    Mars flight since they will certainly have to fly their own reentry
    then.
    
    gary

Re:                         -< I did not sleep all night >-

I heard the two cosmonauts slept well during the delay!	;^)

Two questions about this event.

1. Would it be interpreted as "problems with" (they nearly lost one of their
   most talented, 'rescuer' trained cosmonaut) and lack of sophistication in
   (I believe that the IR sensor scheme was discarded by NASA long time back
   in favour of more advanced systems) the Soviet space programme
   OR
   extreme flexibility and confidence (they could try three times & could afford
   to both delay the descent for a day as well as turn down US help)?

2. The Soviets stated that the second firing was aborted because landing
   in China would have meant that there would be no support vessels.
   a. Given the Intl treaty, how difficult would it have been to move the
      support vessels into position (assuming China agreed)?
   b. Or is there a possibility that the Soviets feared the Chinese would
      obtain some "secrets"?

3. Oberg, the "expert" who was most visible yesterday, said that the cosmonauts
   would have enough Oxygen & food for about a week, but would die because of
   CO2 buildup. If there is enough Oxygen, why can't they breathe it directly?
   What exactly did he mean by "enough O2 but too much CO2" - isn't this
   contradictory?

Oh well, 3 questions	;^)

Your thoughts please
-parthi

>    people at either end chatting over the audio circuits) that these 'PR
>    launches' with crew that haven't been through the full cosmonaut or
>   astronaut training were even more hazardous than regular flights and
>    that the launch of TM-5 was somewhat rushed. 
The pilot of this Soyuz module was apparently one of their most experienced
cosmonauts. He is believed to be "rescuer" trained - some sort of elite
cosmonaut group trained in rescue missions that might include EVA and solo
piloting. So I think that was not the problem. A British "expert" stated
that this cosmonaut was THE person to handle such a situation!

The Afghan was trained for just 6 months as opposed to the normal 1 year, but
wasn't he along just for the ride? Would he truly have made a difference anyway?
Sort of like Jake Garn and Bill Nelson on the STS!

The problem that most experts found was the rushed nature of this flight
which forced a sunrise re-entry which the Soviets have little experience with.

Correct?
-parthi

    	I saw on the CBS Evening News that if the SOYUZ TM-5 cosmonauts
    could not have deorbited properly in time, then the cosmonauts onboard
    the MIR space station would have tried to manuever the station close
    enough to the ship so that a resuce spacewalk could be attempted.
    Then the cosmonauts would just wait inside MIR for another SOYUZ
    to bring them home.  Do any of you think this would have been a
    feasible plan?
    
    	NASA offered its assistance (How?  Certainly not with the Space
    Shuttle!), but the Soviets refused, saying it was not that serious.
    I do tend to agree that the media, as usual, made the situation
    sound much more harrowing than it really was.
    
    	But I also agree that the problems were caused because the mission
    was "rushed".  I ask you, what purpose was there in putting an Afghan
    citizen into Earth orbit for anything other than political reasons?
    
    	Larry
    

Re: < Note 362.80 by MTWAIN::KLAES "No atomic lobsters this week." >

There were several problems pointed out.
- at the time such a solution was being considered, MIR and TM5 were already
  4500Kms apart and diverging. One expert stated that MIR would have to move
  closer to TM5 and that it would be like an aircraft carrier trying to
  manouver around a dinghy!
- TM5 had already jettisioned its docking module

But if this had been attempted and been succesful, then they need not wait
for another Soyuz. The one they went up is still docked to MIR. Ofcourse, the
Soviets are believed to like having one module always with MIR in the event the
permanent crew has to flee MIR.
    
>    	NASA offered its assistance (How?  Certainly not with the Space
>    Shuttle!), but the Soviets refused, saying it was not that serious.
NASA did not offer to rescue the cosmonauts. STS is not ready yet and I doubt
the US would have ever launched it, even if the Soviets pleaded; one doesn't
want to have the life of the astronauts also placed in danger. Moreover, many
experts stated that the Soviets have enormous resources that they could put
together a rescue launch in a very short time. BUT, even this short time would
be more than the 48 hours available.
What NASA offered was to assist in precision tracking! That's what the "experts"
said on TV.	8*)

>    	But I also agree that the problems were caused because the mission
>    was "rushed".  I ask you, what purpose was there in putting an Afghan
>    citizen into Earth orbit for anything other than political reasons?
Everyone seems to agree on this. But then, is there any space program free of
politics? The same accusations were levelled when Christa McAuliffe (sp?)
flew on the ill-fated Challenger. And was there any reason other than politics
for Sen Jake Garn to fly? I am sure his space could have put to much better
use by a more technically oriented mission specialist!
    
-parthi

    RE:78-80
    
    American space offical said that they were standing ready to provide
    communicaitons and or tracking  assistance to the trouble Soviet
    Spacecraft, but their offer of help had been declined by teh Soviet
    Officials, who aid it wuld not be necessary
    
    Even the MIR space station has C02 build up, they use speical
    airconditions screens that filter out the CO2, several methods
    have been used, including ones the remove the O2 from the C
    
    Yes, they can land at SEA, and the Soviet on a Man mission typical
    has 5 Ships at sea, mostly in the Alantic Ocean but this time the
    also had one in the Pacific near Japan (as seen as white circle
    on the FCC control board show on live Soviet TV)
    
    Finally, the Soviets amitted that the crew had never been train
    for that type of failure.  I assume by this they meant the 
    piolet not the guess cosmonauts
    
    Should not have said Finally, next, The crew did not sleep
    if they did they talk all night on the radio in their sleep.
    I did not find an TASS article that said so , but for most
    of the time the 121.750 freq was active so only a few hours
    could have been in radio blackout or sleep time
    .
    
              
    
    

RE:< Note 362.78 by ANT::PKANDAPPAN >

>3. Oberg, the "expert" who was most visible yesterday, said that the cosmonauts
>   would have enough Oxygen & food for about a week, but would die because of
>   CO2 buildup. If there is enough Oxygen, why can't they breathe it directly?
>   What exactly did he mean by "enough O2 but too much CO2" - isn't this
>   contradictory?

Not really, CO2 buildup in the lungs is what causes the body to want to breath.
Imagine holding your breath for a full minute, better yet don't imagine it, 
do it.   Do you feel that building of the feeling of a desparate need for 
air?  That's not the lack of oxygen, it's the buildup of CO2 that's causing 
it.  If the CO2 is not removed from the air in the craft the people inside 
the craft would start to feel this way.  In addition to creating this 
feeling of suffocation (which would likly cause panic in even the most 
disciplined person if it was intense enough and long enough), I believe that 
CO2 when breathed in higher concentrations for a long time causes 
pysiological effects on the body which eventually will cause death if not 
stopped.  It's been a long time though since I went thru SCUBA school and 
the subject of rebreathers was only a 2 hour class anyway.

Hope this clears it up.


Rich

Re:< Note 362.83 by LILAC::MKPROJ "REAGAN::ZORE" >

Thanks Rich.

But I have just one more doubt? Are you saying that the relative concentration
of O2 and CO2 is immaterial and that what is more important is the absolute
concentration of CO2? Then I understand the problem!

Apropos your "hold the breath" analogy, isn't it slightly skewed in that
when I hold my breath, there is no intake of O2 and hence the O2/CO2
ratio is altered downward; whereas, in the SOYUZ, if they have enough O2
reserves, they could theoretically keep the ratio high enough?

Thanks again
-parthi

RE:< Note 362.84 by ANT::PKANDAPPAN >
>But I have just one more doubt? Are you saying that the relative concentration
>of O2 and CO2 is immaterial and that what is more important is the absolute
>concentration of CO2? Then I understand the problem!

Yes, that's it exactly.  The ratio of concentration is immaterial.  It is
the absolute partial pressure that is exposed to the blood stream that
makes the difference. 

The key here is the term partial pressure (PP).  How to define this?  PP 
(partial pressure) is that pressure exerted upon the lungs by a single gas
when you breath that gas.  For instance, CO2 makes up (a guess) 5% of the
atmosphere at sea level.  Since the total pressure exerted by the
atmosphere is 1A, (A = Atmosphere, a unit of pressure which is equal to the
average pressure of the atmoshere) the patial pressure of CO2 is .05A. 

When you go SCUBA diving and breath regular air the concentration (ratio) of 
the various gasses remains the same.  Hence at 33 ft. the air you are 
breathing is at 2A. 

[The weight of a column of water 33 ft. high = the weight of the air in the
same column extended from sea level to the top of the atmosphere. 
Essentially, if you dive under water to a depth of 33 ft. you have just
doubled the amount of pressure your body has on/in it.  Perform an experiment,
blow up a ballon and then dive into the water to a depth of 33 ft.  the
ballon will be about half the size it was on the surface.]

Taking this into account the PP of CO2 at 33 ft. is .1A.  (.05A + .05A = .1A)

For each 33ft. you dive the PP of any gas you are breathing increases by
the PP of that gas in 1A.

If you dived deep enough the PP of CO2 would affect you just like you were 
holding your breath.  Long before that though the increasing PP of the 
other gases (oxygen and nitrogen) start to have their effects (nitrogen 
makes you drunk and oxygen becomes poisenous below a certain depth (pure O2 
should not be breathed below about 20 or 30 feet of depth, I have breathed 
it at about 1.5A and can tell you that you get sick, others have become 
violently sick or even passed out at that pressure)).

So if you have followed this long so far you can see how if you increase
total pressure you have to reduce the ratio of a given gas in order to
maintain a level partial pressure for that gas.  Similarily, if you
decrease pressure your body can tolerate a higher ratio of the gas since
by decreasing total pressure you decrease it's PP. 

I believe that when a crew is in space they keep the pressure in the craft 
at 100% O2 at .2A.  Since O2 makes up about 20% of the atmosphere, the PP 
of the oxygen is the same in the craft at the reduced pressure as it is at 
sea level.  The astronauts don't even notice the difference.


Sorry for the long explanation and as I said there may be some errors there 
since it has been a long time since I learned all this.

Rich

RE:< Note 362.85 by LILAC::MKPROJ "REAGAN::ZORE" >

Man! Was THAT ever confusing!

Suffice to say that the key is to keep the Partial Pressure of CO2 below 
certain level.  This can be accomplished 2 ways.  Either reduce the ratio 
of CO2 in the air you are breathing or reduce the pressure of the air you 
are breathing.

If you reduce the ratio of the CO2 then you have to find a way to absorb 
the CO2 from the air.

If you reduce the pressure of the air you are breathing you have to make
certain that the PP of oxygen does not fall too far below .2A as this is
the PP of oxygen needed in order to enable your lungs to absorb oxygen into
the blood stream (i.e. you have to add more oxygen to the air or you will
suffocate).  If you lower the total pressure to .2A then you have to breath
100% oxygen in order to get the same amount of oxygen as you are getting
right now. 

Whew!

Rich  

    
    On Nov 21 a new guest crew with a French Cosmonaut will
    blast off to MIR.   Tass has announced that the Dr. will not be
    returning in Dec.  Thus this leave the French Cosmonaut to
    be the likly escort for the returning  Soviet Long Durantion Crew
    ( going for 1 yr ).
                         
    This will not be the normal short duration Guest crew of 8 days
    but one that will about a month long.  The French Cosmonaut
    will conduct a Space Walk during his stay.  The Selection of
    the 1st or 2nd  crew has not been decided yet.
    
    The space walk to do the require repairs keeps being put off
    I wonder if the long duration in space is a concern in their
    ability to work in space.  If they could do the space repair
    with over 300 days in space if would incress the possiblity
    that man could make it to Mars.
    
                      
                   
    john
    
    

    Cosmonauts to make space walk today.                             
    
    The crew is suposed to make a space walk today .
    The EVA will be done by both Titov and Manarov, research Physician 
    Polyakov will stay inside to monitor on-board systems as well as 
    the Health of the Commander and the Flight Engineer.
    
    Has anyone heard the status of the EVA?
    
    jb

Re: .88

The (British) X-ray telescope repair was carried out in less time than 
expected.  This was considered quite an acheivement for equipment that was 
not designed to be repairable.  The repair consisted of opening up the unit 
and replacing some electronic module inside.

I haven't heard about whether or not the repair works.  The scientist 
interviewed said that the replacement module had gone through a lot of 
handling and the like and could possible have been damaged.  I think it was 
scheduled to do some tests yesterday (Friday).

jb (the other jb)

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soviets successfully repair X-ray telescope in EVA
Posted: 21 Oct 88 15:58:41 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
     Two of the cosmonauts on board the USSR's Mir/Kvant space complex
completed a space walk today (Oct. 20).  According to the Radio Moscow
short wave report, starting at 10 am Moscow Time (2 am our time)
Valadimir Titov and Musa Manarov (who have been up since Dec 21 1987)
spent 4 hours 12 min. in this repair EVA. The main job was the repair
of a sensor system on the British X-ray telescope on the Kvant
astrophysical module.  After exiting the airlock at the front of Mir
they walked the 20 meters baclk to the Kvant module.  First they
peeled back the insulating blankets.  Then as noted in my Oct 18th
posting they drilled out a rod which broke off in a hole (during their
June space walk), where it was to depress a pin to release the locking
latches on the telescope.  This worked, the latches were removed, and
the sensor electronics was successfully replaced. To do all this they
employed special tools brought up by the Progress 38 cargo craft in
September.  Meanwhile, Dr. Valery Polyakov (the physician who arrived
on the Soyuz TM-6 flight Aug 29th) monitored the walk, and especially
the cosmonauts health functions.   After the repair Titov and Manarov
attached a 60 Kg (132 lb) mounting block to be used for the EVA during
the French guest mission starting on Nov. 21.  Also they were using a
new design of space suits, that are supposedly much easier to use.
Note that even their older design of suits were much better than
American ones because they could operate at a higher pressure and so
the cosmonauts only had to spend one hour breathing oxygen (to remove
nitrogen for preventing the bends) before going out, rather than the
full day of reduced pressure and 3 hours of oxygen required on the shuttle. 

     So an instrument fails, and men try to repair it.  The repair
tool breaks off in a hole, and you must remove that problem before
proceeding with the repair.  Flexibility of action is one of the
things that mankind in space is all about.  With humans constantly up
there the Soviets have that ability to fix things.  Both people and
robots/tools make mistakes to fail at some point. Humans are still
more flexible at repairing and doing all those none repetitive tasks
that are necessary for the true exploration of the space frontier. 
 
                                                Glenn Chapman
                                                MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Austrian and French missions to the Soviet's Mir
Posted: 21 Oct 88 17:15:54 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The Austrian mission to the Soviet's Mir station has turned out to
be more expensive than the Austrian government originally planed.  The
Oct. 7th agreement, signed by the Austrian vice-chancellor and the
Soviet foreign minister says they will pay some $6.6 million for about
an 8 day flightt in late 1991 or early 1992.  This covers training,
the flight to and from Mir, and the cargo of scientific instruments
(possibly brought up on a Progress tanker).  Space Station News
(Oct17) says the bill is about $1.5 million greater than Vienna
originally had expected.  According to one Austrian official this may
be why they are not joining in the European's Columbus space station
project. "The high costs [of the Soviet flight] might be a reason we
cannot participate in the space station program".  He also stated that
the agreement was made before the full costs were known, and "we might
have reconsidered" if they knew the final price. [If they think that
this price is bad, they should look at the bill for a shuttle flightt
for one person].  Currently their are 188 applications for the
position, 19 from women.  As usual a primary and backup crew will be
chosen from these. 

    For the French guest mission, slated for Nov. 21 of this year,
French President Miterrand will attend the launch in Russia. 
Jean-Loup Chretien is still the primary spationaut for this 30 day
mission, his second time in space (he flew for 7.8 day in the Soyuz
T-6/Salyut 7 mission June '82). The main event of this mission will be
a test of a European built strut assembly during a space walk. 

    Meanwhile the head of European Space Agency's space science
division, Roger Bonnet, has warned that such extensive cooperation
with the USSR is weakening the ESA's own space program.  The problem is
that the Soviets often get the project leadership, and direction of the
program is determined by them.  It is made worse by the very low
launch costs of the USSR's missions, due to the mass production of
their boosters.  As an example he noted that the UK is spending $1.8
million on an X-ray telescope to fly on a Russian satellite in 1993.  
That would just about cover the cost increase of Britain payment to
the ESA's Horizon 2000 program, funds that their government says they
cannot afford (from New Scientist, Oct. 8). 

    The Soviets have become very competitive in space cooperation as
far as other nations are concerned.  They offer good deals (though
space always costs real money if you want to do it right), and they
are generally delivering on their promises.  As the NASA/International
space station negotiation showed dealing with this country can be both
time consuming (4 years of talking before the contracts were signed)
and uncertain (what will happen if congress kills the station or DOD
decides that it wants to do research the other parties object to). 
Hence people of other lands are increasingly going elsewhere or doing
it on their own.  This country has got to stop assuming that nations
have no where else to go than here for their space cooperation. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    During the EVA on the 20th of Oct they also installed
    a 1/4 wave antenna for the 2 meter Ham band.  Musa
    Manarov is studying for his radio license.  If you have
    a short wave radio Tune in AMSAT tonight Tuesday 
    on 3.840 MHz LSB at 9pm on the East Coast of the
    USA or 10 PM for the Mid west net for more details
    of this news breaking story.
    
    jb
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Dr. Polyakov will stay on USSR's Mir after French mission
Posted: 24 Oct 88 20:18:52 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    In more manned flight information, Dr. Valery Polyakov (who arrived
on the Soyuz TM-6 flight Aug. 29th) will not be coming down on Dec. 21
as expected.  According to flight director Vladimir Soloviev, the
current long duration crew of Valadimir Titov and Musa Manarov (up
there since Dec 21 1987), and Frenchman Jean-Loup Chretien, who should
arrive on Nov. 21 will come down in the Soyuz TM-6, while Polyakov
will stay for a while with the new crew.  That probably means he is in for 
a 6-8 month mission at the very least. (from Space Station News, Oct. 16). 

    According to Jim Oberg (by means of Jonathan McDowell of Harvard)
the makeup for that Soyuz TM-7 French mission will Alexander Volkov
(Soyuz T-14/Salyut 7 64 day mission in Sept. '85 which ended when the
commander Valdimir Vasyutin became ill), Sergey Krikalyov (new), of
the spationaut Jean-Loup Chretien, with a backup crew of Viktorenko,
Alexander Serebrov (Soyuz T-8 in Apr. '83 and the Soyuz TM-10A pad
fire abort in Sept. '83), Tognini (French backup).  Soyuz TM-8 is
guessed to be due about May 10th with Viktorenko, Alexander
Serebrov,Arzamazov (pure guesswork), with perhaps Volkov, Krikalyov,
Polyakov down in TM7 a week later.  New modules will go up next summer
'89, maybe July. 

    If the shuttle flights go on schedule next year the maximum amount
of orbital time obtained by the US will be about 390 man days. 
However the current schedule is looking at a minimum (baring any
accidents) Russian program of 850 man days, still a factor of 2
larger.  The only area where this country will be ahead will be in the
number of astronauts lifted to orbit, where the Soviets will stay
behind until their shuttle flies.  Sorry people, even with the shuttle
flying the US is losing ground.  Tell that to those who think this
country is ahead now that it is back in space. Only real strong
efforts will change that. 
 
                                                Glenn Chapman
                                                MIT Lincoln Lab

    New MIR Radio Statio to Start Testing
    
    
From AMSAT comes the latest U0MIR news

Operation will commence with a period of testing and
training which will take place from aboard MIR beginning on
the 14th of November and will be limited to contacts with 
specific Soviet ground stations.  If upon completion of this
testing period no problems are found in the operation of the 
amateur communication system, general amateur operations 
from U1MIR will commence on the 19th of Nov.

Operation are said to be limited to crew rest and recreation
periods on Saturdays and Sundays only.

U1MIR will transmit on 145.550 MHz FM and will listen on
145.525 and .575 MHZ for earth responses.

Reports indicate that U1-U0 MIR will be used.

jb

    

    
    LAUNCH OF FRENCH ASTRONAUT/COSMONAUT DELAYED
    
    In an AW article, the French mission to MIR is expected to be delayed
    five days to NOv 26 to allow French President Mitterrand and Soviet
    leader Mikhail Gorbachev to witness the launch at Baikonur Cosmodrome.
    

Lots of things Happen

The First USA Ham Station to MIR QSO was done in
ATLANTA this week end UA1MIR UA2MIR AND UA3MIR
were all work at the AMSAT convention.

Leonid Labutin UA3CR gave a very interesting speech.


About 2 years a Hungarian Radio club built a 2 meter 
transceiver for use on MIR.  The Authorities told them 
that they could not do this, what would happen
if it burnt and omitted gasses and the cosmonauts
died. 

Then Last Summer when Ua6HZ visited the United States an 
bought a Yasue 2 meter transceiver (FT290). This to was
rejected by the authorities. So a way had to be found
to be able to deceive the authorities if a Ham radio
station was to be sent to MIR.

The crew of MIR was about ready to break the endurance
record. The Radio Club asked if they could send the crew
a cake in celebration of this endurance record and as a 
consolation for not being able to send up a radio station.
The Authorities agreed and so a cake was made.  Yup you got it the
old file and hacksaw trick.  They threw the cake away
and the radio station was substituted instead.

It did not stop there, Musakhi Manarov had been studying
and was the only cosmonaut interesting in getting is 
Ham radio license.  He passed his test and was issue
the call sign UA1MIR. Vladimir Titov became upset, after
all he was in command he should get UA1MIR so, Titov
got the call UA1MIR and Manarov UA2MIR and one may think
the story ends there , noop.

Alanta Georgia, Saturday 12 Nov 1988, the site of the AMSAT
Convention tried to be the first to contact the MIR space
station from an the USA, it work but the pass was only
12 degrees above the horizon so they decide to try it
again on Sunday as the elevation would be much better
(45 degrees). We meet in the parking lot and the mobile
ham radio was set up again with a remotely held 2 meter
2 element beam and a contact was made with UA1MIR, UA2MIR
and UA3MIR.  OK whos UA3MIR that has not been issue, 
there is only one other person on MIR so it has to be
the Physician Vladimir Polyakov.  So HAMs in space are
multiplying.


    

    	So what did the two parties relay to each other?
    
    	Larry
    

    The communication was typical ,  signal reports, call sign
    exchanges, thank you, have a good day,......
    one interesting point, the 1/4 wave Ham antenna is located 
    on the bottom of the MIR in the same plan as the solar 
    pannels, but the day we were talking with MIR the spaceship
    was upside down.  (the antenna was point away from earth
    so most of the radiation was in the wrong direction but
    we still were able to make a good connection )
    
    jb
    

- the crew of the Soyuz TM-7, to be launch to MIR on the 26 of November,
  are Aleksandr Volkov, Sergey Krikalev, and Jean_Loup Chretien.  The
  Backup crew is Aleksandr Vittorenko, Aleksandr Serebrov and Michel Tognini.

- Chretien will return on the 21st of December with Titov and Manarov, the
  present long-duragtion crew of MIR.  Volkov and Krikalev will remain on 
  MIR with Dr Valeriy Polyakov until April 1989, when they will be replaced
  with a new crew.

- After the return of Titov, Manarov and Chretien, Volkov and Krikalev
  will perform two spacewalks to install solar sensors which will be
  used to provide attitude information to the station's orientation system.

- Three cargo ships will be sent to MIR during Volkov and Krikalev's stay.

- Toward the end of their stay, "there will be docking with a 
  reequipment module which will at first dock with the transfer
  compartment and then by means of a manipulator it will redock with
  the lateral docking assembly of the orbital complex MIR..  Aleksandr 
  Volkov said that , apart form life-support systems, the module also
  comprises a compartment of a new configuration for space walks.
  There will be also facitlites for movement in the open space."


    

    re .98
    
    Interesting. Is this from RM, or some other source?
    
    The last point sounds like they are sending up the airlock module
    they have talked about in the past. It suggests that they may be
    ready to send up another scientific module soon (once they start
    to add modules to the lateral ports, they can no longer effectively
    use the docking adapter for an airlock).
    
    gary

    Today MIR was about 7 to 10 min late. The most likely reason is that 
    they have raise the orbit using the extra fuel in the Progress unit.
    Then the would have udocked and deorbited the Progress cargo ship.   
    This would be in preparation for the upcoming docking of TM7 .

    Watch for reports of Progress cargo ship sighting as it deorbited
    over the pacific and west coast of the USA an ceases to be.

John

    

>    The last point sounds like they are sending up the airlock module

Caught a sound bite on NBC about the Soviets adding modules to MIR and that
the resulting station would be thrice the current size.

Anybody know anything?

thanks
-parthi

    
    Pravda reported that the Progress 38 cargo ship accidently undocked
    from MIR on Wednesday and subseqently deorbited and burned up. I
    only saw one article on this, certainly sounds like this could have
    been a catastrophe, if any one has any more news please post.
    
    In the meantime, TM7 ( radio transmission heard on 121.750Mhz) is
    on the way to docking with the MIR complex today monday the 28th
    of Nov. Of interest, Chretien has brought along his portable electronic
    organ so we may even hear it in the background! He has also brought
    along the latest Pink Floyd live album for on-board listening and
    two members of the Pink Floyd band were at Baikonur for the launch
    (I wonder if they are going to do a video talk about a promo !)
    
    The first post office in space will be comminssion today  after
    TM7 docks.  The "MIR Post OFFICE" with its own rubber stamp
    will open for business.  Mission Commander Titov will be the designated
    Postmaster and they will have the ability to postmark their own
    mail for delivery home.  Gee I wonder if my QSL card ( post card
    confirming two way radio contact with the MIR station) will be 
    postmark from Space.  I can dream....
    
    jb
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soviet French mission time and new space record
Posted: 25 Nov 88 21:30:07 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The USSR has announced that it will launch the joint French/Soviet
mission to the Mir space station at about 3:45 p.m. UTC (10:45 am EDT)
on the scheduled Nov. 26th date.  The Soyuz TM-7 will probably carry
Alexander Volkov (Soyuz T-14/Salyut 7 64 day mission in Sept. 1985)
and Sergey Kirkalyov (new cosmonaut) with Jean-Loup Chretien as the
French spationaut.  This 26 day flight, using the code name "Aragatz",
will include a space walk to erect a French made deployable structure,
the first EVA by a non US or Soviet person.  Note that the flight was
delayed from the original Nov. 21st take off so that French President
Francois Mitterrand could watch the launch at the Baikonur cosmodrome.
Interestingly the only other foreign leaders to visit the Soviet
launch complex are also French - Charles de Gaulle and Georges
Pompidou.  Mitterrand and Gorbachev are meeting to discuss more space
cooperation among other things.  The launch will be seen live in
France, so probably CNN will pick it up here. 

    The flight will end on Oct. 21 with Chretien coming down with
Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov, the current long duration Mir crew. 
This gives them one full year in space.  On Nov. 11th Titov and
Manarov exceeded the 326 day orbital record set by Yuri Romanenko in
Dec. 29, 1987 with the Soyuz TM-2/4/Mir mission.  They currently have
340 day in zero G. Dr. Valery Polyakov (arrived Aug. 29) has
accumulated 88 days, already exceeded the longest US mission, 84 days
in Skylab 4 (Feb. 4, 1974).  He will stay up until about April 1989,
coming down with Volkov and Kirkalyov.  Apparently they will put up
the second "Star" expansion module during their mission, which
contains a much larger airlock.  This will be docked axially at the
front port portion of Mir's ball section (which contains 5 docking
ports).  The airlock module is of the Kvant type, with a docking port
at each end along its axis, allowing a Soyuz transfer vehicle to dock
in turn to it while it is attached to Mir.  Thus they can keep the
station balanced, and the suggestion is that the new module will only
be moved to a side port when a third expansion section will arrive at
the station.  They can then dock two modules on the sides making the
Mir complex symmetric about the axis in mass distribution (important
in reducing gravity induced perturbations).  The movement will be made
by means of a docking arm on each module which plugs into the side of
Mir's ball section, undocks the module, moves it to a side port, then
redocks it.  Note the addition of a much larger airlock suggests
strongly that in upcoming missions they will be substantially
increasing their EVA work. 

    When the Soyuz TM-7 mission is finished Chretien will have
accumulated more space time than any active US astronaut (he has
nearly 8 days from the Soyuz T-6/Salyut 7 mission in June 1982).  That
shows how far this country has fallen.  However, the good news is that
if the Atlantis flies in December humanity will again have 11 members
of mankind in orbit (same ratio as last time Apr. 1984 when STS 41-C,
Soyuz T-10, and T-11 had 6 men on Salyut 7 (one being an Indian
guest), and 5 on the shuttle).  That shows that at least we have
started moving forward, both here and elsewhere. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: More information on Mir module addition in April
Posted: 25 Nov 88 23:17:48 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
     Some additional information has just come in on the module
addition to the Mir space station.  Satellite News (Nov. 21) quotes a
Russian report that this extravehicle activity module addition will
occur at the end of April mission with Alexander Volkov, Sergei
Krikalev and Valeri Polyakov "there will be a docking with a
re-equipment module which will at first dock with the transfer
compartment and then by means of manipulator it will re-dock with the
lateral docking assembly" of Mir.  The cosmonauts will connect up
power lines from the module to Mir's power system.  The resulting
larger airlock will give them much more room to move equipment in and
out of the station during EVA's, as well as providing more living area
for the crew.  This is in agreement with statements that they have
made that the importance of the "state rooms" for the cosmonauts
physiological health during long duration mission meant that before
much larger crews were employed Mir itself would have to be expanded. 

    Note that visitors to the Star City water tank space walk training
facility have noted Kvant style modules docked to both ends of Mir.
Indeed if you had sharp eyes you would have seen that during the
training tank pictures shown during their Oct. 20th EVA (I missed it).
In addition reports now say that Volkov and Krikalev will make two
EVAs to install sun sensors to improve the orientation ability of Mir.
Three Progress supply vehicles (each with about 2.3 Tonnes of
material) will dock with Mir during their 4 month mission - higher
than the average 6 weeks per Progress, especially since there will be
a large quantity arriving with the new module, but there will have
been no supplies brought up during the 26 day visit of Jean-Loup
Chretien (the French spationaut) who will arrive with them. Finally
the European Space Agency has just opened negotiations with Soviets
about joint docking procedures for Hermes to Mir. 

     It is funny, with all this there are still people who argue that
the Soviets are at a plateau in their space program.  I wish we were
on the same plateau - it seems be rising rather quickly. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soyuz TM-7 joint French/Soviet flight launched
Posted: 27 Nov 88 17:30:48 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
     The USSR successfully launched the joint French/Soviet mission to
the Mir space station at about 3:49 p.m. UTC (10:49 am EDT) today
(Nov. 26).  The Soyuz TM-7 carried Alexander Volkov (Soyuz T-14/Salyut
7 64 day mission in Sept. 1985) and Sergey Kirkalyov (new cosmonaut)
with Jean-Loup Chretien as the French spationaut.   The launch
announcement this was training for a joint international flight to
Mars (but did not specify what they meant by that).  The launch was
shown live on Soviet and French TV with CNN picking up the feed also
for real time coverage in the USA.  They will dock with the Mir/Kvant
complex on Nov. 26, and Chretien intends to come down 26 days later on
Dec. 21 (not Oct. 21 as I incorrectly posted last time). 

    When Chretien finishes this flight he may have more orbital time
than any active US astronaut.  I have always found the best way to
convenience people how far this country fallen behind in space is to
show what the Ariane rocket is doing in the commercial space business.
That usually gets the comment "I knew the Russians were ahead of us,
but my God, the French!" (they do not recognize it as a European
project, but at least the feel is correct).  Maybe that will move a
few butts in Congress. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    "People get tired of being trampled on by the iron-shod feet of
  oppression." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

    AvLeak also reported that the airlock module was due to be launched
    April 89, with another module to follow later in the year.
    
    However...
    
    They report that each of these new modules will be the same size as the
    current Mir core. The Star modules are much smaller. This is consistant
    with a comment in another note about tripling the size of Mir. They
    also mentioned that the airlock module will contain the Soviet's first
    MMU.
    
    gary
    
    p.s. apparently the TM-7/Mir docking was carried live on Soviet
    TV (and probably CNN). 

    	Kosmograd is on its way...
    
    	Larry
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: French/USSR Soyuz TM-7 docks with Mir space station
Posted: 29 Nov 88 04:05:54 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
     The Soyuz TM-7 spacecraft "Aragatz" successfully docked with the
Mir/Kvant space station today (Nov. 28th) approximately 1 pm EST
today. According to Radio Moscow first out of the capsule was the
French spationaut Jean-Loup Chretien (traditionally the guest
cosmonaut leaves the Soyuz before all others - Chretien also flew on
Soyuz T-6/Salyut7 in 1982).  His crewmates, commander Alexander Volkov
and flight engineer Sergei Krikalev followed to meet the long duration
crew Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov, plus Dr. Valery Polyakov.  They
have all settled down to start the research of this 26 day mission. 
There is no date yet for the space walk of this flight. 

    I hope that the shuttle Atlantis soon lifts off to meet them.
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    "The future's here right now, if you're willing to pay the price."

    "Considering the marvelous complexity of the Universe...its clockwork 
  perfection, its balances of this against that, matter, energy, 
  gravitation, time, dimension...I believe that our existence must be 
  more than either of these philosophies...that what we are goes beyond 
  Euclidean or other practical measuring systems, and that out existence 
  is part of a reality beyond what we understand now as reality." 

            - Captain Picard, "Where Silence has Lease", ST:TNG
                                       

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!mcvax!ukc!strath-cs!glasgow!jack
Subject: Re: French/USSR Soyuz TM-7 docks with Mir space station
Posted: 30 Nov 88 11:38:19 GMT
Organization: COMANDOS Project, Glesga Yoonie, Unthank
Summary:
Expires:
Sender:
Followup-To:
Keywords:
 
 
A piece of trivia from a local paper: the Aragatz flight marks yet another
space first for the Soviets - foodies in orbit.  The USSR subcontracted the
catering to a French company, Comtesse du Barry, which is providing meals like
rabbit with prunes, pigeon with dates, duck with artichokes and cabbage
stuffed with dates and raisins.
 
This is supposedly because Chretien formally complained about Soviet space
catering after his last trip.  (To even the score, Patrick Baudry complained
about American food on his shuttle flight).
 
According to Pierre Roudge, one of the chefs who designed the menu,
"Cosmonauts are deprived of everything, even carnal pleasures, so
they need something like a good meal to remind them of home."
 
-- 
ARPA: jack%cs.glasgow.ac.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk          USENET: jack@glasgow.uucp
JANET:jack@uk.ac.glasgow.cs      useBANGnet: ...mcvax!ukc!cs.glasgow.ac.uk!jack
Mail: Jack Campin, Computing Science Dept., Glasgow Univ., 17 Lilybank Gardens,
      Glasgow G12 8QQ, SCOTLAND     work 041 339 8855 x 6045; home 041 556 1878
    \
    
    
    
    ----------------------  
    Read the Diary of a Cosmonaut, it will shead more light on this.
    Just before the French Cosmonaut was to dock last time the Crew
    decided that it would not let the 'Frenchie' (as they called him)
    eat all their good food.  So they went on a food orgy and eat
    evey thing that was good, a whole months supply of food.
    
    
    I was looking at the crew activity plan for MIR thur 21 DEc and the
    following may be of interested for communications.  Wednsday
    DEC 14 will be a rest day, watch for a concert from space
    with a Russian Gutair, Chretien's electronic organ, and the
    Pink Floyd  'Dark Side of the Moon' set the controls to
    the center of the Sun on 143.625 MHz, FM.
    
    EVA will most likely happen on the 12 of DEC.
                                             
    jb
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: New Soviet Cargo Aircraft for Buran and Soyuz TM-7 mission update
Posted: 1 Dec 88 17:36:00 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    In a interesting space related event the USSR announced on
shortwave a new very large transport aircraft, the An-225, which can
carry the Soviet shuttle Buran, and parts for the Energiya booster. 
This 6 turbofan engine plane is huge, its payload is stated at 200
Tonnes, compared to 150 Tonnes for the previous largest cargo plane
(the Russian An-124 known in the west as the Condor) and the USAF's
C5A at 118 Tonnes (all comparison numbers from Jane's Aircraft 1987). 
It has a max speed of 850 Kph (530 mph) similar to the Condor's 865
Kph (540 mph) but slower than the C5A's 888 Kph (555 mph).  Max range
is 4500 Km (2800 mi), the same as stated for the Condor but shorter
than the C5A's 5526 Km (3453 mi).  The aircraft has a twin tail, and
is specifically designed to carry large cargoes externally like Buran.
The interesting point there is that NASA has for years talked about a
replacement for the shuttle 747 which replaces the single tail with a
twin.  The turbulence from the shuttle puts a great deal of stress on
the tail behind it.  The An-225's cargo hold will carry 60-80 cars.
The aircraft has not flown yet, but the first roll out was shown on
Soviet TV. 

    In orbit on board the Mir/Kvant space station the 6 man crew has
started its first tasks.  Jean-Loup Chretien has just completed his
physical by Dr. Polyakov, complaining that too much time is spent on
that exam (he has a right to - the politics of getting the Russian and
French presidents together took 5 days off his mission).  The space
walk is now set for Dec. 12 and will last 5 hours.  They will mount a
French deployable structure on the base placed outside during the Oct.
20th space walk of Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov.  Parts for this
were brought up on the last cargo carrier, Progress 38, on Sept.
12th).  This is the 15th guest cosmonaut mission on board a Russian
space station.  It is also the third French manned mission, Chretien's
two (current plus Soyuz T-6/Salyut 7 in June 1982) with Russia and
Patrick Baudry's flight on the USA's STS 51-G in June 1985 (for 7 days). 

    Now another Earth based portion of the USSR's space infrastructure
has appeared.  Does anyone really believe the Soviets are not building
up to be the real power house in space for the rest of this century? 
 
                                                      Glenn Chapman
                                                      MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!agate!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soviet/French space walk changed to Dec. 9th
Posted: 8 Dec 88 16:00:27 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    The Soviet/French space walk on board the Mir/Kvant space station
has been changed to Friday, Dec 9, from the previous date of Dec. 12th
(announced before the launch).  Jean-Loup Chretien (French) and
Alexander Volkov (Soyuz TM-7 mission commander) will do a 5 hour EVA
at that time to mount the Aerospatial built ERA deployable structure
on the conical shaped block that was placed there during the previous
EVA by Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov (the long duration Mir crew) on
Oct. 20th.  The ERA is a 3.8 x 3.6 meter (12.5 x 11.8 ft.) carbon
fiber composite truss system designed to test out structures for
deployable antennas and larger construction systems.  It is also the
prototype of mounting systems for future external experiments.  After
the EVA the structure will be released from Mir by the cosmonauts and
sent away from the station (it is light so it will decay rather
quickly from there).  Currently these are also using extensively the
French Matra As de Coeur echocardiograph system which checks block
flows in the cosmonauts, and the CIRCE system to record the radiation
levels within Mir in real time. 

    The meeting of Gorbachev and French president Mitterrand before
the launch has also resulted in a longer term commitment to
cooperation.  According to AW&ST (Dec. 5th) they French will pay for a
spationaut experimenter to visit Mir for one month durations every
other year.  This is the second set of rents the Russians have gotten
for Mir (Austria is paying about $6 million for a 7 day visit).  Both the 
European Space Agency and West Germany are looking at similar arrangements. 

    There is now rooms to rent in orbit at low cost, with good
delivery service and a willing supplier.  The only problem is that you
need to learn Russian to work there.  Anybody other supplier willing
to try? 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soviets set new space endurance record
Posted: 16 Dec 88 22:57:11 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    On board the Mir/Kvant space station complex the long duration
crew of Moussa Manerov and Alexander Titov set an offical world's
space endurance record today (Dec. 15) of 360 days.  This exceeds the
previous record of 326 days set by Yuri Romanenko Dec. 21, 1987 by the
required 10% needed for an official new time limit.  These two crew
members have entered a heavy exercise phase in preparation for their
Dec. 21 return in Soyuz TM-6 (the older craft brought up in Aug. 29). 
In addition they are spending time reviewing the controls of their
capsule - it has been nearly a year since they used one.  They will be
bringing Jean-Loup Chretien (the French spationaut) down with them
after his 26 day mission.  The remaining crew, Alexander Volkov and
Sergei Krikalev from Soyuz TM-7 plus Dr. Valery Polyakov from Soyuz
TM-6, currently plan to stay up until April of 1989. 

    Some interesting problems developed in the space walk done by
Chretien and Volkov.  They had originally planned for a shorter EVA but
at 5 hrs. 57 min. this was one of the longest run by the Soviets, just
at the limit of the new suits.  The problem was that the Aerospatial
ERA deployable structure failed to deploy properly, and it took some
effort to get it to do so. In addition there were some difficulties
with the control lines for some of the instruments.  It appears that
all was well by the end of the space walk.  Again men do the work when
machines fail. 
 
                                                    Glenn Chapman
                                                    MIT Lincoln Lab

    COSMONAUTS PREPARE FOR RETURN TRIP TO EARTH 
    MARKING ONE YEAR IN SPACE

The Undocking operation in which the Soyuz TM-6 spaceship
with the three men on board was to be detached from the
orbital station MIR would start at 06:31 Moscow Time.


    Titov and Manarov worked exactly 366 days in orbit as of
    17:30 Moscow Time, December 20.  This is an all-time record.
    If they had landed on schedule their total time in space would
    have amounted to 366 days 16 hours 20 min.

    Titov and Manarov will be replace on board the MIR station
    by Valery Polyakov and newcomers Volkov and Krikalev. The
    new crew would be in the TM-7 during undocking for
    safty reason.

    The Cosmonauts were to return to earth at 21:45 Moscow Time
    on the 21st of December.


    HOWEVER, their return to earth was delayed to Earth by what
    Radio Moscow called a 'computer overload'.  The delay amounted
    to 3 hours, ( no idea how exact this number is) thus
    the record is now 366 day 19 hours +,  all landed saftly.
    Tass stated that this long endurance record was part of their
    program to put man on Mars.

jb

    

    Progress 39 was launch to MIR on the 25th of Dec
    bring new supplies and New Years presents
    

New year's presents??? Is that a Russian equivalent of Christmas?

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!agate!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soviet/French mission lands - new record space record set
Posted: 21 Dec 88 19:39:24 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     The Soviet/French space mission was successfully completed today
(Dec 21) when the Soyuz TM-6 capsule landed with Moussa Manerov,
Alexander Titov (USSR) and Jean-Loup Chretien (French) on board.  The
flight was not without its problems though, shortly after they
undocked (sometime after 10 pm EST by the shortwave) they developed an
overload in the guidance computer, which resulted in them returning on
the second pass at the alternate landing site rather than the first
pass.  I do not have an exact landing time (the original schedule just
called for it to be before 4 am EST, 12 noon Moscow time), but the
first report I heard was at 8:30 am (Radio Moscow did not come on this
the frequencies I listen to until then for some reason). 

    Several final points to note on this flight.  First Titov and
Manerov are now the first people to spend one full year in orbit,
exceeding the previous record of 326 days (set by Yuri Romanenko in
1987) by some 39 days.  However, note that Romanenko still holds the
highest lifetime total at 430 days, while Leoind Kizim (of Soyuz T-10B
in '84, Soyuz T-15 in '86) is second with 373 days, and Titov is third
with 367 days (he gets only 2 days from the Soyuz T-8 aborted mission
in Apr. '83).  Secondly, Jean-Loup Chretien gained another 26 days of
orbital experience, which when added to his 7 day 21 hour flight in
Soyuz T-6/Salyut 7 (June 24, 1982), put him at 34 days of orbital
experience.  That ties him with the experience of the most active US
astronauts: John Young at 34 days and Paul Weitz (Skylab 2 & STS-9)
with 33 days.  All other US astronauts with higher experience levels
(eg. the Skylab 4 crew with 84 days) have retired.  Also note he came
down in the older Soyuz TM-6 capsule, an interesting coincidence with
the Soyuz T-6 flight he took in '82.  Finally, and little noticed by
the press, with this crew switchoff the Russians have continued the
permanent manning of the Mir space station complex, running now for
684 days.  In addition it has been occupied for 759 days total,
putting it well ahead of the total lifetimes of both their successful
second generation stations: Salyut 6 station (669 days between Sept.
'77 - July '82) and the previous Salyut 7 station (712 days: Apr. '82
- present). 

    The crew left on board consists of Alexander Volkov and Sergey
Kirkalyov from Soyuz TM-7, plus Dr. Valery Polyakov (Soyuz TM-6, Aug.
29).  The Soviets now have two highly experienced doctors with orbital
observations, Polyakov and Oleg Atkov (Soyuz T-10b, 237 days and 6
visitors in two crews). Dr. Polyakov has lots of clinical observation
of long and short term zero G adaptation, having seen people 6 newly
arrived people adjust to orbital life, inspected a long duration crew
for months at the end of their mission, and experienced 114 days of it
himself.  Current schedules call for him to be up until sometime in
April, putting him at the 215 days level minimum, and giving him time
to observe both a crew during the first 100 days of an extensive
flight, plus the new crew adjusting in April.  Interestingly Volkov
and Kirkalyov are now being called a new long duration crew which they
were not before on shortwave.  That may suggest that they are not
coming down in April, but will go for a more extensive mission (I can
see it now - "Comrades this is mission control, we have decided that
you are not going to land in April, but will go for a new record: see
you in January 1990" [for the 10% increase]).  Actually Volkov was on
the Soyuz T-14/Salyut 7 64 day flight in Sept. 1985 which was cut
short by the illness of the mission commander Vladimir Vasyutin.  The
original Soyuz T-14 mission schedule called for a 6 month mission for
him, so he maybe he would not find that too bad.  Note the leaving of
the fresh Soyuz TM-7 up there, definately an indication of a long
mission to come. 

    Unless something happens this year will close with a new first for
humanity: for the entire 365 days there were at least two men in
orbit. That it was only one outpost representing one nation is true,
but that will change.  Let us work towards the time where many
countries or blocks of nations have orbital posts. 
 
                                                     Glenn Chapman
                                                     MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!agate!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Why use Spationaut for Fench spacemen
Posted: 21 Dec 88 20:19:37 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    I recevied an interesting comment on my Soviet/French mission
postings from Yaron Sheffer at U of Texas that I though I might share:
 
>I actually, to be frank, don't like your term 'spacionaut'. Recall
>that the Soviets in their begining decided to call themselves
>"cosmonauts", and the Americans in their begining decided to call
>themselves "astronauts". Since these French fellows are HITCH
>HIKING on either Soviet or American spacecraft, then they SHOULD be
>called appropriately either "cosmonauts" or "astronauts".
>Once France, say, launches its own people up there independently,
>then they will decide what to call themselves.
 
     Sorry I cannot take all of the blame for using spationaut for the
French spacemen.  Of course the French use that themselves, but in
addition the the term is used by Russians on Radio Moscow and by
Aviation Week.  However, I think he has a interesting point in
suggesting that only when the country involved launches its own people
should it have a separate name for them. France of course will not use
its own launcher to put people into orbit for the near future as the
Ariane is a European venture (France does have the biggest share, but
is not above 50% currently).  That suggests that a separate term may
arise for those taking rides on vehicles not entirely of their own
making.  Actually more likely the terms astronaut and cosmonaut will
become used less to mean some particular country and more as generic
terms.  After all in aircraft the older term aviator became standard,
only to disappear when air flight became common. 

                                                      Glenn Chapman
                                                      MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Russian crew recovers well from 366 day flight
Posted: 26 Dec 88 05:11:52 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
   The Soviet's long term returning Soyuz TM-6 crew, which came down
on Dec. 21, of Moussa Manarov and Alexander Titov have found to be in
very good health after their 366 day, 23 hour mission.  The Titov and
Manarov were able to walk down the air craft ramp with only limited
assistance after their arrival back at Star Village, just outside of
Moscow.  They were brought there after the flight rather than Star
City (beside the Baikonur Cosmodrome) make use of the better medical
facilities there in studying the body changes.  Two days latter, on
Dec. 23, they made a 600 meter (0.38 miles) walk.  This is much better
then the earlier long duration flights were the cosmonauts needed to
stay in bed for weeks after the mission. 

   Also on board the Mir/Kvant space station Alexander Volkov and
Sergei Krikalev have moved the Soyuz TM-7 from the front docking port
to the rear (ball port) to make it ready for the bringing up more
supplies. On Dec. 25th the Progress 39 cargo craft was launched
carrying about 2.3 Tonnes of supplies.  There will be a rapid
launching of these Progress to Mir for the next few months as there
has been no new supplies since Progress 38 in September.  Progress 39
is bringing New Years presents to the Cosmonauts as well as the
regular run materials.  The mission of Earth's only manned space
station continues. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
   

    Soviet Cosmonaut Vladimir Titov, just back from 365 days 22 hours
    and 39 minutes in orbit, said on Friday that he and his crew-mate
    Musa Manarov are felling better on earth then they had expected.
    'the most difficult thing fo us now is to convence the doctors that
    we are stil healthy' Titov quipped ... 'yesterday and today we
    went outside to take 15 to 20 minut strolls.  Adapting to conditons
    back on earth will obviously take longer.  The subtle chemical changes
    in the human organism resulting from a long stay in zero gravity
    persist for about two months' he added.
    
    The interview took place thrught a glass partition, a percaution
    against infection, they look fine, moving without any visible strain,
    smiling as they parrid question. 
    
    The only question I would like to have asked is why is the
    French Cosmonaut (Chretien) in the glass cage with you, could
    it be one of the Cosmonauts is sick, as I can not rember for
    such a short stay in space such messures....
    
    jb
    

    DEC 27th 1988 the progress-39 cargo shiped docked with the 
    MIR  complex at 08:35 MSK on the KVANT side.  It ahs brought
    fuel, food, water, equipment, apparatus as well as mail.
    

This is off the subject of Space, but will help explain the New
Years presents that they said were sent up to MIR.  So if you
are not interested in this please skip but I think you may find
it interesting, and if we find out what the present were it could
be related to the section of the Soviet Union the Cosmonauts and
Friends come from.

I found the following information from a TASS article on NEW YEAR TRADITIONS IN
THE SOVIET UNION bye TASS correspondent Tatyana Ivanova

How do people in the Soviet Union see the new year in? Of course --
sitting at a + NEW YEAR + table near a nicely trimmed fir tree.
They will try to wear something new which according to almost 
universal belief, means that they will have more new cloths next year.
.....
Celebrating the new years on January 1 is not a very old custom in Russia.
It was established by Peter the Great who proclaimed January 1 to be the 
beginning of a new year, as in other European countries.  The Russian new 
year used to begin on September 1.  However, the night form December 31
to January 1 was not marked as the new year eve for another 100 or 150 
years, neither by Russian peasants nor the town folks.  January 1 was
one of the days of the Merry Winter Christmastide whos origin is very old.

The Christmastide in Russia was timed to coincide with the winter solstice 
when peasants did not work in the fields and still had enough food stocked
up in summer.  Incidentally, tradition new year carnivals originated from
Christmastide Jesters.  Fortune-telling was also a Christmas entertainment.
People tried to tell by the sky or the sun when they should start to plough,
sow, harvest crops or expect animals to breed.  Bonfires were made in the
streets.  It was believed that they would bring more warmth an dligth people
exchanged pastry-made figures of birds and animals and children wandered about
villages yards asking for gifts.

The +NEW YEAR+ table was usually decorated with everything the hosts wished
to have in their household. First, grains and hay were spread out on the
table surface and only then a table cloth was laid.  the main dish was 
porridge made of whole grains or several different strains of cereals. Pies 
with various stuffing were  bake and beer and kissels ( a traditional Russian
drink) were brewed .   May dishes were made of pork for the pig was considered
to be a symbol of fertility.

The custom to put out a show on the threshold for gifts.....
........

New Year festivities hold a prominent place in the Georgian Folk Calendar.  
Some of the new year customs are common to all ethnic groups inhabiting 
Soviet Georgia.  One of them is +MEKLE+ which means (man who shows the way).
It usually starts new year celebration.  In some Georgian Families it is the
father who appears in the role of +MEKLE+ while in other it is one of the 
kids.  Early in the morning +MEKLE+ enters his home with fruits and other 
treats and dips a branch of some evergreen in a vessel of spring water. Then,
he sprinkles the sleeping relatives with the spring water wishing them a 
Happy New Year.  and that is a sign to star the Merry-Making.

Soviet Baltic Nations transferred many of their Christmas traditions to the
New Year.  Some of them ... fortune-telling, jesters, sleigh_ridding, and
ritual song.  The people of the Baltic Nations believed that to have a 
Happy New Year a family had to eat all its peas and beans before it begins.
Therefore, pea porridge and pork was a necessary +New Year+ dish.  In some
places, people baked their own +Local+ pies with salted pork fat, carrots 
or cottage-cheese.

On a new year night, Armenians has to greet their elders and visit grief-
stricken families.  A falily's happiness in a new year was considered to 
depend on who was the first guest.....
...

It would be impossible to mention all the new Year customs, both
dead and living. But, Current interest in them is great. Many of them are 
returning to our homes after decades of oblivion to fill a New Year
Party with solemnity, mystery and fun.



    

Thanks John; I really appreciate the response, and am looking
forward to another year of your insight to the Russian space
program. 

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!agate!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Progress 39 docks with Mir and space repairs with a boot
Posted: 28 Dec 88 19:13:17 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
     On Dec. 27th the Progress 39 cargo craft docked with the
Mir/Kvant space station complex.  As soon as the cosmonauts opened the
hatch they were greeted by the aroma of fresh apples, just part of
their New Years gifts for Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev and Dr.
Valery Polyakov.  This tanker brings up about 1.3 tonnes of supplies
and 1 tonne of fuel/water/air.  Also with the tanker Radio Moscow
began to confirm that the crew would be coming down in April. The
shortwave report says that the doctor's examinations of the returning
Soyuz TM-5/7 crew of Moussa Manarov and Alexander Titov them to be in
excellent condition.  The official time for their orbital duration is
now given as 366 day, 19 hour 29 minute. 

     Some more information has come out concerning problems during the
Soviet/French space walk taken by Jean-Loup Chretien and Alexander
Volkov. Recall that the the Aerospatial ERA deployable structure
failed to deploy properly, and it took some effort to get it to do so.
Later AW&ST revealed Volkov released the ERA by giving the deployment
canister kicks with the reinforced of toe of his space suit boot.  He
waited until he was out of the range of flight control to begin this
attack, because he was disobeying orders to leave it alone.  Naturally
it worked after all the carefully planned alternatives failed. 

     In another interesting report more data has been reveal about the
Soviets Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) to be brought up to the station
with the air lock module addition to the station in April 1989. The
MMU is worn on the back of their new suits, there are two controller
panels, one for each arm with a different controller type on each
type.  The new semi rigid suits also contain interchangeable arms and
leg sections to better fit different people. 

     In the commercial area on Dec. 19th Continental Grain Co. and
Soyuzkarta (the Soviet remote sensing agency) signed an agreement to
market images for the US and Canada.  ContriTrade Services Corp.,
their subsidiary, hopes to market these 5 meter (16 ft.) pictures in
here to commercial and government agencies and to "countertrade"
(barter - probably grain).   Meanwhile Space Commerce Corp. (Art
Dula's Houston based marking firm) has signed a joint venture with
Glavcosmos to sell all Soviet space services: launch services, rent
aboard Mir, space hardware sales, tours of the Baikonur cosmodrome,
and space memorabilia.  The Russians will be marketing space on board
both Energia and the Soviet Shuttle Buran in a few years through SCC. 
On Dec. 20th reporters where shown a backup to Buran in Moscow, and
told several more shuttles were under construction.  (Defense Daily
Dec. 22).  In another marketing area on Dec. 27th the head of the
German agency said that he expected a West German to fly to Mir within
3 years according to Radio Moscow. 

    As any engineer knows, machines fail in ways that often can be
repaired with simple solutions by the person on site.  The Soviets
have proved this time and again on their space stations.  Now they are
bringing this expertise into the commercial market.  In the battle to
become an economic space power, they have that advantage, while here
people still argue that robots can do it all. 
 
                                                      Glenn Chapman
                                                      MIT Lincoln Lab

    
Cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chretien, who made a 25 day flight aboard the
Soviet complex MIR and his stand in ( Michel Tonigni) will return
to France on Tuesday Evening. ( this article was written on WEN the
4th of Jan ).

In an interview to journalist Jean_Loup Chretien said he was satisfied 
with his space mission results which are reassuring for the future.  Most 
Memorable to him was an over six hour long open space walk with his Soviet
Colleague Alexander Volkov.  These were unforgettable hours, he noted.

Speaking of the flight program, Jean_Loup Chretien noted the assistance
rendered to his crew by space old-timers Vladmir Titov and Musa Manarov,
who stayed exactly a year in orbit.  He said that both were in very good
form.  This points to a possibility of undertaking in a not far off
future a space expedition to Mars in which several countries could
take part.

No information on why he was keep in quarantine with the old-timers,
this is not the normal course of events for a 30 day mission.


    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!agate!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: MMU being added to Mir and good recovery from year long mission
Posted: 29 Jan 89 03:15:24 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    On board the Mir/Kvant space station complex Alexander Volkov and
Sergei Krikalev of the Soyuz TM-7 crew have now been up for 61 days,
exceeding Skylab 3's 59 day mission in July 1973. Meanwhile Dr. Valrey
Polyakov from Soyuz TM-6 has now spent 150 days in orbit.  This
"medium duration" mission will last until April-May when Alexander S.
Victorenko (8 days Soyuz TM-3/Mir, July 22 1987) and Alexander
Alexandrovich Serebrov (7 days Soyuz T-7/Salyut 7 Aug. 19 1982 and 2
days Soyuz T-8) will replace them.  Note that Serebrov first trained
for a long duration flight in 1983 when Soyuz T-7 suffered a docking
radar failure which aborted the mission. 

    Timed close to their arrival will be the addition of the air lock
expansion module (adding 20 Tonnes and about 100 cu. meters to Mir). 
The module, which will first dock to the rear end of Mir and then be
transferred to the side port, contains a new shower, water
electrolysis system (breaking waste water into oxygen) and the
Gyrodine gyroscope position stabilization setup. In addition it will
carry the Russian's Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), which is similar to
the US system. However, for the initial test the MMU will be tied to
the station with lines in case something fails according to Victor
Blagov, deputy manned space flight director. After the incident in
1977 when Yuri Romanenko nearly floated out of a space hatch with no
cable attached the Soviets can not be blamed for being somewhat shy of
going without safety lines (Romanenko was saved by Georgiy Grechko who
grabbed him just as he floated out the door). Valery Ryumin, director
of manned space flight (with 362 orbital days himself) said the
Russian's new space suits, first used on the Alexander Volkov and
Jean-Loup Chretien EVA of Dec. 9, were both much easier to put on due
to exchangeable arms and were good for 10 space walks.  Note that in
that walk it appears that the cause of the failure of the ERA
deployable structure failed to expand was due to ice frozen in the
container.  The box had not been sealed during the time it was kept on
board Mir, causing it to pick up moisture from the air (it was very
wet on Mir with the 6 man crew).  In addition to the ERA problem they
had difficulty mounting a set of panels containing test materials for
the space exposure (to be picked up in 6 - 12 months).  Finally, at
the end of 6 hours (their max allowed suit time was only 6.5 hours)
they headed in but Chretien had trouble closing the hatch due to sweat
on his visor. 
    
    The recover of Vladimir Titov and Moussa Manerov after their 365
day mission is almost astounding.  According to Bernard Comet, flight
surgeon for the French space agency CNES, while they were pale and had
balance problems when first being carried out of the capsule, by the
time of the flight back to Moscow 3 hrs. later they were walking down
the stairs from the plane (as I saw on the video tapes).  Twenty four
hours after landing Titov had no difficulty while Manarov was still
experiencing some equilibrium difficulties, and by 2 days after
landing both were walking and acting normally.  Subsequent reports on
the short wave indicate that they have recovered much faster than even
the Russians expected.  Indeed the latest data shows this was also
the case with Yuri Romanenko, who flew for 326 days ending Dec. 29
1987.  For example he ran an 11 m (36 ft.) distance within a day of
landing.  By comparison after the 211 day Soyuz T-5/Salyut 6 mission
in May 1982 Anatoli Berezolvi and Valentin Lebedev were still not
fully recovered 34 days after landing, suffering weakness and
dizziness ("space hangover"). The Soviet doctors are saying now they
are confident they have licked the Zero G health problems in planning a
typical manned Mars mission.  Note they first flew to Star Village
near Moscow rather than the Baikonur Cosmodrome because of an outbreak
of viral Hepatitis at the Star City center near there. (AW&ST Jan 2,
Radio Moscow, Manned Space Log and Defense Daily, Dec 20, Jan 4). 

    The Soviets appear to have developed techniques to overcome many
of the zero G medical problems (though probably not all).  It looks
like the way to Mars is now open for all those that learn how the
Soviets do it. 
 
                                                     Glenn Chapman
                                                     MIT Lincoln Lab
 
========================================================================
Received: by decwrl.dec.com (5.54.5/4.7.34)
	id AA07988; Sat, 28 Jan 89 20:11:33 PST

    Re Testing the MMU
    
    We tested our MMU from the shuttle.  If a worst case problem occured
    and a jet on the MMU stuck, the shuttle would have more than enough
    delta-V to chase down the departing astronaut and retrieve him.  Under
    those circumstances it was probably riskier to use a tether than
    not.
    
    The Soviets are testing their MMU from MIR.  Obviously chasing down
    a lost astronaut, (sorry, cosmonaut),  with the station is out.  The
    Soyuz could be undocked and used in a chase, but it may not have
    the correct kind of tracking equipment, it might not have adequate
    delta-V and it does not have a hatch large enough to admit a cosmonaut
    wearing an MMU.
    
    Therefore the Soviet's choice of testing their MMU while tethered
    doesn't seem to me to be an indication of excess conservatism on
    their part, just a normal response to the different testing
    environments.
    
    Mike H

    MIRs orbit was raised on  I think the 30th of JAN this would open
    up a window for the next progress launch on the 3rd of Feb.
    
    I posted the latest MIR element set in note # 362.***
    
    

    Progress-39 was undocked on Tuesday AM MSK, I forget the
    exact time but it was apx 09:40 MSK.  IT was set to deoribit
    late Tuesday Night over the Pacific and Western Part of the
    USA, so watch for reports of it's fireball.   This would
    indicate the Progress-40 would be launched soon.
    There are two good windows today the 8th, but time will tell..
              john
    

Progress 40 cargo spacecraft docked with the manned orbital complex
MIR at 13:30 MSK on the 12 of February 1989, bringing fuel for
the joint propulsion plant of the station, food, water, equipment,
apparatus as well as mail.  It docked on the KVANT side.

According to telemetric data and crew reports, the on-board systems
of the manned complex MIR are functioning normally.

Alexander Volkov, Serlei Krikalev and Valery Polyakov are felling well.


    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soviets outline crew plans for Mir
Posted: 23 Feb 89 19:17:30 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    A report was published in the Soviet publication Turd by the head
of cosmonaut training, Lt. Gen. Vladimir A. Shatalov (himself a
cosmonaut on Soyuz 4, 3 days in Jan. '69, Soyuz 8, 5 days in Oct. '69,
and Soyuz 10, 2 days in Apr. '71 - docked with Salyut 1, but could not
enter the first Russian space station).  He stated that 10 cosmonauts
are in training for Mir missions, each with 2 men per flight. 
Researcher cosmonauts who are to run experiments on Mir might be added
to these crews later on.  With the exception of a few long duration
missions to expand the research on weightlessness, most missions would
last 6 months.  However, each flight would have about a 2 month
overlap with the previous mission so that each experienced crew could
train their replacements.  Two to three missions a year would be done
this way. Foreign cosmonauts could work on Mir during that overlap
period.  For example French will be sending a spationaut to Mir every
second year.  Thus Michel Tognini, the backup for Jean-Loup Chretien's
flight in Soyuz TM-7 (Nov. '88) is considered a good candidate for a
1990-91 mission.  This would give the USSR between 970 mandays (2 person 
crews only) to 1456 mandays (3 person crews) of experience per year. 

    He also stated that 7 cosmonauts are in training for Soviet
shuttle missions, I. Volk (group leader), V. Zabolotskiy, R.
Stankyavichyus, U. Sultanov, M. Tolovoyev, S. Tresvyatskiy, and Yu.
Sheffer.  The cosmonauts are pushing for the next flight of the
shuttle Buran to be manned, but the results of the first flight must
be studied before a decision is reached. 

    No women crews are currently being trained.  Svetlana Savitskaya
(Soyuz T-7, 8 days in Aug. '82, and Soyuz T-12, 11 days in July '84)
the second woman cosmonaut, was to head an all female crew of engineer
Ye. Ivanova and physician Ye. Dobrovakshina in about 1985, but the
flight was delayed.  There problems with Salyut 7 at that time,
control systems failed early in 1985, resulting in the requirement to
send a repair mission of Soyuz T-13 in June '85.  Unfortunately, by
the time the situation stabilized Savitskaya had become pregnant and
the stand by crew was all male due to the lack of a qualified women
cosmonaut with space flight experience (one experienced cosmonaut is
required on each mission).  A. Viktorenko and A. Alexandrov from that
stand by flew the Soyuz TM-3 mission with the Syria guest cosmonaut in
June 1987, while the other, A. Solovyov, went up on the Soyuz TM-5 in
June 1988.  (This does not explain why they did not have a mixed crew
of two rookie women and one experienced man to generate other
exerienced women - they probably were just not interested.) 

    He also said some of their recent problems with the Soviet program
came from the large number of new personal being brought in due to the
expansion of their space operations.  Not all of them were as well
trained as they should have been.  They are working on systems to
guard against this. (from Aerospace Daily, Feb. 7). 

    Sounds like in spite of their troubles the Soviets are planning an
expansive space program for the next few years. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab.
 
Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Mir surpases other Soviet space stations in February
Posted: 23 Feb 89 15:23:28 GMT
Organization: The Internet
  
    This month saw two significant anniversaries for the Mir/Kvant
space complex.  Little noticed by the media (including the
professional press such as Aviation Week, Defense Daily and Areospace
Daily) Feb. 6 marked the second anniversary of permanent manned
presence in space, while Mir itself has been continuously occupied
since Feb. 9, 1987.  In the second "birthday" Feb. 20 was the third
year of Mir's orbital life.  Mir is now by far the most useful of the
Russian space stations.  It has been occupied for 818 days, compared
to 676 days for the earlier Salyut 6 (Sept. '77 to July '82) and 712
days for Salyut 7 (Apr. '82 to present). By comparison the US's Skylab
(May '73 to July '79) held crews for only 171 days.  In terms of the
fraction of the orbital time these stations were occupied (taken from
launch to the date the last crew left to give a fairer comparison),
75% is Mir's currently manning level, 51% for Salyut 6, 47% for Salyut
7 and 64% for Skylab.  Mir has also reached 1962 mandays, exceeding
the previous record of 1821 mandays for Salyut 7 (Skylab had 512
mandays, only 26% of Mir's).  Indeed occupation of Mir alone exceeds
by 20% the total US space experience (1642 mandays) over the past 27
years!  The Soviets now have 6105 mandays or 3.7 times the space experience 
of the USA, and Mir represents 32% of their total time in orbit. 

    On board the space station Feb. 7 saw the ejection of the Progress
39 cargo ship (then filled with garbage) and its reentry destruction.
Progress 40 was launched on Feb. 10 to bring up another 2.3 Tonnes of
supplies.  Alexander Volkov and Sergei Krikalev (Soyuz TM-7) have been
up in orbit for 89 days, exceeding the Skylab 4 crew (USA's longest
mission) of 84 days, while Dr. Valrey Polyakov (Soyuz TM-6) has 176
days.  Cosmonauts, by the way, now hold the first 22 places in terms
of personal cumulative orbital time, while the Skylab 4 crew occupies
the 23-25 positions. 

    [Sorry about the delay in posting the stuff around Feb. 10th. The
mailer ate my message on those events so I combined them with the most
recent ones.] 

    In spite of statements from certain people in Washington the
Soviet program is clearly not at a plateau.  These records show it -
ignore them only if you want to hide your head in the sand. 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab
   

Date: Tue, 7 Mar 89 14:30:08 EST
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
To: XB.N31@forsythe.stanford.edu, space-editors-new@andrew.cmu.edu,
        yaron@astro.as.utexas.edu
Subject: USSR's Progress 40 performs interesting operations at Mir 
 
    On Mar. 5th the Soviets announced on short wave the separation of
the Progress 40 tanker from the Mir/Kvant space station and destroyed
by reentry in the atmosphere.  Progress 40 carried up about 2.3 tonnes
of supplies up on Feb 10, making this 21 day docking period on the
short side for such cargo craft (35 days is more typical).  Progress
41 will probably be launched within the next few days.  This rapid
turn around in Progress 40 also suggests that they are still on track
for the launching of the new expansion module in for April.  There
would be little need to quickly bring up more supplies if there was
going to be a delay in docking the large, 20 Tonne module to Mir's
front (ball) port section.  Since that will probably force the tying
up of the rear (supply) port with the Soyuz TM-7 capsule for several
months a rapid run up in supplies before that occurs is expected.  The
exact timing of the Progress 41's ejection will be an important
indicator here. 

    More surprising than this undocking were some rather interesting
experiments they performed with Progress 40.  Just before separation
the cargo craft unfolded and refolded a set of external support
structures to be used in future for mounting test samples on.  Mention
was made of a special metal that took a specific shape on unfolding
(is this one of the shape changing metals which will return to a set
pattern when heated above some temperature, or simply some other sort
of deployable structure?).  These tests were done under the command
and observation of the cosmonauts on Mir.  One question here is were
they just using the Progress as a convent test vehicle, or does this
suggest this building up to the a more complicated Progress biased
free flyer.  The Russians have previously talked about having a
Progress type craft dock with the station, be serviced by the
cosmonauts (removing processed materials and inserting new supplies)
then undock and fly near the Mir while ultralow gravity experiments
are performed.  Progress 32 back in Nov. 17, 1987, undocked from the
station, then backed away and flew near it for a while.  That was
possibly a test of one aspect of the free flyer, while this may be
another.  Another point to keep in mind is that the Soviets have
already stated that the Progress series is undergoing a  redesign.
This is not too surprising since the first of these cargo craft,
Progress 1, flew in Jan. 1978 to Salyut 6, and there have only been
minor changes since then. 

    On Mir itself Alexander Volkov and Sergei Krikalev (Soyuz TM-7)
just passed 100 days in orbit on Mar. 6th, while Dr. Valrey Polyakov
(Soyuz TM-6) has been up there for 189 days.  Take them for what they
are worth but there are some reports that Polyakov may not come down
in April (I have not see the actual article as of yet though Jonathan
McDowell of Harvard related the info to me).  Considering that
Polyakov was originally expected to land Dec. 21 he may just be
getting a bit worried about when he is going to come down. 

    I find it interesting in the middle of the manned vs unmanned
debat here the Soviets maintain a continously crewed space station
while sending at the same time their most complicated interplanetary
mission to Mars.  Maybe we should learn a bit from their style of
space operations. 
 
                                                      Glenn Chapman
                                                      MIT Lincoln Lab
 

I know absolutely nothing of orbital mechanics, but doesn't the
orbit of Mir have to be adjusted, outward I'd think, to make up
for the increase in mass when they bolt on another expansion
module?  Either move the station out or slow it down...

    re .128
    
    No, for a given orbital altitude the speed does not change with mass
    (ignoring all sorts of other influences that can affect orbit).
    
    When the expansion module docks, it will be moving at the same speed
    (plus or minus a few feet per sec) as Mir is at that time.
    
    Mir usually changes orbit before docking/undocking with a Progress but
    that is for other reasons. I think they lower Mir to compensate for the
    fairly low orbit that the Progess uses (limitation of the A-2 launch
    vehicle) and then raise it after docking to reduce atmospheric effects
    on Mir (there is enough atmosphere left at that altitude to gradually
    slow down large objects).
    
    gary

    On the Radio this morning (17-MAR-89) they announced that the Soviets
    had launch a new supply ship to the man space station.
    
    I would expect good viewing the the East coast of the US 
    of visual verification of both MIR and Progress craft on
    both Friday and Sat night.
    
    

    progress 41 was launch @ 21:54 MSK on the 16th of March and 
    docked to the KVANT side at 11:51 PM MSK on the 19th of March.
    Progress-41 has brought fuel for the Mirs joint power unit, 
    food, water, equipment and mail.
    
    john
    

Date: Sun, 19 Mar 89 22:49:19 EST
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
To: XB.N31@forsythe.stanford.edu, space-editors-new@andrew.cmu.edu,
        yaron@astro.as.utexas.edu
Subject: USSR's Progress 41 docks with Mir
 
     The Soviets announced the docking of the Progress 41 tanker with
the Mir/Kvant space station Mar. 19th, after its launch on Mar. 17.
This will bring about 1 tonne of supplies and 1.3 tonnes of
fuel/air/water to Mir.  This is the 17th supply craft, and the 26th
vehicle to dock to Mir.  A comparison of how much Mir has been used
over the older Salyut 6 and 7 space stations is that those previous
systems had only had 12 Progress craft each dock with them.  Also note
that Progress 40 left Mir on Mar. 5th.  This is a somewhat longer time
during which no Progress was attached to Mir than expected, especially
if they are going to get another cargo craft up before the mid April
crew switch off.  This in turn is indicative of no expansion module
being launched before that switchoff, as had been originally planned. 
Rumors to that effect have been circulating for several weeks. 

    On board the station Dr. Valrey Polyakov has just exceeded 202
days in orbit, putting him in 14th place in zero G experience.  More
interesting is on the 14th the short wave stated that he had just
given the crew a complete physical.  In the 19th report again
Alexander Volkov and Sergei Krikalev (Soyuz TM-7, up for 113 days)
were mentioned as the crew, which will be coming down.  However,
Polyakov was talked about separately.  This is giving yet more
indications that Dr. Polyakov may not be landing in April. In addition
the replacement cosmonauts are now described as "another long duration
crew", a term which has not been used for the Soyuz TM-7 team.  The
term appears to be applied to cosmonauts exceeding 1/2 year in space
now.  Thus the new mission may be another space endurance record
mission, again confirming the good results of the year long mission of
Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov in 1988. 

    When a nation has an operating space station it has the
flexibility to change mission plans in orbit quickly.  The US, Europe
and Japan will only have that capability only when they have their own
home in orbit. 
 
                                                   Glenn Chapman
                                                   MIT Lincoln Lab
 

    from TASS:
    
    A recent TASS article said the new crew is schedule to liftoff on
    the 19th of April
    Cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko
               Alexander Balandin
    they will relieve Alenxader Volkov, Sergie Krikalev and Valery
    Polyakov, I guess we will have to wait and see about Polyakov
    every other reports seems to have him staying or leaving.
    
    The new crew will perform maintenance on the stations's instruments
    and wquipment and replace some components, Tass said.
    
    jb
    

    AW&ST report that the first expansion module has been delayed until
    late this year. Apparently the second module is not ready and they do
    not want to fly an asymmetrical configuration for very long.
    
    gary

        I just heard on the radio that you can now buy advertising space
    on MIR (a couple of years ago I would have assumed it was an April
    Fool's joke). You can buy a patch on a cosmonaut's spacesuit, or a
    2-lb cargo that you can proclaim "has flown in space", or an ad on the
    MIR hull, or a billboard at the Baikonur launch pad.  It boggles the
    mind.  I wonder if they'll consider inserting promos for sponsors in
    the voice links?  "Comrade, the Bulova time is 00:30 Zulu...." 
 
        Peter Scott (pjs@grouch.jpl.nasa.gov)
  

    re:135   no joke its true, 
    The cosmonaut will switch hats with different vendors names just
    like the Formular One race drives do....
    
    Bern, Switzerland (from AP article)
    The Swiss advertising agency Punto S.A. has signed a deal with the
    Soviets to find Western firms who want to plug their products via
    the Soviet space program.....
    In October it will be selling space on their spaceships, launch
    pads and cosmonauts uniforms.
    
    With the promotions fees comes the rights to shown on TV any part
    of international news coverage for later TV for publicity purpose.
    
    Advertising would likly be painted on the rockets sections, which
    fall into the sea after launching, and cosmonauts also could wear
    publicity stickers on their in-flight suits "like Formula One" racers.
    
    A prime "billboard" would be the Mir manned space station, which
    has space for two company or product logos, Andrea Capra of Punto
    said.
    
    Capra also said he is presently in negoations with 3 mutinationals
    but would not mention who they are....
    
    .... now lets see how much would it cost to have a cosmanauts 
    where a Amnesty Internaional patch... ...
    or should we wait for 1992  'your no Dan Quayle'.... 
    all sorts of possibilities
    
    john
     
    

    And we thought we were the ultimate capitalists.  We draw the line
    somewhere (still not sure where it is, though).  Apparently, the new
    Soviet Union is going all out.  I guess they'll have to go through the
    gaudy stage just like we did until they get tired of it.
    
    I can just see this patchwork rocket ascending into the sky covered
    with big Fuji film and Coca Cola advertisements on it.  And of course
    all the texts which show pictures of the rockets will have to include
    the color scheme of the rockets.  More free advertising.
    
John

    Sigh. One can only hope the Soviets will pour money down the tubes
    on salad shooters and gensu knife sets. It may slow them down enough
    for us to catch up :-).
    
    Mebbe one of the new modules for Mir is a laser projector to display
    ads on the upper atmosphere for large portions of population at
    one shot - Like say the eastern US and Canada or Europe...... :-)
    
    					-**Ted**-

    Here is an interesting article from TASS, not in what it says but
    how its says it.
    
    Today they are to replace a number of power-supply system instruments,
    the warranty period of which is expiring, by new ones brought by
    the progress-41 cargo spacecraft.   
    
    I should look up "warranty" in the Soviet English Dictionary
    and see what they think the meaning is.  From the context of the
    above it is the usefull life of a product not the time the maker
    of an item will stand behind it.  It would sure change ones shopping
    habbits....
    
    
    

    If MIR's does not change its orbit then watch for the TM-9 launch on the
    19 of April with a launch about 05:30 UTC, last time the launch
    was live on one of the NASA Satellite links...
    john
    
    

    The Soviets have released some information about their Mir
schedule for the rest of the year; together with some information from
J. Oberg and some estimates of my own, here is the expected activity
for 1989-90. Details of the Sep/Oct activity are based on Oberg's
scenario. You are warned that all attempts at detailed forecasts of
Soviet space activity have traditionally turned out to be totally
wrong. Enjoy! 
 
Progress-41 undock from rear port			Apr early?
Soyuz TM-8 launch, dock to rear port			Apr 19
	EO-4 Crew: Aleksandr Viktorenko, Aleksandr Balandin
Soyuz TM-7 undock from front port, land			Apr 29
	EO-3 Crew: Aleksandr Volkov, Sergey Krikalyov, Valeriy Polyakov 
Soyuz TM-8 move to front port				May 1?
Progress-42 launch, dock to rear port			May
Progress-42 undock					Jun
Progress-43 launch, dock to rear port			Jun
Progress-43 undock					Jul
Progress-44 launch, dock to rear port			Jul
Progress-44 undock					Aug
Soyuz TM-8 move to rear port				Sep
Doosnashcheniya modula launch, dock front port		Sep
D-modula move to side port 1				Sep
Soyuz TM-9 launch, dock front port			Oct
 EO-5 Crew: Not yet selected; possibly Anatoliy Solovyov, Aleksandr Serebrov
Soyuz TM-8 undock rear port				Oct
	EO-4 Crew: Aleksandr Viktorenko, Aleksandr Balandin
Progress-45 launch, dock rear port			Oct/Nov
Progress-45 undock from rear port			Nov
Soyuz TM-9 move to rear port				Dec
Tekhnologicheskaya modula launch,dock front port	Dec
T-modula move to side port 2				Dec
Soyuz TM-9 move to front port				Dec
Progress-46 launch, dock rear port			1990 Jan?
  
    Long term scenario, caveat emptor:
 
Soyuz TM-10						1990 Apr
	EO-6 crew replaces EO-5
Soyuz TM-11						1990 Oct
	EO-7 crew replaces EO-6
Soyuz TM-12						1991 Apr
	EO-8 crew replaces EO-7
Soyuz TM-13						1991 Oct
	Visiting crew, with Austrian cosmonaut
Soyuz TM-14						1992 Apr
	Visiting crew, with French cosmonaut	
Soyuz TM-15						1992 Oct
	EO-9 crew replaces EO-8
 
    2 more modules to be added in this time period.
    Mir 2 not expected until late 1990s.
 
 .----------------------------------------------------------------.
 |  Jonathan McDowell       |  phone : (617)495-7144              |
 |  Center for Astrophysics | uucp: husc6!harvard!cfa200!mcdowell |
 |  60 Garden Street        | bitnet : mcdowell@cfa.bitnet        |
 |  Cambridge  MA 02138     |  inter : mcdowell@cfa.harvard.edu   |
 |  USA                     |   span : cfa::mcdowell              |
 |                          |  telex : 92148 SATELLITE CAM	  |
 |                          |    FAX : (617)495-7356              |
 '----------------------------------------------------------------'
  

Japanese TV plans Video Link-UP with "MIR" Space Station


According to a TASS correspondent Alexander Kopnov:

A direct video link-up with MIR complex will be shown this 
summer throughout the territory of Japan.  The "TOKAI"
Television network has announced plans to arrange a "SPACE BRIDGE"
with the the Soviet Space research station, the Cosmonauts training
center in the USSR and the United States, with the Japanese town of NAGOYA.

The program is schedule for the 16th of July when the international
"DESIGN EXPO-89" display will open in NAGOYA.  Vladimir Titov
(the Soviet Cosmonaut) has been invited as the guest of honor.
Titov has the space record of staying in space for 366 days.

In the course of this one-hour program, its participants will
be able to converse with the crew of MIR to familiarize
themselves with the work and like of researchers on the near-earth orbit.


I hope some one in DEC-JAPAN will be able to attend and report 
on this event.  Don't forget to bring your 'Planet Earth' book
to get it autographed bye Vladmir Titov...

john


    

    Has anyone heard why the TM Flight on the 19th has been delayed
    unitll an unknown date???   
    
    jb with the latest Soviet Rumors

    There will be no TM-8 to MIR, in fact it looks like MIR
    will be left empty and perhaps put into a 500km mothball
    orbit with Salyut-7.  The crew will be coming back home
    on the 27 not the 29 leaving MIR empyt for the first time
    in more then 2 years ....  No official indication yet
    what is going on ... mostly rumors
    
    jb
    

    Check the bottom of page 8 in today's Boston Globe - an April
    19th launch of 2 other cosmonauts has apparently been called
    off.  Some speculate this is caused by budget cuts in the
    Soviet space program.
    

Date: Tue, 11 Apr 89 23:57:37 EDT
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
To: XB.N31@forsythe.stanford.edu, space-editors-new@andrew.cmu.edu,
        yaron@astro.as.utexas.edu
Subject: Soviet Mir space station in trouble.
 
    The Soviet Union has suffered a serious problem with its Mir space
station.  What exactly is wrong was not stated but on April 11 Radio
Moscow announced that the current crew (Dr. Valrey Polyakov, Alexander
Volkov and Sergei Krikalev) will be returning to Earth on April 27th.
They are currently preparing the station for operation in an unmanned
automatic mode.  Originally Soyuz TM-8 was scheduled for launch on
April 19th to bring a two man crew of Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander 
Balandin.  It is not likely that the problem is with the new crew (there 
is always a backup team) or the launcher/capsule.  If that was the case 
they would probably just have ordered the current crew to stay up there 
another two months until the next launch window, in mid June. 

    Their Soyuz TM-7 is about 4 months old at this point, 6 is the
maximum they keep capsules up there for.  Also, they have in the past
sent a Soyuz up on automatic to a space station to replace a capsule
that was suspect (in June 1979 Soyuz 34 was sent up to Salyut 6 to
replace the Soyuz 32 which had exceed the [then] 90 day limit because
of the failure of Soyuz 33 to dock to the station).  All of this
suggests that there has been some failure on board the Mir station.
There have been some rumors that there were problems with the
gyroscopes in the Kvant section, but if these were true that should
not be reason for leaving Mir unmanned (it was run without them for
many months even with the Kvant module attached).  However, it cannot
be a life threatening problem; an emergency landing at this time would
be relatively safe, and the normal Mir launch/landing window opens on
April 19th.  Thus this crew is coming down near its expected time of
April 29th.  There was no statement as to the cause of the problem,
not in the keeping with the current Glasnost tendency.  After the
Phobos II loss and the sinking of the Mike class nuclear submarine it
appears that one more failure was a bit more than the news service
could take in a one month period.  One can speculate that they are
studying the situation and will send up a repair crew after the proper
equipment has been manufactured. 

    Thus it appears that there will be a hiatus in the permanent
presence of humans in space.  The Soviets came close, but it looks
like they will not pull it off.  On the other hand they did get a 26
month run - mankind's best result so far. 
 
                                                      Glenn Chapman
                                                      MIT Lincoln Lab

    Is this a way to celebrate COSMONAUTICS DAY?
    I think the announcement of the Mothballing of MIR
    came on Cosmonautics Day...   Is this an indication
    that this is a political/budget problem not a 
    technical ones, or do they just have to go home
    and wash the dishes until they pay for the cost of PHOBOS...
    
    There is something going on, about the same time
    the Soviet Meteor Satellite started switching to a
    strange format, a 3 sec per line IR format.  This
    gives them a 20 LPM format.  Does anyone have any idea
    why? Why  all of a sudden, and why would I/R images of
    this very slow rate be of importances now!   My only
    guess is the melting of the ICE, but they have never
    used this format before.   Meteor 2-16/17/18* are now
    doing it...  The only time before that 20lpm was used
    was in the first few weeks of a new bird for test testing.
    * (night time passes)

    I think I first notice this the 3rd week of March...
    
    
    
    John
    
    

 
From the Dallas Remote Imaging Group---
 From:  JOHN DUBOIS               Sent: 04-11-89 11:15
   To:  ALL                       Rcvd: 04-12-89 21:46
   Re:  20 LPM
 
The question of burning interest on the Meteor 20 LPM is whether or not
they are stuffing it with the same pixel resolution as 240 LPM or
whether they are just resampling the image for some reason. If it is the
former then this is an "HRPT" type of APT mode and would be really
exciting. Best way to tell is to look at the video on a spectrum
analyzer and see what the highest components are ... or else look at
small details with a magnifier after capturing with a high sample rate.
Verrrrry interesting. If anyone does the critical test, please post
here. Thanks.
 
 
 
Articles follow----  all filingtimes are UTC - 4 hours
 
APn  04/12 2119  Soviet-Space
 
Copyright, 1989. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
 
By JOHN IAMS
MOSCOW (AP) -- The orbiting space station Mir will be mothballed
for three months because of delays in preparing equipment that
cosmonauts need to perform experiments aboard the spacecraft,
Tass said Wednesday. Cosmonauts Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev
and Valery Polyakov will return to Earth on April 27, leaving the
Mir station unmanned for only the second time since it was
launched in February 1986. "When three Soviet cosmonauts return
back to Earth from their orbiting station Mir in about a
fortnight, the facility will be left unmanned for several months
due to delays with the preparation of two research modules,"
Deputy Flight Director Viktor Blagov told Tass. "This is because
without the two modules, which will make it possible to conduct
wide-ranging research, including studies in the interest of the
Soviet economy, there is little sense in keeping cosmonauts on
the space station any further," Blagov told the news agency. Tass
first announced Tuesday that the cosmonauts would return and
leave the station without a crew, but the report Wednesday
contained the first explanation of why the project was being
suspended. Some speculated the suspension was for economic
reasons. The move was announced after critics called for deep
cuts in spending on the space program. The announcement also came
shortly after the Soviets lost two probes to Mars at a cost of
nearly $480 million. The mothballing of Mir makes economic sense,
Blagov said. He said that expensive new equipment, both on the
ground and on the space station, was needed, as well as training
of future cosmonauts. "It is fairly difficult to do this in the
course of a manned flight, so the adjournment will simplify many
things," he said. The move, also announced on the evening
television news program Vremya, effectively cancels the launch of
cosmonauts Alexander Balandin and Alexander Viktorenko scheduled
for April 19. The announcement coincided with Cosmonauts Day, the
anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first manned space flight 28 years
ago, which was marked Wednesday night with a seven-minute
fireworks display that lit up the sky over Moscow. Blagov
defended the cost of the space program. "We plan to promote space
commercial services and have already begun to do this. Of the 19
agreements signed by the Soviet space agency Glavkosmos with
other countries and foreign firms, 10 have been carried out," he
said. Blagov admitted that the Soviet Union was not capitalizing
on space exploration. "Soviet space technology is up to the
highest world standards, but industrial spin-offs are pitifully
scanty as very few of the space industry's achievements are
turned over for commercial use," he said. Mir, which the Soviets
have said is the first building block of a permanently manned
space station, has been mothballed only once before, a seven-
month period following the return to Earth of its first
inhabitants, Vladimir Solovev and Leonid Kizim, June 25, 1986,
after three months in space. Since the arrival of cosmonauts Yuri
Romanenko and Alexander Laveikin in February 1987, the spacecraft
has been manned. On Dec. 20, cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Musa
Manarov set a world's record for space endurance, living aboard
the Mir orbiter for 365 days and 22 hours. They were joined in
the final months of their record-setting space voyage by
Polyakov, a physician who traveled to the Mir station on Aug. 28
to monitor the effects of living in a gravity-free environment
for extended periods. Titov and Manarov were replaced by Krikalev
and Volkov. Polyakov stayed aboard the orbiter to continue
experiments in space health techniques.
 
WP   04/12       Soviets Announce Suspension Of Manned Space Program
 
By Kathy Sawyer
Washington Post Staff Writer
 
In an abrupt turnabout on its premier space achievement, the
Soviet Union has decided to suspend its pioneering manned space
program at the end of this month, apparently for economic
reasons. The decision was conveyed in an announcement by the
Soviet news agency Tass that the space station Mir, the world's
only permanently manned outpost in space, will be left unmanned
for the first time in more than two years after the current,
three-man crew returns to Earth April 27. Tass made no mention of
a space mission scheduled for April 19 that was to have sent two
replacement cosmonauts to Mir. That launch has apparently been
canceled. American space consultant and author James Oberg, an
expert on the Soviet space effort, called the Soviet decision a
"stunning turnaround" for a space program that "was on such a
roll two years ago. They've been smacked in the face with . . .
Gorbachev's need for short-term economic improvement." The
decision, which followed days of rumors, came on the heels of the
Soviets' loss of two unmanned probes to Mars' moon Phobos,
another high-visibility and scientifically ambitious project,
which cost $500 million and involved scientists of 13 nations. It
also comes in the midst of an unprecedented push by the Soviets
to market their space services abroad. Mir's first commercial
payload, an American pharmaceuticals experiment, was to have
flown aboard the space station soon. No official reason has been
given for the evacuation of Mir, but a science writer for the
Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda, Vladimir Gubaryev,
suggested last week that growing public criticism of the high
cost of space activity is a factor. During the recent political
campaign to elect a revamped Soviet legislature, political
mavericks such as Boris Yeltsin, the ousted Communist Party
leader of Moscow, gained strong popular support for "They've been
smacked in the face with . . . Gorbachev's need for short-term
economic improvement." - American space expert James Oberg
advocating the need to divert resources from the space program
toward production of more and better quality consumer goods. "If
they shut it down, they will suffer some serious adverse press,"
said Nicholas Johnson of Teledyne Brown Engineering in Colorado,
who publishes an annual report on the Soviet space program. But
Johnson cautioned against drawing dramatic conclusions. "Even
this, combined with the Phobos failure, is no worse than all the
problems they had last year. The problem is with the perception.
These are their two most visible programs . . . There's no
evidence to suggest the Soviet program is in dire straits." Long-
duration human space flight is one of the few areas in which the
Soviet Union holds an undisputed lead over the United States. Mir
- the Russian word for peace - has been occupied continuously for
more than 800 days by a succession of crews, the first such
permanently manned space outpost in history. Analysts speculated
that the Soviets have reached a "rational decision" based on
financial balance sheets that they should evacuate Mir until at
least one of two major additions being prepared for the station
is ready for launch, possibly late this year. Those two modules,
each the size of the core station, would together double the size
of Mir, Oberg said. Both have suffered preparation delays. One is
a support module that would add comfort and equipment for the
cosmonauts, including what the Soviets call a "space bicycle" for
maneuvering outside the station. The other is a workshop for
research on materials in weightlessness. "The delay of these
modules means that the current crews wouldn't have had a whole
lot more to do except repeat past experiments and continue
observing targets of opportunity," Oberg said. "The expense of
running the station manned wasn't justified without the new
equipment." The Soviets have found that the cost of ground
support for Mir is much higher than anticipated because they have
not been able to get a satellite relay system to function
properly in providing communications with the cosmonauts and the
return of scientific data, Oberg said. The station orbit was
maneuvered in the last two days from 215 miles above the Earth to
a position 25 miles higher "in clear preparation for leaving it
empty," Oberg said. This is because the boosts the station
receives from resupply spacecraft - to keep it from gradually
falling out of orbit - will not be available.
 
 
04/12 1351  SOVIET PRESS ASSAILS SPACE PROGRAM ON GAGARIN ANNIVERSARY
 
MOSCOW (APRIL 12) UPI - Indignant commentary questioning the
costs and  benefits of the once sacred cow space program filled
Soviet newspapers  Wednesday - the 28th anniversary of Yuri
Gagarin's inaugural space flight.   "What do we need space for if
the country does not have funds for the basic human needs on
Earth, if millions live below the poverty line and can't make
ends meet?" one reader wrote to the Trud trade union newspaper.
While pictures of Gagarin, the first man in space, graced
newspapers, the official Tass news agency early Wednesday
announced an end to permanent manning of the Mir space station
after three years of uninterrupted occupation by cosmonauts.
"In the next few days, the cosmonauts will begin mothballing the
station's on-board systems," Tass said. "The (three) cosmonauts
will  return to Earth April 27, while the Mir will continue its
flight  unmanned."   Tass gave no reason for the abrupt change in
the Mir program, typical of the wall of secrecy now being called
detrimental by readers and columnists.  April 12 is officially
Cosmonauts Day in memory of Gagarin's 1961 flight, but instead of
the once obligatory praise on such red letter days, journalists
asked where the spinoffs from the space investment were.   "High-
resolution photographs from space enable us to see clearly piles
of rotting logs on the shores of formerly flourishing rivers," I.
Yudin of Aviation and Cosmonaut magazine wrote in the Selskaya
Zhizn daily newspaper.   "They also show us close-up millions of
empty fuel barrels rusting in settlements beyond the Arctic
Circle, and thousands of hectares of arable land hidden away to
insure fictious increases in the yields at collective and state
farms," he said.   Yudin also asked where were the spinoffs from
such ballyhooed research programs as growing crystals in space
that are never heard of again.   In what is one of the first
public estimates of the Soviet's secret space budget, the writer
said the annual cost was about 1 billion rubles, or $1.6 billion.
While more than 65 flights have followed Gagarin's maiden launch,
the Soviet economy has steadily deteriorated, giving it today
what is  essentially a third-world status in which it sells
mainly its raw  materials for hard cash.   Soviet sources have
hinted at costs as the reason for the stoppage of the rotating
flights to the Mir station, and also attribute the hiatus in the
program to growing criticism of its expense.   The double loss of
two multimillion-dollar probes to Mars - one in  September and
its backup in March - has sharpened the criticism of a  program
once unquestioningly prized for the boundless prestige it gave
the country.
 
 
 
04/11 1747  SOVIETS TO LEAVE SPACE STATION UNMANNED
 
MOSCOW (APRIL 11) UPI - The Soviet Mir space station will be
unmanned for  the first time in three years after April 27 when
its three cosmonauts  return to Earth, the Soviet news agency
announced Wednesday.   The Tass dispatch - on the eve the 28th
anniversary of the flight of the first man in space, cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin - confirmed a United Press International report
Friday that the three-man Mir crew was unlikely to be immediately
replaced after their mission ends.   "The space flight of Soviet
cosmonauts Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev and Valery Polyakov
is drawing to a close," Tass said. "The cosmonauts will return to
Earth April 27, while Mir will continue its flight unmanned."
Soviet sources have cited public disapproval over the costs of
the space program, the need to assess the results of the long-
duration space flights and "preventive measures" as reasons for
the apparent change in policy.   It will be the first time since
March 15, 1986, that Mir, showpiece of the Soviet space program,
will be left unmanned - a departure from earlier plans to keep it
occupied without interruption in preparation for a flight to Mars
in the next century.   "In the next few days, the Mir space
station basic module is to be  refueled with fuel and an
oxidizing agent from the tanks of the Progress  41 supply craft,"
Tass said. "Then the cosmonauts will begin mothballing the on-
board systems."   Progress modules ferry food, fuel and other
supplies to Mir, and  candidates in the recent parliament
election have raised questions about  the cost of keeping the
station in steady operation with the unmanned  resupply ships.
Soviet cosmonauts aboard Mir have set a series of long-duration
records -including a full year in space by both Vladimir Titov
and Musa Manarov, and 326 days by Yuri Romanenko.   In all,
Soviet cosmonauts have logged twice the flight time of American
astronauts, and a score of individual records dwarfing the U.S.
endurance mark of 84 days set by Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald Carr,
Edward Gibson and William Pogue in the mid 1970s.   With each new
Soviet record, however, questions emerged over the effect on the
cosmonauts of the long-duration space stays aboard the Mir.
When Titov and Manarov came down on a return mission last
December at Dzhezkazgan in Central Asia, they appeared unsteady
on their feet after the long period in weightlessness. A Soviet
source said last year they would reassess the flights "before
passing the point of no return."   The multimillion dollar Mir
program also appears to have taken an indirect setback with the
loss last September and last month of two probes to Mars and its
potato-shaped moon Phobos.   But Mir, which means Peace, still
figures largely in Soviet space plans, and only last month, the
Soviet Glakosmos space agency signed a $12 million contract with
the Tokyo Broadcasting System to send a Japanese journalist into
space in an eight-day mission to Mir with Soviet spacemen in
1991.   Mir is a third-generation station with six docking ports
for attaching spacecraft, compared to the two docking ports on
the second-generation Salyut. An earlier generation of Salyut
stations had one docking port.
    

MODULE PRODUCTION DELAYS SUSPEND MANNED SPACE PROGRAM
12/4 TASS 126

MOSCOW APRIL 12 TASS: - When three Soviet Cosmonauts return
back to earth from their orbiting station MIR in about a
fortnight, the facility will be left unmanned for several months
due to delays with the preparation of two research modules for 
it, a Soviet space official said today.

Deputy flight director Viktor Blagov told TASS that
Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev and Valery Polyakov are to
land on April 27, and that there will be no immediate change over
of crews to MIR.

This is because without the two modules, which will make it 
possible to conduct wide-ranging research, including studies in
the interest of the Soviet Economy, there is little sense in
keeping Cosmonauts on the space station any further, he
explained.

The break, however, will have its advantages, helping
prepare for the coming research work more  thoroughly, Blagov
Added.

"New economic support on board MIR and on the ground, new 
documentation and new training are needed.  It is fairly
difficult to do this in the course of a manned flight.  So the
adjournment will simplify many things," He said.

Commenting on recent calls by some representatives on the 
public to make deep cuts in spending on space exporation, he
said the effect would be about the same as earlier
clampdowns on cybernetics and genetics.

Soviet space technology is up to the highest world standards
but industrial spin-offs are pitifully scanty as very few of the
space industries achievements are turned over for commercial
use, Blagov said.

He said that more and more such projects will be pursured

MIR, launch more then three years ago, has since hosted
three resident and four guest crews, including cosmonauts from
Syria, Bulgaria, Afghanistan and France as well as Soviet
Spaceman Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov who have spent a record
one year in orbit.

Their colleges Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Baandin
are in training for their turn on the space station.

ITEM ENDS """



MOSCOW.   The long space flight of the Soviet Cosmonauts aboard
The orbital space complex MIR will end on April 27.  there will
be no immediate change-over crews on MIR.

ITEM ENDS """

	
    

    	Damn - and I thought only the U.S. had the problem of a public
    which jumped on the first thing which seemed to spend a lot of money
    for benefits not immediately available.
    
    	When will the general public wake up and realize that the space
    program does NOT drain funds from other projects, and gives a heck
    of a lot more benefits than for more expensive programs, like the
    military.  But I have the feeling I am preaching to the converted.
    
    	Larry
             

    Before we all flame on about short term, bottom line mentality (which
    usually deserves it when it exists), I think the Soviets use the term
    'economic' in a slightly different manner than we expect and does not
    always mean 'driven by the almighty Ruble'.
    
    I have an english translation of a Soviet textbook on spacecraft design
    which has a title somwething like 'Design of Spacecraft for Economic
    Applications' (this is from memory). In this context, they seem to use
    'economic' where we would use 'efficient'. 
    
    It seems fairly clear that the next manned mission was related to the
    docking and integrating of at least one of the two expansion modules.
    Since they are delayed, does it make sense to send cosmonauts aloft on
    a 'country club' mission? I suppose they could carry along an IMAX
    camera :-).
    
    Another way of looking at this is that they are not allowing
    grandstanding (constantly manned space station, a launch every two
    months, etc) to override common sense.
                                              
    Still, it would have been nice if they had been able to keep the pace
    up.
    
    gary

Date: Thu, 13 Apr 89 14:12:14 EDT
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
To: XB.N31@forsythe.stanford.edu, space-editors-new@andrew.cmu.edu,
        yaron@astro.as.utexas.edu
Subject: Mir problem identified - difficulty with the power system
 
     More details have come out about the problem on board the USSR's
Mir/Kvant space station.  Bill Lane at Boston University has reported
to me that on Apr. 12th the Soviet evening TV news had Valeri Ryumin
(head of cosmonaut training, and former cosmonaut with 326 days in
orbit on 3 flights) detailing the main difficulty, a problem in the
station power system.  The electricity coming out the solar cells
shows the correct levels but at the batteries there has been a
continuous decline in the power available to run the station and
charge the storage unites.  This is not a life threatening problem,
and they wish the crew to make more measurements.  However, it was
stated that they needed to bring the crew down to talk to them after
April 27th.  This is strange: one would think that it would be better
to let the crew stay up and work on the problem, shipping up the
repair materials they require by Progress tanker (crews have repaired
the previous Salyut 7 station even without training for the work that
they did). 

    General Vladimir Dzhanibekov (5 time cosmonaut) has been put in
charge of a committee to study the situation and report what repairs
can be done.  There is a certain irony here; in June '85 Dzhanibekov
and Viktor Savinykh flew up in Soyuz T-13 to try and save the crippled
Salyut 7 space station.  Again this was a power problem, with them
needing to repair the batteries of the station and directly connect
them to the solar cells. One can see the committee's report being
present and then him being told to go up there and save the station again. 

    There have been some reports, especially a wire service article
originating from the Los Angles Times, that the station was being
closed down for economic reasons.  It is true that the next expansion
module has been delayed to the fall, so that would say the crew would
be just holding the fort until that time.  On the other hand, Pay Load
Systems Inc. was just about to do their crystal growth experiments on
Mir.  If you are trying to establish yourself in the business you
would not close down the station just when the first paying customer
comes up.  My contacts there said they new this delay was coming for
the past week, but had no details. Also the Financial Times (London)
reported on Apr. 3 that the British have just bought a Mir visit for
1991 at the cost of 15 million pounds ($25 million).  The contract was
to be signed during General Secretary Gorbachev's visit to the UK
(though the BBC short wave announced it was signed on Apr. 12th). A
company called Britain in Space was created to run this project and
the money as donated from private sources.  Note, this is a private
not a government contract.  Considering that the Austrians and French
already have contracts for such missions to Mir, while a Japanese
journalist contract is about to be signed, the argument that the
Soviet program is being scaled back to reduce costs seems rather
strange.  At the same time as the LA article appeared the report on
Radio Moscow was stating how space activities had returned 1.5 billion
roubles (about $400 million) to their economy so far this year in the
commercial area alone. 

    All of this suggests that there are difficulties on Mir and the
Soviets have decided to remove the crew.  This is most sensible if the
power problems means the crew could be in danger, while not allowing
worthwhile activities to occur.  Combined with the delay in the
expansion modules, which certainly will not be launched if there are
difficulties on the station, the crew is coming down, leaving the
station unmanned for the next few months.  It does not seem that
suddenly the Russians have come to the conclusion that manned
activities do not pay, as these western press report would have us
believe.  Mean while the US House Appropriations Committee is voting
on the transfer of $600 million in 1988 year funds from the NASA space
station budget to the Veterans Administration. There certainly are
those that want to convince the public that manned activities should
be abandoned. 
 
                                            Glenn Chapman
                                            MIT Lincoln Lab
 

    This week's AW&ST has a little more info.
    
    It talks of power problems, but implies that they don't know if they
    are solar array problems or internal problems (the info in .152 could
    be more recent). The now-cancelled April 19 mission was to have been an
    alternate mission not depending on the expansion modules, so this does
    look like a serious problem.
    
    Apparently the life support systems are the single largest consumer of
    power so, if the power systems are deteriorating, bringing the
    cosmonauts back makes sense.
    
    They also talk about the 'economic comments'. Their version has senior
    space officials complaining about the amount of money wasteddue to
    interdepartmental rivalries and poor coordination between various
    programs (this could be AW&ST's editorial bias showing through).
    
    gary

    According to ANDREW KATELL AP Writter MOSCOW
                                         
    In a cost-cutting move, the Soviets are bringing their cosmonauts
    home from their space station MIR next week and leaving it unmanned
    until AUGUST, the stations's deputy flight director says.  Viktor
    D. Blagov said no technical problems had cropped up in the 3-year-old
    orbiting complex that is the showcase of the Soviet Space progam.
    (now after this commerical interuptions - my comment ;+}  ) Blagov said,
    they were experiencing some power loss but that it was within expected
    levels and was not casuing any problem.  Blagov said plans to keep
    Soviets aboard the station continuously were abandoned for several
    reason.  " By this action, we are of course economizing some sum
    which cand be used for other purposes" .  Hd did not identify the
    other purposes.  We now must pause to review "what we have accomplished
    and decide what's next." Tenative planes call for a module the same
    size as MIR to be attached to the station by the year's end and
    until that time there is no need for a crew, Blagov said.  MIR will
    be MOTHBALLED nad the crew to return to Earth on April the 27th.
     A new crew will be sent up in mid-August to prepare for the attaching
    of the new module, according ot Blagov.  The attachment contains
    a space bicle for cosmonauts, a SOLAR BATTER TO SUPPLEMENT THAT
    OF THE MIR, an East German optical experiment and an airlock thought
    wich cosmonauts can pass to take spacewalks.  Another reason given
    for putting MIR on automatic mode is to give a rest to the support
    staff at FCC and the SESS (tracking ships) that hve been working
    continuoustly fo rthree years, Blagov Said. "People are tired, they
    have not had  a vacations, we owe them this" ..."Tiredness can lead
    to an increas in mistakes, and a break give a positive effect to
    a person's work" ... During the three-month break, scientists will
    continue to garther data form the atuomatic MIR isnstruments studying
    a supernova, photographing the ocean shelf and monitoring meteorites.
     Engineers are boosting the MIR to a higher orbit to keep it form
    decaying....
    
    end quotes from AP article
    
    
    From my own observation of MIR and the SESS, during the time that
    there was a 'power problem' MIR VHF-1 frequency was shifted down by about
    2 to 5KHz now that things seem to be returning to normal the VHF-1 freq
    is now back on its center frequency.  A low voltage could have caused
    the frequency change and the sudden return to normal could be either
    cause by a realignment of the radio in preperation for mothballing
    or the voltage returning to normal as other systems are shut down
    to conserved power.  I think the latter is true, one supporting
    clue is the fact that Blagov said that a new Solar Panel will be
    sent up to MIR on the next progress unit.  The sudden sudden return
    to normal center frequency also had and incressed signal level,
    this could be because an increased power output level or by turning
    MIR over so that the VHF-1 antenna's are pointed towards the Earth.
    
    SESS were station at 8 Deg N 18 Deg W for the 10 April orbit change,
    in was interesting to note that the oribit MIR was supposed to go
    to was not the one the SESS were told to look for, it took a second
    burn to get MIR at is present 400 KM mothball orbit.  TASS said
    they were removing the oxidizer from the Progess unit, this give
    indication that they will not need the Progress unit to do MIR
    station keeping, that it will be jetterson.  If the progress unit
    is jetterson that MIR must be in good enought shape to do its own
    station keeping unlike Salyut 7 that need the attached Cosmos unit
    to do it's station keeping.
    
    john
    
                                                             

	Moscow:  The unmanned Progress-41 space freighter was 
	jettersoned from the orbititng station MIR at 05:46
	Moscow Time on the 22th of April 1989.  Alexander Volkov,
	Sergei Krikalev and Valery Polyakov, are continuing
	preparation for a return to Earth...


    this would indicate to me that the MIR station is in reasonable
    shape, at least it can be counted on to do its own station keeping.
    
    jb.
    
    

Date: Sun, 23 Apr 89 20:05:25 EDT
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
To: XB.N31@forsythe.stanford.edu, space-editors-new@andrew.cmu.edu,
        yaron@astro.as.utexas.edu
Subject: Progress 41 ejected as crew prepares to leave USSR's Mir station
 
     On board the Mir/Kvant space station on Apr. 23 Dr. Valrey
Polyakov became the physician with the most orbital time by exceeding
236 days, the record set by Dr. Oleg Atkov on Soyuz 10B/Salyut 7 in
Oct. 1984. Dr. Polyakov is now the tenth most experienced cosmonaut. 
Alexander Volkov and Sergei Krikalev who arrived on Soyuz TM-7 in
November, have now been up for 147 days.  The crew is making the final
preparations for coming down on Apr. 27th and preparing to leave the
station in the unmanned mode for several months.  As part of this the
Progress 41 cargo craft's engines substantially boosted Mir's altitude
by about 40 Km (25 mi) to form a 400 x 372 km (250 x 232 mi) orbit. 
Thus the station can go for several months now without requiring Mir's
own engines or reboost.  On Apr. 20th Radio Moscow announced Progress
41 had been ejected and entered the atmosphere, hence leaving the rear
docking port free for the next crew or other craft to service the
station.  (Also AW&ST Apr. 17) 

     There is some controversy concerning the reason for the leaving
Mir unmanned.  The conflict in the media, both western and eastern, is
between the closing down of the station for because of high program
costs, as compared to a short term suspension due to technical
problems. Confirmation of the report on Soviet TV about the power loss
(see my Apr. 13th posting) was given in an Aviation Week article on
Apr. 17th. All reports agree that there has been a progressive decline
in the station power, which will require a mission to repair the
station in about August.  On the short wave they have stated that the
next mission will go up and then two expansion modules (about 20
Tonnes each - the mass of Mir's core section) will be launched nearly
simultaneously. This will allow them to dock one section, transfer it
to the side port, then rapidly dock the second section.  The will
allow them to minimize the problems with asymmetry that will occur
when Mir has only one module docked to the side.  The problems with
the gyroscopic momentum wheel system have probably forced easy of
maintaining stability to become a very important issue for them. 

    On the other hand many press reports have tended to focus on
statements like that of Boris Yeltsins during the Moscow election
campaign of "Bread not Sputniks."  The New York Times (Apr. 19) ran an
article that quoted Viktor Blagov as stating that the close down was
to save money rather than for technical reasons.  On Soviet television
there was a news interview with another official which stated that yes
the station was unmanned to save money until the new modules were
ready in the fall.  However, when asked about the power problems the
answer was that Mir was three years old and previous stations had run
into problems that required repairs at about that age [especially
Salyut 7 in June 1985].  Hence some repair needs should be expected. 
Also the new modules would add solar panels which will add more power
to the station. Meanwhile on the short wave on Apr. 18th the Soviets
listed the number of paying customers that will be sending people to
Mir in the future. These are the Japanese in May 1991, British in
1991/92 for a 14 day mission, the French in 1991/92 for a two month
flight, and an Austrian in 1992 for an 8-10 day visit.  The Japanese
visit is especially interesting as the Tokyo Broadcasting System is
paying for a journalist to fly, the first to do so (the NASA
Journalist in Space program was cancelled).  Indeed there is an
interesting rivalry in this launch as NASDA, the main Japanese space
agency, is scheduled to fly an astronaut on the shuttle the summer of
the same year. (New Scientist Apr. 1). 

    All of this suggests that there are technical problems with Mir.
but does not answer the question as to whether the Russian manned
space program is being significantly scaled back for economic reasons.
Historically the soviets have said that they are reducing some
activity because of economic reason, when really the difficulties were
technical (eg. the Tu-144 supersonic transport).  They have been very
reluctant to admit problems with their equipment.  My personal feeling
is this is a case of the station having some power problems which
reduces the experiments the cosmonauts can do while possibly putting
them at risk if things get much worse (the life support system takes a
considerable fraction of the power).  Meanwhile delays in the modules
mean the new experiments the crew were to perform are not yet ready. 
Hence, the risk of maintaining the crew up there under these
circumstances is not balanced by a gain of more scientific
information.  Thus, in some ways both views are correct, both
economics and technical problems are saying bring the crew down.  To
put this in perspective consider that this hiatus is rather a short
period between long duration space station crews by historical
standards.  Outside of Mir's 26 month continuous occupation there are
only two times since 1978 when the period between extensive visits was
3 months or less.  Indeed such delays are common in all the world's
space programs; the NASA Discovery launch, scheduled for Aug. 10th has
just been set back until Nov. while the next ESA's Ariane 4 flight is
now delayed due for technical reasons. 

     Thus it is with some amusement that I have watched a number of
people post notices, based on the western media economic statements,
of how this indicates the Russian program is going to fall apart, just
as one would expect from a Communist run system.  Until I see more
evidence, such as a failure of the mission to go up in Aug./Sept.,
there little proof to back up this belief.  Only time will tell
whether the USSR has dropped out of the race toward being the first
human space faring nation, or just has stumbled and will rise again. 

     Unfortunately, I will be away giving some lectures for the next
two weeks so it will not be possible for me to post the events of the
Soyuz TM-7 landing.  If someone else out there in netland follows the
program would they please do so to keep the others informed.  Thank
you in advance. 
 
                                           Glenn Chapman
                                           MIT Lincoln Lab

    
    
    Soviet and Indian scientiset met in the Satellite Centre of the Indian
    Space Research Orgainzation to discuss prospects for corperation in
    space.  The sides are considering the possibility of building a special
    Indian module for an orbital space station of the MIR type.  This
    module will be of the Astrophysical type for probing of earth, in
    methods of producing material in space and in other spheres of
    practical science.  The module would be up to four meters long with a
    diameter of two meters.
    
    The sides agreed in principle also in participation in jouint research
    on that station for different experiments, including crystal growing
    etc.  This would be carried out on a cooperation and a commercial
    basis.
    

    Today the 25 of APR MIR was about 6 min late, This means that
    the orbit of MIR has been adjusted still higher.  I did not
    expect this and the only possible explnations I can think of
    is that MIR is going to be MOTHBALLED for more then 3 Months!
    ( unless it was done by accident, they have been loading
      in automatic programs to keep the ship in station keeping
      and their track record for programing errors has made
      the news lately)
    
    I think it does mean that MIR may be MOTHBALLED for
    more then 3 months...
    jb
    

    According to TASS, the soviet cosmonauts were due to return to Earth on
    the 27th of April at 06:58 MSK.  Progress-41  had disintergrated 
    at 16:02 MSK on the 25th of April
    
    I have not heard any radio com from MIR or its TLM this AM 
    nor have I heard any reports that the crew has landed.
    
    john b
    

    CNN reported the crew's safe return. They carried some footage of Mir,
    taken from the Soyuz-TM as it moved away from the space station.
    
    gary

How the heck do you manage to see all these interesting things on CNN
anyway?  Whenever I am looking for something on CNN, all they talk about
is "regular" news!  Do you see this kind of stuff on Headline or regular?
Is there a particular show when they are more likely to have space-related
news?

Burns

    Hmmm. Maybe it helps if you are in the same kind of semicomatose,
    precaffeine state that I am when I get up :-)
    
    Lately I have been watching Headline, but that is mostly a result of a
    problem with my satellite system that affects mostly CNN. Otherwise, I
    find CNN Daybreak (the 8-9am segment) to be fairly reliable about
    reporting space news. For some reason they also show longer segments
    (if they have video) in that hour. Also, some news will repeat after
    8:30 and sometimes the second time around will have either longer
    coverage or some other related item tacked on.
    
    gary

>    Hmmm. Maybe it helps if you are in the same kind of semicomatose,
>    precaffeine state that I am when I get up :-)

How true!  ;^)

Headline News pretty much gives all these details. Watch the first 10 minutes
of every half hour; the rest will usually be some junk news. And they usually
alternate news clips between every other half hour. So if you watch the
news for 10 minutes on the hour & half hour, you'll catch almost all the
important news. Helps to have a remote control!!!

Also, the 3-4pm hour on CNN is an International Hour. But then, you'll
probably be at work! And either the 8pm or the 10pm segments on CNN also
give an exhaustive coverage.

-parthi

From: jordankatz@cdp.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NSS Hotline Update
Date: 22 May 89 04:11:00 GMT
 
    This is the National Space Society's Space Hotline, for the week
ending May 21, 1989. 
 
    A leading Soviet official wants a NASA type agency for the USSR.
In addition he stated that half the instruments aboard the now vacant
MIR Space Station are inoperable.  Chief Cosmonaut-in-training,
Vladimir Shatalov, told Isvestia newspaper last Wednesday that over
the past three years cosmonauts have been wasting time and energy on
repairing faulty equipment that didn't function properly.  He stated
that much of the time instrumentation was never tested prior to being
launched.  In addition he went on to say that the space program is not
providing much in the way of spin-offs for the Soviet economy and
that they should be following the American example by establishing a
NASA like-agency that has near complete jurisdiction over space activities. 
 
    This has been Jordan Katz reporting for the National Space
Society's Space Hotline.  Hope to see you at next week's Space
Development Conference in Chicago.  The Hotline will be updated 
next on May 30. 

    
    re .164
    
    Somehow I knew MIR was too good to be true.
    
    /prc

    From a very good source I have found out the communications
    from MIR to FCC station on the boats (SESS) or to TSup is  via a Molniya
    relay.  They don't use the Lutch transponder or the Gorizonts.

    What's a Tsup? (I assume FCC means the Moscow flight control center?).
    
    Soyuz have frequently used Molinya links in the past to communicate
    with flight control. There is also a backup to the 'hotline' that uses
    Molinya.
    
    gary

    
From FBIS- via Compuserve
 
Yuriy Semenov, chief designer of manned spacecraft and space
stations, seems to be on the interview circuit these days. The
following are excerpts from an interview with Semenov that
appeared in Sotsialisticheskaya industriya, 30 May 1989, p.4, and
was translated in FBIS-SOV-89-113, pp. 73-76:
 
[Sem.] Well, shall we begin [our discussion] with Mir? We began the
development of a modular-type station in 1976. We have spent R1.7
billion on the entire program over 13 years. This includes everything
from the first diagrams to the manufacture of stations, delivery
systems, and spacecraft, from scientific equipment to housing for
people working in our branch. In the early years, of course, the
expenses were low: the lion's share came with the period of Mir
operation. Approximately 200 scientific, project, and construction
organizations of 20 ministries and departments participated in the
program. Incidentally, now after Buran, the scale of this unseen
cooperation seems modest: 1,200 organizations worked on the creation
of the space "shuttle."
 
The scientific-experimental program on Mir is developing in 6
fundamental directions: improvement of space technology itself,
astrophysics, study of natural resources, technology, biotechnology,
medicine and biology.
 
[Sots. ind.] I wonder how expenses are allocated; what is given
preference?
 
[Sem.] Most, almost half a billion, was spent on modernization of
space equipment. Incidentally, in creating equipment we take into
consideration the issues of economic efficacy. For example, gyrodynes
allow for the orientation of the space complex without wasting fuel. A
new life protection system spares us the need to constantly bring
oxygen regenerators on board. Because of this, we can deliver a
supplemental 24 metric tons of cargo to Mir, mostly scientific
equipment. This approach reduces expenses.
 
Approximately 270 million goes to astrophysical research. These
expenses are not small, but they can be explained. They include
research and development of the unique Kvant module. On the other
hand, the results obtained on the orbital observatory are unique; this
is the opinion not only of our own, but of foreign scientists as well.
And in last place we have biotechnology experiments which cost 3
million; you know that we began to develop this trend recently. All
this adds up to about 1 billion.
 
[Sots. ind.] The remainder is over 700 million. Which column do we put
it in?
 
[Sem.] I would call it long-range research and development; for
example, a mechanism which allows the cosmonaut to glide freely in
open space, an autonomous platform with scientific apparatus which a
crew or operator on Earth can aim at an object of interest to
scientists. But first and foremost, this money went to the creation of
modules.
 
[Sots. ind] About which we have already been talking for 3 years,
since the launch of Mir, but there are still none of them.
 
[Sem.] Work on the first module was proceeding normally: it is now at
the Cosmodrome. But if we attach only one, the complex of space
apparatus will look like the upside down letter "L," and such a
configuration is inconvenient for orientation. Symmetry is necessary,
even of the type seen in the letter "T." Therefore, the gap between
the mooring of both modules must not be more than 2-3 months. Alas,
something did not go right with the second one, and frankly, the
preparations to launch Buran took a great deal of effort. This module
is now ready as well and will undergo our testing during controlled
experimental stationary trials. We plan to launch the first one in
September--October, and the second, technological one in December or
January of next year...
 
The station will continue to operate for a few more years. The arrival
of the module, I would remind you, will make possible the broader
development of pure and applied research and the recovery of the R1.7
billion spent over the course of 13 years...
 
It is not just fine words when we say that space serves the Earth.
Under conditions of weightlessness, we form expensive crystals of
quality the likes of which you could never get under Earth conditions.
The quality production output is over 90 percent, incalculably higher
than with ground technology. The unequaled "space" crystals allowed
the creation of a laser television screen of 10 square meters. In the
technology module, it will be possible annually to grow about a
centner of unique semiconductors. True, industry needs tons.
Therefore, we are now thinking about turning one of the Burans into a
factory functioning on a watch [shift] method: lift off, a month of
work on automatic, landing with the prepared products, and a scheduled
start [subsequent launch]...
 
About R14 billion has been spent on the entire Buran program starting
with 1975...
 
[Sots. ind.] How is [Buran] supposed to be used?
 
[Sem.] The chief mission of this unique craft is to put into orbit
equally unique and expensive space devices. For example, on their
shuttle, the Americans put into orbit a powerful radar apparatus
costing half a billion dollars. They supported it in open space with a
manipulator for 10 hours, checked it thoroughly, and only then
released it for independent navigation. And now imagine: What if they
had released such device with a one-time delivery vehicle [expendable
launcher] and it didn't work? But -- there is no turning back. Buran
can both deliver into orbit and return from orbit an expensive
satellite, bring it to Earth for repair, and launch it again. The
space "shuttle" will allow repairs and preventive maintenance to be
done right in orbit; for example, replacing a power plant on a
satellite.
 
[Sots. ind.] Satellites almost never fly at an altitude of 350 km.
 
[Sem.] The maximum ceiling of Buran is three times higher, although,
of course, at 1,000 kilometers above the Earth, a craft delivers less
useful cargo. Therefore, for higher orbits, particularly for a
geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, interorbital
tugs are need, powered by solar energy, nuclear or hydrogen fuel. The
tug releases the satellite into a service orbit for Buran or an
orbital station, and returns it to orbit after preventive maintenance.
In a word, a complex space transport system is needed, and Buran will
become one of its elements.
 
[Sots. ind.] You wish to say that the space "shuttle" is ahead of its
time?
 
[Sem.] To some extent. Although I will note there is hardly any point
in speaking of the "shuttle" separately; it would be more correct to
consider the possibilities of the Energiya-Buran system. After all,
the new powerful delivery system can put not only Buran, but any 100-
metric-ton device into orbit. In the near future, we will participate
in the telephonization of the country. This is where the advantages of
Buran will make their mark. A number of current satellite-
retransmitters [transponders] working in a geostationary orbit do not
exceed 2.5 metric tons, of which only about 700 kilograms is actually
equipment. Energiya, with its booster assembly, is capable of putting
an 18-metric-ton device holding 9 metric tons of instrumentation into
geostationary orbit. This is an entire telephone exchange with a
mighty power system ensuring simultaneous conversations for almost a
half-million subscribers.
 
The space portion of the system will cost about R2 billion, the ground
portion, no less. The total is R4 billion. On the expensive side? You
think that ground retransmitters or cables would cost less? Hardly.
Calculations show that even if intercity phone rates are lowered, the
space system will pay for itself in full within 3-4 years...
 
[Sots. ind.] When will the scheduled flight of Buran take place, what
is its program?
 
[Sem.] We plan an automatic flight, without a crew. The machine which
will be displayed at Bourget, a new one, equipped with an attachment
node [docking adapter] and a mechanical arm, will not be the one going
into orbit. The goal is interaction with the Mir station or the Soyuz
ship, and the development of elements of the system of saving the
cosmonauts [components of the cosmonaut rescue system]. The schedule
is no earlier than 1991.
 
[Sots. ind.] The Americans fly more often---
 
[Sem.] Of necessity. They emphasized only the "shuttle," and they
understand that they made a mistake and are now actively developing
one-time [expendable] delivery systems. We have the famous group of
"seven" [probably "gruppa 'semerok'" in the original; refers to the
derivatives of the R7/SS-6, or SL-3/4/6], which puts into orbit manned
and cargo craft; there is the Zenit [an new name for me; possibly the
SL-16] with a 14-metric ton cargo capacity, the Proton capable of
lifting 20 metric tons, and, finally, the mighty Energiya... In
general, 5-6 more starts [launches] are needed to complete the flight
design tests of Buran, although we will also be solving practical
problems in these flights.
 
End FBIS-----
    

    re: 361.176
    


FCC  = Flight Control Center
TsUP = The Kaliningrad Spaceflight Control Center

In 1987 I reported to the Kettering Group that I had been
monitoring communications between the Cosmonauts and the
SESS and had noticed a departure from the long established
call up routine.  It piloted missions to the Salyut stations,
the cosmonauts would usually begin a communication session
by calling "Zaria" (Dawn), the call sign for the control
center.  Romanenko and Lavaeikin, on MIR in 1987, used a new 
call sign, which sound to me like "Tea Soup", it was also
heard occasionally in 1986 from Kizim and Solovyev.  This is, 
in fact the pronuciation of the initial letters "TsUP" for
"Tsentr Upraveleniya Poletom"* or FCC. This was discovered
by another member of the Kettering Group, I had promised
not to reveivled what "TsUP" meant until the Kettering
Group got printed credit for it. See footnote for
publication information.



* SOVIET SPACE PROGRAMS: 1981-87 PART-1  P 259
United State Senate report prepared at the Request of 
    Hon. Ernest F. Hollings, Chairman of the
    COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
    UNITED STATE SENATE  MAY 1988
    U.S. Governmnet Printing Office
    
    
    

    I think there will be a delay for the return to MIR (from
    my observation of the SESS (Soviet Space Support Ships)).
    I would think the launch could not happen untill the
    first week of Sept.    Indications are that the second
    module of the hammer head is not ready and they do not
    want to leave MIR with only one laterial port occupied.
    
    jb                                                        
    

    The next launch to MIR will be in the end of Aug, this
    came for indirect sources as TASS has yet to annouce
    the offical date/time.  A company that has paid for
    avertisment space on the side of the rocket has told
    AP that the launch will come on the 29th of Aug...
    This is from memory so I may be a day or two off.
    
    jb
    

from:	SPACE Magazine V0 #119

[The following item is from Spaceflight, May issue.]
 
Tass reports that Soviet bureaucrats are trying to prosecute Sergei
Krikalev for draft-dodging, given that he failed to report for army-
reserve duty several months ago.  Krikalev has been unable to report as
requested because he has been in orbit aboard Mir.  The Tass headline
was "Space is no escape from dim-wit bureaucrats, cosmonaut learns."

    

A TASS article talked about that the 150 British candidates have been
narrowed down to 25 of which 4 will go to the USSR in November to complete 
their training then one will take part in the joint space flight.
rumors have it that the first British citizen in space may be a women...

John

    

Spaceflight, or Spaceflight News, had it as two Britons would go for training.
Knowledge of Russian is not a requirement, but the training will be 18 months
rather than the usual 12 (guess what they do for the first 6 months).

The magazines also contain some more info about the expansion modules. The first
is now due for launch September and will include the larger airlock and the MMU.
The second will go up in December and will have a new docking mechanism.

This new mechanism will be similar to the androgynous docking system developed
by the Soviets for ASTP and will be required for Buran to dock with Mir.

Unless they plan to add docking adaptors to the forward and aft ports of Mir,
the new heavy Soyuz/Progess vehicles under development must continue to use
the existing male/female docking mechanisms. 

gary

    The SESS is on the move, I have had reports of 4 of the ships
    leaving to get into position, so it looks like a late Aug
    mid Sept launch date.  Unoffically I have it that the date
    has sliped to mid Sept. ( no reason given ).
    
    Akademik Sergei Korolev will be station at Sable Island
    Kosmonaut Pavel Belyayev is headed towards Argentina
    and unconfirm reports from Sam Ricks have the
    Borovichi and the Kosmonaut Georgi Dobroviolski enroute
    South to the Caribbean and South Atlantic.
    
    Normally they have 5 out for a man launch.
    
    I would expect that MIR TLM will be turn on as soon
    as Akademik Sergei Korolev get into here station keeping
    position.
    
    john
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: New Soviet mission date set for Mir space station
Date: 17 Aug 89 04:27:20 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
    The Soviet Union has announced on short wave (Aug. 15) that the
new manned space flight to the Mir/Kvant space complex will occur on
Sept. 6th. Mir has been unmanned for the past 110 days since it was
placed in the automatic mode after Soyuz TM-7 left on Apr. 27. 

     When the new Soyuz TM-8 crew arrives its first task will be to
revive Mir.  This will be complicated by the power system failure
which contributed to the decision to abandon the station.  At that
time TV Soviet broadcasts stated the solar cells were continuing to
put out the power but the output of the batteries was declining, which
suggests a system short.  No Soviet statement on this problem has
appeared in the meantime.  Most commentators in the West are focusing
on economics as the reason behind this action. 

     Certainly one of the difficulties was the failure to get the
expansion modules ready for addition to Mir.  These are about 10-20
Tonne cylinders which would first dock to the front or ball axial
docking port of Mir.  Then they will be transferred to one of the four
side ports using a robot arm on the module itself.  This inserts a
cone into one of two sockets on the side of the ball section.  The
same broadcast stated that the first module would arrive in October,
while the second one would come in February 1990.  Note that later
"star" module contains a docking port to allow their shuttle Buran to
dock to Mir.  A larger air lock will be added with these modules,
along with a Manned Maneuvering Unite (MMU) type system for more
extensive space walk work. 

     This announcement of the Mir's remanning has generated
surprisingly strong western press coverage this morning, with both the
New York Times and the Wall Street Journal at covering it.  Let us see
how much publicity the USSR gives the remanning.  That will give a
clue to the support the Soviet program is getting. 

     Sorry that I have not been posting my regular reports on the
Soviet program these past few months but our VAX has been having
communications problems with the rest of the world (it is now better).
I will post some older info in the next few days to cover that period. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
                                                  glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa

    
Based on present element set watch for a Progress launch
on the 22 of Aug @0330z and the Launch of TM-8 on the 5th @2144z of
Aug (actually the 6th in Mooscow time)  but timing of the TM-8
my be tweaked with the Progress.

    I check the Boston Mass area and you will not be able to see the
    Progress satellite before docking, but it will be possible to
    see the TM-8 approach the MIR complex.  However one can check
    for radio transmision from both.   TM-8 should be on 121.75 MHZ FM
    but the Progess unit could be in 166 +- 125 KHz (TLM) or in the 248 MHz
    (TLM) area and possible in the 924(cw beacon)  MHz area.

    john
    
    

    
    
REGULAR EXPERIMENTS PERFORMED BY MEANS OF ORBITAL COMPLEX
22/8 TASS 62

MOSCOW AUGUST 22 TASS - BY TASS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT FROM THE MISSION 
CONTROL CENTRE:

THE ORBITAL RESEARCH COMPLEX MIR CONTINUES ITS FLIGHT IN AN AUTOMATIC 
MODE.  ASTROPHYSICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL EXPERIMENTS ARE PERFORMED REGULARLY
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PLANNED PROGRAMME.

A REGULAR CYCLE OF EXTRA-ATMOSPHERIC ASTRONOMY RESEARCH WAS CARRIED OUT
UNDER THE ROENTGEV INTERNATIONAL PROJECT.  A NEW X-RAY SOURCE WAS 
DISCOVERED BY MEANS OF THE TELESCOPES OF THE KVANT MODULE IN SERPENT-BERAER
CONSTELLATION ON AUGUST 16.

DURING ONE OF OBSERVATION SESSIONS THE TELESCOPE RECORDED A POWERFUL BURST
THE NATURE OF WHICH IS CONNECTED WITH A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION ON THE SURFACE OF 
THAT NEUTRON STAR.

SEVERAL MORE SERIES OF RESEARCH INTO THE NEWLY DISCOVERED CELESTIAL OBJECT
WERE PERFORMED IN THE PAST FEW DAYS.  OBSERVATION OF X-RAY SOURCES IN PERSEUS
AND SWAN CONSTELLATIONS AND IN THE CENTRE OF THE GALAXY WERE ALSO MADE.

ACCORDING TO FLIGHT PATH MEASUREMENTS, THE PARAMETERS OF THE ORBIT OF THE
RESEARCH COMPLEX MIR ARE NOW AS FOLLOWS:
  THE MAX DISTANCE FROM THE EARTHS SURFACE -- 402 KM,
  THE MIN DISTANCE FROM THE EARTHS SURFACE -- 386 KM,
  ORBITAL PERIOD -- 92.3 MINUTES,
  ORBITAL INCLINATION -- 51.6 DEGREES.

PEPERATIONS FOR LAUNCHING A "PROGRESS M' AUTOMATIC SPACECRAFT ARE BEING
COMPLETED AT BAIKONUR COSMODROME.  THE LAUNCH IS SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING.

ITEMS ENDS


    

    LAUNCH OF PROGRESS-M went at 0309 Z this morning (23 Aug)
    
    
    Does anyone know if they used the S-12, it was rumored that
    the Progress-M would use it...
    
    john
    
    

    What's an S-12??  Or indeed a Progress-M?  (It would be nice if we
    could use consistant nomenclature in this conference)
    
    If Progress-M is the new 13 tonne Soyuz/Progress followon, then it was
    supposed to be launched by the Zenit ELV (aka J-1, DoD SL-16). Is this
    what you are calling the S-12?
    
    The Soviets have recently released details of the Zenit and are
    offering it for sale. Shatalov implied recently (Paris Air Show) that
    the new Soyuz would fly on Zenit but did not indicate when.
    
    gary

    Sorry I though the Zenit ELV was SL-12 but it is the SL-16
    
    as for Progress-M that is the new 13 Ton Progress followon
    and that is the new name TASS is calling it..
    
    jb
    


TODAY TASS news

PROGRESS-M launch  07:10 MSK
235x191 km 88.5 min 
link up on the 25th

TM-8 launch 
6th SEP
00:32 MSK  (I think this 20:32 Z thus MIR has to change orbit after docking)

The Crew will be up for 6 months as this is optimum period.
1st crew Alexander Viktorenko & Alexander Serebrov
2nd crew Anatoly Folovoyov & Alexander Balandin

    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Progress M-1 (new type of cargo craft) launched to USSR's Mir station
Date: 24 Aug 89 05:09:06 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
    The Soviets announced on Radio Moscow (Aug. 23) the launching of a
new cargo carrier, Progress M1, to the Mir/Kvant space station. This
will dock at the rear (Kvant) docking port in about 2 days. It is
carrying supplies to the station in preparation for the remanning of
Mir.  Note that this is the first of the updated series of Progress
tankers, though no mention of what the changes were.  However, these
are probably similar to the upgrading of the Soyuz T series to the
Soyuz TM capsules now used by the cosmonauts.  Progresses were
originally developed after the 1973 failure of a Salyut station
(Kosmos 557) which caused the entire propellent supply to be lost
(according to an interview with K.A. Kerimov, chairman of Manned Space
Complexes, quoted by Nicholas Johnson in the "The Soviet Year in
Space, 1988). The original series began with Progress 1 flight to the
Salyut 6 space station on Jan 20, 1978. These 7 Tonne vehicles carried
about 1.3 Tonnes of dry supplies and 1 Tonne of fuel/water/air.  In
July 19, 1985 Kosmos 1669 was launched and stated to be a Progress
type vehicle which docked with Salyut 7.  The subsequent Progress 25
was an upgraded vehicle, with a maximum cargo of 2.5 Tonnes; up to 1.4
Tonnes of dry and 1.2 tonnes of wet (but not both could be used to the
full amount).  The current new series of Progress was announced in
1988, but speculation has centered on a vehicle with a return capsule
to bring materials processing samples down in at least one version and
the use of a Zenit (SL-16 or J class) booster, which could put up to
15 tonnes in orbit.  No statements on the launcher or the size of the
Progress M-1 have been made. 

    The primary and backup Soyuz TM-8 crew also arrived on Aug. 24th
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in preparation for their Sept. 6 flight to
Mir.  The crew will be spending 6 months in orbit. No mention has been
made about the repair of the power system on the station, which began
to show problems in April.  Mir has been unmanned for the past 119
days, since Soyuz TM-7 left on Apr. 27.  Note though that the ground
control has been maintained because on Aug. 22 they announced a new
series of observations taken by the Kvant astrophysics module X-ray
telescope of a neutron star. 

    Soon Earth will again have a manned space station.  With Aviation
Week and Defense Daily describing the possible substantial reductions
in the Freedom station it may be that Mir will exceed the
NASA/International station this year when the expansion module is
launched in October.  Do you really want that? 
 
                                              Glenn Chapman
                                              MIT Lincoln Lab

cargo spacecraft docks with orbital station MIR   25/5 TASS 31

MOSCOW AUG 25 TASS: The Progress-M automatic cargo space docked with the 
orbital complex MIR at 09:19 MSK today.

The mutual search, approach, rendez-bous and docking were carried out
by means of the onboard automatic equipment of the tow spacecraft.

The Progress-M spacecraft, docked, with the MIR station from the slide
of the transfer compartment, brought fuel for the joint propulsion 
unit, food, water, equipment, and scientific instrumentation.

The improved cargo spacecraft of a new series has greater maneuverability,
carrying capacity and functioning endurance, which makes it possible to
perform scientific experiments both in conjunction with the orbital 
complex and in an autonomous flight.

The onboard systems of the Soyuz_TM spaceship were used in creating this
cargo spacecraft, the radiothehnical approach and docking system "course", 
the movement control system "COURSE", the movement control system, the 
propulsion nit, and solar-cell batteries.

New technical solutions make it possible to dock the Progress_M spacecraft 
with the orbital complex according to a scheme adopted for manned spaceships, 
which considerable cuts down the expenditure of fuel by the joint propulsion 
unit of the MIR station.

The Flight of the orbital complex MIR in an automatic mode is going on

ITEM END ***************************************

I found it interesting that

>The Progess_M spacecraft, docked, with the MIR station from the slide
>of the transfer compartment, brought fuel for the joint propulsion 
>unit, food, water, equipment, and scientific instrumentation.

this is the front docking ball of the MIR complex, plus
this is the first time it mention bring up Fuel, how does
it transfer it to the MIR complex, I though all the pluming
was in the back.... also to meet the TM-8 launch time 
of 0032MSK 6 Sept MIR has to change its orbit, will they
use the Progress unit or the MIR..  It is a small orbit
change so I guess it could be done either way...



the other interesting point is AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT and that
it carries its own experiments, does this mean it can
undock from MIR and do its own micro gravity thing then
return to the MIR complex.

Still not indication that the Progress-M can return a
cargo to earth, but the original press release said this
was a goal of the new design.


john

    

I've seen some mention of using the new Progress as a man tended free flyer,
mostly for microgravity experiments. The idea is that the cosmonauts set up
the experiments, the Progress undocks, performs the experiments and returns.
The cosmonauts can then make changes if necessary and repeat the process, so 
you get the advantages of having humans in the control loop.

Apparently the vibrations caused by people moving about in the space station
can damage some crystal growth type experiments so the free flyer aspect
becomes important.

The same criticism has been levelled at the US space station.

gary

    Alexander Viktorenko and Alexandr Serebrov wil be the 5th crew to go to
    MIR complex, they will stay for a very intensie six months.  The
    Soyuz TM-8 spacehchip is schedule to be launched at 01:38 MSK 
    on the 6th of SEP  ( 21:38 UTC  5th of SEP )
    
    They will install a new module, and its solar battery, I think
    the unit is a Biotechnical complex plus they will set up various
    telescopes on a test bed to be place on a special platform in outer
    space and controlled from the central consol.... ( could this be
    seperate from MIR if so how, Progress M??? )
    
    jb
    

(SEPT. 5) UPI - Soviet engineers Tuesday  rolled a workhorse
Soyuz rocket to its launch pad, beginning final  preparations to
propel two cosmonauts on a six-month mission to reactivate and
enlarge the Mir space station.   The countdown appeared to be
continuing uninterrupted for the early  morning launch.   The
rocket carrying Col. Alexander Viktorenko and flight engineer
Alexander Serebrov was to be launched at 1:38 a.m. Wednesday
Moscow time  (5:38 p.m. EDT Tuesday) and will be the Soviet
Union's 67th manned mission.  The Soyuz is scheduled early Friday
to dock with the Mir, which has been unmanned since April 27, and
will leave the cosmonauts to reactivate Mir and add two modules
to more than double the size of the crowded 20-ton orbiting space
station. One module will arrive in October and the second in
February.   "We are continuing space exploration," Lt. Gen. Igor
Kuriny said Monday of the Mir mission.   "We will conduct medical
and biological experiments and also do very important
agricultural research. The cosmonauts will leave the space
station and try new maneuvers outside the Mir."   As the sun rose
Monday over the Kazakhstan steppe, a green flatbed railcar
carried the white-tipped rocket along the 1.2-mile track from its
assembly center to the same launching pad in Central Asia from
which Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter space on April
12, 1961.   A mechanical arm slowly tilted the Soyuz upright to
its vertical launch position next to a red Soviet flag fluttering
in the early morning breeze.   A red and white sticker on the
rocket's belly advertised the services of an Italian insurance
firm in another sign of the increasing  commercialization of the
Soviet space program.   The launch comes during a period of
unprecedented criticism of the Soviet space program by newly
emboldened lawmakers, who under leader Mikhail Gorbachev's
political reforms, have questioned its costs and direction.   The
rocket launch, which will be broadcast live nationwide by Soviet
central television, is planned an hour later than previously
announced by Moscow space officials.   Lt. Gen. Vladimir
Shatalov, head of cosmonaut training, said the change did not
indicate problems with the mission and was made after scientists
recalculated the orbital paths of the Mir and the Soyuz rocket, a
mainstay of the Soviet program.   The Mir has been unoccupied
since April when Col. Alexander Volkov and flight engineer Sergei
Krikalov ended a five-month stay and more than two straight years
of continuous occupancy by Soviet space crews. One crew set a
space record of a full year in space. The U.S. record is 83 days
aboard Skylab 4 in 1973-74.


Regards,
jb

monitoring times for TM-8 based on the latest MIR element set
     (day 247 4th of SEP)
would give a MIR EQX @ 20:48:02.642 UTC @ 337.8 Deg Long 
thus TM-8 Launch time would be 21:37:38, this gives REV 0
at 21:15 UTC @ 347.1 Deg,   based on that and if you live in
the Boston Mass area, try monitoring TM-8 on
 
121.750 MHZ FM 
unlikely  but also try 143.625 MHZ

    times +- 10 min for orbit changes, this is for 
    orbit insersion, latter orbits should late
    
9/ 6/89 WED               -----DAY # 249----ORBIT #      8----
04:58 UTC to 05:05 UTC

9/ 6/89 WED               -----DAY # 249----ORBIT #      9----
06:30 UTC to 06:37

9/ 6/89 WED               -----DAY # 249----ORBIT #     10----
08:03 to 08:10

9/ 6/89 WED               -----DAY # 249----ORBIT #     11----
09:36 UTC to 09:42

9/ 6/89 WED               -----DAY # 249----ORBIT #     12----
11:08 UTC to 11:15

9/ 6/89 WED               -----DAY # 249----ORBIT #     13----
12:41 UTC to 12:47


9/ 7/89 THU               -----DAY # 250----ORBIT #     24----
04:37 UTC to 04:44 

9/ 7/89 THU               -----DAY # 250----ORBIT #     25----
06:09 to 06:16

9/ 7/89 THU               -----DAY # 250----ORBIT #     26----
07:42 UTC to 07:49

9/ 7/89 THU               -----DAY # 250----ORBIT #     27----
09:15 UTC to 09:21

9/ 7/89 THU               -----DAY # 250----ORBIT #     28----
10:47 UTC to 10:54     

9/ 7/89 THU               -----DAY # 250----ORBIT #     29----
12:20 UTC to 12:26

9/ 8/89 FRI               -----DAY # 251----ORBIT #     40----
04:17 UTC to 04:23

9/ 8/89 FRI               -----DAY # 251----ORBIT #     41----
05:48 UTC to 05:55

9/ 8/89 FRI               -----DAY # 251----ORBIT #     42----
07:21 UTC to 07:27

9/ 8/89 FRI               -----DAY # 251----ORBIT #     43----
08:54 UTC to 09:00

9/ 8/89 FRI               -----DAY # 251----ORBIT #     44----
10:26 UTC to 10:33

9/ 8/89 FRI               -----DAY # 251----ORBIT #     45----
11:59 UTC to 12:05

    

    TM-8 blasted off on time and all looks good for a docking
    in two days...  The crew will be joined by one other and
    return to earth on the 19 of FEB 
    
    john
    

    they are going for a 400km docking, and not bring the MIR
    complex down
    

    TM-8                           (Launch 89-71-A  )   Set:    1, Obj:  20218
          Epoch Year: 1989  Day: 249.200566580    Orbit #       0
          Inclination  =  51.62750000     R.A.A.N      = 317.67140000
          Eccentricity =   0.00389140     Arg of Per   = 158.58480000
          Mean Anomaly = 189.02990000     Mean Motion  =  15.74674737
          Drag         =  0.94959E-03     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6723.6515     Anom Period  =      91.4475
          Apogee Ht    =     371.6559     Perigee Ht   =     319.3271

Date: Tue, 5 Sep 89 23:51:41 EDT
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
Subject: USSR's Soyuz TM-8 flight to Mir begins

    The USSR's Soyuz TM-8 mission began today (Sept. 5) with a launch
from the Baikonur cosmodrome at about 5:00 am Moscow time.  The flight
crew for was two experienced cosmonauts, Alexander Viktorenko (Soyuz
TM-3 to 6 days to Mir July '87) and Alexander Serebrov (Soyuz
T-7/Salyut 7 for 8 days in Aug. '82 and Soyuz T-8/Salyut 7 for 2 days
Apr. '83 due to docking problems). The primary and backup Soyuz TM-8
crew arrived on Aug. 24th at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in preparation.
Docking with the Mir/Kvant space station is scheduled for Thur. Sept.
7th. The crew will be spending 6 months in orbit, returning on Feb.
19. They will be replaced by another crew.  Again two large expansion
modules (massing 10-20 Tonnes, with a volume of about 50 cubic meters)
will be added during this time - one in October, the other in
February. However, no mention has been made about the repair of the
power system on the station, which began to show problems in April.
Mir has been unmanned for the past 119 days, since Soyuz TM-7 left on
Apr. 27. Note though that the ground control has been maintained
because on Aug. 22 they announced a new series of observations taken
by the Kvant astrophysics module X-ray telescope of a neutron star. 

     The Mir space station has accumulated 2,156 man-days of occupation
to date, by far the most of any space station.  It should be noted the
how scale of missions are different for the Soviets.  This new flight
was noted as not attempting to set any records, suggesting also that
it was an average mission.  Average station crews now intend to spend
6 months in orbit, more than twice the longest US mission.  It is
clear who is occupying the orbital frontier, and will continue to do
so until things change here. 

                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab


Date: Tue, 5 Sep 89 23:50:16 EDT
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
Subject: Speculations on the Soviet Progress M-1 and new planetary program

     There are several interesting things about Progress M-1, which
launched on Aug 23 and docked with the Mir space station on Aug. 25,
were reported in the Aug. 26 edition of Provda as translated by
Jonathan McDowell of the Smithsonian Observatory. First, as expected
the new craft is using the Soyuz TM docking system, as compared to the
older T version used in Progresses 25-41. It also appears that the
vehicle docked to the front (ball section) by the report, rather than
the rear as expected (though the translation is a bit uncertain
there). Lastly the vehicle is stated to have solar panels and be
capable of autonomous flight. This certainly makes the craft heavier.
Yet consider the flight path it is taking, docking with Mir at a
350x390 Km (218x243 mi) orbit, rather than the normal 300 km (187 mi)
one. This would take about 20% more energy. Obviously the task of the
higher rendezvous is to reduce the orbit of the Mir/Kvant complex in
preparation for the upcoming manned flight. This suggests at the least
that the craft carries considerably more fuel for its engines. All of
this suggests that either a Proton or a Zenit has been employed.
Probably this new Progress is close in appearance to the heavy Soyuz
that the Soviets flew in the 1960s  connected with the their lunar
program. 

     The Soviets announced several changes in their planetary
program. First the 1994 Mars mission is being simplified, so that the
two spacecraft consist of the orbiter (based on the Phobos bus), one
balloon rover (done together with the French) and several small
surface stations. The large landing probe has been replaced with a
smaller one (similar to Earth base reentry vehicles). Launch will be
in 1994 though full commitment has not yet been made. Improvements to
the Phobos bus include creating a separate control system computer
(the older one had a combined system with the data collection), a
fully autonomous attitude recover system (part of the problem on
Phobos 1/2 was the lack of this), backup batteries and an
omnidirectional radio antenna. In addition several new probes are
about to be approved. First a 1996 Phobos lander mission, possibly
with a sample return capsule. Secondly a 1998 Venus mission with 6-8
surface penetrators of 50 Kg (110 lb) each. A 2002-2003 Mercury
orbiter which may contain either surface penetrators or a lander. It
would use a Venus gravity assist to get in Mercury's orbit. All of
these would use the improved Phobos bus. In the manned area it appears
the Mars exploration mission for 2015 is considered too risky at the
moment. (AW&ST Aug. 28). 

     Interesting times are back in the Soviet program.  Let us see
what they do in the next few months. 

                                              Glenn Chapman
                                              MIT Lincoln Lab

                 -< Modules "D" & "T" + a BURAN docking port >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The TM-8 went on time @ 01:38 MSK, communication with the
    ground was monitored on 121.750 MHz FM and TLM was
    heard on 166 MHZ +- 250 KHz AM PWM.
    
    Two new modules will be added to MIR
    the "D" or additional equipment modules that will hold
    more fuel, water and food plus experiments of a biological 
    type such as incubator for Japanese Quail eggs to show
    the effects of weightlessness on heredity plus a spare
    bike called "IKAR"  a shower , sink, and the new air
    lock needed for the space walks.  Yes room for Quail jokes...
    
    The "T" or technology modules will be used for a telescopic
    camera, a docking port for BURAN, equipment to grow vegetables
    and the procudtion of super pure semi conductors materials.
    
    The "D" module will be linked up with the MIR complex in Oct 89
    and the "T" in Feb 1990.
    
    TASS  also back up the reason to shut the MIR complex down was
    because there was a delay in the manufacture of new modules, and
    it was decided to keep the station unmanned for a few months for cost
    reasons and to get better prepared for a new stage in its work.
    
    I find it interesting that Cosmonaut Alexander Serevrov who
    was born on the 15th of FEB so his going away present will be
    returning to earth. His title is different, I can not remember the
    exact title, but he is in charge of all the equipment on MIR
    and getting it updated, repaired and any new installations.
    
    I notice that the crew is more laid back.
    
    jb
    
    
    

Vremya (Soviet evening news) had a long segment on the launch and Mir in
general yesterday. They spent a lot of time on the MMU, space suits (anyone
know if they are using a new design?) and the Mir expansion modules.

They were shown as roughly the same size and shape as the Mir core section 
(minus the docking 'ball') with the exception of the 'front' section (the
end where Kvant is currently docked on Mir). On the expansion modules, the
front section is conical (roughly the same angle as the Apollo CM from the
models shown) and ends with the docking equipment to dock with Mir.

There were also shots of Energia on the pad and a shuttle with its payload
section open. I didn't notice any docking equipment in the shuttle payload
bay.

gary

    Re:.192
    	Concerning the space suits, as far as I know the Soviets are using
    more or less the same design but there have been a few modifications so
    that the suit will interface with the new MMU.
    	I have seen drawings of the new modules that you described. The
    first expansion module will be very similar to the Salyut/Mir stations
    with some modifications. The Mir is basicly a stack of three different
    diameter cylinders. On the Mir, the small cylinder is the air lock
    (which also has the five port docking ball at one end) and the medium
    and large diameter cylinders contain the living and work space. The
    Soviets use the same tooling for the cylinders on their expansion
    modules. The Kvant uses the large diameter cylinder tooling. The next
    module to be added will use a small and medium diameter cylinders. In
    addition to this, a conical service module (which you mentioned) has
    been added which contains the propulsion system, orientation system,
    docking systems, etc. In addition, this module will have a pair of
    solar panel "wings" and a set of solar panels above the service
    section which will cover a set of external fuel tanks mounted on the
    medium sized cylinder.
    
    				Drew
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet's Soyuz TM-8 docking time at Mir space station
Date: 7 Sep 89 13:05:55 GMT
 
     The USSR's Soyuz TM-8 mission, which began on Sept. 5, is now
scheduled to arrive at Mir about 4:00 am Moscow time on Fri. Sept. 8
(8:00 pm EDT Thur). Cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander
Serebrov have been checking out the docking system in preparation for
reaching the station.  One point, this mission seems to be taking
longer than usual to dock with Mir.  This may be due to Mir's orbit
(which may still be higher than standard; I have not seen the latest
orbital elements), or it may indicate that they expect the docking to
be tricker than most (launch to dock time is typically less than 2
days). For those that wish to follow this on shortwave the best
frequencies now at the east coast of North America are 7165 and 9600
KHz.  Listen on the hour for the Radio Moscow news report. 

     The expansion modules to be added in October and February are now
stated as being about the same size and mass as Mir itself (ie about
20 tonnes and nearly 100 cubic meters of volume).  This means they are
much larger than the current Kvant addition which is less than half
Mir's mass and volume. They will contain extra gyroscopic systems to
maintain the station position. One of them (the first to arrive?) will
have substantial equipment for semiconductor crystal growth.  The Feb.
module has a docking port which will mate with the Buran shuttle. 

     One interesting sidelight in recent broadcasts was some
statements on what cosmonauts get paid.  Typical ground pay is 300-400
rubles per month about 50% more than the average pay if I remember
correctly (the official rate puts the ruble about equal to the dollar,
though on the black market it is much less).  For a mission they get a
bonus of 2000-15,000 rubles, though the higher number is for a 1 year
flight (ie. 5-6 years regular pay for a year on Mir - not bad). 
Speaking of money, the pictures of the launch show a giant
advertisement on the side of the booster for an Italian insurance
company.  I wonder if they offered to insure the cosmonauts themselves
as part of that. 

     News reports in the west speak of this mission showing how the
costs of manned space flight are causing the Soviets to cut back.  A
6 month flight, which plans to include the doubling of their space
station's volume and mass is indications of a reduction in the
program?  The US should have such scaled back goals instead of the
incredible shrinking Freedom station. 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

    
                            -< TM-8 manually docks >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The docking to MIR with TM-8 was expected to happen on Friday
    September 8, at 02 hours and 20 min MSK.  The docking will take two
    days to complete, and experts believe that it will help save energy. 
    In the two days the TM-8 will be in orbit the ballistics specialists
    will calculate more precisely the force of a pulse required for
    docking. The two day scheme proved to be simpler for the cosmonauts as
    they were having difficulty readjusting after jet lag.  The extreme
    conditions of space have  even a greater impact on the human body,
    especially on the first days of the flight.  Medical specialist believe
    that during the two days preceding the docking the crew will better
    adopt itself to zero-gravity and find it easier to fulfill the mission
    programs.  
    
    FCC was busy preparing the crucial movement of docking .  the "soyuz
    TM-8" crew performed two maneuvers for the remote guidance of the
    spacecraft to the point of rendezvous with the MIR orbital complex,
    but when the two ships were meters apart the automatic docking
    system failed and the crew of the TM-8 had to manually complete
    the docking...
    
    The crew were heard on 143.625 MHz an all seem fine.  
    
    john
    
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet's Soyuz TM-8 successfully docks to Mir space station
Date: 8 Sep 89 04:29:32 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
    The Soviet Soyuz TM-8 successfully docked with the Mir/Kvant space
station in the early morning of Sept. 8th (about 4 am Moscow time, 7
pm on Sept. 7th EDT).  The crew of two experienced cosmonauts,
Alexander Viktorenko (Soyuz TM-3/Mir, 6 days, July '87) and Alexander
Serebrov (Soyuz T-7/Salyut 7, 8 days, Aug. '82 and Soyuz T-8/Salyut 7
for only 2 days Apr. '83 due to docking problems) opened the air lock
and entered the space station about two hours later.  They were
greeted by the traditional gifts of bread and salt left by the Soyuz
TM-7 crew in April. It was stated on shortwave that this crew might
set a new record for man tended space experiments with the two
expansion modules being added. One will arrive in October containing a
manned maneuvering unite called by them a "Space Chair". The other is
planed for Feb. '90 and contains a special docking port which they
expect to use with the Buran shuttle in 1991. 

     This docking was obviously not the usual kind.  The Soyuz
approached the Mir from the Kvant end slowly, and then was brought in
for a manual dock for the last few meters.  Normally docking is nearly
always automatic unless there are some problems.  In addition note
that the docking took place on the Kvant (rear) axial air lock.  Note
that this confirms the Progress M-1 launched on Aug. 23 was definitely
docked to the front (ball) section. Previously all Progress craft have
docked to the rear section, and all fuel transfers have taken place
there.  There have been some statements about fuel/water/air lines
being located also in the ball section but they have never been used
to my knowledge.  It will be interesting to see what new capabilities
this altered Progress gives them. 

    Again Earth has a manned space station, but unfortunately not a
Western one. 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

    
TASS:: on docking & next launch
    
Everything appeared to be normal, but with less then four meters left to cover
the station suddenly shifted and went out of the spacecrafts sight, the crew
reversed the spacecraft to 20 meters from the station and stopped.  There was
21 min left before LOS with earth.  The Soyuz TM-8 again began to approach
MIR, this time illuminating it with the headlight.  The docking took
place at 2:25 MSK , five min latter then planed. The automatic
docking failed TASS said as the planes of the spacecraft and station became 
missaligned and the  Docking had to be completed manually. 
    this was not an emergency but only one of the available options TASS said..

According to Solovyov, the next module will most likely be launched on 
the 16th of October and dock with the MIR complex on October 23 after a week
maneuvering in space.


john
    



    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: More details about the Soyuz TM-8 docking
Date: 8 Sep 89 18:44:51 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     Some more information was given on the shortwave about the USSR's
Soyuz TM-8 mission.  About 48 hours after launch the Soyuz approached
the Mir station slowly at its Kvant (rear) end.  A few meters from the
docking port the autodock system failed.  The crew of Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov then pulled the capsule away from
the station.  After a conference with the ground controllers it was
decided to go ahead and try a manual docking rather than another
automatic attempt.  This was quickly accomplished.  One point here,
during the flight to the station the shortwave mentioned that they
were checking out the docking radar, not something that they normally
talk about.  This, and their quick response to the problem, may
indicate that the crew knew well in advance that trouble might occur
in the docking. 

    After checking the mechanical locks, and equalizing the pressure,
they entered the station.  In addition to the traditional Russian
guest gifts of bread and salt there was a note from Dr. Valrey
Polyakov (Soyuz TM-6/TM-7, Aug. 29 '88) of the last crew giving them
some final advice.  The station was clean with no dust, but the air
smelled slightly of plastic. 

    Some more details about the plans for this mission.  The
experimental module, to be added in October, will contain
significantly more supplies, a larger airlock, and the "Space Chair"
or "Space Bicycle".  The crew will be doing 5 space walks, at least
some to test out this Manned Maneuvering Unite type system.  The
technical module is their name for the February '90 expansion section.
Both additions will definitely be 20 Tonnes in mass. It has not been
stated at what point the first module will be transfered to one of the
side docking ports of Mir's docking ball.  Probably this will occur
only slightly before the February addition to minimize the asymetry in
the station shape and thus aid in its control.  They say that Mir will
be permanently manned starting with this mission. 

    The Soviets keep rolling along, even when problems develop. People
used to say that was the hallmark of the US program. 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

	The following is the timetable for the expansion of of the Mir 
space station based on a "Aviation Week & Space Technology" interview with
Soviet space program managers:

-September	Changeout of Mir's computer memory with new unit brought
		up by Progress M-1

-October 16	Launch of Module D (aka Service Module)

-Between October 16 and October 23
		Progress M-1 undocks from Mir's forward docking port and
		will be sent into a destructive reentry (the Progress M
		spacecraft does have the ability to fly with a recoverable
		reentry module similar to the one used on the Soyuz but 
		Progress M-1 and probably M-2 will not have such a module)

-October 23	Module D will dock with Mir at the forward axial port and
		will shortly thereafter transfer to one of the axial ports 
		automaticly using its manipulator arm

-October 25	Soyuz TM-8 will be moved from the rear docking port to 
		Mir's forward facing axial port

-October 27	Progress M-2 will be launched

-October 29	Progress M-2 will dock at Mir's rear docking port and unloading
		will begin.

-January 28	Soyuz TM-8 will be moved from the forward axial docking 
		port to the rear docking port which will be left vacant after
		Progress M-2 leaves

-January 30	Launch of Module T (aka Technology Module)

-February 6	Module T will dock at Mir's forward facing axial docking 
		port and will then be moved to the radial port opposite
		Module M

-February 11	Soyuz TM-9 with cosmonauts Col. Anatoly Solovyov and 
		A. Balandin will be launched to Mir.

-February 13	Soyuz TM-9 docks at Mir's forward axial port
 
-February 19	The Soyuz TM-8 crew of Viktorenko and Serebrov will leave
		Mir for home

-February 21	Soyuz TM-8 lands


	The present EVA schedule for the Soyuz TM-8 crew follows:

-Between September and December
		The crew will perform three EVAs:
		> #1 Shift the female docking device to another of Mir's
		     forward docking ports
		> #2 Remove the French Echantillons experiment
		> #3 Install two star trackers on the Kvant module

-December	The crew will perform two EVAs using the new MMU with the
		MMU at the end of a 60 meter long tether:
		> #4 Basic checkout of MMU lasting 5 hours
		> #5 Evaluate MMU's ability to perform work outside


	The next module to be launched to Mir will be Module O (aka Optical
Module). Module T will have its solar panels removed and mounted on Kvant
and then it will be moved to another radial port. Module O will then occupy
that port. The last module will be a ecological platform with an international
payload and will be placed opposite Module T. No launch date for the next
pair of modules has been announced.

				Drew

    	Modules D and T will both weigh about 19.5 metric tons, carry about
    7 metric tons of supplies each, and have a maximum diameter of 4.35
    meters. Module D will be 12.4 meters long while Module T will be 11.9
    meters long. Both will make use of the Kurs navigation and docking
    system (the same one used on the Soyuz TM and the new Progress M).
    	Module D is divided into three sections:
    
    > The Air Lock
    	The MMU is carried in this new air lock. The MMU weighs 220 Kg
    and can carry a cosmonaut and 50 Kg of cargo.
    
    > Equipment/Scientific Section
    	This section has two windows for performing various obeservations
    and experiments. It also has storage and room to perform scientfic
    experiments including Incubator 2 which will study the effects of
    space on Japanese Quail eggs and birds and the MKF6MA camera system
    similar to the one carried on Salyut 7.
    
    > Service/Cargo Section
    	This section includes support systems and storage containers.
    Included in this section will be a washing facility (including a
    shower) and a water electrolytic decomposition system for oxygen
    production similar to units carried on Salyut 7 and Mir.
    
    	On the outside of the module will be mounted the ASP-G-M stabilized
    platform (which will have television cameras, the ITS7D spectrometer,
    the ARIZ X-ray instrument, and the MKS-M2 multispectral spectrometer),
    a micrometeorite detection system, the Epsilon thermal and exterior
    protection experiment, Wave-2 which will evaluate a new fuel tank
    design, and several tanks for water and air.
    
    				Drew
    
            

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Dates announced for the expansion of USSR's Mir space station.
Date: 5 Oct 89 04:09:57 GMT
 
    The expansion of the Soviet's Mir space station will begin on Oct.
16 when the so called D module is launched. It will be 12.4 meters
(40.6 ft) long by 4.35 m (14.3 ft) in diameter, about the same size as
the core section of Mir itself. This will make the combined station
Mir/Kvant/D about 31 meters (103 ft.) long with a total base mass of
about 53 Tonnes (each expansion module weighs about 20 tonnes, the
same as the Mir core itself). Actual mass will be higher as the
Mir/Kvant section has had much experimental material added to them in
the 18 Progress tankers that have docked with the station, delivering
about 41 Tonnes of supplies/fuel/water/air.  The D model will add
another 53.2 square meters (570 sq. ft) of solar panels to the
station's 76 sq. m (820 sq. ft) and the 22 sq. m (237 sq. ft.) add by
Soyuz TM-2 crew in June 1987. Total station power is  about 13 KW now
and this could add up to 6.9 KW giving a total of about 20 KW (the question 
of how much shadowing affects these numbers has not been answered). 

    In addition the crew will erect another solar panel, this one on
the Kvant module docked to the rear of the station. The D module will
contain a shower, a MKF-6GA multispectral camera (film type) and a
stabilization platform with black and while, color TV cameras plus
several spectrometers. The MKF system is similar to that in both the
previous generation Salyut 6/7 stations. The front end of Module D
contains the new large airlock with the "Space Chair."  The Chair will
be employed initially with a 60 meter (197 ft.)  tether (which the
cosmonauts do not like). The second expansion section, the Module T
(Technology) will be launched on Jan. 30 '90 and is slightly shorter
(11.9 m - 39 ft.). Both sections will take about 6 days to dock with
Mir, rather than the 2 days for the Progress/Soyuz systems. The
modules are now said to be transferred to the side ports relatively
quickly after docking. Transfer by means of a robot arm on the module
which hooks into a socket on the ball, then leavers the section over
in about 96 minutes. 

    The current schedule for the activities calls for the following:

    Sept    Change out of Mir computer memory
    Oct 16  Module D launch/Progress M1 undocked
    Oct 23  Module D docks on ball port axis
    Oct 25  Soyuz TM-8 moved to ball axis port
    Oct 27  Progress M2 tanker launched
    Nov     Shift female docking port in ball 
    Dec     2 EVA's to test space chair
    Jan 28  Soyuz TM-8 shifted to rear port
    Jan 30  Module T docks to ball port axis
    Feb 11  Soyuz TM-9 arrives
    Feb 19  Soyuz TM-8 leaves

     At later dates space walks will move the solar panels from Module
T and shift them to the Kvant section. The Module O (Observer), to be
added in 1990/91 will use the port that Module T will be docked to and
Module T will be move to another port. The female docking port (needed
by all Soyuz/Progress) must be manually moved to allow for docking in
different ports.  (AW&ST Sept 11, 25, & Radio Moscow) One interesting
sidelight in recent broadcasts was some statements on what cosmonauts
get paid. Typical ground pay is 300-400 rubles per month about 50%
more than the average pay if I remember correctly (the official rate
puts the ruble about $0.75, though on the black market it is much
less). For a mission they get a bonus of 2000-15,000 rubles, though
the higher number is for a 1 year flight (ie. 5-6 years regular pay
for a year on Mir - not bad). Speaking of money, the pictures of the
launch show a giant advertisement on the side of the booster for an
Italian insurance company. I wonder if they offered to insure the
cosmonauts themselves as part of that. Studies of Valdimir Titov and
Moussa Manarov (Soyuz TM-4/Mir Dec. '87 for 1 year) have showed them
to have recovered well from their long flight, much better than their
earlier extended missions, and consistent with Yuri Romanenko's 326
day mission (Soyuz TM-2/Mir Feb. '87). Indeed the key appears to be
regular exercise programs (Radio Moscow, AW&ST Sept 11, 18, 25). 

    It now appears that the launch rate for the Energiya booster has
been scaled back to about one mission per year. Part of this is due to
the reduction in the expectation for shuttle launches. The 1990 flight
will test the parachute recovery system for the strapon first stage.
However, they are actively seaking International launch cargo for the
booster, which could change that rate. (AW&ST Sept. 11) On Sept. 27
the Russians allowed western newsmen to visit Plesetsk, the northern
cosmodrome where mostly military missions are launched. Over 1000
vehicles have been flown from there. The observers were allowed to see
two launches, one a meteorological satellite. The commander of the
site revealed that there had been two launch accidents there; one in
1980 killed 50 people while in 1975 nine men died. (BBC World News
Sept. 27)  Two interesting unmanned flights were launched from
Plesetsk this month. On Sept. 6 a Resource F Earth observation
satellite was launched and recovered about Sept. 22.  It carried a the
West German Cosima-2 materials processing package doing commercial
experiments for European and Japanese companies. On Sept. 15 the much
delayed Biosatellite was launched, the seventh in this series since
1975 of this international cooperative program. Launch delays meant
several of the initial specimens had to be replaced before takeoff. It
is scheduled for recovery on Sept. 29. (AW&ST Sept. 11, 25, Radio
Moscow Sept. 15, 22) 

    This month will see the beginning of Mir's expansion.  It will
also be the greatest test of its design.  Can the station hold up to
expansion sections hung onto the ball section at right angle to the
station core?  If it can this will probably influence the design of
Soviet stations for the next few decades. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    The Soviet's now have five SPACE SUPPORT Ships out in the
    Atlantic Ocean.  This is a good indication that the launch
    is on.  Their is one small change in ship position that started six
    months ago, the normal Sable Island position has move south
    about at the same lat as NY.  I think this is because of the
    bad storms that have been in the SI area.

    just when things look normal, TASS announces a delayed until Nov 28........

APn  10/10 2058  Soviet-Space

Copyright, 1989. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

      MOSCOW (AP) -- Soviet space officials said Tuesday that the
   delay in the launch of a module for the space station Mir was
   prompted by worries about its guidance and docking system. The
   official news agency Tass quoted chief cosmonaut Vladimir
   Solovev as saying the module, which had been scheduled for
   launch in mid-September, will instead blast off Nov. 28. Two
   modules are to be flown to Mir, and Tass did not say which one
   was affected by the delay. One module was to carry quail eggs
   to be hatched in an experiment on weightlessness as well as a
   "space motorcycle" to be used in short trips between objects
   in space. The second module includes a telescopic camera for
   studying the stars and equipment to grow vegetables and
   crystals for electronics. Solovev told Tass that some elements
   of the module's guidance and docking system have proved
   unreliable in ground tests. He said scientists decided to
   delay the launch even though the system has worked in the
   past. The Mir station was unmanned for more than four months
   earlier this year to cut down on costs and give scientists a
   chance to prepare the modules. Cosmonauts Alexander S.
   Viktorenko and Alexander A. Serebrov blasted off Sept. 5 for a
   six-month mission aboard Mir. In the past year, the Soviet
   space program has also struggled with other problems,
   including the loss of two expensive international Mars probes.


Just shows again that watching every word and phrase in a TASS
article is prudent.

This is going to create some severe scheduling problems on board
since they had a lot of work to do between the docking of the "D"
and the "T". On the other hand, mission planners kept
Viktorenko/Serebrov and Solevyov/Ballandin (TM9) working closely
together during the MIR hiatus, so it seems to me that they could
hand off some of the work or even the "T" docking to the TM9
crew.  Possible exception is the fact that Serebrov is the MMU
specialist.

No mention of PM-2 - wonder if it is still a go for the 27th??

Bye for now.
    friends of the cosmos
    

    

    More news about the Launch delay was released by TASS on the 13 of Oct.
     
    A 40 day delay has been caused by service unreliablity of parts of
    the KURS system which is responsible for PUOVUNG the additional modules
    into orbit and docking the delivery vehicle with the MIR complex....
    
    from other souces I found out that:
    
    The TM-8 had simular problems, but since it was maned the docking
    was aborted and a maunal docking took place.  This could not happen
    with an unmanned module this is imposile and the entire module could
    be lost...
    
    "the problem has nothing to do with MIR "...."The problem is on the
    ground"....
    
    
    In the mean time the crew of MIR underwent EKG several times last
    week, doing EKG is not unusaul but twice in the same week is, the
    last time this happen when the detected a problem with one of the
    two long duration Cosmonauts and he was retruned home....  There
    is no indication from TASS that any problem has happen however, this
    could also be do to equipment malfunctions, and trying to find
    something to do with their time now that the 'D' launch is postpone
    at least 40 days....
    
    one interseting TASS article, a 'Space Bridge' was schedule for 
    oct 10 a communication session betwen Kashiprovsky ( a Soviet
    doctor who is set up to treat Aids patients ) Alexander Viktorenko,
    Serebrov, and the crew of the MIR complex but at the 11 hour, however,
    the TV bridge was cancelled by a health ministry official under the
    pretext that such a meeting could cast doubts on the health of
    cosmonauts who do not complain of anything of which they informed the
    doctor who arived in the flight control center.
    
    In the mean time between the 11 and the 12th of Oct the orbit of
    the MIR complex was raised, no idea if this was part of the docking
    or had anything to do with the delay in the 'D' unit.
    
    
    john
    
    
           

    Again the orbit of MIR has been raised, it is runing 3 min late today.
    Most likly the burn was on mon/tue... Could be they are about to
    dump the Progress unit and lanunch the next one one time sicne the
    'D' module is late....
    
    jb
    

    
    with the raised orbit of MIR the next good launch window
    will be on the 28 of Oct.  I think they will launch a 
    progress unit. I say this not because there is a window
    but because
    
    1) MIR move twice in one week getting into position for what?
       MIR is to high up to worry about decaying..
    
    2) The SESS (Space Event Support Ships) will not call on home 
       port untill the 6th of Nov.  I take this to mean they are
       out at sea for a reason...  If there was no upcomming launch
       I would have expected them to recall them earlier.
    
    
    latest MIR set
    

    mIR                            (Launch 86-17-  A)       Obj:  16609
          Epoch Year: 1989  Day: 295.488413140    Orbit #   21102
          Inclination  =  51.62150000     R.A.A.N      =  84.43750000
          Eccentricity =   0.00146690     Arg of Per   = 236.84370000
          Mean Anomaly = 123.16960000     Mean Motion  =  15.57147363
          Drag         =  0.50516E-03     Frequency    =      143.625
          S.M.A.       =    6774.0120     Anom Period  =      92.4768
          Apogee Ht    =     405.7888     Perigee Ht   =     385.9152

    

    NO launch, in fact it looks like some of the SESS have gone
    to Port call...  MIR communication starting on the 29 of Oct
    was not with range of the  Sable Island SESS but with one possible near
    the Azores...  A new comunicaiton mode simular to the US NAVY
    encryped voice is being used, and  two new digital modes, one
    wide band (as the energy is at each band end with none in the
    middle) and one low speed that sounds like a buzz saw.  Since
    there is a sudden freq shift when these 'digital' transmisions
    start I am assuming that they are switching transmitters...
    There is also another new transmission, it sounds like white noise
    howere if I tune to the high end of the bandpass there is a tone.
    
    
TASS:
Talked about the high radiation the Cosmonauts got between sep 29 and
oct 26.  exposures of 3.9 Rem on the the 26th of Oct caused by the
solar flares, TASS said 4 times lower then  the permissible exposure,
    
    and from the red rumor mill, the T module is delayed until March or
    even April but the curent crew will come home in Feb as scheduled.
    
    

jb


    

    latest info puts the launch of PM-2 at the end of DEC,
    
    
    jb
    

LAUNCH OF MODULE TO MIR STATION SCHEDULE FOR NOVEMBER 26
15/11 TASS 103

MOSCOW NOVEMBER 15 TASS - The launch of an equipment module
to link up with the MIR orbiting station has been schedule for 
November 26 from the Baikonur launch site.

This will be a second attempt to put the module into space.
The first launch was aborted by a last minute command of the
onboard computer which found a fault in the electronic docking
system

In October, the system, KURS , was taken off the module and
sent to the factory were it had been made, for improvements.

Officials from the USSR Ministry of General Machine Building 
told TASS that the improved automatic docking system, which has
withstood a series of trials, is now ready for operation.

After the first two days of testing, long before the end of 
the full testing cycle, experts concluded that the system was in
order.

The module is now being prepared for launch in accordance 
with the pre-launch schedule.

By November 17, the modules propulsion system will be
loaded with fuel components.  Then it will be attached to a 
proton booster rocket and taken to the launch pad on November
21st.

Before November 25, the work with the module and the booster
rocket will continue on the pad, and the rocket will be fueled.

ITEM ENDS


    

    I was suprise by the fact that the launch of the Module
    was stoped  at the last moment by computer control, previous
    TASS annoucments led one to believe that some form of QC 
    found the error.
    
    From good sources the next Progesss PM2 will not be
    launch on the 15th of December
    
    cheers jb
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Dates for USSR's Mir expansion, Juno crew, and old Soviet Space Plane
Date: 21 Nov 89 19:30:09 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
    On board the USSR's Mir space station cosmonauts Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov are now preparing for the arrival
of the new D or airlock module (a 20 Tonne expansion section to the
station which has a larger airlock and a Manned Maneuvering System
called the "Space Bicycle" as its main functions".  A Tass announcement 
on Nov. 15 indicated that the module would be loaded with fuel on Nov 17 
and the Proton booster moved out to the pad.  As of this morning (Nov. 21) 
neither event has been confirmed by announcements on shortwave.  The crew 
has currently been in orbit for 77 days. 

    No announcement has been made about discarding the Progress M-1
cargo craft that docked with the station on Aug. 25.  The Nov. 19
orbital elements posted by TS Kelso show it to still be attached to
the station. This ejection must happen within the next few days as the
stated launch date for the module is Nov. 26.  The same TASS
announcement says that Progress M-2 cargo craft will head to Mir on
Dec. 15.  This means the D module will have to dock and be transferred
to the side port of the ball end of Mir rather quickly, in agreement
with what has been stated by the Soviets previously. 

    A couple of other interesting space announcements have been made
in the week of Nov. 13-20 on Radio Moscow.  First the Juno crew
(British mission to Mir in 1991) has arrived in Russia to begin their
medical checks. The announced crew (confirmed from Nature, Nov. 9) is
Gordon Brooks (Royal Navy physician, 33 years old), Major Timothy Mace
(Army Air Corps, 33), Clive Smith (Kingston Polytechnic lecturer, 27)
and Helen Sharman (food technologist, 26). 

    In the other Glavcosmos, their space marketing agency, and Space
Commerce Corp. has sold their first launch contract for a Soviet
Proton booster (20 Tonne to orbit) to a US company, Energetics
Satellite Corp. The satellite is an inflatable parabolic antenna and
some transponders that communicate with Earth base transceivers, as a
location determination system.  This small package will be deployed as
a piggy back rider on a satellite system launched to geosynchronous
orbit. Since other boosters use Payload Assist Modules or similar
rockets to go from an initial transfer orbit to geostationary, only
the Soviets are able to offer a cheap package for small cargos to that
elevation according to an Energetics spokesman.  The cost is $6.5
million per launch, about $8 million less than what Western rockets
would charge according to the company. The only hold up now is whether
the State Department will give permission for the launch.  The company
argues that there is no technology transfer stating that it is nothing
more than an updated Echo type system (however there is mention of
transponders, but it is not certain it they are located on the Soviet
portion of the satellite system).  They have an option for 6 other
launches if this works out. It appears that this is an interesting
market niche that only the Soviets can serve at present. (Radio Moscow
and AW&ST Nov. 20) 

    In Aviation Week there were some interesting pictures about an
earlier Soviet space plane program.  This consisted of a two stage
vehicle, the first being a hypersonic carrier craft which would carry
a small, one man lifting body style vehicle. The combined vehicle
would mass about 140 Tonnes at takeoff.  The mini-shuttle looks very
similar to the Cosmos 1445/1374 lifting body that the USSR landed in
the Indian Ocean during 1982.  These are best seen in pictures taken
by the Royal Australian Air Force of the recovery.  Hence this
probably answers the mystery of what those vehicles were originally
designed for, since their lifting body shape bares little resemblance
to the final Soviet Shuttle. The article does not give a end date for
the program so the mini-shuttle may have been part of it, or older
vehicles which were revamped to test their thermal protection tiles. 
(AW&ST Nov. 13) 

    The Soviets are seeking cooperation with France to add
instrumentation on the large 18.5 Tonne Almaz Earth observation
platform.  These 7 x 4.2 meter (23 x 14 ft.) modules which carry 4
tonnes of instruments and have solar power of 2.5 Kilowatts. The next
systems are scheduled for 1990 and 1993 launches, the 1990 one being
too close for the French to attempt to put other instruments on board.
The first of the series, Cosmos 1870, was launched in July 1987 and
turned off in July 1989, about 1.5 months before its design lifetime
ended.  Its main instrument was a radar imaging system with 20 Km (13
mi) sweep path and a 25 meter (81 ft.) resolution.  The upcoming
systems will be able to sweep 40 Km (25 mi) sections.  Note that the
Soviets have admitted that some of the design parameters were set by
requirements for military systems.  (AW&ST Nov. 20) 

    In about a week we will see if the Soviets can start the next
stage in Mir's existence, the docking of the first side module.  That
is if nothing new goes wrong. 
 
                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

    For Nov 26 the launch time would be 12 hr 56 min
    for the D air lock module
    
    base on MIR rev 15755 at 1139.12 @ 330.81 W
    
    thanks to the Kettering Group for this info
    
    
    john
    ps will check for visual window for New England
    
    
    

TASS:  
	The D-Module was launched at 16:01 MSK (13:01UTC) and will doc with
       	the MIR complex on the 2nd of December.

Radio observation:  
	NONE

Visual observation:
	Sunday the 26th of Nov at 22:04:26:21 I saw the D-Module
	just as it passed under the North star at apx 22 deg elevation.
	It was flashing at about a 10 sec rate from much brighter then
	the north star to just about the same magnitude.  I did not
	see it but other have also reported a red obj about 40 sec
	before the D-Module that is assumed to be the booster, it
	too is spinning.

Conclusions:
	The D-Module is at 
	S.M.A.       =    6614.8626     Anom Period  =      89.2370
        Apogee Ht    =     261.8391     Perigee Ht   =     211.5661
	While MIR is at
	S.M.A.       =    6778.1640     Anom Period  =      92.5618
        Apogee Ht    =     402.8604     Perigee Ht   =     397.1477
	I would assume it would stay in this orbit for about two
	days before any orbit corrections.

	

    

Why the spinning ? 
Appears all is not well with it.........
 
APn  11/26 1646  Soviet-Space
 
Copyright, 1989. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
 
By ANDREW KATELL
 Associated Press Writer
   MOSCOW (AP) -- After months of delay, the Soviet Union on
   Sunday launched an attachment for its orbiting space station
   Mir that features a "space motorcycle" and an experiment with
   Japanese quail eggs. However, the official Tass news agency
   rapidly reported technical problems with the Kvant-2 module,
   saying one of the two panels of its solar battery did not open
   fully, and that scientists considered what to do next. Soviet
   television broadcast live the nighttime launch of the Proton
   booster rocket carrying the module from the sprawling Baikonur
   Cosmodrome, 1,560 miles southeast of Moscow in the desert
   steppe of Kazakhstan. The Kvant-2 features a shower and sink,
   an airlock for spacewalks and an incubator in which Japanese
   quail eggs are to be hatched to study the effects of
   weightlessness on heredity. Also aboard the module is a "space
   motorcycle," which looks more like a floating armchair. After
   the module docks with Mir on Dec. 2, mission commander
   Alexander S. Viktorenko and engineer Alexander A. Serebrov
   will test the device outside. It is designed for repairing
   satellites and rescuing cosmonauts in distress. Tass said the
   two cosmonauts, who blasted off Sept. 5, are "impatiently
   waiting for the module" because its launch had been delayed
   twice. It was originally scheduled to blast off in April, but
   it wasn't ready then, and a second launching planned for mid-
   September was scrapped because of problems with its electronic
   docking system. Exactly what effect on the mission the non-
   deployment of one of the solar battery panels could have was
   not spelled out by Tass. "The data obtained (from telemetry)
   are now being analyzed," it said. "A decision will be taken on
   the results of this analysis." It was the latest snafu in the
   Soviet space program. Two twin multimillion-dollr unmanned
   probes to Mars were lost in flight last year, and in the past
   year almost every manned mission has had technical problems on
   landing. The 20-ton Mir was designed to be permanently manned,
   and it was the site of a record yearlong flight by two
   cosmonauts last year. But it was unexpectedly mothballed in
   April because the Kvant-2 and another add-on were not ready
   and keeping a crew aboard would have cost money when lawmakers
   and ordinary Soviets wanted rubles spent on Earth. The four-
   month vacancy was only the second time since Mir was launched
   in February 1986 that it was unmanned. Mir already is joined
   with the Kvant astrophysics laboratory. Another module,
   scheduled for attachment later, features a telescopic camera
   for studying the stars, a docking port to link with the space
   shuttle Buran, and equipment to grow vegetables and crystals
   for electronics. Viktorenko, 42, and Serebrov, 45, are to
   return to Earth in early March after a replacement crew
   arrives on the Mir.
 
 
 
Note the reference to Kvant-2 and the March, not February,
return.
 
    

    why the spinning,,???
    
    one reason may be to free the solar panels, if 
    the panels are sping loaded like most US satellites
    then the comman trick to unlock stuck panels is
    to put a spin on the satllites to help out the
    springs,,  late observation this AM from the UK
    indicates that the spinning has stoped..
    
    Visual observation in the Boston Mass area, for Monday the 27th of NOV
    
    apx 2200 utc or apx 5 pm local time
    look  North at about 22 deg elevation
    be sure to watch for about + - 10 min  93 B will be about
    1 to 2 min before object 93 A
    it should be coming out of the West going East
    the booster is redish in color while the D-Module is white
    
    
    good viewing 
    
    John
    
    
    

    D_Module 93A                                       
          Epoch Year: 1989  Day: 330.846968250    Orbit #       5
          Inclination  =  51.62320000     R.A.A.N      = 268.79630000
          Eccentricity =   0.00798260     Arg of Per   =  86.90210000
          Mean Anomaly = 274.10280000     Mean Motion  =  16.02443459
          Drag         =  0.32982E-02     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6645.7494     Anom Period  =      89.8628
          Apogee Ht    =     320.6398     Perigee Ht   =     214.5390

    D_Module 93B                                        
          Epoch Year: 1989  Day: 330.597512160    Orbit #       1
          Inclination  =  51.62940000     R.A.A.N      = 270.10730000
          Eccentricity =   0.00647690     Arg of Per   =  83.44630000
          Mean Anomaly = 278.29190000     Mean Motion  =  16.06463862
          Drag         = -0.83500E-05     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6634.6568     Anom Period  =      89.6379
          Apogee Ht    =     299.4688     Perigee Ht   =     213.5248

    

    Re: Spinning
    	The Soviets also commonly use spinning to reduce the need for
    attitude control fuel. The Soviets use to spin the Soyuz around an axis
    perpindicular to the plane of the solar panels and have the spin axis
    point towards the sun. The spacecraft was kept spinning between times
    of orbital maneuvers and actual rendevous and docking (if the Soyuz
    were to dock to something). I know that the practice was discontinued
    after the Soyuz was upgraded in the early 1970s when the solar panels
    were removed (except for the Soyuz 16 and 19 which carried solar panels
    and did employ spin stabilizing). I am not sure, however, whether the
    Soviets use spin stabilizing with the newer Soyuz variants (which again
    employ solar panels) or any of the Heavy Kosmos class modules that they
    have flown to the Salyuts or Mir. Since the new module will take about
    a week to reach Mir,  it is at least possible that the Soviets may be 
    using the technique to save fuel (as well as an attempt to free the 
    stuck panel).
    
    				Drew
    

TASS:  FLIGHT OF SOVIET KVANT-2 SPACE MODULE CONTINUES  17/11 TASS 101

	Moscow November 27 TASS - The Soviet Space Module KVANT-2 is
     now in its second day of flight. It is to add to the MIR Orbital 
     Complex some addition equipment an instruments to broaden the scope
     of  research an experiments carried out in the interest of Science
     an the economy.

	The cargo delivered by the KVANT-2 contains fuel as well as
     food and water for Soviet Cosmonauts Alexader Viktorenko and 
     Alexander Seberov who continue their work in orbit.

	According to telemetric information received from the Module
     during the first communications session, one of the two panels 
     of the solar battery has failed to unfold completely.

	Flight Control Center Officials told TASS that attempts to
     open the solar battery using the module on board equipment
     controlled from earth have so far failed.  Flight Control
     specialist have switched off the modules systems to
     "save it energy resource".

ITEM ENDS ----


    

    
    Monday the rocket botty was seen rolling every 11.6 sec,
    Mag 0 -5.  The module was steady at Mag 0.  The rocket
    body is quite spectacular with massive flars for about 10 
    sec with up to -5 Mag, ( one person reported that it made
    Venus look like a match head - it was I N C R E D I B L E !!)
    
    
    Nasa has listed a C object now allong with the A & B but
    so far no one has seen it...
    
    john
    

    D-93A                          (Launch  0-93-A  )   
          Epoch Year: 1989  Day: 331.034046740    Orbit #       8
          Inclination  =  51.62370000     R.A.A.N      = 267.79210000
          Eccentricity =   0.00794810     Arg of Per   =  87.57290000
          Mean Anomaly = 273.47790000     Mean Motion  =  16.02660456
          Drag         =  0.48617E-02     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6645.1495     Anom Period  =      89.8506
          Apogee Ht    =     319.8058     Perigee Ht   =     214.1732

    D-93B                          (Launch  0-93-B  )   
          Epoch Year: 1989  Day: 331.281423900    Orbit #      12
          Inclination  =  51.64060000     R.A.A.N      = 266.42010000
          Eccentricity =   0.00637770     Arg of Per   =  85.33260000
          Mean Anomaly = 275.74670000     Mean Motion  =  16.07715807
          Drag         =  0.10653E-01     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6631.2121     Anom Period  =      89.5681
          Apogee Ht    =     295.3439     Perigee Ht   =     210.7602

    D-93C                          (Launch  0-93-C  )   
          Epoch Year: 1989  Day: 331.096391470    Orbit #       9
          Inclination  =  51.62250000     R.A.A.N      = 267.47760000
          Eccentricity =   0.00712990     Arg of Per   =  90.71190000
          Mean Anomaly = 272.15600000     Mean Motion  =  16.06933582
          Drag         =  0.99047E-01     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6633.3638     Anom Period  =      89.6117
          Apogee Ht    =     302.4991     Perigee Ht   =     207.9086

    

Clouds so I could not see 93A&C but then the clouds cleared 
just enough to see Kvant-II. It was just above the
tree tops but obs showed the module was steady, very close
to the element set.
    
    Observation form Europe shows the Module steady but the
    rocket rolling every 9.5 sec with mag from 1.9 -6.0

from TASS I have the following about Kvant-II

TASS:  Dynamic operation recharge the modules storage batteries 
were continuing today.  After achieving the necessary capacity of 
the storage batteries, the Modules dynamic characteristic were 
specified and the functioning of its control system with changed 
configuration of the Solar Batteries Panels were checked.  At
present, Kvant-2 is flying according to a pre-set program.  The
correciton the trajectory of its distant approchment with the MIR
space station is scheduled for November 29.  ITEMS ENDs

    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Kvant 2 expansion preceeding to Mir though with problems
Date: 28 Nov 89 04:58:57 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     More details have been announced about the new expansion module
launched on Nov. 26 for the Soviet Mir space station, and the problems
it is experiencing.  Called Kvant 2 now, it was previously referred to
as the D or airlock module.  Kvant means quantum in Russian, possibly
refereeing to a quantum improvement in the station, and hence this may
suggest that all the expansion portions for Mir will be labeled with
that name.  This new section is nearly twice the size and mass of the
Kvant 1 astrophysical module currently attached to Mir (added in Apr. 1987). 

     With regard to their problem, one of the solar panels is now
described as partially extended.  It has been decided to dock Kvant 2
to Mir with the panel in the current state. There probably the
cosmonauts will try and correct the problem manually via a space walk.
One interesting point, there was considerable coverage of this flight
on their international shortwave service.  However on Vremya (time),
their nightly TV news hour for Nov. 27, there was no long article on
the situation (please note I scan tapes of the news so that I may have
fast forwarded past some purely verbal comment with no background
pictures). Note though that the lift off was shown live on their
television (which has become standard now in these days of Glasnost
for space missions). One point was a cryptic comment made on the
shortwave report (Nov. 27) that "another space craft will be launched
in the wake of Kvant."  This may refer either to the Progress M-2
cargo craft to be sent up in mid December, or the T module (Kvant 3?)
slated for an end of January flight. 

    From the tone of the broadcasts it did not seem that they were too
worried about the problem, hence it may just require Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov (who have been up there for 82 days
now) go out and give the panel a kick.  We will see next week (hope
someone else will report on that during my trip - I always seem to
travel during important missions). 
 
                                                   Glenn Chapman
                                                   MIT Lincoln Lab

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Kvant 2 to change orbit Wednesday & Juno mission tests
Date: 29 Nov 89 06:04:36 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     The Soviets have announced on shortwave (Nov. 28) that the Kvant
2 module, launched on Nov. 26, will undergo a major maneuver on Nov.
29th to achieve the final orbit for the Mir space station.  The
partially deployed solar panel (see my postings of Nov. 26, and 27)
has resulted in both a reduction in some operations there, to conserve
power, and the re-orientation of this section to maximize the sun's
illumination to recharge the batteries.  It has been officially
decided to stop all efforts aimed at extending properly the problem
panel and simply dock the module to Mir.  There the cosmonauts
Viktorenko and Serebrov will try and make the repairs.   By the way,
Earth observations of Kvant 2 show it to be very bright - about the
same intensity as Venus.  One final point earlier this month Mir was
in a 404 x 396 Km (253 x 248 mi.) orbit, the highest ever for a manned
soviet space station (according to Soviet Aerospace, Nov. 13). 

    Space Commerce Corp. has signed Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing
to a contract to supply special advertising signs on the sides of the
Proton booster and in general at Baikonur.  The contract calls for 3M
to get a percentage of any signs sold.  (Satellite News Nov. 20) The
Soviets have announced that starting in January the Baikonur
Cosmodrome will be open year round for visits by tourists.  France and
the USSR have decided that the 1992 joint mission to Mir will be a two
week mission. (Soviet Aerospace, Nov. 13) 

    An excellent description of the rigors of testing prospective
astronauts for the UK/Soviet Juno mission is given in the New
Scientist Nov. 25 article entitled "Knocking the stuffing out of the
Right Stuff" by Jeremy Curtis, a candidate who survived to final set
of tests.  Curtis, who designs space instrumentation, comments that to
build satellite equipment you design conservatively (using older
technology because it must last), duplicate components, study all
parts of the manufacturing process and create a pile of paper that
documents the device that almost exceeds the caloric value of the
rocket fuel to lift the satellite.  By comparison all you can do with
humans (or some product that you have some question about its
reliability) is to test a large number of them to near destruction
until you find the ones that work, keeping a few spares around in case
even those fail on you at the last moment.  In summary, after the
usual general health and physiological tests they really got down to
business.  First hot and cold water was put in their ears to check for
balance. Then tests for latent epilepsy, X rays examinations, and
pulse monitoring for 24 hours. The Soviet doctors took an extreme
interest in the whole digestive track, shoving both chemicals and
mechanical/fiber optical probes up the openings at both ends. This was
followed by altitude chamber examinations, and centrifuge tests at 8
G's (5 G's while siting up).  Finally there were Coriolis tests where
they were blindfolded, spun in a chair about their head at a
revolution every 2 seconds, then forced to sit up every 7 sec. for a
minute.  He survived 20 minutes of this before he became too sick to
take it.  Currently Curtis is helping with the preparations for the
mission. This is a wonderfully written article, full of humor and
insight, and I urge everyone who thinks about being an
astronaut/cosmonaut to get hold of a copy. 
 
                                                    Glenn Chapman
                                                    MIT Lincoln Lab

This last note brings up a question for me:  I was watching a
program this last week on the U.S. space station.  Some expert
being interviewed commented that the Soviets may have had a
station up for some years before we do it, but that they haven't
really done anything with it.  Its been mostly for
propaganda/national prestige and that our unmanned satellites and
shuttle missions have accomplished the same thing with far less
cost and risk.  

Well, have they accomplished anything beyond the pure experience
of just being there (which has got to be worth something!)?  Has
the currently attached Kavant 1 module really produced anything?

This seems like a good time to ask this since the Kavant 2 module
will add some new functions to Mir, beyond the human factors data
that they have been accumulating. 

The feeling was that within a short time of our launching a
station we will have caught up and surpassed Mir because our
station will be more sophisticated and better planned from the
start.

    The answear is YES,YES, YES.  I would have to look at my notes
    but they from the top of my head I would include -  seeing for the 
    first time an x-ray source, a super-nova, the reproduction of 
    plant life in space (needed for food on a long trip into space).  
    The manufacturing of semicoductor xtal that are 40x better then 
    those that can be produced on earth. 
    
    The cosmonauts have seen  many solar flares and have measured
    the extent of the radiation an measures to minimize this radiation.
    
    They have learned how to weld in space to build larger structures.
    
    The list goes on and on, including the best time to plant wheat
    base on the spring run off of water as seen from space.
    
    Yes they have really done useful things in space, what they are
    missing is actually starting a space manafacturing site. So far
    all have been experiments producing sample, this is good for R&D
    but to be of economic value it needs to be done on a large scale.
    But the R&D is done, I would think in the next year there will be
    a shift to large scale space manafacturing, satellite repair etc.
    
    john
    
    
    
                   

    re: note 222
    
    Glenn Chapman  point on the orbit of the MIR complex being one of the
    highest ever apx 400KM brings up an interesting point.  I don't think
    the Soviets will bring MIR down to the lower orbit again.  This is
    no problem as the only restriction would be a limit of the Soyuz to a 2
    man crew. Even this may not be a problem as the Photon is about ready
    to be man rated. If it is an with the new Soyuz would put them back in the
    3 man rating again. For the present they do not have any plans for a
    3 man crew going to MIR.   As the MIR Complex gets bigger the problems
    of a low flying orbit gets bigger.
    
    john
    
    

From: mcdowell@cfa250.harvard.edu (Jonathan McDowell)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Kvant 2 expansion preceeding to Mir though with problems
Date: 29 Nov 89 21:06:16 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
 
    From article <11179@csli.Stanford.EDU>, by jkl@csli.Stanford.EDU
(John Kallen): 

> I've been reading the news about MIR on sci.space with great interest.
> I often wonder exactly how is MIR configured at the moment?  I.e. does
> anybody have schematics or diagrams of what the station looks like?
  
    Here goes:

                                              SP1
                                               ||
                  ________     ______________  ||        DP3
  Soyuz TM-8      |       \    |             \________  _____    Progress-M
|\_____ _  ___  __|        \  /                       \/     \  ___    _____/|
|      | \|   ||KP2  Kvant ||            Mir core       DP5  ||   |/\|       |
| _____|_/|___||__      KP1||DP2                          DP1||___|\/|_____  |
|/                |        /  \               ________/\_____/              \|
                  --------/    |_____________/ ||
                                               ||        DP4
                                              SP2
  
    SP1,SP2: Solar panels  (SP3 out of page)
    DP1 to DP6: Mir core module docking ports (DP6 is on other side of
docking node from DP5) 
    KP1,KP2: Kvant module docking ports.
    These designations are purely my own and are in no way official.
 
    Soyuz TM-8 is docked to the Kvant rear port KP2.
    Progress M is docked to the Mir front port DP1; it will undock
really soon and be replaced by the Kvant-2 module: 
  
                                              SP1                   SP
                                               ||                   ||
                  ________     ______________  ||        DP3        ||
  Soyuz TM-8      |       \    |             \________  _____   /\________
|\_____ _  ___  __|        \  /                       \/     \ /          \_
|      | \|   ||KP2   Kvant ||            Mir core       DP5  ||  Kvant-2   |
| _____|_/|___||__       KP1||DP2                          DP1||           _|
|/                |        /  \               ________/\_____/ \  ________/
                  --------/    |_____________/ ||               \/  ||
                                               ||        DP4        \\
                                              SP2                   // SP
 
- which will then rotate round to a side port like DP3 after the bent
SP is fixed, leaving DP1 free to receive Progress M-2. (Possibly,
Soyuz TM-8 will be moved to DP1 and Pr M-2 will go to KP2.) 
 
    Jonathan
 .----------------------------------------------------------------.
 |  Jonathan McDowell       |  phone : (617)495-7144              |
 |  Center for Astrophysics | uucp: husc6!harvard!cfa200!mcdowell |
 |  60 Garden Street        | bitnet : mcdowell@cfa.bitnet        |
 |  Cambridge  MA 02138     |  inter : mcdowell@cfa.harvard.edu   |
 |  USA                     |   span : cfa::mcdowell              |
 |                          |  telex : 92148 SATELLITE CAM	  |
 |                          |    FAX : (617)495-7356              |
 '----------------------------------------------------------------'
 	

    Re:.225
    	The "Photon" being man rated? The "Photon" is a recoverable
    material processing spacecraft based on the Vostok. Man rating this
    design would have little if any value since it is far too primitive a
    design (at least for manned flights to rendezvous with the Mir).
    	If you meant man rating the "Proton" (which is the launch vehicle
    the Soviets use to launch Mir, Kvant, and their planetary probes), the
    Proton with its 20 metric ton capacity would be a real overkill for
    launching even a modified (i.e. heavier) version of the Soyuz to such a
    high orbit.
    	There has been some talk that the next version of the Soyuz COULD
    (and this is pure speculation in the West) use the new Zenit which is
    based on the technology used in the Energia. Potentially an
    overdesigned (i.e. man rated) version of the Zenit could very
    comfortably launch a 10 to 12 metric ton version of the Soyuz (the
    Soyuz presently weighs about 7 metric tons).
    	IMHO, what would be more likely is that the next Soyuz variant will
    be just a slightly modified version of the present Soyuz TM and will be
    launched on, at best, a slightly uprated version of the Soyuz launcher.
    In its present configuration, the Soyuz TM can easily reach the Mir's
    present 400 Km orbit with a two man crew. A modified Soyuz TM (with a
    better propulsion system, more fuel, lighter structure, or better
    rendevous system) could be able to do the same thing with a 3 man crew.
    
    			 	Drew
    

    Since the Photon spacecraft is derived from Vostok, maybe it is already
    man rated :-)
    
    However, I think you're right. If the next generation Soyuz is a
    relatively minor change I expect they'll continue to use the current
    Soyuz launcher. If it is something much larger, they'll probably shift
    to the Zenit. Since much of the Zenit first stage is common with the
    Energia boosters, they can take advantage of whatever is done to man
    rate Energia.
    
    BTW, was it ever resolved whether the Progress-M was launched by a
    Soyuz or Zenit launcher. If the latter, Progress-M could be doubling
    its function by testing components of a new Soyuz (Soyuz-M?).
    
    gary

    Re:.228
    	After the initial speculation about the Progress-M using the Zenit,
    I haven't seen anything in the Western (or for that matter, the Soviet)
    press about it. Based on the descriptions I have read of the Progress-M
    my feeling is that it was launched on the same old Soyuz launch
    vehicle. The modifications made to Progress M-1 only include the
    addition of solar panels and the use of the Kurs navigation system
    (which has been used on the Soyuz TM for a few years now as well as by
    the new Kvant 2). Neither one of these modifications would require the
    use of a larger launch vehicle. The future addition of a return capsule
    (which is suppose to be smaller than the Soyuz reentry module) is also
    unlikely to add any significant weight to Progress M as long as the
    fuel load is omitted.
    
    				Drew
    

    re:228 etc
    yup Got me in a type mean Proton not Photon,
    no idea on if PM was a Zenith, on speculation feed by
    the fact that no coverage was seen of the launch
    
    K-2 has orbit has been changed to SMA of apx 6745KM or 370x364km
    
    john
    

TASS:  KVANT-2 THE THIRD DAY IN SPACE

(note very poor copy filled in the best I could  note however 
 they mention docking on the 30 of NOV not the 2nd of DEC    )

In accordance with the Mission program, planned operations
to correct the Kvant -2 Module orbit were performed on Wed.

Before the execution of these operations the orientation of
the module in space was carried out an the engines **** at
the appropriate time, the two  impulse maneuvers was performed
to bring the module closer to the manned MIR complex.

After the correction the module orbit parameters were in occurred
with the previously calculated ones:
	maximum distance from the earth surface -- *41* Kilometers
	minimum distance from the earth surface -- 344  Kilometers
	the period of revolution                -- 91.8 min
	the inclination                         -- 51.6 deg

I regular checks of the operation of the Ks radiotechnichaqov ******

Docking are schedule for NOV 30   Items END


    

clippings from TASS:  (note poor copy so some of the words mine)

	MODULES SURVIES SOLAR PANEL FAULT, FAILS TO DOCK WITH MIR.
TASS 2/12  An unmanned space module fail to dock with the Soviet MIR
orbital station today. Due to a faulty automatic system controlling the 
module.  the docking has been postponed until December 6.  The Kvant Modules
trajectory today (2/12) has been corrected twice to ensure its approach to the 
MIR station.  This is the second technical problem the Kvant Module coming 
after ones of its two Solar panels refused to open.
   An expert group, set up to tackle the problem, succeeded in opening
the jammed panel after almost a week of persistent efforts.  The module
could have docked even with the panel jammed and the crew of MIR
would have to have walked into space to open it.
   Scientist have a special tool for opening the panel and had placed it
inside an unmanned cargo spacecraft, progress M-2, which was being prepared 
for launch and docking with MIR.  A similar incident took place several
years ago in the American space station when astronauts open a solar 
battery during a space walk... ITEM ENDS

TASS: 3/12 - A correction to the Flight path of the Kvant-2 Models was made
at 12:38 MSK today (3/12) to put  it into or target to dock with the MIR
space station on December 6 th.   An analysis of the TLM data has shown that
following the Gmuble-Impulse maneuver on December 2th to adjust the modules
orbit, the module automatically locked on a course to rendezvous with the
MIR orbital Complex.  However - the parameters of the mutual movement of the 
spacecraft at this stage went beyond the required allowance ensuring the 
necessary docking **** 	the approach process was automataly cut off in 
accordance with the *** logic of the operation.  All systems in the Kvant-2
and the MIR orbital station are functioning normally.


    

    the progress unit has beed jetterson from the MIR comples and on
    Saterday it decayed 
    
    jb
    

 
News on the module problems--not only did the nav system on Kvant
fail, but apparently so did the system on MIR itself only nine
hours before the docking sked. See below....
 
  UPn  12/02 1637  Mir docking postponed
 
  By JAMES ROSEN
   MOSCOW (UPI) -- Control-system breakdowns forced the Soviets
   to postpone the docking Saturday of a module addition to the
   orbiting Mir complex in a major setback for the troubled
   space-station program. "An unmanned space module failed to
   dock with the Soviet Mir orbital station today due to a faulty
   automatic system controlling the module," the official Tass
   news agency said. In addition to the malfunction on the Kvant-
   2 module, Soviet television reported that the automatic
   control system on the giant Mir station stopped working nine
   hours before the module's approach, forcing its two cosmonauts
   to switch over to manual control. Loss of the expensive module
   -- essentially a building block for the Mir --  would be a
   major setback for the Soviet space program, which has faced
   mounting criticism from newly emboldened lawmakers questioning
   its cost and usefulness. The scheduled 5:55 p.m. docking of
   the Kvant-2 with the Mir did not take place despite round-the-
   clock efforts by workers at the Soviet manned space-flight
   center in Kaliningrad outside Moscow, who had struggled all
   week to force open a jammed solar power panel on the module.
   The Soviets got the solar panel to unfold Thursday, five days
   after the twice-delayed launch of the Kvant 2, but the
   module's automatic-control system broke down as they were
   attempting to attach it to the Mir. "Now it's a race against
   time because the module is designed to operate on its own for
   a limited amount of time before it docks with the space
   station," a Western space expert tracking the mission told
   United Press International. "The Soviets are using up the time
   they have." Tass said the Soviets rescheduled the module
   docking for Wednesday, but the control-system malfunctions
   imperiled what was to have been a showcase mission for the
   embattled space program. Cosmonaut Vladimir Titov told Soviet
   television the breakdown of the control systems "is not
   catastrophic," but he admitted that technicians at the
   Kaliningrad space center to do not know why the systems
   malfunctioned. "We do not have enough experience in operating
   such huge systems, so we cannot say that we are guaranteed
   against errors," Titov said. "We shall investigate the cause
   of this malfunction." News reports indicated that the Soviets
   struggled all day to complete the docking of the Kvant-2,
   which is carrying critical equipment including a high-tech
   "space motorcycle" to cosmonauts Alexander Serebrov and
   Alexander Vitorenko aboard the Mir. "The Kvant-2 module's
   trajectory was corrected twice today to ensure its approach to
   the Mir station," Tass said. Serebrov and Vitorenko remanned
   the space station Sept. 8 after the first delay in launching
   the Kvant forced the Soviets to bring a Mir crew back to Earth
   and leave the orbital complex empty for five months in the
   first interruption in more than two years of continuous
   occupancy. The failure of one of the module's solar panels to
   open shortly after its launch last Sunday cut off half the
   power to the Kvant-2, and it was not clear whether the ensuing
   five-day power loss until the panel finally opened Thursday
   contributed to the control-system breakdown Saturday. The
   mission includes five space walks, the trial of the space
   motorcycle in limited movement outside the Mir and hundreds of
   scientific experiments that could have extensive commercial
   and medical applications as the cosmonauts try to develop
   materials that can only be produced in conditions of near-zero
   gravity.
 
 
    

    TASS: 5th Dec the orbit of Kvant was adjusted at 11:01 MSK
    the new orbit is 419x404km, period = 92.6min, and inc = 51.6 deg
    
    I had a visual observation last night around 22:36UTC and had
    K-2 about 1 min 42 sec in front of the MIR complex
    Both obj were stable.
    
    john
    

From: bcg@ncs-med.UUCP (Brian C. Grande)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: MIRwatch
Date: 2 Dec 89 07:16:53 GMT
Organization: Dimensional Medicine, Inc.  Minnetonka, MN.
 
Bulletin # 10
MIRWATCH
via MN SFS RBBS (612) 920-5566
 
This information will tell you when and where to look to see the
Soviet Manned Space Station MIR as it passes over the Twin Cities.
 
Day: Tells what day of the year it is where Jan 1 = 1 and Dec 31 = 365/366
 
Time: Central Time of Day in 24 hour format.
 
Latitude : What Latitude  the Satellite is currently over the Earth
Longitude: What Longitude the satellite is currently over the Earth.
 
Height:  Height of the station over the Earth in kilometers.
 
Elevation: Tells How height to look in the sky for the station.
           Where 0 is on the horizon and 90 is Straight up. 45 is half 
           way up.
 
Azimuth : Tells which direction to look where 0 ^ North 
                                        NW  315 | 45  NE
                                               \|/          
                                      W 270<----+---> 90 East   
                                               /|\              
                                        SW  225 V 135 SE        
                                              180 South         
                                                                
 
Range : Distance to Space Station in kilometers.
 
R.A.  : Right Assention in Hours Minutes
DEC.  : Declination     in Degrees Minutes
        (Usefull in finding against star field background)
 
 ==============================================================================
 89 12-01 335  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:30:11 Sunset=16:31:55 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21733   29.6   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  12.4
                      ASC. NODE TIME=18:11:45   LONG= 168.0
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 335 18:35:00   51.8 -107.0   410.5   11.4 311.2  1381.8  25.1  82.9  1534  3636
 335 18:36:00   51.6 -101.0   410.4   18.6 323.8  1054.8  36.4  94.4  1510  5000
 
 ==============================================================================
 Saturday
 89 12-02 336  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:31:19 Sunset=16:31:34 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21748   25.5   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  19.5
                      ASC. NODE TIME=17:18:41   LONG= 175.5
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 336 17:41:00   51.7 -105.1   410.5   13.6 314.1  1266.2  31.2 100.5  1440  4010
 336 17:42:00   51.8  -99.1   410.5   20.4 331.4   994.3  46.2 112.2  1350  5555
 336 17:43:00   51.6  -93.1   410.4   25.3 359.5   856.1  68.6 128.1  1023  7018
 336 17:44:00   51.0  -87.2   410.2   23.0  30.9   915.0  88.5 138.7   623  5637
 ==============================================================================
 Sunday
 89 12-03 337  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:32:25 Sunset=16:31:16 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21764   40.2   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  28.6
                      ASC. NODE TIME=17:58:01   LONG= 159.5
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 337 18:23:00   51.2 -105.1   410.3   14.1 311.8  1239.9  27.4  96.5  1536  3902
 337 18:24:00   50.4  -99.4   410.0   23.8 324.0   894.0  39.4 101.7  1528  5356
 337 18:25:00   49.4  -93.8   409.6   36.8 352.8   650.0  63.4 111.1  1328  8011
 
 ==============================================================================
 Monday
 89 12-04 338  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:33:30 Sunset=16:31:00 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 
 16609 21779   30.4   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  38.3
                      ASC. NODE TIME=17:04:51   LONG= 167.1
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 338 17:29:00   51.6 -102.5   410.5   16.7 319.7  1126.4  37.4 115.5  1425  4601
 338 17:30:00   51.1  -96.6   410.3   25.3 339.7   857.0  54.7 117.5  1319  6421
 338 17:31:00   50.3  -90.9   409.9   30.4  14.4   748.8  79.3 115.4   723  7131
 338 17:32:00   49.2  -85.4   409.5   24.9  48.7   865.2  95.7 107.6   457  4609
 338 17:33:00   47.8  -80.2   409.0   16.3  68.2  1139.0  99.7 100.9   430  2649
 ==============================================================================
 Tuesday
 89 12-05 339  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:34:34 Sunset=16:30:47 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21795   65.4   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  49.4
                      ASC. NODE TIME=17:44:05   LONG= 151.1
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 339 18:10:00   50.5 -108.1   410.0   11.3 303.8  1386.1  22.0 106.6  1550  3137
 339 18:11:00   49.4 -102.6   409.6   20.4 307.6   992.0  27.9 102.0  1610  4038
 339 18:12:00   48.1  -97.3   409.1   37.5 317.8   639.9  41.6  93.1  1706  5747
 339 18:13:00   46.5  -92.3   408.5   65.2  16.9   446.9  74.1  74.6   015  6746
 
 ==============================================================================
 Wednesday
 89 12-06 340  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:35:36 Sunset=16:30:37 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21810   41.9   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  60.1
                      ASC. NODE TIME=16:50:48   LONG= 158.7
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 340 17:16:00   51.1 -104.8   410.2   14.7 311.8  1211.1  32.3 122.5  1443  3931
 340 17:17:00   50.2  -99.1   409.9   24.9 324.2   864.8  43.8 114.0  1437  5452
 340 17:18:00   49.1  -93.6   409.5   38.8 354.7   625.1  66.8  96.4  1225  8241
 340 17:19:00   47.7  -88.4   409.0   38.3  48.2   630.2  91.4  72.1   343  5354
 340 17:20:00   46.0  -83.5   408.4   24.3  77.7   875.9  97.3  60.2   331  2522
 340 17:21:00   44.2  -78.9   407.7   14.3  89.7  1224.5  95.9  57.5   332  1018
 
 16609 21811   35.7   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  60.8
                      ASC. NODE TIME=18:23:15   LONG= 135.2
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 340 18:52:00   46.8 -109.1   408.6   11.6 284.9  1365.6  13.1  92.2  1735  1842
 340 18:53:00   45.0 -104.4   408.0   19.7 274.3  1012.2  15.1  79.1  1829  1644
 340 18:54:00   43.1 -100.0   407.2   30.5 251.5   742.0  22.0  56.3  2001  0932
 
 ==============================================================================
 Thursday
 89 12-07 341  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:36:36 Sunset=16:30:29 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 
 16609 21826   67.7   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  71.3
                      ASC. NODE TIME=17:29:56   LONG= 142.7
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 341 17:58:00   47.9 -104.9   409.0   17.8 293.5  1081.0  19.2 111.0  1639  2901
 341 17:59:00   46.3 -100.0   408.4   32.5 286.9   711.0  23.2  95.0  1751  3335
 341 18:00:00   44.4  -95.4   407.8   62.2 252.2   457.1  39.1  57.9  2049  3138
 341 18:01:00   42.4  -91.1   407.0   48.7 151.5   529.2  66.3   6.4   010  0659
 341 18:02:00   40.2  -87.1   406.2   25.3 135.8   847.8  75.8  22.2   136 -0858
 
 ==============================================================================
 Friday
 89 12-08 342  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:37:35 Sunset=16:30:23 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21842   18.4   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  81.5
                      ASC. NODE TIME=18:09:00   LONG= 126.8
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 342 18:40:00   42.5 -107.3   407.0   13.1 261.7  1284.2   9.1 101.7  1839  0328
 342 18:41:00   40.3 -103.3   406.2   17.2 242.0  1095.8  13.4  87.4  1948 -0609
 342 18:42:00   38.0  -99.5   405.4   18.2 217.3  1058.4  23.5  71.6  2112 -1818
 342 18:43:00   35.5  -96.0   404.5   15.0 194.8  1186.3  36.1  59.8  2237 -2832
 
 ==============================================================================
 Saturday
 89 12-09 343  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:38:32 Sunset=16:30:21 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21857   33.5   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  89.5
                      ASC. NODE TIME=17:15:35   LONG= 134.4
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 343 17:45:00   45.6 -106.7   408.1   15.3 278.7  1180.5  11.6 126.6  1708  1652
 343 17:46:00   43.7 -102.2   407.4   24.5 262.4   870.0  11.2 114.8  1820  1201
 343 17:47:00   41.6  -98.0   406.6   33.1 229.1   698.4  18.1  93.6  2013 -0008
 343 17:48:00   39.4  -94.1   405.8   29.1 188.6   766.4  35.6  70.1  2220 -1531
 343 17:49:00   37.0  -90.4   404.9   19.0 165.6  1027.2  50.0  57.9  2352 -2439
 343 17:50:00   34.5  -87.0   404.0   11.3 154.5  1374.5  57.7  53.9   049 -2912
 
 ==============================================================================
 Sunday
 89 12-10 344  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:39:27 Sunset=16:30:21 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21903   31.8   RISES TOO CLOSE TO SUNSET     
 ==============================================================================
 Monday
 89 12-11 345  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:40:20 Sunset=16:30:24 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21888   17.4   PERCENT ILL. MOON AT MIDPASS =  99.1
                      ASC. NODE TIME=17:01:02   LONG= 126.1
 
 DAY   TIME     LATI  LONGI  HEIGHT   ELEV   AZI   RANGE  %ILL  SEP.  R.A.  DEC.
 NBR HH:MM:SS   TUDE   TUDE    (KM)  ATION  MUTH    (KM)   SAT  MOON  HHMM  DGMN
 345 17:32:00   42.6 -108.1   406.7   11.9 263.0  1343.6   5.5 146.8  1736  0333
 345 17:33:00   40.4 -104.1   405.9   16.0 244.6  1145.5   5.4 143.4  1841 -0534
 345 17:34:00   38.1 -100.3   405.0   17.3 221.0  1089.3  11.1 131.5  2001 -1724
 345 17:35:00   35.6  -96.8   404.1   14.8 198.5  1195.2  21.7 116.3  2124 -2755
 345 17:36:00   33.0  -93.5   403.2   10.3 182.2  1427.3  32.3 104.0  2236 -3439
 
 ==============================================================================
 Tuesday
 89 12-12 346  MPLS/MN   Sunrise= 7:41:11 Sunset=16:30:29 GMTch= -6.00 MIR     
 16609 21903   31.8   RISES TOO CLOSE TO SUNSET     
 ==============================================================================
 RUN CONTROL INFORMATION:
 
 START DAY                                          333
 NUMBER OF DAYS TO RUN                               14
 POINTS PER MINUTE                                 1.00
 SEND OUTPUT TO SCREEN                               NO
 SEND OUTPUT TO DISK FILE                           YES
 PASS MODE CODE                                    3D3D
 MINIMUM ELEVATION (DEG)                          10.00
 MINIMUM MIDPASS ELEVATION (DEG)                  10.00
 VISIBLE POINTS ONLY                                YES
 TWILIGHT THRESHOLD (MIN)                         30.00
 REJECT PASS IF MIDPASS INVISIBLE                    NO
 
 SATELLITE ORBITAL INFORMATION:
 
 SATELLITE NAME                                MIR     
 REVOLUTION NUMBER AT EPOCH                       21567
 YEAR OF EPOCH                                       89
 EPOCH (DAY AND FRACTION OF DAY)           325.34718580
 SEMIMAJOR AXIS (E.R.)                        1.0627522
 ORBITAL ECCENTRICITY                          .0004317
 ARGUMENT OF PERIGEE (DEG)                      61.5297
 ORBITAL INCLINATION (DEG)                      51.6226
 R.A. OF ASCENDING NODE (DEG)                  295.0502
 MEAN ANOMALY (DEG)                            -61.3976
 MEAN MOTION (REVS/DAY)                     15.55746353
 MEAN MOTION, 1ST DERIV. (REVS/DAY**2)      .276760D-03
 MEAN MOTION, 2ND DERIV. (REVS/DAY**3)      .000000D+00
 R.A. ASC. NODE, 1ST DERIV. (DEG/DAY)    -.49994459D+01
 NODAL PERIOD (MIN)                             92.4756
 
 OBSERVER INFORMATION:
 
 Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN   U.S.A.                                     
 LATITUDE (DEGREES, NEGATIVE IF SOUTH)           45.000
 LONGITUDE (DEGREES, NEGATIVE IF WEST)          -93.000
 HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LEVEL (KM)                       .238
 HOURS FAST (+) OR SLOW (-) ON UTC                -6.00
 
	I hope someone makes sense of this and can see it!
 
-- 
Brian C. Grande             ...ihnp4!umn-cs!ncs-med!bcg
Dimensional Medicine Inc.   Work 612-936-8621                "Land of
Minnetonka, MN 55343        Home 612-938-2437               10,000 lakes"

    I've been monitoring Vremya (Soviet evening news) and have seen no
    video report on Mir since the launch of Kvant-2. In fact, the only
    space related video was the rollout of Granat on it's Proton LV last
    week.
    
    gary

clippings from TASS:  

TASS has given two docking times, one 15:21 MSK and the other 15:22 MSK.
The 15:21 was given first and the latter article has the 22.  KVANT-2
to be move to side port on this Friday.

cheers john



KVANT MODULE DOCKS WITH MIR SPACE STATION  6/12 TASS 81

Moscow December 6 TASS - By TASS correspondent Rena Kuznetsova;

    The module KVANT-2 docked with the MIR manned station today
at 15 hours 21 minutes Moscow time.   The supply module was put
into orbit on November 26 by a proton carrier-rocket.
    The vehicle was badly needed by Cosmonauts Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Serbrov who have already spent three
months on board the MIR station.  It brought the crew 
life-sustaining and research equipment which will allow them to
expand the research program.
    The module is provided with an air lock through which the
cosmonauts will be able to step out into open space and with
everything necessary for their work there, including an ICARUS
"space bicycle"  on which the cosmonauts will be able to move
independently in outer space.  It has also brought them water,
fuel and food supplies.
    The supply modules launch had to be postponed twice, first
in April due to delays in its construction.  A decision was taken
to leave the space station unmanned for several months to save 
money and to prepare more thoroughly for a new phase of
operation.
    The launch date was altered again in mid-September because
some faulty elements were found during ground tests in the KURS
system ensuring the modules correct orbiting and closing in
with the station.  Careful factory checks and tests were carried
out before it was decided hat the repaired automatic docking
system was ready for use.
    There were difficulties this time too.  It was learnt after
the launch that one of KVANTS solar panels was jammed.  The
fault was sucessfully corrected, however.  The module could not
be docked on December 2 and the operation was rescheduled for
today.
    ITEM ENDS



MODULE KVANT-2 OPERATES WITHIN MIR COMPLEX 6/12 TASS 127

    Moscow December 6 TASS - The special-purpose module KVANT-2
docked with the manned orbital complex MIR at 15:22 Moscow time
today.
    The mutual search, rendezvous, mooring and docking of the two 
spacecraft were conducted in an automatic mode.
    The processes were monitored by mission control centre, the
command and measurements complex and Cosmonauts Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Serbrov, working on board the MIR
Station.
   The module KVANT-2 docked with the orbital station from the
transfer unit side.
    The total mass of the manned complex comprising MIR, KVANT,
KVANT-2 and SOYUZ TM-8 si 63 tones, its length is 40 meters.
    Due to a number of problems hat emerged during the modules
flight to the MIR station, experts of leading research and design
institutions were also employed in order to work out possible 
options.
    After analyzing and modeling the situation on computers and
conducting test on ground-based facilities, the specialists
determined the best modes in which to conduct the dynamic
operation that ensured the link-up of the space craft.
    Next Friday, the module will be moved to its assigned
position, one of the side docking points on the basic unit.
    ITEM ENDS


    

    Vremya showed the docking. It looked to me like they conducted the
    final stages manually, but its hard to say for certain from the video
    alone. The solar arrays appeared fully deployed and look like they are
    the same size and design as the ones currently on Mir.
    
    gary

clippings from TASS:  

I did not see any announcement on the KVANT-2 being moved but 
Soyuz TM-8 was moved to allow for the docking of the Progress M-2
that is schedule to be launch this Friday the 15 of December.



REDOCKING OF SOYUZ TM-8 CRAFT MADE 12/12 TASS 77

Moscow December 12 TASS - By TASS correspondent from the Mission 
Control Center:

In accordance with the flight programme, cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko
and Alexander Serebrov have re-docked the Soyuz TM-8 Spacecraft from the
Astro_Physical Model KVANT to the AXIS docking joint of the docking section
of the station, where the Re-Equipment Module KVANT-2 was previously located.

The re-arrangement of the piloted MIR orbiting station provides for more
efficient control of the movement of the space system and of further 
transport operations.

Beginning the operation, the cosmonauts passed to the cargo craft and
closed the hatches.  The separation of the spacecraft occurred at 
11:33 Moscow Time.

The Soyuz TM-8 crew maneuvered in orbit -- The flight around the Space
System, mooring and docking -- using the manual control system.  During
the flight around the system the cosmonauts examined the outer elements of
the main block and the modules.

When carrying out dynamic operations, the system was oriented in space by
using power HYDRO-STABLISERS of the Astro-Physical module.

The Soyuz TM-8 spent 20 minutes in autonomous flight.  All on-board 
systems of the spacecraft functions normally during the re-docking.

Viktorenko and Serebrov are felling well.   ITEM ENDS:


    
             There is a good article in AW 11 DEC about the solar
    panel problem, seems like there was two problem one was the
    rigid part of the panel was not locked in place giving them a problem 
    where it would be during movement of K-2, the other was the sawtooth 
    lock.  
    
    Anyone see any info that K-2 was actually moved to the side port?
    john
    

    Latest from the Soviet Rumor Mill has the launch of PM2 delayed until 
    the 20th of DEC
    
    I think the reason for the speedy movement of TM-8 was for safty
    reason while they did a shake, rattle and roll test of the
    dynamic stablization of the new MIR configuration.
    
    john
    

    Spaceflight suggested that the plan was to undock and back off TM-8
    while Mir rotated 180 degrees. I think you are right about them doing
    some dynamics tests of the current L-shaped configuration.
    
    gary

    From:  "glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa" 13-DEC-1989 15:21:52.67
    Subj:  Soyuz TM-8 moved to front of USSR's Mir space station.

    The final maneuver in the addition of the Kvant 2 module to the
USSR's Mir space station occurred Dec. 12th. At 11:33 am Moscow time
(3:33 am EST) Cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov
undocked the Soyuz TM-8 craft from the Kvant 1 module (the back end of
Mir) and flew around the station for 20 minutes, docking to the axial
port of the front or ball end of Mir.  During their flight they
carefully observed the Kvant 2 module, which is now docked to the side
port (see below) and sent TV pictures down to mission control. This
move now frees the rear port to receive the Progress M-2 supply
capsule which is now scheduled for a Dec. 20th launch. Progress M-1's
detachment date was not stated but it decayed on Dec. 2. The
cosmonauts have now been up there for 98 days now, long exceeding the
84 day mission of Skylab 4 in Nov. 1973 (the longest US flight). 

     More details have been released about the troubled flight of
Kvant 2. As noted in previous postings (by myself and Jim Apsey)
shortly after takeoff on Nov. 26th the Kvant 2 (or D module) ran into
trouble when its right solar array failed to open properly.  Each
array consists of 4 panels, folded on takeoff, and held in place by a
toothed lock.  On the deployment the outer 3 sections of the right
array extended and locked into place but the inner one caught on the
lock.  Worse this resulted in the extended section rotating about the
joints of the trapped portion, making Kvant 2 very difficult to
maneuver.  They needed to get the panel fixed in some position before
it could be docked to Mir, and I suspect that was accomplished on Nov.
29th or 30th.  At that point they stated on short wave that Kvant 2
had been set in a mode with allowed the panels to shield the rockets,
to prevent overheating, and this was followed by the first major orbit
change. Ground control then, after hectic days of analysis (and
trials?), came up with a releasing maneuver.  The solar panels can be
pivoted about their axis to track the Sun.  By rolling Kvant 2, while
at the same time activating the solar axial motors, they release the
lock, extended the panel, and locked it in place.  Then came the
docking attempt on Dec. 2.  When Kvant 2 was 19 Km (12 mi) from Mir
they had a failure of both the Kvant docking control system and that
of the Mir station itself.  On Dec. 3 at 12:38 Moscow Time (2:38 EST)
mission control maneuvered for it next attempt. At 3:21 pm Moscow time
(7:21 am EST) on Dec. 6th and successfully docked to the ball axis of
Mir.  They say that when it occurred the docking was one of their most
precise.  (AW&ST Dec. 11 & TASS reports on the noted days) 

    While there was no announcement the Kvant 2 has been shifted from
its initial axial docking to a side port on the ball end.  Moscow
television showed the tapes of the Soyuz flight which gave an
excellent view of Kvant 2. The module is attached to the top side
port, so that its body is in line with the third solar array that the
cosmonauts attached about 2 years ago after Kvant 1 docked.  This 19.5
Tonnes addition has solar panels which extend about 2/3 of Mir's
itself, and are aligned at about the same angle as Mir's.  Like Mir,
the end solar panel is larger than the rest of the array. There was
only a partial view of the docking end of Kvant 2, and the arm was not
visible. (Moscow TV news, Dec. 12, TASS press releases, and Radio Moscow) 

     I would like to express my thanks to Jim Apsey for posting the
Kvant updates during my trip to Vancouver. 
 
                                                   Glenn Chapman
                                                   MIT Lincoln Lab
 

    
Todays Press Conference with MIR, talk about the space bike which Serebrov.
Serevrov was offended and said it is not a space bike but a "space motorcycle".
The present crew will make its first of 5 space walks on the 5th of Feb and
QOOP to be resume five day latter.  The also talked about the
Inkubator-2 biotechnical complex to study the growth of birds in zero gravity.

    no idea what a QOOP is but that what I got... twice
    
    john
    
    

"Growth of birds in zero-gravity".  Now that sounds fascinating!  I always wondered
how/if birds could adapt to flying in microgravity (to use the latest NASA-ism).

Of course, they have to get them to incubate first.  Seems like the KFC GAS
experiment showed that you need gravity to incubate eggs for the first few days
anyway.

Burns

    I have calcualted the Launch of Progress M-2 for the 20th of DEC
    I expect the launch to be form 03:20 to 03:30 UTC, this would give
    the first radio window to Massachusetts about 10:50 to 11:00 UTC
    on Wed the 20th of Dec.  I would look for TLM on 166 MHZ +-125KHz.
    However the TLM may not be on, ( there is no active Ship off
    the Sable Island location ).  If you do hear it , tune every
    88.807 min for the next six orbits.
    
    john
    
    

SOVIET COSMONAUTS CONTINUE SPACE MISSION:
19/12 TASS

MOSCOW  DECEMBER 19 TASS - by TASS correspondent:
   Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov are continuing
their space mission aboard the MIR complex.
   In order to link the Kvant-2 Module systems and equipment to  
the space station, the cosmonauts degreased and prepared the
VIKA equipment for operation.  The equipment will generate oxygen
by water electrolysis.
   The cosmonauts began experiments to continue studies of the
influence of outer space on various materials.  Information on
the state of samples installed on the outside surface of the
supply module is being transmitted to earth.
   The team is doing routine maintenance work today.   Their
schedule also provides for technical experiments and training on
the moving board and the ergometric bicycle.
   Monday medical checkup showed that the cosmonauts are
healthy and feel well.    ITEM ENDS


 
    

Huh?  Degreased?  Is it packaged in grease?

And what is the point of this thing?  What do they do with the hydrogen?

Burns

Pure oxygen plus the tiniest amount of grease is a potentially lethal
combination.  Even more so when you can't run out of the lab when the
fire starts.

jb

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 12/20/89 (Forwarded)
Date: 20 Dec 89 19:43:29 GMT
Reply-To: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, December 20, 1989                  Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
    This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, December 20:
 
    Aerospace Daily says U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts will be
monitored in orbit to develop databases of information relative to the
effects of long duration space flight.  The compatible databases were
negotiated by officials from NASA and the Soviet space organization
last month.  NASA's Director of Life Sciences Dr. Arnauld Nicogosian
says a NASA team will go to the Soviet Union in January to train
Soviet technicians to use a Holter heart monitor and ultrasound
equipment for use aboard the MIR space station.  U.S. astronauts
will be monitored on Space Shuttle flights in 1990 and 1991. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA 
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.
  
    Thursday, December 21:
 
      11:30 A.M.       NASA Update will be transmitted.
  
All events and times are subject to change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, 
Eastern time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA 
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

    Re:.249
    	While your statement about grease and pure oxygen are true it isn't
    applicable to the situation on Kvant-2. Unlike the American Mercury,
    Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft, ALL Soviet manned spacecraft have used a
    nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere pressurised to about 15 psi (i.e. a
    "standard" Terran atmosphere). Part of the reason for this is as you
    implied; a pure oxygen atmosphere is a fire hazard.
    	As for the Soviet statement about things being packed in "grease",
    I wouldn't read too much into that. At some point in time this
    announcement was translated from Russian into English. Some Russian
    words and idioms don't translate well into English. As an example, look
    at my "personal name" above (Cosmos---is my job) which is a literal
    translation of the title of a Russian book I have. It didn't translate
    well at all.
    
    				Drew
    
                                                      

Re: .251

I know that Soviet spacecraft a have "normal" atmosphere.  However, their
apparatus electrolyses water, and I think that process tesds to produce
100% oxygen (at one electrode, and 100% hydrogen at the other), not 20%
oxygen and 80% nitrogen. 

jb

From: "glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa" (Glenn Chapman)
Subj:  Progress M-2 docks with Mir space station.

    The Soviet Union's Progress M-2 cargo craft successfully docked
with the Mir orbital complex today (Dec. 22) according to Radio
Moscow.  The Progress, which was launched on Dec. 20th at 6:31 am
Moscow Time (10:31 pm EST), carries about 2.5 Tonnes of
food/water/fuel and equipment to the station.  It is also the first
craft to dock with Mir in the new mode with the Kvant 2 module
positioned to the side of the station.  This should make the combined
mass of the station complex at about 70.5 Tonnes. 

    One of the main events of this Progress launch is the addition of
a protein crystal growth experiment which is paid for Payload Systems,
a Cambridge, MA based space materials processing company.  These
experiments take several weeks of zero G growth to crystallize samples
for materials processing (hence the need for Mir space station
processing).  The cosmonauts will bring the samples back with them on
Feb. 19th when they return from Mir. 

    Meanwhile cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov
have finished successfully activating the Kvant 2 module.  The last
task was to degrease the VIKA (called electron in the west) system
which generates oxygen by electrolysis of water.  This should enhance
their life support system and reduce some of the supply needs.  TV
pictures from within the module show it to be spacious but with a
large number of boxes floating around. These must contain equipment
for future experiments. Photos out the port hole showed the solar
panels of Kvant 2. The cosmonauts have also started a new series of
X-ray telescope observations upon supernova remnants from the Kvant 1
astrophysical module.  Viktorenko and Serebrov have now been up there
for 108 days.  By the way the most experienced US astronaut is
currently in 25th place on the list of time spent in zero G.  (TASS
Dec.19,20, Radio Moscow and Vremya - Moscow TV news of several days). 

    So the first real commercial activity on board Mir has begun.  In
a few months we shall see if Payload Systems is getting the results
that make it worth while to seek a steady commercial contract with the
Soviets.
 
                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       MIT Lincoln Lab
 

>The last
>task was to degrease the VIKA (called electron in the west) system
>which generates oxygen by electrolysis of water.  This should enhance
>their life support system and reduce some of the supply needs.

No one ever commented on my question about what good VIKA is.  This sentence
from Glen implies that the O2 is for breathing.  So I still wonder what
they do with the H2.  And why is this a great thing?  Unless they use the
H2 also, it is more efficient to cart up O2 then to bring up H2O, from which
they throw way ~1/8 of the mass (probably more of the volume).

The other thing that would make it worthwhile is if they electrolyze water
that they were going to throw away anyway.  I suppose that makes some sense
for waste water, although probably not for cooling water (since the heat would
stay inside the spacecraft).

Burns

    Re:.254
    	To answer the your questions about VIKA; it is using electrolysis
    to break down the water into breathable oxygen and hydrogen. The
    hydrogen is most likely just vented into space and not used. Why is
    this thing so great? Simple--- water is 89% oxygen by weight, it is
    much denser than bottled oxygen gas, doesn't require heavy tanks like
    bottle oxygen gas does, requires no special handling or tanks like
    liquid oxygen, and is infinitely safer to handle on the ground and in
    space than bottled gas or cryogenic liquid (as you pointed out, pure
    oxygen is a fire hazard; a lot of water with a little oxygen gas coming
    out of it is MUCH less of a hazard). Although I have yet to hear any
    details about VIKA or where the water comes from it is likely that it
    will use some recycled water. For over a decade since Salyut 6, the
    Soviets have been recycling the water from the space station's
    atmosphere which in turn is produced by the breathing of the
    cosmonauts. I can't recall the exact figures but something like a
    quarter to a third of the water used by the Soviets is recycled. Using
    (in part) recycled water to produce breathable oxygen would make very
    efficient use of available resources and decreases the amount of oxygen
    (or water) that has to be brought up by Progress. In addition, since
    the tanks used to bring up water will be lighter than the tanks used to
    bring up bottled oxygen gas (as well as take up about one quarter the
    space) more cargo can be fitted into the Progress.
    	All in all, the use of electrolysis to produce oxygen will make
    much more efficient use of the limited space on Progress resupply ship.
    
    				Drew
    
    

    I seem to recall that water is also a fairly good medium to stop
    some of the high energy particals that sun-spots create. Is this
    true?
    
    BLD

       
       
       	And it's extremely easy to transport when you freeze it. Nothing
       to slosh around, no baffles needed, etc...
       
       							mike

SOVIET SPACE YEAR -- RESULTS 28/12 TASS 43

MOSCOW December 28 TASS - *****(bad reception) cosmonauts Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov have been working aboard the
orbiting MIR Station for four months.
Today they are conducting medical check ups and biotechnical experiments
with the use of the U.S. made equipment, sources at the mission control
centre told TASS.  They have also begun preparation for a space walk 
schedule for early January.
The fourth major mission on the orbiting stations was carried 
out by Alexander Volkov, Serhei Krikalev and Valery Polyakov and
finished on April 27, 1989 Volkov and Krikalev spent five
months in space and Polyakov spent almost eight months there.
The MIR station was automatically piloted for four months.
There-equpments *****(bad reception) docked wit the station on
December 6.
***(bad reception) of 21 cosmonauts, including  four foreigners, have
worked aboard the station. There have been seven space walks,
totaling 27 hours 35 minutes.
Soviet Space *** are expanding their international relations.
Japanese and British cosmonauts are ***** for
joint flights aboard Soviet Space craft.  Austrians will arrive
at the *** Cosmonauts training centre *** year.  An
agreement on a French Cosmonauts Flight has been recently signed.
A major international Space project, ?*** maybe ZACTIVNY", began in
September.  A Soviet satellite and a 50-kilogram Czechoslovak
sub-satellite were launched from the Soviet Space launch centre.
For the first time in the history of space explorations, a
compreensive study of powerful electromagnetic waves and their
interaciton with space plasma is being conducted.
An astrophysical observatory was launched on December 1 to 
begin to fufil the GRANAT large-scan international project.
The goal of the experiment is to study sources of  x-ray and
gamma radiation in the galaxy.
Experts believe that the data obtained during the flight of
the Soviet Cosmos 2044 Biological satellite and during the BION
internation program, carried out onboard , will help elaborate
effective measures against undesirable factors of weightlessness

ITEM ENDS

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 12/28/89 (Forwarded)
Date: 28 Dec 89 21:13:56 GMT
Reply-To: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, December 28, 1989                   Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
  
    This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, December 28:
  
    Aerospace Daily reports that a French cosmonaut will spend two
weeks aboard the Soviet Union's Mir space station in late 1992. The
French space agency, CNES, will pay Glavkosmos $12 million for the
flight.  The agreement, signed December 23, calls for 12 full days of
research involving 13 experiments developed by CNES. The flight will
include experiments on physiology, space biology and biotechnology. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, 
Eastern time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA 
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Marshall Krylov

I did find something on her.  The Nedellin was built by the 
Admiralty Shipyards in Leningrad and as we know is currently assigned to
the Pacific and operated by the Soviet Navy.  However, an
identical sister ship has been under construction at the
Admiralty for some time.  She was to have the same specs as
Nedellin and presumably was going into Navy's hands. 698 feet
long/88 feet in beam/25 feet in draft/twin shaft diesel.
Nedellin carries Hormone-C choppers and likes to deploy them
whenever she has "company" around.  None of the SESS carry
choppers and it will be interesting to see what the story is
here.  I suspect that Krylov will end up in a similar role as
Nedellin.  By the way, the latest update to the ITU list of ships
stations does not list her at all.  The fact that TASS discussed
her does not mean that she will be an SESS--I believe she will
simply be another modern Missile Range Instrumentation Ship.
Incidentally, according to Norman Polmar, both ships have
foundations for the installation of six 30 mm Gatling Guns--

    

    The Marshall Krylov could be SESS and not Navy but it
    would have to have it weapons system removed otherwise
    it would not be allow present port calls.  While she
    may have just been commissioned, it may be quite a few months before
    she is put into srevice with sea trials etc.
    
    Time will tell
    
    john
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet Mir Crew update: Space Walk Jan 8th
Date: 8 Jan 90 22:26:34 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     On board the Mir space station on Dec. 25th Alexander Viktorenko
and Alexander Serebrov activated the Protein crystal growth
experiments for Payload Systems, which will continue for the 56 days.
This commercial experiment was brought up on the Progress M-2 cargo
capsule on Dec. 22. In the west Protein crystal growth experimental
results have been announced from work done on the Sept. 1988 shuttle
flight. Comparing growths done on the ground by the best equipment
with that done in orbit showed in many cases the zero G samples were
had less defects, and were larger. The importance of such crystal
growth lies in the ability to determine the structure of unusual
proteins, which are required by pharmaceutical companies to better
produce the compounds (New Scientist Dec 18, Science Dec., Radio
Moscow Dec. 24, and Payload Systems press release). 

     On New Year's Eve they had a day of celebration complete with a
plastic fir tree, canned sturgeon, fruit sticks, black current juice,
and fresh lemons (but not the traditional champagne: that is
prohibited in orbit). Both crew and mission control, along with the
crew's family, exchanged greeting at the stroke of midnight. On Jan.
6th the crew finished one set of extremely pure crystal growth
experiments which took 150 hours to run. They also began preparations
for their first space walk, which was announced for Jan. 8th. (Our
mailer was down for this posting which was to go out on Friday, but a
quick update: the space walk will begin at 20:24 Moscow Time, about
12:24 EST) This will probably test out the new airlock on the Kvant 2
module. Viktorenko and Serebrov have now been up there for 123 days.
(Radio Moscow Dec. 25, Jan. 1-6, TASS press Jan 1) 

     More details have been released about the next module addition to
Mir. Called the Technology module (possibly Kvant 3) it will be
launched in March or April of this year, for the use of the Soyuz TM-9
crew that will arrive in February. Massing 19.5 tonnes, its length is
12 meters (39 ft.) and adds 20 Kilowatts of power to Mir. If correct
the stated power addition is the same as all of the present supplies
of Mir, Kvant 2 and the space mounted tower erected in June '87 and
would require almost twice the solar panel area of Mir's initial 76
sq. meters (817 sq. ft.). In addition the front end of the module
contains a ball shaped multiple docking port similar to that on Mir
itself. This will be used to dock their shuttle Buran to Mir in the
early 1990s. The main experimental equipment on board will be large
furnaces for semiconductor processing (almost pilot line production
levels are planned), a KFA-1000 camera system for Earth observations,
a greenhouse and large 100 liter (3.5 cu. ft.). The high power
capacity is required to run all the processing equipment. (AW&ST Jan 1) 

    Extensive agreements for cooperation in space medicine and biology
were arranged in December between the US and USSR. These cover the
creation of compatible data bases for the manned medical information
(Soviet long term data is being traded for US short term mission
results). There has been a problem in comparing biological
experimental results of the two programs for years, and the aim of
this is to eliminate the difficulties. Bone density measurements have
been one area of conflict and uniform methods will be created there.
Also NASA will supply heart monitoring equipment to be used on an
upcoming Mir mission. (AW&ST Jan 1)  Sojuzkarta has a contract with
the British firm Sigma to market Earth observation pictures from the
Soviet film return style satellites. The important selling point of
these photos is their 5 meter (16 ft.) resolution, compared with the
10 meter capability of the French Spot, and 30 meter resolution of the
current Landsat. (New Scientist Dec. 16) 

     So the Soviets have begun using Mir for commercial processing 
purposes.  Now they must see if the Kvant 2 air lock is up to specs.
 
                                             Glenn Chapman
                                             MIT Lincoln Lab

The news this morning said that the Mir Kosmonauts had completed a spacewalk
today to install some nav equipment, and that there would be something like
4 more EVAs before they return in Feb.

Burns

From: glenn@vdd (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Cosmonauts successfully install star sensors on Mir.
Date: 11 Jan 90 00:17:53 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     This year's major space activities on board the Soviet Mir space
station have begun with cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander
Serebrov making a space walk.  On January 8, they opened the hatch at
23:23 Moscow time (15:23 EST), about one hour later than intended. 
They then brought out two 80 Kg (176 lbs.) stellar sensors which were
attached to Kvant 1's scientific equipment sections (the astrophysical
module at the back end of Mir).  These star sensors will enable more
accurate orientation of the station which has been made more difficult
with the addition of the Kvant 2 module to the side docking port. 
These transducers were mounted in place and the electrical connections
made to the stations external signal bus. 

    In addition, Viktorenko and Serebrov retrieved some samples left
on the hull in earlier walk.  Which EVA started that experiment was as
not stated but my records show that on Dec. 9, 1988 Alexander Volkov
and Jean-Loup Chretien (the French visitor) placed some French samples
on Mir's surface originally intended to be retrieved some in six
months (June '89). However, Mir had been closed down on Apr. 27 '89 so
the decision must have been made to leave the samples until now, about
13 months later.  Distance traveled from the hatch in this EVA was
about 35 meter (114 ft.).  It was not stated in the announcements
which airlock was used, the older one on Mir or the new larger system
on Kvant 2.  However, 35 meters would be about the distance from the
end of Kvant 2 to the Kvant 1 section. Also the TASS announcement made
a point of calling this the longest distance traveled away from the
airlock on the outside of the station, and many cosmonauts have walked
up to the Kvant 1 section from Mir's port. The total time for this
space walk was 2 hours 56 min.  Rather surprisingly the next EVA is
scheduled for Thursday Jan 11 (no time released as of yet).  An
additional 3 more space walks are planed for before Feb. 24th, when
Viktorenko and Serebrov will be replaced on Mir with a new crew. 

     A least this decade begins with a manned space station in orbit,
something the 1970s and 1980s did not.  Hopefully the turn of the
century will show zero G facilities from two or more
nations/organizations permanently manned.      
 
                                             Glenn Chapman
                                             MIT Lincoln Lab

    According to TASS the crew has not used the new 'Air-lock' of the
    Kvant-2 unit.  They are testing it now and will use it on the next
    EVA schuduled for the 26 of January.
    
    In the mean time they are busy making a high-quality xtal of Gallium
    Arsenide.
    
    john
    

Hi All 


A SPACE MOTORCYCLE TO BE TESTED 22/1 TASS 77

MOSCOW JANUARY 22 TASS - Soviet cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko 
and Alexander Serebrov, who have worud for nearly
five months on board the Soviet orbital MIR station, are
preparing to test a "SPACE MOTORCYCLE".  The first ride on
the miniature space vehicle design for trips outside the
station is scheduled for the beginning of February this
year.  It will be preceded by another walk in space.

A mission control centre spokesman told TASS that the
purpose of the new craft is to help check the systems of
various space projects -- from an artificial satellite to
the reusable BURAN shuttle.

The Motorcycle with a mass of 220 kilograms enables
cosmonauts to perform a wide range of maneuver,
circumnaviate the station, move away and turn around its
axis.  eporting and photographing can be mad at a distance 
of several tens of meters from the station.

A new space suit, ORLAN_DMA, provides sustenace for the
cosmonaut. It is supplied with an independent kit to ensure
communication, telemetric information and energy supply. The
new space suite makes it possible for cosmonauts to stay up to
six hours outside the station

ITEMS ENDS

    

Hi All 


SOVIET COSMONAUTS PREPARE FOR THE THIRD SPACE WALK    23/1 TASS 50

MOSCOW JANUARY 23 TASS - By TASS special correspondent:
Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov continue
preparation for a third space walk.

In recent days they reactivated new space suits, checked the
functioning of their systems and underwent medical examination
to determine the reaction of their cadio-vascular systems to
physical load.

Todays research programme envisages several series of 
experiments to measure the fluxes of elementary charged
high-energy particles and to evaluate the dynamics of the level
of ionising cosmic radiation along the orbiters flight path.

The crew prepares the necessary tools and equipment for
extravehicular activities.

The experiment, started on January 17, to grow a monocrystal
of Gallium Arsenide in conditions of micrograviation is
continuing in the Gallar installation.

The technological process is being controlled automatically
by a in-built electronic micro-computer.

ITEM ENDS
    

SOVIET CREW TO TEST SPACE MOTORCYCLE OUTSIDE MIR SPACE LAB:  31/1 TASS 129

MOSCOW JANUARY 31 TASS - The Soviet Cosmonauts Alexander 
Viktorenko and  Alexander Serebrov, working on board the orbital
space complex MIR (peace) for a little less then five months,
will make their fourth spacewalk tomorrow.

The cosmonauts are to test a 'space motorcycle', and
autonomous vehicle intended for operation outside the space
station.

The hatch is to be open at 11:45 Moscow time.    ITEM ENDS

    

Special TASS correspondent reports on the 4 th space walk

The Soviet Cosmonauts test the new autonomous vehicle
I the engines operating on compress air and is equipped
with autonomous system of power supply, movement  controlled and
radio telemetric measurements.

the vehicle also has a special junction for link up with the
dock which the cosmonaut installed in their previous venture
into open space.  Alexander Serebrov today operated the vehicle
in open space.  Before the space walk the cosmonauts put on their
space suites (? 785) and the chief engineer assumed the place in the 
vehicle and fastened himself to it.

At 11 hours and 15 min MOSCOW Time, the hatch of the airlock of
KVANT-2 was open and the cosmonauts walked out into space.  The
cosmonauts linked up the vehicle to the dock and switched into 
working position its panel with control instruments.

The test were conducted in several states .   At first the flight 
eningeer checked the function of all the system of the vehicle, and then
undocked.

Controlling the functioning of the engines, Serebrov move away from the
orbital complex by various distance and maneuvered in space.  He made
turns and move on various planes.  He move away from the hatch as far
as 3 meters.

After completing the manned tests, both cosmonauts returned to the
airlock.  The crew worked in open space for 4 hours and 59 min.

The function of the vehicle proved its easy operation.

A safety line was used so that the vehicle would remain in touch with
the orbital complex.  During all the stages of work in open space,
the commander constantly controlled the flight engineer actions.

Further test of the autonomous vehicle are planned for FEB 5.
The vehicle will be then be flowned bye the commander.

Viktorenko and Serebrov fell well and work on the orbital complex
continues.

ITEM ENDS

Date: Thu, 1 Feb 90 17:46:03 EST
From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
Subject: Fourth Soviet Space Walk tests Space Bicycle
 
     On board the Soviet's Mir Space Station cosmonauts Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov made their fourth space walk this
year, this time to test their Manned Maneuvering Vehicle, which they
refer to as a "space bicycle", but technically is called the Icarus by
its designers. Starting at 11:15 am Moscow Time (3:15 am EST) this 4
hour, 59 min. walk began from the Kvant 2 airlock.  Serebrov flew the
Space Bike for varying distances from the Mir space station.  The
Icarus was connected to the station by means of a teether for this
initial test.  While the reports do not state it yet, the originally
plans called for the Space Bicycle to fly 5 to 10 meters (16 - 33 ft.)
from the station, and to check the stations exterior for signs of
aging.  Icarus uses compressed air for its rockets, and when the
internal tanks are empty they are designed to be removed and be
replaced with cylinders brought up in Progress cargo craft.  One
interesting point was the list of applications for the Space Bicycle,
which besides the standard construction in space projects, also
included helping to dock their shuttle Buran to the space station. 
The current crew has been in orbit for 149 days and will be coming
down on Feb. 24th when they will be replaced by another crew.  The
next space walk is scheduled for Feb. 5th. 

     [I have been away at a conference for the past couple of weeks so
that what follows is a message that was posted just before I left, but
which our system failed to send out.  It is a summary of the second
walk of this crews.  Sorry for the delay.] 

     Rather surprisingly the second EVA was took place on Jan. 11 when
Viktorenko and Serebrov exited the station at 21:01 Moscow Time (13:01
EST) and stayed for 2 hours, 54 minutes. First they installed
nonmetallic samples on the station for space exposures tests. In
addition new instruments were placed on the Kvant 1 Astrophysical
module to investigate the Earth ionosphere and magnetic field. Then
they removed similar sample panels installed during the French/Soviet
mission in Dec. 1988. They also detached the unfolding girder system
tested during that mission. At the docking "ball", the 5 port section
at the front of Mir, they removed the docking unite from the Kvant-2
location and fixed it to the opposite side to permit docking of the
next module. That is scheduled to occur sometime in March/April now.
The next space walk has now been scheduled for Jan. 26th, and will
make extensive use of the Kvant 2's airlock. (Radio Moscow, TASS of
Jan 12) 

     One point is the current troubles in the USSR over the fighting
in the south is best illustrated by the very small coverage given to
this second walk. Normally, as in the first one, the news has small
items about it for days after wards and the EVA is in the first or
second headline news spot on the day it happens. In this case it was
well down the list and disappeared for the next few days (appearing
several days later). Now, however, it seems that coverage is
recovering, in spite of the even worse reports from the southern
republics.  Indeed with the fourth walk the item was number one on
the news, beating the Bush/Gorbechev phone call out for that place. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
 
    Subj:  More results on third and fourth Soviet Space walks this year.

     More information has been released about the fourth Extra Vehicle
Activity that Alexander Serebrov and Alexander Viktorenko made from
the Mir space complex on Feb. 1. As noted previously the main activity
there was the first test flight of the Soviet Manned Maneuvering Unit,
called a Space Bicycle or Icarus.  Serebrov took the 220 Kg (484 lbs.)
Icarus further than originally expected, some 30 meters (99 ft.) from
Mir (preflight statements had called for a 5-10 meter test).  The main
core of Mir itself is some 13 meters long, though with the Kvant 1
module and the Soyuz TM at one end plus Progress M-2 at the other the
total axial length is about 30 meters, the distance travelled.  He
tested the 32 compressed air rockets of the system, stability at both
low and high velocity, and the retro rockets (the "breaking system"). 
During this time Viktorenko was controlling the tether to ensure no
problems, and apparently did tests of checking the flight with it.  In
addition Viktorenko filmed the Icarus on a video camera.  Currently
the crew is checking out the space suits in preparation for Monday,
Feb. 5's fifth and final space walk of this mission.  Vikorenko will
then fly the Icarus a distance of some 60 meters from the station. 
(Radio Moscow Jan 30 - Feb. 2, TASS announcements of Jan 31-Feb. 1) 

     [Here is a report on the third space walk which I was not able to
post due to my travels].  The third space walk of Serebrov and
Viktorenko began on Jan. 26th at 15:09 Moscow Time (7:09 EST) when
they exited the new large (more than 1 meter diameter) airlock at the
end of the Kvant 2 module for the first time (all the previous walks
had used the smaller airlock on Mir itself).  This EVA was also the
first to test out the new Orlan DMA space suits which will be used in
future missions.  To begin with the crew removed an antenna section
from the Kurs docking radar system on the Kvant 2 module (which is
docked perpendicular to the main body of the Mir station).  The
cosmonauts then mounted television cameras on the Kvant 1 module at
the rear end of Mir which can be maneuvered to observe the outside of
the station.  They also checked the exterior of the Kvant 2 module,
especially the solar panel section that had initially failed to deploy
properly during after the launch in Nov. 1989.  Total space walk time
was 3 hours, 2 minutes. 

    On Jan. 29th Serebrov and Viktorenko held a series of 5 lectures
for school children from orbit in memory of US teacher/astronaut
Christie McAuliffe who died in the Challenger failure some four years
ago.  Serebrov, who is president of the Soyuz Soviet Youth Space
Society, told them about the life support system, while Viktorenko
(mission commander) described the space suites.  TV shots of the
outside of Mir were given using the camera system just mounted two
days before in the fourth EVA.  Crystal growth experiments were also
shown.  Tapes of these lessons are going to be made available to other
countries.  (Radio Moscow, Jan 25-29th, TASS Jan 25, 26, 29). 

     One interesting point to note is that currently the Soviets have
over 400 hours of manned EVA time, while the US has about 300 hours.
However, over 50%, some 170 hours, of the US total was not in zero G
but rather on the Lunar surface.  That is what you get when you run a
space station program for some 19 years.  Their space walk time is
rising rapidly on Mir also, indicating that as time goes on they feel
more confident of just what people can do for them in space. 
 
                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       MIT Lincoln Lab
  

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Fifth Soviet space walk done at Mir.
Date: 7 Feb 90 14:59:33 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     On Feb. 5th at the Soviet's Mir Space Station cosmonauts
Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov made their fifth space
walk this year, and tested their Manned Maneuvering Unite (MMU),
called a "space bicycle" or Icarus.  Again exiting the Kvant 2 module
airlock station commander Viktorenko flew the space bicycle in excess
of 40 meters (131 ft.) from Mir, and measured radiation levels at a
number of points and distances from the station.  Serebrov, who flew
the MMU last time, stood by the safety rope and check the behavior of
Icarus.  The statements said that similar space bicycles will be used
on their new Mir II station (slated for mid 1990s) and with the Buran
space shuttle. (Radio Moscow Feb. 4-6) 

     The replacement crew for Mir will be launched on Soyuz TM-9 on
Feb. 11, and the current crew will come down on Feb. 24th.  The crew
for this 6 month mission will be Anatoly Solovyov (Soyuz TM-5/Mir Jun.
'88 for 9 days) and Alexander Balandin, a new cosmonaut.  It seems
that the following mission, Soyuz TM-10, scheduled for July '90, will
bring up a shuttle pilot for zero G experience.  Currently the crew
suggest is Vitally Serastyanov, Viktor Afanasyev, and Burna pilot
trainee Rimantas Stankyavichus. Serastyanov is an old time cosmonaut,
selected in 1967, flew Soyuz 9 in June 1970 for 17 days, Soyuz
18/Salyut 4 in May 1975 for 63 days and was a manager in the Soviet
Lunar Landing training program.  The flight of a Japanese journalist
to Mir has been moved up from 1991 to the fall of this year.  Toehiro
Akiyama and Ryoko Kikuchi, the two correspondents from Japan's TSB
network, have been in Russia training since Oct. '89.  (TASS
announcement Jan. 18, Spaceflight Jan '90, Phil Clark, "Soviet Manned
Space Program") 

     The Soviets have a second space station still in orbit, the old
Salyut 7 with the large Cosmos 1686 module attached to it.  Launched
in April 1982, it was last visited in May 1986 when the Soyuz T-15
crew which first visited Mir transferred from Mir to Salyut 7 for
almost two months, then back again. Many people have been speculating
that the Soviets would try to bring Saylut 7 down in their space
shuttle.  However, Vladimir Dzhanibekov, head of cosmonaut technical
training, recently said this was just a Western concept.  Dzhanibekov
is the cosmonaut who rescued Salyut 7 in June 1985 when it suffered a
major power system failure.  Salyut 7 is out of fuel, drifting in a
gravity gradient mode with the main station section towards Earth,
hence a high air resistance mode.  It is also precessing, that is
sinning slowly like a gyroscope that has been bumped, so that the base
end stays nearly stationary while the tip of the Cosmos 1686 module
forms a circle about it.  Their main worry is that the combined
structure weighs nearly 40 tonnes, and probably parts would survive
re-entry.  They are currently considering sending either a special
Progress tanker which would use its engines to create a re-entry over
an ocean, or perhaps mount a manned Soyuz mission to do the same. 
Manned missions are considered because of the unusual motion of the
station. 

     It appears that the human race is back to having a manned space
station for these plans extend for another two years. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
      

    From:  "glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa" "Glenn Chapman" 11-FEB-1990
    Subj:  Soviet Soyuz TM-9 mission begins to Mir space station.

     The USSR successfully launched its Soyuz TM-9 mission on Feb.
11th (though the launch time was only stated as this morning). The
crew for this 6 month mission are Anatoly Solovyov (Soyuz TM-5/Mir
Jun. 1988 for 9 days) and Alexander Balandin, a new cosmonaut, as
expected.  The Soyuz TM-9 will rendezvous with Mir on Feb. 13. 
There they will replace the current cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko
and Alexander Serebrov who have been in orbit for 159 days, since
Sept. 5, 1989.  The original schedule for the current crew called for
them to come down on Feb. 24, but the Feb. 9 announcement said that
it may be Feb. 19.  One of the more important items that Viktorenko
and Serebrov will be bringing down in the Soyuz TM-8 capsule will be
the crystallization protein experiments paid for by Payload Systems of
Cambridge, MA. 

    One of the main tasks of the new crew will begin with the docking
of the Kvant 3 or Technology module which will occur in March/April
this year. This 17.2 Tonne expansion section will dock with the front
axial docking port of Mir, then be swung to the side port using a
robot arm to dock opposite to the Kvant 2 module.  Kvant 3 will be
13.7 meters (45 ft.) long (the same length as Kvant 2) but has a huge
solar array some 36 meter (118 ft.) in span that is planed to generate
some 20 Kilowatts of power.  By comparison Mir itself has only a 29.7
meter (97 ft.) spanning array, and the total of its power, plus that
of arrays added on Kvant 2 and erected during space walks, is only 20
Kilowatts itself.  The main task of Kvant 3 is material processing,
especially the growth of super pure crystals.  The Soviets argue that
this module will begin the point where materials processing on Mir
will pay for the missions. (Radio Moscow Feb. 8-11) 

     One interesting point has been pointed out about the next
mission, Soyuz TM-10, scheduled for July 1990.  As noted in my
previous posting, one of the stated crew members is Vitally
Serastyanov, an old time cosmonaut, selected in 1967, flew Soyuz 9 in
June 1970 for 17 days, Soyuz 18/Salyut 4 in May 1975 for 63 days and
was a manager in the Soviet Lunar Landing training program.  However,
Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard Smithsonian Observatory pointed out
to me that Serastyanov retired in 1975 and became a well known science
journalist on Russian television/radio.  This suggests that he is the
Soviet reporter to fly to Mir to beat the Japanese journalist, which
has been moved up from 1991 to the fall of this year.  At 55 years
old, this probably makes him the first astronaut/cosmonaut to retire,
take on other tasks, then to return again to space to make use of his
old training in a new field. 

    Definitely the Soviet manned program is becoming more commercial. 
Let us see if they can, in their own minds, make a profit in space. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
 

    From:  DECPA::"glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa" "Glenn Chapman" 13-FEB-1990
    Subj:  Soyuz TM-9 docks with Soviet Mir Space Station.

     The Soviet Soyuz TM-9 capsule successfully docked with their Mir
space station this morning, Feb. 13, some two days after its Feb. 11
launch.  On board were Anatoly Solovyov and Alexander Balandin, who
will be staying up there for a six month mission.  They were greeted
by Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov, who have now been in
orbit for 161 days. Television pictures of the docking were carried on
Vermya (the Soviet nightly news) indicating the docking was to the
Kvant 1 module at the rear of the station, as expected.  When the
hatch was opened the new cosmonauts appeared to enter a rather
spacious section of Mir/Kvant1/2, with one of the long duration crew
holding what appeared to be a bouquet of flowers (the traditional
greetings for a traveller is bread, salt, and flowers). All the
cosmonauts floated around a table, though their voices were not heard
on camera.  Viktorenko and Serebrov appeared to be in good shape. They
will be coming down in about one week according to the announcement,
in keeping with the Feb. 20 date mentioned in my last posting, not the
original Feb. 24 plans.  It will also mean that both cosmonauts will
be about 5 to 7 days short of one half year accumulative time in space
when their previous missions are added in. (Radio Moscow and Moscow
TV, Feb. 13) 

     Some interesting comparisons were released between the NASA's
Manned Maneuvering Unit and the Soviet's space bicycle, also called
SPK, or Icarus, that Viktorenko an Serebrov tested twice earlier this
month.  Its Soviet system's mass is 200 Kg (440 lbs.) about 25%
heavier than the 148 Kg (325 lbs.) MMU.  However, its top velocity is
30 meters per second or 108 Kph (98 ft/sec or 66 mph), more than twice
that of the 14 m/sec or 49 Kph (45 ft/sec or 31 mph) of the US MMU. 
This suggests that the compressed nitrogen gas load is about 31 Kg (68
lbs), compared to 11.8 Kg (26 lbs) on the MMU. This calculation
assumes the same mass of man and suit, and same gas pressure,
obviously rather rough values.  All things being equal that means the
Soviet system should be able to operate at about 2.2 times the maximum
safe distance of the MMU 's 137 meters (450 ft) or say 300 meters (990
ft).  The fact that this is a nice round number metric number suggests
that it may be the design distance. (Space News Feb. 5) 

     One point to note is that the leaving date for the Soyuz TM-8
crew will be the fourth anniversary of the orbiting of Mir.  On May 29
this new crew will see Mir become the longest lasting operational
space station, exceeding Salyut 7's 4.2 years.  At that point Mir will
be in every respect Earth's most successful space station. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
 

    A nit about Glenn's normally pristinely factual report:  I presume that
    "maximum speed" must really mean delta-v.  In addition, I don't
    understand how this translates into a maximum distance.  In space, you
    get to the speed you want and just wait.  You can go any distacne you
    want.  (Obviously, there are considerations of the amount of
    consumables etc which would limit the amount of time you could spend
    cruising, but even at one m/sec it does not take long to get 100 meters
    away.
    
    Burns
    

    Re:.274 & .275
    	Yes, Glenn should have said "delta V" not "top velocity". Normally
    the Soviet MMU would be moving less than a couple of feet per second
    relative to the station. As far as the maximum distance, I think it is
    more of an operational rule as opposed to a design limitation. Next
    time I see Glenn, I'll give him a verbal thrashing...
    
    				Drew

    Date: Tue, 20 Feb 90 00:04:43 EST
    From: Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa>
    Subject: Soyuz TM-8 mission lands after 6 months on Mir station.
 
     On Feb. 19 cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov
returned to Earth in their Soyuz TM-8 craft.  Landing at about 7:35 am
Moscow Time (11:35 pm Feb. 18th EST) they were in orbit for 167 days,
since Sept. 5, 1989.  Currently they are back in Star City, near
Moscow.  TV pictures of them showed them walking from the plane taking
them there after landing, obviously in good shape after a nearly 6
month mission.  They performed 43 major scientific experiments during
that time, oversaw the docking of the Kvant 2 module, and five space
walks, including testing their "Space Bicycle" twice.  In addition the
crew brought down the Protein crystal growth samples for the Cambridge
MA based Payload Systems, the first commercial western crystal growth
experiments from the Mir space station.  These samples were brought 
up using the Progress TM-2 on Dec. 20, activated on Dec. 23, so that
they were running for about 58 days.  Payload systems statements note
that most Protein samples cannot be crystallized in the 11 day
missions that are the longest currently run on the NASA shuttle.  They
have left behind for a 6 month mission on Mir Anatoly Solovyov (Soyuz
TM-5/Mir June 1988 for 9 days) and Alexander Balandin, a new cosmonaut,
which arrived on the Soyuz TM-9 Feb. 13 (Radio Moscow & Moscow TV
Feb 17-19).

     French CNES has signed a deal $12 million for the 14 day mission
to the Mir space station in 1992.  All previous French/Soviet flights
have only been for exchange of data.  This mission, called Antares
after a red giant star in the constellation Scorpio, will concentrate on
biomedical and physics experiments, for which they can bring up 300 Kg
(660 lbs) and take down 12 Kg (26 lbs) of samples.  (Spaceflight Feb) 
The European Space Agency and the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs
have negociated a wide ranging agreement on cooperative experiments in
microgravity, Earth observation, and the space plane development area.
(Space News Jan. 15)  The US based Planetary Society has formed a
design center in conjunction with the Babakin Center, located near
Moscow, to help work on the 1994 Soviet Mars unmanned probe.  This
Proton booster launched probe will carry hot air balloon rovers which
will collect soil samples (Spaceflight Feb., Space News Jan. 15)  The
Soviets are planning a mission like the ESA's Hipparcos star mapping
mission for the mid 1990s called Lomonosov after a famous Soviet
scientist. (Spaceflight Feb.) 

     Sorry this report is a bit later than I wanted but our link to
the net has been down due to ice on the microwave dishes. 

     The Soviets are doing crew switch offs now and it bearly even
rates a notice on the news here.  Meanwhile we have people like Marsha
Smith of the Library of Congress making comments in the press about
how delays in the launch of Kvant 2 forced them to run their space
walks more quickly then they wished.  At least they get then done and
continue to run a permanently manned space station.  Meanwhile the
NASA station bearly even exists on paper.  Hopefully that will change.
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman 
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    here is an old memo, sorry for the delay but I just got
    back
    
 
Following was moved on TASS on Friday--seems quite significant
regarding the use of a geo bird--most likely K1897 (95 East).
 
   .PROGRESS M-2 CARGO SPACECRAFT WINDS UP ITS FLIGHT.
   9/2 TASS 53
    
   MOSCOW FEBRUARY 9 TASS - BY TASS CORRESPONDENT FROM THE
   MISSION CONTROL CENTRE: THE PROGRESS M-2 AUTOMATIC CARGO
   SPACECRAFT, WHICH DELIVERED MORE THAN 2.5 TONNES OF VARIOUS
   CARGO TO THE ORBITAL COMPLEX MIR, HAS FINISHED ITS MISSION. AT
   05.33, MOSCOW TIME, TODAY, THE SPACECRAFT SEPARATED FROM THE
   MANNED ORBITAL COMPLEX, TRANSFERRED TO A DESCENT PATH, ENTERED
   THE DENSE LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND CEASED TO EXIST. RADIO
 * ENGINEERING SYSTEMS FOR THE APPROACH OF SPACECRAFT WITH THE
 * USE OF A RELAY SATELLITE IN GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT WERE TESTED
 * DURING THE CARGO SPACECRAFT'S SEPARATION FROM THE ORBITAL
 * STATION. garbled WORK IN ORBIT. THIS WEEK THEIR WORK INCLUDED
   MEDICO-BIOLOGICAL AND ASTROPHYSICAL(garbled). THE COSMONAUTS
   ALSO TRIED OUT A NEW SHOWER INSTALLATION THAT IS AVAILABLE IN
   THE KVANT-2 MODULE. THE EXPERIMENT, STARTED ON THE GALLAR
   INSTALLATION FEBRUARY 6, IS BEING CONTINUED IN ORDER TO OBTAIN
   A SEMI-CONDUCTOR MATERIAL, GALLIUM ARSENIDE, IN
   MICROGRAVITATION CONDITIONS. THE FULL CYCLE OF THIS
   TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS LASTS 120 HOURS. ACCORDING TO MEDICAL
   CONTROL DATA, THE TWO COSMONAUTS ARE IN GOOD HEALTH AND ARE
   FEELING WELL. PREPARATIONS ARE UNDERWAY AT BAIKONUR COSMODROME
   TO LAUNCH A SOYUZ TM-9 MANNED SPACESHIP. LIFT-OFF IS SCHEDULED
   FOR 09.16, MOSCOW TIME, ON FEBRUARY 11. ITEM ENDS +++
 
This suggests the use of a SDRN bird to coordinate
docking/undocking when not in view of the tracking sations.  1897
has always given them trouble, but perhaps they are ready for
another SDRN launch-it's long overdue.  It will be interesting to
see what develops. At the time of separation, MIR was over the
general area of Sakhalin Island.
 
     
    
    

    Their recent Gorizont/Raduga comsats have carried Luch transponders for
    use in the SDRN. I think they are more likely to adopt this approach
    rather the the US approach of building specialised satellites for SDRN
    use. Piggybacking on the regular comsats makes for a more resilient
    system.
    
    There is also a precedent. Molinya satellites were used to communicate
    with Soyuz missions in the past.
    
    gary

    The Molinya satellites are still used, I have seen photos
    of an SESS command control room.  They can operate as a
    link to FCC but only in the Northern Hemisphere.  Recently
    3 of the smaller SESS have been sold for scrap to India this
    and the recent TASS announcement indicates to me that either
    there is a budget cut or other means will be used to communicate
    with the Soviet Space Stations.  Uplink to the MIR space station
    from the SESS is on 121.750 MHz (Left hand cir. pol.) and the
    voice down link is on 143.625 MHz (right hand cir pol.). A new
    SESS has been commision and 4 removed but it is expected that
    the SESS will be arround untill the year 2000.
    
    
    john
    

    Progress PM-3 was launch on the 1st of March at 02:11 MSK
    there was no mention if this is the new verions of PM that
    can return materials to earth....
    
    john
    

    I thought that the last of the old model Progress was the next one
    scheduled to launch?
    
    gary

    Re:.281
    	Actually, Progress-M is a new model and is capable of returning
    materials. Originally I thought that the return capsule would be an
    unmanned version of the Soyuz reentry module: it is not. The Progress-M
    can be fitted with a special adapter on its docking mechanism. Once the
    Progess-M has been unloaded and refilled with waste, the spacecraft's
    docking probe is removed and replaced with a conical return capsule
    about 0.6 meters across at its base. This return capsule is presumably
    brought up inside the Progress-M along with the rest of the cargo. It 
    is just the right size and shape to fit in Mir's docking drogue cone when 
    the hatches are closed. The Progress-M then seperates from Mir with the 
    return capsule in place on the front. It still is not clear at this point 
    whether the capsule has its own solid retrorocket or is deorbited along 
    with Progress-M and seperates to follow its own reentry path.
    	So far as I know, none of the Progress-M spacecraft have carried
    such a return capsule. From what I have heard, there are some problems
    with accurately predicting the landing site. The return capsules of the
    heavy Kosmos (and presumably the military Salyuts) had a similar
    problem. The landing site could only be predicted to a circle with a
    radius of 100 Km making them difficult to find. The new and smaller
    return capsules are probably better but how much so is unknown.
    According to some sources, the new return capsule will not be used
    until 1991 at the earliest.
    
    				Drew
    
                        

    re:283
    
    That would make sense as the deorbit of PM-2 used the SDRN, this
    could help in predicting the landing sites.  PM-2 deorbit was 
    the first time TASS talks about SDRN and I have been wondering 
    why they would use it just for deorbiting.
    
    cheers john
    

    Re:.284
    	I din't know that. If that is the case, the return capsule probably
    stays attached to the Progress-M during its deorbit burn. The capsule
    then would follow a simple ballistic reentry path (this is the Soviet's
    description) after it seperated from the falling Progress-M.
    
    				Drew
    

summary of TASS for the last few days

Progress M-3 cargo draft docked with MIR on the 3rd of March @ 04:05 MSK

Valentina Tereshkova and US Astronaut Marcia Ivince have been awarded
prizes for internationalism, instituted by the US women's organization
"American Women for International understanding"

7 March Anatonly Solovyovs and Alexander Baladins are unloading
the PM3 transport craft.  the are also installing a new set of storage
batteries and replacing separate elements in the electric supply
system.  The carried out a smelt to obtain gallium arsenide, a series
of experiments to check the influence of open space on physico-mechanical
properties of polymer and composite materials.  Experiments are being continued
on measurements and evaluation of levels of ionizing cosmic radiation in
near-earth orbit.  A long term biological experiment has been started to
study the influence of space on the development on a bird organism and
its heredity.  Used for this experiment is the INCUBATOR-2 equipment
that was jointly developed by the Soviets and Czechoslvak specialist.
The experiment will be carried out on a Japanese Quail...

7 March TASS reported that Netherlands TASS corespondent Rena Kuznetsova
who monitor the Vostok-1 stand by crews, believes that Irina Pronina
will participate in the 1991 space flight to MIR.  During the fire
on the 1983 launch of a Soyuz T foreign news organization asserted that some
mysterious women cosmonaut , Irina, whose fate is unknown was a member of
the crew that included Vladimir Titov and Gennady Strekalov.
Pronina was a standby for Svetlana Savitskaya who flew in space in Aug 1982.
Nobody knew anything about Savitxkayas stand-by all these years, since
that was a forbidden topic.   Irina , who will soon turn 37, was born in 
Moscow and a graduate of Moscow Higher Bauman School.  She was disappointed
that Yuri Gagarin wen into space on the 12 of April and not on the 14th
as that was her birthday.  She hopes her son Alyusha flies to mars, as
he is now three it is possible.


    
    cheers john
    

MIR CONTINUES SPACE FLIGHT  13/3 TASS 50

MOSCOW MARCH 13 TASS - Cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and
aAlexander Balandin will spend most of their time this week
linking up additional equipment aboard the Kvant-2 modlule with
the rest of the MIR space station.

   Today, the crew were connecting the modules power plant
automatic control system with those aboard the MIR station,
officials at the mission control Centre told tafts will also
continue a scientific research programme.

   In the past few days, they conducted a series of experiments
designed to test physical and mechanical qualities of various
materials in open space.  Solovyov and Balandid also had medical
check ups.

   A joint Soviet-Czechoslvak experiment to study the influence
of weightlessness and other space factors on birds, started on
march 4, continued.

   The crew were monitorn the micro-climate in the incubator-2
installation and conserving biological objects for further
research back on Earth.
 
   Solovyov and Balandin are in good health, medics said.

ITEM ENDS...................


I find this interesting -
   The crew were monitorn the micro-climate in the incubator-2
installation and conserving biological objects for further
research back on Earth.
now how are they going to bring them back to Earth, possible 
in the Progess unit

cheers John


    

    rumors have it that the  Soviets are having problems
    with the return Progress unit, it is not expected to
    be ready until the 6th PM unit.... but that still
    leaves open the question of why they are packing up
    the 'chicks'... if they have to wait for a TM return
    flight..
    
    john
    

Maybe they have killed and preserved them in various stages of development?

							-Dave

    note ref to returing eggs/chick to earth in cargo(progress) unit
    
INCUBATOR OR BOAR SOVIET SPACE STATION 

MOSCOW MARCH 22 TASS- By TASS corespondent Rena Kuznetzova:
Soviet Cosmonauts working on board the MIR orbital station 
will soon be able to cook fried eggs.

a 223-day-long biological experiment to study the impact of
space-flight conditions on the development of organisms and
bird heredity has been started on board the station.  The
Japanese Quail has been chosen for the experiment which is
carried out on the incubator-2 equipment designed by Soviet and 
Czechoslovak specialist.  After a three-week incubation period
chick appear.

the biotechnoligical complex has its own vital activity
protection system.  The station crew, Anatoly Solovyov and
Alexander Balanin, works with the complex for half an hour a
day.  They feed the birds and check the equipment.  At the
determined time, VCTSMO (? poor copy) takes eggs out of the 'Quail' chamber
and places the chicks into special containers.

Cargo spacecraft brings food for t rs (? poor copy) and takes away 
containers with birds and eggs to the earth for research



SOVIET CREW HATCH FIRST CICKS ABOARD MIR
MOSCOW MARCH 23 TASS - its all 'chirp, chirp' now on the  MIR
space station, after cosmonauts Anatoliy Solovyov and Alexander
Balndin watch the first Quail chicks hatch in incubator-2 on
Thursday, as part of biological experiments to study the impact 
of space on birds.

The cosmonauts placed the chicks in a special compartment.

this week the crew mounted a hydro stabilized platform with
video spectral equipment design for geophysical and
astrophysical research atop the KVANT-2 module.  Later today, they
will link-up the platforms control system with the main module.

They will also check radio system and carry out experiments 
to study the level of ionizing space radiation on the orbit.

the cosmonauts are felling well and proceeding with their
flight schedule,m Mission control officials said
ITEM ENDS....


    

 
   MOSCOW (UPI) -- The Soviet-Japanese space flight, which will put a
   Japanese television journalist in orbit, has been scheduled for Dec.
   2, the Soviet Glavkosmos space agency said Tuesday. The agency said
   two Japanese candidates for the flight, Kikuchi Rioko and Akiyama
   Toehiro, have completed the first six months of training for the
   mission.  The TBS Radio and Television Broadcasting Company of Japan
   is paying $9 million for the first joint Soviet-Japanese launch of
   one of their journalists to the Mir space station.  The pay-as-you-
   fly missions represent the latest Soviet effort to make the space
   program self-financing. Future flights will carry British and
   Austrian cosmonauts into space. Gen. Alexei Leonov, who is in charge
   of the cosmonauts training center, said the mission has been
   tentatively set for Dec. 2. "The date has been set in accordance with
   the wishes and possibilities of both sides," he said. "The date is
   realistic because both Japanese journalists show the ability to work
   in a well organized fashion, allowing them to master the training
   program ahead of schedule," he said. If Kikuchi Rioko is chosen for
   the mission, it will be a double first -- the first space flight of a
   journalist and the first mission of a woman journalist. Both
   candidates are now in Japan for about 10 days, and they will then
   return to the Soviet Union to continue their training. In May, they
   are scheduled for another break in Japan. When they then return to
   the Soviet Union, the cosmonaut for the flight will be chosen. Soviet
   cosmonauts Anatoly Artisbarsky and Viktor Afanasiyev, who will go
   into space with the Japanese correspondent, also have visited Japan
   recently.
    

MIR ORBITING STATIONS FLIGHT CONTINUES

Today (27 Mar) the Cosmonauts are carrying out technical, geo-physical
and medico-biological experiments, as well as compile and inventory of
life supporting systems stocks.

They underwent a medical check_up to assess the state of their
internal organs with the help of a ultra-sound unit.

They will perform a 'REZONANS' experiment to estimate the dynamic
characteristic of the orbital station.  I would assume they now
have the new stabilizing system working and doing a resonance check
of the new system.  It is unlikely this would be the first resonance
done since docking unless they have dropped the PM3 unit.

The Cosmonauts did pump the fuel out of PM3 into the tanks of MIR.

They also assembled  a new stationary camera KAP-350 for geo-physical
research in the K-2 module.  The camera will be tested today together 
with the ships computer.


    

I'm lacking some of the background info.

You mention that a new camera was mounted but there hasn't been a mention of an 
EVA lately so I was wondering how much activity has been outside vs some type of 
remotely controlled method.

Since you seem to be translating news service info, maybe I'm asking for 
speculation but I'm just not familiar with the options they have available on 
MIR.

Thanks for all the coverage.

    re: 293
    This is a translating news info, so I can not find out.  Once in
    a while I get lucky and meet with someone who will be talking to
    a Cosmonaut and I then can pass on question to be asked but that
    is very rare.
    
    The platform was inside the K-2 module, they did not do an EVA
    but they need to do one soon....  Not sure why they have not but
    their has been an incress in the number of medical check ups 
    lately.  Soon MIR will be over my area again during their normal
    work day and I will be able to monitor their communications again.
    
    cheers john
     

Hello all
 
This in from TASS on Saturday---- 
 
 
SOVIET SPACE PROGRAMME FOR 1990. 31/3 TASS 116A
 
MOSCOW MARCH 31 TASS - THE LAUNCHING OF THE KRISTALL TECHNOLOGICAL MODULE,
 WHICH IS  TO BECOME PART OF THE MIR ORBITAL  COMPLEX, HAS BEEN POSTPONED
FROM APRIL 9 TO APRIL 18, GLAVKOSMOS CHIEF ALEXANDER DUNAYEV SAID  AT A
BRIEFING HERE ON FRIDAY. ACCORDING TO DUNAYEV, TWO MORE MANNED FLIGHTS TO THE
MIR STATION ARE PLANNED FOR THE CURRENT YEAR. FIVE PROGRESS CARGO SPACECRAFT
WILL ALSO BE LAUNCHED.  SOME 220 MILLION ROUBLES WERE ALLOCATED THIS
YEAR FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOVIET NATIONAL SPACE PROGRAMME, 80
MILLION LESS THAN LAST YEAR, DUNAYEV SAID. THIS PUTS GLAVKOSMOS IN A
DIFFICULT SITUATION, BECAUSE IT HAS TO LOOK FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES. IT WAS
ANNOUNCED AT THE BRIEFING THAT IT IS PLANNED TO LAUNCH THE ALMAZ ARTIFICIAL
EARTH SATELLITE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR TO STUDY THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF
THE PLANET. THE RESURS F AND OKEAN O ARTIFICIAL EARTH SATELLITES, AS WELL
OTHER SPACE VEHICLES ARE PLANNED TO BE LAUNCHED IN THE INTERESTS  OF VARIOUS
BRANCHES OF THE SOVIET ECONOMY. THE GAMMA ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY WILL BE
LAUNCHED THIS YEAR, AT LAST. THE LAUNCHING WAS POSTPONED DURING THE PAST
SEVERAL YEARS, DUNAYEV SAID. ACCORDING TO DUNAYEV, THE GALS SATELLITE WILL BE
PUT ON A GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT IN LATE 1991-EARLY 1992. IT WILL ENSURE THE
BROADCASTING OF THE FIRST AND SECOND NATIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAMMES TO THE
WHOLE OF SOVIET TERRITORY IN THE DIRECT BROADCASTING REGIME. ITEM ENDS +++
    
    

    OK, today the 4th of April TASS said that the launch of Kristal is on 
    for the 9th of APR.  This may be a TASS problem, they seem to report based
    on the predicted schedule not the facts.  I am not sure if TASS does
    not keep up to date or they are not able to get the information.
    However recent recalled Soviet Space Support Ships are being quickly 
    replace with new ones, so time will tell.
    
    IN OTHER NEWS:
    
    The Chicks hatch in the INKUBATOR-2 on the 17th day as planned.
    Millions of Soveit TV viewers had an opportunity to watch as the
    cosmonauts held the quail in his had and fed it from his palm.  However,
    the young brids are helpless and failed to adapt to micro-gravity.  The
    hope they would huddle together and cling to each other but this did
    not happen.  The Quals slowly grew weak, unable to get to the feeding
    trought with out help from the Cosmonauts. A decision was then made to
    put the chicks to sleep.
    
    "we have succeeded in establishing that the development of the earth
    embryo in space proceeds normaly and this is all-important" Meleshkov
    stressed, " the rest deserves serious scientific anaylsis".
    
    Gee maybe they need to put some of the NFL sticky fingers gloop
    on the chick feet.  They are consider continuing the experiments
    this could be a good one for artifical gravity...
    
    
    
    john
    

    re 296
    
    correction,
    TASS did not say the module was going on the 9th,
    what TASS said was the some one  in another paper
    had reported that,
    
    however I think it will go the 18th,
    
    As for the demise of the 'ptichka's' I think there were 8 in total,
    
    jb
    

    How/when were the quail eggs fertilized?  Was it somehow in 0 G?  I'm
    just thinking about the chicken eggs that did not make it.  There was
    some question about whether it was the launch acceleration or the
    weightless development thta did it.
    
    Burns
    
    P.S.  I guess I don't really care how unless they were fertilized in
    0G.  In that case, the question becomes interesting whether they sent
    the parent birds up or not :-)

    re:298
    only eggs were sent up, I will have to check to find out
    when/where/parrents of the quail eggs were...  This would be a good
    question for the traviling Soviet Space Show that will be at the
    Bostome Mesuem of Science this summer....  but in this case
    the eggs came first....:*)
    
    john
    

SOVIET SPACE OFFICIAL ON 'MORAL PROBLEMS' OF MIXED CREWS

From a TASS article, it will be unlikely that any Soviet 
Women Cosmonaut will be on a long duration flight to MIR.
Alexander Alexndrow, head of the Soviet Civil Cosmonaut 
Training Program, explains the absence of women in 
Soviet space crews by referring to the demanding nature 
of space expeditions programs.  Most of all to the work
during space walks.  "Practically every expedition now
involves space walks.  Alexandrov does not rule out the
participation of women experts in short-term expeditions, 
but he said the long-term stay of men and women in
orbit 'brings about moral and ethical problems'.

He said specialist have discussed the possibility of 
launching a husband and wife into space, but failed to
find a couple...

ITEM ENDS


    

I recently got access back to the USENET just in time to see a series of stuff
about a "Secret" Nasa report about sex in orbit.  I came into the middle of the
flurry of followups, but I did not see the original report which was alleged
to be posted.

Without necessarily having to go into the details which were being gone into on
USENET, does anyone have any idea of this is really on the up-and-up?  I.e. was
such an experiment really carried out and was it really official?

Burns

    re: .301
    
    re: "Sex in Orbit" article
    
    I read that report also.  My opinion is that this was definitely a
    joke.  I suppose I could verify by asking my parents, as they both work
    for NASA (one directly and one indirectly), but it just seems so
    ludicrous I haven't bothered.
    
    			Steve

    The 'KRISTAL' launch has been postpone until sometime in June.
    A Glavkosmos spokesman Nikolai Semenov told UP that the launch 
    problem was connected with software on the MIR station.  
    
    It will be interesting to monitor the MIR complex to see if
    MIR will once more become mothballed.
    
    john
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Krystall addition to Mir delayed until June 1
Date: 25 Apr 90 20:53:26 GMT
 
     On board the Mir space station cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and
Alexander Balandin, now in orbit for 72 days, have not had their most
successful month, through no fault of their own.  The new 20 tonne
expansion module for Mir (called Kristall) was originally to be
launched in February, then the end of March was set, Apr. 9 was the
next day scheduled though as that came close statements of "the launch
might be delayed" were given on short wave.  The last date mentioned
was Apr. 19th.  However, on Apr. 17th UPI carried a report stating
that software problems had delayed the launch.  This was confirmed by
the Radio Moscow announcement of Apr. 22 that software problems on
board the Mir station computers were causing problems with the docking
tests.  The report stated that the Mir software was having to react to
more dockings than expected (of Progress and Soyuz craft) thus was
having some difficulties.  The stated launch date for Kristall was set
for June 1.  In addition an insulation blanket on the Soyuz TM-9 has
come free, and is flapping when the station moves.  This movement is
distracting the station's star trackers used in Mir's alignment system
and making that problem worse.  Originally it was planned that repair
materials for the blanket would be sent up with Krystall. 

     Now for some analysis. The original plan called for the Kvant 2
module to attached to Mir, swung over to the side, docked there, and
then the Kristall module would be launched within about a month.  With
the Mir/Kvant complex forming a "L" shaped structure now there is
considerably more difficulty maintaining the orientation of the
system.  They may not have designed the software with much
consideration of Soyuz movement and Progress cargo craft, assuming
that none would arrive at that time.  Thus the software may have that
capability, but put an extra load on the station computers during what
was expected to be a short time.  Now they may need to rewrite the
software to better stabilize the station with lower computer load for
the more complex Mir/Kvants1/2/Soyuz/Progress arrangements that will
occur until the module arrives (and to guarantee the success of that
docking).  (Radio Moscow, AW&ST Apr. 23, Soviet Aerospace Apr. 9) 

    On Apr. 11th the Soviets launched their 16th Fonton type materials
processing capsule for a two week mission.  The French space agency,
CNES, paid $263,000 for the 17 Kg (26 lbs.) experiment which contains
as small crystal growth system for electro-optical materials that runs
at near room temperature. Glavcosmos is charging as little as $10,000
per Kg ($4500 per pound) for self contained experiments lifted into
orbit, and returned to Earth. One Soviet biological experiment ended
when six young Japanese Quails, hatched from eggs, but failed to adapt
to space, refused to eat and had to be put to sleep. West Germany has
signed an agreement for an eight day mission to Mir in 1992, for a
cost of $9 million. (AW&ST Apr. 23, Space News, Apr. 16)  The Soviet
journalist visit to Mir has been moved up to the Soyuz TM-10 mission
scheduled for July 22, to beat the Dec. 2 flight of a Japanese
reporter on Soyuz TM-11. The primary candidates are Svetalna
Omelchenko of Moscow's Vozdushny Transport (Air Transport) and Pavel
Mukhortov of Riga's Sovetskaya Moledesh (Soviet Youth). The July
mission will also bring up several IBM PC clones recently allowed for
export from the USA. (Spaceflight, Apr., AW&ST Apr. 23) 

    Meanwhile the British/Soviet Juno mission to Mir, scheduled for
1991, may be scrapped due to a lack of financial support.  Antequera,
the organization set up to run the mission, has failed to get
sufficient corporate sponsorship, and after the Moscow Narodny Bank
withdrew its seed money on that basis it also lost the major
contributor, ITV which was to pay 3 million pounds ($4.9 million) for
TV rights has pulled out.  Antequera need to raise 16 million pounds 
($26 million) and is trying to save at least some of the experiments.
The British government, arguing for private initiatives only on this
flight, is not contributing one red penny (sorry, I couldn't resist
that). (AW&ST Apr. 2, Nature Apr. 5, Space News Apr. 2) 

    The Soviet manned program itself is suffering money problems, with
a 28% budget cut this year according to Glavcosmos. This may be part
of the reason for the sending of only two men to Mir on the Soyuz TM-9
mission, rather than 3 as earlier expectations had been. (Space News.
Apr. 9)  Payload Systems, which rented part of Mir to do protein
crystallization experiments which came down in Feb. 19th, has been
pleased with the apparent lack of damage to the crystals after the G
stress of reentry.  Photographs taken of the samples while in orbit
and after landing showed little apparent damage.  X-ray diffraction of
the samples has been done but the results are still being analyzed.
(Lecture by Payload Systems at New England Business Roundtable, Mar.
20, AW&ST Apr. 2). 

      (Sorry that some of this news is a bit old but I have been
travelling for the past month in preparation for a job change and have
been cut off from the net.) 
 
                                                          Glenn Chapman
                                                          MIT Lincoln Lab

    The PM-3 unit has been de-orbited.  TASS said on Saturday
    that it was undocked on Friday (MSK) and reentered over the Pacific
    on Saturday.
    
    john
    

 
PROGRESS-42 RE-SUPPLY VEHICLE HEADS TOWARDS MIR.    6/5 TASS 2
 
   MOSCOW MAY 6 TASS - UNDER THE PROGRAMME OF THE FURTHER
OPERATION OF THE MIR ORBITAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COMPLEX, THE
SOVIET UNION LAUNCHED AN AUTOMATIC TANKER-TRANSPORT VEHICLE,
PROGRESS-42, AT 00:44 ON MAY 6, 1990.
   THE VEHICLE IS DESIGNED TO FERRY EXPENDXXVIV JGH
VARIOUS CARGOES TO THE MANNED SPACE STATION.
   ACCORDING TO TELEMETRY, THE ON-BOARD SYSTEMS OF THE
RE-SUPPLY SPACECRAFT ARE OPERATING NORMALLY.

ITEM ENDS +++
 

What is particularly noteworthy is the p-42 designator.  Possibly, a spare 
from the previous series and perhaps due to the rush putting together this 
launch (due to Kristall cancellation) they used it. I had thought the 
p series was gone. It would not seem likely that some reported created this 
designator--must be the official id.
 
One other possibility - it is do to the fact that they are having trouble 
keeping the MIR complex stable, I think the P## uses the old KURS docking 
system that assume the MIR complex is stationary, while the new PM units 
allows for both MIR and PM to move.

    
    cheers john
    
    

    There was one left over Progress unit, I checked old TASS
    reports and when they launched PM-1 they mention that they had one more
    Progess unit....
    
    john
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Progess 42 cargo ship docks with Soviet Mir space station
Date: 8 May 90 04:24:11 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     On May 5 a new cargo ship, Progress 42, was launched to the
Soviet's Mir space station.  It docked with Mir early in the morning
of May 8 and is said to have carried 2.5 Tonnes of food/fuel/supplies
to the station. The Radio Moscow announcement stated that this is the
last of the older Progress series, with the newer M being a reusable
replacement (M series has flown 3 times, beginning in Aug. 1989). It
may be that this has been utilized because of the problems with the
large Krystall expansion module which was to have flown to Mir early
in April.  That type of module typically brings about 7 tonnes of
supplies (with a total module mass of 20 tonnes).  Note that the older
Progress M-3 had separated from Mir on Apr. 28th and was burned up in
the atmosphere. (Radio Moscow May 5, 7, TASS announcements Apr. 29, May 6) 

    Anatoly Solovyov and Alexander Balandin have now been in orbit for
87 days, exceeding the 84-day Skylab 4 mission (Nov. 1973), the longest
US flight yet.  Indeed Solovyov, who also spent 9 days in zero G during
the Soyuz TM-5/Mir mission in June 1988, is now the 25th most experienced 
man in weightless flight.  All these top 25 positions are now occupied by 
Soviet cosmonauts. 

     It has been confirmed that the Soyuz TM-10 flight to Mir set for
July will not carry a Soviet journalist to the station.  Earlier
Soviet reporters had asked that the Soviet Journalist in Space
mission be moved up to that date so that their countrymen could fly
before the Japanese NHK reporter goes on the Soyuz TM-11 mission in
Dec.  However technical and training manners were too difficult to
make this change according to a TASS announcement.  Speculation is
that the $12 million payment by the NHK television network for the
Japanese visit is more important for their program than the prestige
of having the first reporter in space being from the USSR.  Of course
many journalist in the West do not consider Soviet reporters all that
highly so the gain by flying a Soviet first would not be all that
great.  (Space News Apr. 23, TASS announcement) 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    TASS confirmed that Kristal will be launch on the 1st of June.
    
    All indications are that there will be an EVA in the next few
    days, most likly to repair the solar blanket on the TM unit.
    
    cheers john
    

    
    	Has there been any "official" word as to the extent/cause of the
    damage and, are the consequences as grave as the media would have us 
    believe (i.e. "stranded) ????
    
    
    
    								Garry

  Is there some rumor of a problem with MIR?

  George

AW&ST was told by one of the C'nauts of the last mission that the current Soyuz
is damaged...some of the insulation blankets on the descent module are torn loose
on one end.  There seem to be two probs:  (1) the Soyuz is getting too cold and
condensation may cause electronic problems and (2) the insulation is covering
some of the Soyuz sensors required for descent.

There is (apparently) no *immediate* cause for alarm, but this means that they
could not make an emergency descent if necessary.  They are planning an EVA
after Kristal arrives to try to effect repairs.  It is not decided yet whether
to cut of the blankets (easy, but thermal problem is not solved) or try to
reattach the blanket (harder).

I wonder what happens to the blankets during reentry.  You would not think that
something like that would be exposed to the heat and airstream, but it must
be.  Either that or there is some missing skin that is supposed to cover it.

Burns

   .SOVIET SPACE CREW TO RETURN TO EARTH ON JULY 29.
   22/5 TASS 133 
   
   MOSCOW MAY 22 TASS - BY TASS CORRESPONDENT RENA KUZNETSOVA:
   ANATOLY SOLOVYOV AND ALEXANDER BALANDIN, THE CREW OF THE
SIXTH MAIN SPACE EXPEDITION, ARE SCHEDULED TO RETURN TO EARTH ON
JULY 29, THIS YEAR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE MISSION VIKTOR BLAGOV
TOLD TASS.
   "WE ARE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THE ORBITAL
SPACE COMPLEX MIR AS A WHOLE AND THE SOYUZ TM-9 TRENSPORT
SPACECRAFT IN PARTICULAR. THE PRESENT CREW HAS BEEN WORKING
ABOARD THE SOYUZ CRAFT FOR MORE THAN 100 DAYS NOW," HE SAID.
   "I AM SURPRISED AT THE CONCERN SHOWN BY FOREIGN NEWS AGENCIES
OVER THE SAFETY OF THE SOYUZ CRAFT," BLAGOV SAID. HE BELIEVES
THAT THEIR ASSERTIONS THAT THE TWO COSMONAUTS HAVE REMAINED
STRANDED IN SPACE -- "WITHOUT A RELIABLE ESCAPE VEHICLE" AA ARE
NOT ONLY UNFOUNDED BUT ARE SIMPLY INCORRECT. 
   "IT SEEMS TO ME THAT OUR FOREIGN COMPETITORS ARE DELIBERATELY
BLOWING THE ENTIRE AFFAIR OUT OF PROPORTION AND DEEDINGYJPNFBH
OVER THE SOYUZ CRAFT", BLAGOV WENT ON TO SAY.
   "NOT EVERYONE ABROAD LIKES THE FACT THAT IN RECENT YEARS THE
SOVIET UNION HAS FLUNG THE SPACE GATE WIDE OPEN FOR
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THE PEACEFUL STUDY AND USE OF THE
NEAR-EARTH SPACE.
   "WE INVITE THE WHOLE WORLD TO START WORK ON JOINT SPACE
MISSITNS, TO DELIVER CARGOES TO ORBIT AND LAUNCH VARIOUS
SATELLITES, AND WE ARE PREPARED TO PROVIDE THE HIGH-POWERED
SPACE BOOSTER ROCKET PROTON FOR THE PURPOSE.
   "EVER SINCE THE FLIGHT BY THE WORLDS FIRST COSMONAUT YURI
GAGARIN, THE SOVIET UNION HAS REGARDED ITS ACHIEVEMENTS IN SPACE
AS AN ASSET OF ALL OF MANKIND."
   RETURNING TO THE CURRENT FLIGHT, BLAGOV RENALLED THAT DAMAGE
TO THE SHIELD-VACUUM INSULATION WAS DETECTED WHEN THE SOYUZ TM-9
CRAFT WAS DOCKING WITH THE ORBITAL COMPLEX MIR.
   SEVERAL DAYS LATER, THE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED ON SOVIET
TELEVISION, A QUALIFIED EXPLANATION, AND THE DAMAGE WAS SAID TO
POSE NO DANGER TO THE COSMONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH.
   "IT IS UNCLEAR WHY WESTERN MEDIA SUDDENTLY PICKED UP THE
REPORT NOW, SHOWING THEIR CONCERN FOR THE LIFE OF THE SOVIET
SPACE CREW AFTER MORE THAN THREE MONTHS HAVE PASSED," BLAGOV
SAID.
   "THIS WAS PROMPTED MOUW PROBABLY BY A REPORT IN THE AMERICAN
AVIATION WEEK AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, WHICH DECIDED TO
OFFER SENSATIONAL NEWS" FROM THE SOVIET ORBITAL COMPLEX MIR,
WHEN THE CREW IS MARKING 100 DAYS IN WEIGHTLESS CONDITIONS. 
   "IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE DOCKING, THE COSMONAUTS THOROUGHLY
EXAMINED THE CRAFT," BLAGOV SAID. "WE SAW THAT ALL PARAMETERS
WERE NORMAL. THE COVER, WHICH IS DESIGNED TO HELP CURB THE
EXTREME TEMPERATURES DURING FLIGHT HAD COME LOOSE.
   "AS A SPECIALIST I KNOW THAT THE THREE LOOSE THERMAL BLANKETS
DO NOT PLAY ANY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN STABILISING THE CRAFTS
TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS. 
   "BY ORIENTING THE STATION WITH RESPECT TO THE SUN WE SELECTED
TEMPERATURE MODES: ONE THIRD OF THE DAY THE COMPLEX IS HEATED BY
THE SUN, DURING ANOTHER THIRD THE FLIGHT IS MADE IN ITS SHADOW
AND THE REST OF THE TIME IN A MODERATE ZONE.
   "THE THERMAL REGULATION SYSTEM MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN
NORMAL TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE COMPARTMENTS OF THE ORBITAL
COMPLEX. THE INSULATION WILL BE SECURED BACK IN PLACE DURING A
SPACEWALK."
   ITEM ENDS """
    

    my Impression is that the blankets are not needed for reentry
    but if a problem happen the the TM unit is used as a 'safe-house'
    and it could be to cold.  The blanets are used to keep the heat
    in (not for reentry).  A good example for the need for the TM
    unit would be a suden storm.  They normally would go into the
    TM unit and put the mass between them and the strom to ride it
    out...   No big problem as they could just simply send up a
    new unmanned TM unit and dump this one..
    
    john
    

    Kristall Module to blast off on Thursday,
    
    according to TASS it is set to blast off on May 31st
    I have calculated that the launch will be about 1026 UTC
    
    The best part will be a visual window for folks in the
    New England Area, both MIR and about 45 mins latter Kristall
    will be visuable on Thursday night if we get some good 
    weather...
    
    enjoy jb
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet Soyuz TM-9 problems not a risk to cosmonauts.
Date: 31 May 90 05:27:59 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     A number of news reports have been issued in the past week
concerning the damage to the Soyuz TM-9 capsule currently at the
Soviet Mir space station.  An article in the May 21 Aviation Week
and Space Technology prompted the reports, carrying the title "Damaged
Soyuz Spacecraft Puts Cosmonauts at Risk."  The interesting thing is
that almost all of the information discussed has been public knowledge
since Soyuz TM-8 came down on Feb. 14th (and even my postings contained 
them several months ago).  The truth, as far as I have been able to 
obtain, is far less lurid. 

    The facts are as follows.  During its launch on Feb. 11th, Soyuz
TM-9 appears to have developed a problem when the aerodynamic shroud
surrounding the capsule separated.  Three strips of the dark green
thermal insulating blankets which cover the descent section tore
loose, and are now floating outward from the craft, like petals from a
flower (note the Soyuz consists of three sections: a nearly spherical
orbital section at the front, a bell shaped descent module in the
center, and a cylindrical support section with two solar wings at the
rear - only the center section returns to Earth).  There are two 
areas of concern, the first being that thermal stress on the capsule
instrumentation will be increased possibly leading to a system
failure.  The most probably danger here is the build up of water or
ice if the module gets too cold. To prevent this the Soviets have been
restricting the orientation of Mir itself to keep the craft at a
moderate temperature. Note though that these blankets are not as
important as the highly reflective gold foil covering most US space
craft, their dark green colour indicates that (neither black to
radiate heat, or reflective to reject it). 

    The second worry is that the flapping of the blankets during
movement may disturb the horizon sensors at the reentry rocket
ignition.  This flapping was clearly seen during the Moscow Vermya TV
tapes of the Soyuz TM-9 movement to the front (ball end) of Mir in
February.  The blankets could be seen being moved by maneuvering jets.
TV reports at the time mentioned the difficulty and said there was no
treat to the cosmonauts. 

     Since this hit the news there have been articles in Isvestia (as
reported on the BBC), and announcements by TASS.  All repeated the
points above, stated there was no danger and spokesman noted that the
blankets played only a subsidiary role in the capsule temperature
maintenance. Finally some discussion of the needed repairs was made. 
When the Progress 42 cargo craft docked May 8th it brought up some of
the repair materials, but most will be in the 20 Tonne Krystall
expansion module for Mir, planed for a May 31 launch.  Cosmonauts
Anatoly Solyov and Alexander Balandin will then take a space walk to
reattach the blankets by first exiting the Kvant 2 airlock from the
module sitting on the side of Mir.  Then an extendible lander will be
set up between Kvant 2 and Soyuz TM-9 (docked to the front ball port
axis) which the space walker will move along.  He will either reattach
the insulation or cut it off.  (AW&ST May 20, BBC May 20, TASS May 22)

     Two other points here.  On May 22 the Progress 42 tanker craft
was used to refuel Mir, then separated from it on May 27th, and
reentered on the 28th.  The Solyov and Balandin then moved Soyuz TM-9
from the front to the rear port in preparation for Krystall's launch. 
As the Soviets have always been very conservative with their long
duration capsules this suggests they had little worry about this one. 
Once they separated the capsule from the station they would have real
problems if there was a failure in the Soyuz.  Secondly if there was
significant concern all they would likely do is send up a new unmanned
capsule for the crew to use.  At worst, if there was no spare on the
ground (unlikely as that is), they could cancel the Soyuz TM-10
mission set for July and use it.  The Soviets have done this before:
in Apr. 1979.  Soyuz 33 failed to dock with their earlier Salyut 6
station, leaving the Soyuz 32 crew with a capsule that had exceeded
the 90 day orbital rating in force at that time.  All they did was
launch Soyuz 34 unmanned in Jun. 1979, return the Soyuz 33 unmanned,
and bring the crew down in the new capsule (incidentally setting the
desired space endurance record of 175 days at that time).  Reports on
TV here talking about a NASA rescue ignore that, the difficulty of
putting the shuttle in the right orbit without flying a special
mission, and the fact that long before any US flight could occur the
USSR could launch its own rescue craft. 

     In summary these reports seemed so strange that I wished to
confirm that no new information had come out before I posted this
note.  What it shows most is how a sensational report, even when not
put in the proper prospective, can generate lots of coverage of a
space event. Unfortunately, many reporters are even more uneducated on
Soviet programs then they are on Western programs. 

     Currently cosmonauts Solovyov and Balandin, who have spent 109
days in orbit, are preparing for the arrival of the Krystall expansion
module, scheduled for a May 31 launch according to TASS.  However,
note that at this time (late May 30th) there has been no mention of
this launch for several days.  They will be returning on July 29th
after the Soyuz TM-10 crew arrives. 
 
                                                Glenn Chapman
                                                MIT Lincoln Lab
  

    TASS has announced the Launch of Kristall to be at 14:33 MSK.
    
    The 19.5 ton module will  link up on the 6th of June if all
    goes according to schedule.
    
    The new module will produce clear water and extra strong 
    crystals that can be use din electronics industry and in
    spacecraft solar batteries.
    
    john
    

    The module was spoted last night, looks good, the booster
    was also spoted flahing with a period of less the 1 sec.
    
the latest element set  are
    
    kristal                        (Launch 90-48-  A)   Set:    2, Obj:  20635
          Epoch Year: 1990  Day: 151.556918580    Orbit #       2
          Inclination  =  51.65120000     R.A.A.N      =  55.92250000
          Eccentricity =   0.00832860     Arg of Per   =  87.83890000
          Mean Anomaly = 273.28500000     Mean Motion  =  16.01539115
          Drag         =  0.00000E+00     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6648.2509     Anom Period  =      89.9135
          Apogee Ht    =     325.4616     Perigee Ht   =     214.7203

    kristal booster                (Launch 90-48-  B)   Set:    2, Obj:  20636
          Epoch Year: 1990  Day: 151.556637970    Orbit #       2
          Inclination  =  51.63960000     R.A.A.N      =  55.92730000
          Eccentricity =   0.00689430     Arg of Per   =  86.73820000
          Mean Anomaly = 274.22080000     Mean Motion  =  16.05449405
          Drag         =  0.23928E-01     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6637.4514     Anom Period  =      89.6945
          Apogee Ht    =     305.0520     Perigee Ht   =     213.5308

    
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: USSR's Krystall expansion module launched for Mir space station
Date: 31 May 90 22:31:31 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     The USSR successfully launched the new the 20 Tonne Krystall
expansion module for the Mir space station May 31 (today) at 2:33 pm
Moscow Time (6:33 EDT)  using  a Proton booster from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. Currently all systems are operating perfectly.  The
planned docking with Mir will occur on June 6th on the axial docking
port at the front "ball" section of Mir. Shortly there after the
module will be swung to one of the four side docking ports on that
ball by means of a robot arm attached to the new section itself. This
module is almost the same size as the core section of Mir, and will
deploy solar panels producing up to 20 Kilowatts of power, doubling
Mir's capacity.  Its main function is to study crystal growth and
materials processing in zero G.  In addition at its front end is a
ball style docking port designed to take the Buran type shuttle.
Krystal is also carrying supplies to help repair the Soyuz TM-9 craft,
which has several lose thermal blankets. 

     Kristall has had some problems getting off the ground, as the
launched was originally to be in February, then the end of March was
set, Apr. 9, followed by Apr. 19th.  It appears at that time software
problems on board the Mir station computers were causing problems with
the docking tests.  These are now stated as having been ratified.    
When Krystall docks to Mir it will complete the second stage of Mir's
expansion.  At this point it will have both room and power that the
NASA space station will not achieve before 1997. In spite of this the
launch was shown on Vermya (Moscow TV's nightly news) but only after
programs on the USA and Canadian visits of Gorbachev. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

    a friendly chat between father and son....early nineties...., 
                                   
    Astro-dad: what to do you want to be when you grow up son???
    
    Astroboy:  a cosmonaut.....,!!!
    
    
    

    The Kristal Module did not dock at the expected time,
    no news yet on why the delay
    
    joh

The story is as follows.  An attitude control thruster failed and
the docking computer cancelled the operation--they will try
again either this weekend or next.
    

    They will try again on the 10 of June.  The computers 
    indicated that one of the orientation engines was cut off after 
    the computer indicated that it had continued to function dangerously
    long.  There is enought fule aboard the module to make several
    attempts at docking..
    
    john
    

From: glenn@VLSI.LL.MIT.EDU (Glenn Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: USSR's Krystall module has problems that put off docking to Mir
Date: 7 Jun 90 00:37:26 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
     Problems have occurred on the Soviet Union's Krystall, a new 
19.5 Tonne expansion module for their Mir space station.  Launched
successfully on May 31 all systems seemed operational until today
(June 6).  Then Vermya, Moscow Nightly television news, ran a piece
from the space control center talking about problems with the craft
(which I could not follow) and showed a number of worried looking
people.  Radio Moscow on the evening of June 6th then announced that
the docking had been delayed until "next wednesday" (June 13) due to a
failure of an attitude control rocket on Krystall.  This requires a
reprogramming of the on board docking computers before the rather
tricky docking with the Mir space station's forward ball docking port.
Docking will take place on the axis and then Krystall will be
transferred to the side port opposite the Kvant 2 expansion module. 

     This means there has been a problem with all three modules
launched to Mir.  Kvant 1 in Mar. 1987 had a piece of plastic stuck to
its docking mechanism which required a space walk to remove.  Then
Kvant 2 in Nov. 1989 suffered a failure of a solar panel to deploy
properly.  By maneuvering the craft they successfully locked the solar
array in place and completed the docking.  This suggests they will
probably succeed with Krystall as well. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab

From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.hot.east_europe
Subject: Malfunction delays space station linkup
Date: 6 Jun 90 21:37:32 GMT

	MOSCOW (UPI) -- A mechanical malfunction prevented the linkup
Wednesday of a vital module with the Mir space station in persisting
troubles for the Soviet space program, delaying delivery of equipment
needed for a spacewalk repair job.

	The official news agency Tass said the ``Kristall'' module was
maneuvered into position for docking with the space station, manned by
cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Alexander Balandin, but problems with
small maneuvering jets prevented an on-time docking.

	``The first start-up of the propulsion unit was carried out at the
scheduled time,'' Tass said. ``But the second start-up failed due to
malfunctioning of orientation system engines.''

	It said space engineers are studying the problem and will try for a
weekend docking of the 20-ton module.

	``The linkup of the module with the Mir station has been put off
until June 9-10,'' Tass said.

	The Kristall module was designed to attach to the Mir station,
giving the cosmonauts an extra experiment station, one that will be used
to manufacture materials in space in a program that Soviet officials
hope will help finance the costly space program.

	The Kristall, which has been dubbed a ``microfactory in orbit,''
was launched May 31 aboard an unmanned Proton rocket after repeated
technical delays.

	Along with experimental gear, the module also carried equipment for
a spacewalk to repair the Soyuz ferry ship the cosmonauts will use to
return to Earth later this summer.

	The Soyuz capsule used by Balandin and Solovyov was damaged
slightly on takeoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in September.

	Thermal protection blankets needed to shield the craft from the
intense heat of re-entry were pulled away from the spaceship and will
have to be repaired in a spacewalk.

	Despite widespread attention in the West, the Soviet media has said
the problem in no way endangers the crew and that it will be easily
rectified by the time the cosmonauts have to come home.

	The Mir space station, the centerpiece of the Soviet space program,
was launched in February 1986 shortly after the American Challenger
shuttle tragedy.

	Manned continuously execpt for a four-month period in 1989, the Mir
is supposed to give cosmonauts experience in long-term spaceflight with
an eye toward a future trip to Mars and back.

	As a station that can be expanded by modules, the Mir also is the
basic building block of future space colonies that can manufacture
materials and also carry out space experiments.

	Already attached to the Mir is the 20-tone Kvant-2 module,
essentially a specialized spacecraft used for astrophysical research.

    On the 10th of June the Kristall module sucessfully docked with the MIR
    orbital Complex.  All indications are that the rendezvous and docking
    went without a problem.  On Monday, the 11th of June, the module will
    be transferred to the axial port opposit the Kvant-2 module, giving
    MIR a 'T' shape.
    
    I would expect an EVA latter this month to repari the damaged thermal
    blankets of the Soyuz TM-9 spacecraft.
    
    john
    

From:	DECWRL::"glenn@vlsi.ll.mit.edu" "Glenn Chapman" 11-JUN-1990 10:35:08.01
Subj:	Soviet Union's Krystall expansion module successfully docks with Mir 

      The Soviet Union successfully docked its new 19.5 tonne
expansion module, called Krystall, to their Mir space station on June
10th (some time between 9 am and 7 pm EDT).  Launched successfully on
May 31 problems occurred on the first docking attempt on June 6th.  At
that time the announcement was that an attitude rocket had failed two
hours before the docking.  Later analysis on June 7th suggested that
instead of an engine fault, the onboard computer had decided that the
rocket was being used too much, thus shutting it down.  This moved up
the proposed docking from the rescheduled date of June 13th to June
10th.  As expected docking took place on the forward ball docking
mechanism, using the axial port.  If they follow the same pattern as
Kvant 2 in Nov. '89 in about 24-48 hours they will use the robot arm
on Krystall to transfer it from the axil port to the side port of the
ball opposite the Kvant 2 module. 

     This addition will increase the mass of Mir itself by about 39%,
to 71 Tonnes, plus another 7 Tonnes for the Soyuz TM-9 for a total of
79 Tonnes. Actual weight may be about 10 Tonnes higher because this
ignores equipment brought up on the Progress tankers, 21 of which have
visited Mir and delivered some 48 Tonnes of supplies/equipment to the
station (about half of that fuel/water/air).  It will also increase
station volume will increase from about 192 cubic meters (6700 cu ft.)
to 272 cubic meters (9600 cu. ft.) Station electrical power will
double to about 39 Kilowatts.  Krystall contains 4 furnaces, called
Krater 3, Optizon 1, Zona 2 and Zona 3.  These are designed for
substantial materials processing, at a pilot plant level, and require
the huge power supply that Krystall carries with it for full
operation.  More importantly the movement of Krystall to the side of
Mir will certainly reduce the difficulty in keeping Mir properly
aligned which result from the Kvant 2 module being on the side.  The
previous L shaped asymmetric side mounting means that Earth's gravity
turn the station from the angle they wish to fly it in.  This is
especially important for the Kvant 1 astrophysical observations, which
require precise station pointing.  The was substantially increased
firings of the attitude rockets, increasing fuel usage.  The new T
shaped configurative should considerably reduce all these problems. 

     One other point. As noted in previous postings Krystall has
brought up a ladder and other equipment to be used in the repair of
the blankets that have come lose on the Soyuz TM-9 craft.  Cosmonauts
Anatoly Solyov and Alexander Balandin will first fly Soyuz TM-9 to the
front docking port, then do a space walk to repair the craft plus
probably inspect the Kvant 2 - Krystall docking. It is probable that
they will do this before Progress M-4 is launched, sometime in the
next few weeks.  That way if something else is needed for the repair
they will be able to send it up on the next supply ship.  Currently
the crew is scheduled to come down on July 29th. 

     Mir has how nearly completed, successfully, the second stage of
its expansion.  Krystall is expected to make the Soviets money by
extensive materials processing.  We will see if this comes true. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
 

    
The Kristall Module on the 11 of JUNE  was redocked from the axial docking port
of the transfer compartment to the lateral one.

Docking failed on the 6th of June because of a malfunctioning engine,
a stand-by set was used on the 10th of June and docking was successful.

The Cosmonauts have open the transfer hatches and began to active the
specialized technological module Kristall.

One of the first units to be activaed will be the "MICRON ORBIT"
for the production of high quality semi-comducots.  It is expected
that sufficient amount of semi-conductors to pay back the cost
of the Module.

john\

 
Following from UPI----
 
UPn  06/23 1421  Soviets confirm problem in space
 
   MOSCOW (UPI) -- The two cosmonauts aboard the Soviet Union's
   Mir space station must repair their Soyuz 9 transport rocket
   before they can return to Earth, the official Izvestia
   newspaper said Saturday. The report confirmed the main points
   of a dispatch last month in the aerospace magazine Aviation
   Week and Space Technology saying the cosmonauts were stranded
   until the repairs can be made. The report was denied at the
   time by Soviet media, including Izvestia. Izvestia said
   Saturday the lives of the crew are not threatened. The problem
   on the Soyuz involves part of the outer heat shield that was
   torn off during the flight taking the cosmonauts to the Mir or
   during docking, leaving a piece dangling from the spacecraft.
   "For four months the ship with this hole has been in orbit,"
   Izvestia said. "It was necessary to (take special measures) to
   maintain the normal temperature in the apparatus, which has
   lost part of its `fur coat.' "Otherwise, during the landing
   the systems of the ship might go out of control." The two
   cosmonauts aboard the orbiting space station will have to take
   ten days from their normal work to plan and perform the repair
   on the Soyuz, including a space walk July 17, Izvestia said.
   The mission was extended from its original planned conclusion
   in mid-July because of the problem. A new crew is now
   scheduled to arrive at the Mir station Aug. 1 and the
   cosmonauts currently aboard will leave Aug. 9.
 
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/26/90 (Forwarded)
Date: 26 Jun 90 18:07:15 GMT
Reply-To: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, June 26, 1990             Audio Service: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, June 26:
  
Seven expert Soviet engineers from the Moscow Aviation Institute will
participate in a unique exchange program at the University of Alabama.
They plan to discuss technological studies of several principal areas
of spacecraft design and related topics, according to space fax daily.
The Institute is a prominent center of aviation and space technology
in the Soviet Union.  Faculty members have designed the Soyuz craft 
and the manned maneuvering "Arm Chair" recently deployed on a cruise
around the Soviet MIR space station. 
_________________________________________________________________
Here's the broadcast scheule for Public Affairs events on NASA 
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.
 
    Tuesday, June 26:
 
      12:00-2:00 P.M.             NASA Video Programs.
 
    Thursday, June 28:
 
      11:30 A.M.                  NASA Update will be transmitted.
 
      12:00-2:00 P.M.             NASA Video Progams. 
_________________________________________________________________
All events and times are subject to change without notice.  These 
reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 P.M. 
EDT.  This is a service of the Internal Communications Branch, 
NASA HQ.  Contact:  JSTANHOPE or CREDMOND on NASAmail or at 
202/453-8425.
_________________________________________________________________
NASA Select TV:  Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 Degrees 
West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.
_________________________________________________________________

    Radio Moscow said this morning that the replacement crew for MIR will
    be launch on the 1st of Aug.
    
    john
    

The current occupants of Mir held a q&a session with some children at the Boston
Museum and Science Center a couple days ago.  In answer to a question about the
state of their Soyuz, they indicated that they would be doing a space walk to
fix it within a few days.

I presume that a new crew coming up means the old one will go down.  That implies
they had better get it fixed by 1 Aug or so!  In fact, I would think they would
want to try real soon so that the new crew can ferry up any new materials that
they might discover that they need.


Burns

I have been reading into the articles on the Soviet EVA and here 
is my analysis on last week events:

The Cosmonauts left the ladder attached, this indicates to me that  
they were not done their work. The TASS article also stated that they
had folded and peg two of the 'solar blankets'. I don't this this was
a TASS error, I think they still will have to go out to secure the third.  
Thus TM9 is not totally repaired.  There are mixed message about the 
status of TM9 bolts, but recent publications indicated that this will not 
be a problem.  The Cosmonauts will try to do another EVA on this Thursday.
Meantime on the ground it is rumored that a 4 man TM crew is being
brought up to flight status.  This is an indication of a 'rescue' mission,
if so then there would have to be a 3 man return crew on the next two
TM returns.

The Cosmonauts are in good health and were joking when they return
from their 7 hours in raw space.  

cheers john

 
    

From:	DECWRL::"glenn@vlsi.ll.mit.edu" "Glenn Chapman" 17-JUL-1990 23:10:03.38
Subj:	Mir cosmonauts prepare for space walk July 17th 

    The Soviets have announced on short wave that the Mir station
crew, Anatoly Solyov and Alexander Balandin, are preparing for the
space walk to repair the Soyuz TM-9 late today (July 17). As noted in
previous postings the new expansion module, Krystall, brought up a
ladder and other equipment on June 10 to be used in the repair of the
thermal blankets that have come lose on the Soyuz TM-9 landing craft.
TV pictures of the cosmonauts entering Krystall showed them climbing
over a very large package set with a ladder like structure on the top
of it (probably the EVA ladder). Solyov and Balandin have flown the
Soyuz TM-9 to the front docking port in preparation for the walk. It
may be possible that they will plan to do this repair now so that if
problems occur the next cargo ship, Progress M-4, could bring up
anything else they need for this repair. However, the time remaining
may preclude this as to make time for the EVA the Soyuz TM-11
replacement crew will be arriving on Aug. 1, while the Solyov and
Balandin will return on Aug. 8th (delayed from the original July
29th). (Radio Moscow July 16) 
 
    The long delay in Krystall's docking has severally curtailed the
expected return from this Soyuz flight.  Originally it was planned
that the mission would produce 105 million roubles in processed
material on Krystall for return in Soyuz TM-10.  Since the flight cost
80 million roubles this would indicate a 25 million roubles "profit." 
However, now only 20% of the originally planned time is available for
zero G processing.  Even so the successful docking of Krystall and
Kvant 2 has allowed them to go ahead with the production of the next
two modules, planned for biomedical and Earth observation activities. 
Current crews complain that 80% of their working day is spent
preparing activities and equipment.  They find insufficient foot/hand
holds to keep them at their workbenches, and have rigged a set of
ropes to aid in such activities or moving around the station.  Also up
to 80 waste containers have accumulated on Mir because they need
permission of the station controller/designer to eject them. Lessons
on this station are being applied to the new Mir 2, which is currently
being designed, and will look more like the NASA space station rather
than the current soviet series, but with a mass growing from 50 to 600
Tonnes during it lifetime.  Flight time is expected in the early
1990s (Spaceflight Jun. '90, and Radio Moscow) 
 
    The Soviet officials have stated that the second flight of their
shuttle system in 1991 will carry a module allowing a docking attempt
with the Mir space station. The vehicle used will be the second
shuttle, Buran is being retired. The first activity will be a docking
by the unmanned shuttle with Mir's Krystall module.  Then the Mir crew
will undock their Soyuz capsule from Mir, while the shuttle leaves the
station, and both ships dock in mid flight.  The Soyuz will return to
Mir while the shuttle returns to Earth. Western researchers were shown
versions of the shuttle's docking port recently in Russia.  (Space
News June 11, AW&ST Jun. 11). 
 
                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        MIT Lincoln Lab
 
From:	DECWRL::"isg@bfmny0.BFM.COM" "MAIL-11 Daemon" 18-JUL-1990 11:28:22.21
Subj:	Cosmonauts repair Soyuz in EVA & a farewell to the net 

      On board the Mir space station the Cosmonauts Anatoly Solyov and
Alexander Balandin have completed a space walk to repair their Soyuz
TM-9 capsule, but with some difficulties.  This walk was necessitated
by the insulating blankets which had come lose around the bell shaped
landing section of the Soyuz craft.  About 160 seconds into the launch
on Feb. 11 3 of the eight triangular shaped blankets broke lose from
their holding clips at the point where the aerodynamic shroud was
ejected. There were three worries here.  First the dark green coloured
blankets provide some thermal insulation for the outer section of the
capsule, and there was some concern that cold temperatures there could
cause some water condensation (the active systems on the Soyuz would
keep most of the craft in good a thermal range).  Secondly, these
blankets cover a heavier insulation that protects the craft during
reentry, and it was possible this would be damaged either during
launch or in orbit. Finally, these lose blankets are seen flapping
around when the craft was moved from one Mir port to another.  They
might interfere with the horizon sensors of the Soyuz during reentry. 
To compensate for the thermal problems Mir has been kept in a mode
which maintained the temperature of the Soyuz somewhat constant and
moderate, at the cost of restricting some of the experiments that
require precise pointing of the Kvant astrophysical module's telescopes. 
 
      With all of this in mind the Solyov and Balandin prepared for
this walk by observing video tapes of the simulations of this space
walk repair in the Star City water tank, and receiving instructional
material from Earth.  While neither has done Extra Vehical Activities,
both have had much training on Earth for these.  Late July 17th Solyov
and Balandin exited the space station and used a small ladder extended
from the Kvant 2 module to the capsule (Kvant 2 is docked perpendicular 
to the Mir station body, while the Soyuz is docked to the axial port 
at the front of the station).  The ladder was employed instead of 
their manned maneuvering unit which would not be stable enough for 
the repairs (they were worried about hitting some of the antennae on 
the capsule damaging both the capsule and the cosmonaut's suit). 

    In a six hour walk they first cut away the loses panels, but the
report did not mention trying to replace them.  Then the cosmonauts
carefully inspected the outside of the Soyuz for damage to the second
layer of insulation, apparently finding none.  Problems developed
during the reentry to the station.  The cosmonauts had apparently
failed to close an air lock door properly, and hence could not enter
the station.  The short wave report stated they used a small secondary
door to enter the station.  One can speculate that this means there
were problems with the primary airlock and they used the secondary
entrance to return (Mir has a small airlock on the station, and a
larger one on the Kvant 2 module).  The walk must have been considered
successful in the repair because the report concludes with statements
that Solyov and Balandin (who have been in orbit for 156 days) will
return on Aug.  9th as previously announced.  (Radio Moscow, Vermya
July 17, Spaceflight July '90) 
 
     This is probably my last posting to the net for many months
unless something important comes up in the next day or so.  I am
leaving my post at M.I.T.  Lincoln Lab for an Associate Professorship
at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Yes
I am another one of "them there Canadians" that seem to bother some
people by our comments on the net).  Hence my recent postings have not
been as timely as they could have been.  It will probably be more than
a month before I will be able to send out anything else.  I hope that
some other person on the net can cover the Soviet area during until I
return.  It has been my pleasure to help keep the people on the net
informed of the goings on in the USSR's space program.  I took on that
task because the information of what they are doing there needs to be
widely spread if we are to put the space programs of all Earth's
people into proper perspective.  I hope it has been useful to some of
you out there. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
 
    UPn 07/18 1038 Cosmonauts repair spaceship, but problems loom
 
    By JAMES ROSEN

   MOSCOW (UPI) -- Cosmonauts on the orbiting Mir station ended a
seven-hour emergency space walk early Wednesday, repairing insulation
around the Soyuz TM-9 capsule that is to take them back to Earth next
month.

   The official Tass news agency said Cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov and
Alexander Balandin successfully completed their troubleshooting mission
but a British magazine said the effects of the latest mishap in the
problem-plagued Mir program still could endanger their scheduled Aug.  9
return home.

   "The principle task of their work outside the (Mir) station was to
determine the cause of the opening of several blankets of the Soyuz TM-9
spacecraft's screen-vacuum thermal insulation and to fix them to ensure a
safe return to Earth," Tass said.

   Solovyov and Balandin, the 22nd and 23rd cosmonauts to visit the Mir
since it was launched Feb. 20, 1986, began their space walk Tuesday at
5:06 p.m.  Moscow time and returned to the space station just past
midnight, Tass said.

   "That was probably one of the longest space walks ever made," Steven
Young, assistant editor of the London-based Spaceflight magazine, told
United Press International.

   Young said the cosmonauts' spacesuits are only designed for a maximum
six hours in open space and that the extended walk likely forced Solovyov
and Balandin to use emergency oxygen reserves.

   Tass said they used special extending ladders to stay close to the
spacecraft while reattaching the insulation.

   "After inspecting and video-filming elements of the spaceship's
structure, the cosmonauts fixed the two opened blankets of thermal
insulation," the Soviet news agency said.

   Solovyov and Balandin reported feeling normal at the end of "strenuous
working day," it said.

   But the British magazine quoted two other Soviet cosmonauts as saying
that the spacecraft's re-entry heat shield may have been damaged while
the insulation sheets were torn free.

   The shield was not designed for exposure to the harsh environment of
space and may have been harmed by radiation, atomic oxygen or the sudden
swings of temperature, senior cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov and trainee
cosmonaut Sergei Kirkalev told the magazine.

   They said four research institutes were working on the problem and
that four cosmonauts were being trained for a possible emergency rescue
mission, with a decision to be made by Aug.  1.

   Dzhanibekov and Kirkalev said the unplanned exposure caused by the
separated insulation also may have damaged several bolts that separate
the Soyuz descent capsule from its engine compartment.

   If the bolts fail to operate properly, the spaceship could re-enter
Earth's atmosphere with its engine compartment still attached, placing
Solovyov and Balandin in grave danger, said their two fellow cosmonauts. 

   "It is quite possible (the bolts) are not in good condition,"
Dzanibekov told the magazine.

   In another problem for the mission, when Solovyov and Balandin ended
their space walk, they did not close the escape hatch of the Kvant-2
module through which they had left the Mir seven hours earlier, Tass said.

   Tass did not say why the door was left open, but Young said the
cosmonauts would likely have to take another space walk to close it.

   Solovyov and Balandin are to complete the 10th manned mission to the
Mir on Aug.  9 with their scheduled landing at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
the Soviet Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan.

   Moscow had hoped their six-month mission would earn $40 million in
hard currency from the United States and other nations sponsoring applied
research on the space station.

   But the recurrent problems with the Mir have prompted newly emboldened
Soviet lawmakers and journalists to question the $17.1 billion annual
cost and direction of their country's space program.

   Delays in launching the Kvant-2 module addition to the Mir forced the
Soviets to leave the space station empty for 132 days last year.

   After the Kvant-2 was finally launched, one of its solar power panels
failed to unfold.  The module's docking mechanism then malfunctioned last
Dec.  6, forcing the crew then on the Mir to use manual controls to
connect it to the space station.
 
    APn 07/18 0819 Soviet-Space
 
    By ANDREW KATELL
    Associated Press Writer

   MOSCOW (AP) -- Two cosmonauts who walked in space to fix their
spacecraft had to use an emergency hatch to re-enter the Mir space
station when the normal hatch failed to close completely, Soviet media
reported today.

   The two, Anatoly Solovyev and Alexander Balandin, spent seven hours
outside the spacecraft Tuesday repairing thermal insulation that had
partially ripped apart and threatened to interfere with their safe return
to Earth, Tass said.

   The official news agency said the crew, after leaving the space
station, inspected the torn insulation on the Soyuz TM-9 capsule and,
"with the help of metal clamps, fixed the two loose shield fragments."

   When the repair work was finished, the cosmonauts faced a new
problem:  the outer door to the entrance chamber would not close,
preventing them from achieving the hermetical seal needed to open the
inner door.

   Tass said Solovyev and Balandin entered through a hatch in one of the
space station's two scientific modules.  "They sealed it hermetically and
took off their space suits," the news agency said.

   The entire operation took about two hours longer than scheduled, Tass
said.  Ground controllers expressed confidence there would be no problems
when the two cosmonauts return to Earth on Aug.  9.

   "According to the results we have gotten so far ...  we can almost
definitely state that it (the thermal insulation problem) will not affect
the landing," said flight controller Vladimir A.  Solovyev in an
interview from the Baikonur Space Center in Soviet Central Asia.

   The report by the flight controller, who is a former cosmonaut, was
broadcast live Tuesday night by the evening news program Vremya.

   The program showed a fuzzy picture of the Soyuz spacecraft with what
appeared to be flapping thermal insulation.  Part of the insulation has
been flapping uselessly for months.  Soviet officials extended the
cosmonauts stay in space so they could make the repairs.  They had been
scheduled to return July 30 after nearly six months in space.

   The emergency repairs were the latest in a series of problems in the
Soviet Union's manned space program, which for decades has been a source
of national pride.  For the past two years, the program has been plagued
by docking equipment malfunctions, cosmonaut errors and budget cuts.

   The damage probably occurred during the Soyuz capsule's launch Feb.
11, when a ground rescue structure apparently scratched the thermal
blanket, according to Deputy Flight Director Viktor Blagov.

   Soviet officials have minimized the danger, saying the capsule could
withstand such damage to its thermal blanket, the newspaper Izvestia
reported.

   "No one is concerned here.  It is an abnormal situation but
controllable," said Vsyeva Latyshev, a spokesman at the Soviet Mission
Control Center in Kaliningrad, north of Moscow.  He spoke in a telephone
interview.

   But James Oberg, an American specialist on the Soviet space program,
said that although the cosmonauts managed to climb back into Mir safely,
the hatch problem could complicate future spacewalks.

   "The general crisis was not fully resolved," Oberg, author of several
books on the Soviet space program, said in a telephone interview
Wednesday from his Texas home.
 

From:	DECWRL::"glenn@vlsi.ll.mit.edu" "Glenn Chapman" 19-JUL-1990 15:35:11.85
Subj:	Cosmonauts to make new walk to repair stuck airlock door 

      The cosmonauts on the Soviet Mir space station, Anatoly Solyov
and Alexander Balandin, will be doing another space walk in the next
two weeks to clear up the air lock problems that occurred during their
reentry to Mir.  After successfully repairing the Soyuz capsule in a 6
hour walk their suits were low on air when they found that the door to
the Kvant 2 air lock would not properly close.  Not having time to fix
this difficulty they used an emergency entrance to the pressurized
section of the air lock where they could remove their suits.  While
the reports do not state it properly it appears that the Kvant 2 air
lock contains an inner section where the suits are keep, with an air
tight door to the space exit section. This is something that was often
talked about in the old science fiction stories so that there was a
back up system in case the outer door failed.  No information was
given as to when the new EVA will occur. 

      I probably will not be able to cover the next space walk due to
my move.  Hope some else does. 
 
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  MIT Lincoln Lab
  
    UPn 07/20 0036 Cosmonauts may need second spacewalk next week
 
    By GERALD NADLER

   MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two Soviet cosmonauts who made a harrowing seven-hour
spacewalk to fix the spaceship that is to take them home may have to
venture from the Mir station again next week to close a balky hatch,
mission control said.

   "They might have to go out into outer space next week, perhaps July
26 or July 27," Viktor Blagov, head of flight missions to the Mir
space station, told United Press International.  "We are studying the
situation.  The majority of our specialists think they will have to go out." 

   Blagov, speaking Thursday from the Soviet space program's
mission-control center in the town of Kaliningrad near Moscow, insisted
cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov and Alexander Balandin are not endangered and
there is no impediment to their safe return to Earth scheduled for Aug. 9.

   "There is no danger whatsoever to the cosmonauts, the spaceship or the
Mir station," Blagov said.

   Solovyov and Balandin spent seven hours in open space Tuesday evening,
reattaching insulation on the Soyuz TM-9 capsule only to return to the
Mir and find they could not shut the hatch.

   The balky door is on the Kvant-2 astrophysics module, one of two
additions -- plus the spaceship -- attached to the basic Mir orbiting
space station.  The entire complex, which has four docking pads for
scientific module additions and two pads for spaceships, weighs 90 tons
with its attachments.

   Solovyov and Balandin made their way into space by first going through
the 20-ton Kvant module.

   Blagov, who helped direct the Soviet-U.S. Soyuz-Apollo linkup in
1975, said the open hatch is on the outside of the Kvant module, far from
the space station itself.

   "The station has three sections," Blagov said.  "They are hermetically
sealed and isolated from each other like in a submarine.  The very
outside section has the hatch that is not closed."

   The official news agency Tass said the cosmonauts needed two hours to
move along the giant Mir and reach the docked Soyuz TM-9.

   "They rested when the complex was in Earth's shadow, fearing they
would lose their way in the dark," Tass said.

   Tuesday evening, Balandin and Solovyov ventured outside the Mir for
seven hours to repair the spacecraft's thermal installation, damaged on
liftoff five months ago when it carried the cosmonauts to the Mir.

   "That was probably one of the longest space walks ever made," Steven
Young, assistant editor of the London-based magazine Spaceflight told UPI.

   The craft the cosmonauts repaired is to take them home to Earth, and
their replacement crew is scheduled to soar aloft from Baikonur
cosmodrome Aug. 1.  No deviation from the schedule has been reported.

   Vladimir Shatalin, head of cosmonaut training and a veteran of three
flights, said there is no need to send up a special spaceship.

   "They will return on their own spaceship," Shatalin said late Wednesday.

   Moscow had hoped the six-month mission would earn $40 million in hard
currency from the United States and other nations sponsoring applied
research on the space station.

   But recurrent problems with the Mir have prompted newly emboldened
Soviet lawmakers and journalists to question the $17.1 billion annual
cost of the space program and its direction.

   Delays in launching the Kvant-2 astrophysics module to the Mir forced
the Soviets to leave the space station unmanned for 132 days last year.

   Solovyov and Balandin are the 22nd and 23rd cosmonauts to visit the
Mir since it was launched Feb.  20, 1986, just after the U.S.  Challenger
space shuttle disaster.
 
    UPma 07/19 1055 Soviets given limited access to NASA
 
   CLEVELAND (UPI) -- Two Soviet scientists invited to speak at the NASA
Lewis Research Center found security tight once guards learned where they
were from.

   "When I got to the gate and said this person is from Russia, everybody
panicked," said John Gyekenyesi, manager of the structural integrity
research group at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
center in Cleveland.

   "I don't know what our security people imagined, but it was like an
old movie," Gyekenyesi said.  "They acted as if these people were going
to blow NASA up."

   Irene Victorova and Alexander Bogdanovich were prohibited from
visiting the laboratories at Lewis.

   They were permitted in the visitor's center, the administration
building and the cafeteria, and they gave their scheduled lectures
Tuesday on testing the safety of aircraft materials.
 

"COSMONAUTS-SPACEWALK  " 
    .Cosmonauts take spacewalk, repair and close hatch . 
    26/7 TASS 132 
  
    Mission Control Centre July 26 TASS - SOviet Cosmonauts 
Anatoly Solovyov an Alexander Balandin today took a spacewalk 
and closed an airlock hatch that would not shut during their 
previous outing more than a week ago. 
    At 15:15 Moscow Time they opened the inner hatch of the 
Kvant-2 (quantum-2) service module between the instrument section 
and the airlock and closely inspected the latters outer hatch 
that they had been unable to close completely during their 
previous extravehicular activity (eva) on july 17. 
    The spacemen then went to the core modules airlock to detach 
handrails used during operations to restore the heat insulation 
of tme soyuz tm-9 spaceship. They mounted the handrails on the 
outer wall of the service module. 
    The results of the cosmonauts televised inspection of the 
hatch enabled mission control specialists to recommend way"s of 
repairing an identified faulty hatch joint. 
    Returning to the hatch with requisite tools, the cosmonauts, 
acting in line with those recommendations, were able to close the 
hatch completely at 18:46. 
    After pressurisation procedures in the airlock and the 
instrument section, the cosmonauts took off their eva suits. 
    The total time they spent in space was three hours 31 
minutes. 
    Solovyov and Balandin are in good health and feeling well. 
    item ends """ 
   
    

    According to my calculation the launch of TM-10 based
    on the latest element set for the MIR complex that I
    have should have been at 9:37 UTC, last night TASS had
    two article the quoted different times, one at 9:23 and
    the other at 9:32.  I heard on the radio this AM that the
    launch was successful.
    
    The new crew will repair the damage to the hatch that was cause
    by human error when the cosmonauts opened the hatch before the
    airlock was completly depressurized causing it to swing open
    with such force that a key joint was dammaged.
    
    jb
    

    FWIW, Headline News is showing 15-20 seconds worth of the launch.

    UPn 08/01 1150 TWO SOVIET COSMONAUTS SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED TO MIR
 
    MOSCOW (AUG. 1) UPI - Two Soviet cosmonauts were launched "without
hitch" to the troubled Mir space station Wednesday to replace their two
comrades struggling with a host of problems.

   Gennady Manakov and Gennady Strekalov streaked into space in a Soyuz
TM-10 spaceship atop a Soyuz rocket launched at 1:32 p.m. from Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Soviet Asia.

   "The launch went without a hitch, precisely on schedule," the official
Tass news agency said.

   Mission control reported that Strekalov and Manakov, who will be the
24th and 25 cosmonauts to visit the Mir, are in buoyant spirits and
feeling well.

   Awaiting the new crew aboard the Mir station, now weighing 90 tons
with its modular additions, are Anatoly Solovyov and Alexander Balandin,
who are completing a trouble-plagued six-month mission.

   Solovyov and Balandin were forced last month to take two lengthy space
walks to repair a balky hatch on the space station and fix the space
capsule that is to return to earth on Aug.  9.

   Once the replacement team gets to the Mir and docks with it, the four
spacemen will spend about a week together, before Solovyov and Balandin
return home.

   Plans so far call for the two returning cosmonauts to journey back to
Earth on the Soyuz TM-9 spaceship that carried them to the Mir six months
ago.

   "They will return on their own spaceship," Vladimir Shatalin, head of
cosmonaut training, told United Press International late last month.

   Balandin and Solovyov, however, had to spend seven hours in open space
in a dangerous space walk to reaffix heat shield insulation on their space 
capsule which tore off during their launch to the station this winter.

   A week later, they ventured into space to close the hatch of one of
the space modules, the Kvant, that could not be shut after the first
spacewalk. 

   That hatch had to be closed, mission control officials later
explained, to prevent problems of docking with space capsules and
progress cargo ships that bring supplies to the station about every
two months. 

   In the new era of glasnost or "openness," the launch was observed
by a score of foreign correspondents invited to the cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan for the lift-off. 

   The observers included two Japanese Tokyo broadcasting station
correspondents, Rioko Kikuchi and Toiehiro Akiyama, one of whom will
be launched to the Mir on Dec.  2 in the first flight by a journalist
in space. 

   The two Japanese space aspirants have been in training since last
year for the flight for which the Tokyo broadcasting station is paying
$10 million. 

   Besides the Japanese space candidates, aspiring British and Austrian 
spacemen are training with the Russians for pay-as-you-go flights. 

   Previously, the Soviets used manned space flights for Socialist
propaganda training and flying with crews from Socialist countries or
very close allies. 

   Astronauts from all the Eastern European countries, Syria,
Afghanistan, India, and Cuba all visited the Mir and the earlier Salyut
space station in such joint missions. 
 

    TLM from the TM-10 indicated that it was about 10 min
    behind MIR at 01:12 UTC on the 3rd of Aug.  TASS has
    indicated that the docking to MIR will be at 15:47 MSK.
    

    	My sources have indicated that Soyuz TM-10 has successfully docked
    with the Mir space station.
    
    				Drew
    

    APn 08/09/90 0646 Soviet-Space
 
    By LESLIE SHEPHERD
    Associated Press Writer

   MOSCOW (AP) -- Two Soviet cosmonauts returned safely to Earth today,
ending a six-month mission during which they grew million-dollar crystals
for industry and survived a near-fatal space walk trying to repair damage
on their capsule.

   The Soyuz TM-9 capsule carrying cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev and
Alexander Balandin landed near the town on Arkalyk on the Central Asian
steppes, the official Tass news agency reported.

   The landing, one minute ahead of schedule, was not shown live on
Soviet television, but at the midday news showed pictures of the
cosmonauts waving goodbye to their replacement crew aboard the orbiting
Mir space station.

   Solovyev and Balandin were launched into space Feb.  11 in what was
billed as the first manned mission in the 33-year history of the Soviet
space program to turn a multimillion-dollar profit.

   Their hundreds of experiments included photographing 8.4 million
square miles of Earth's surface and growing 23 pure crystals for use
in semiconductors and computer chips.

   Each crystal is worth about $1 million, Tass said.

   The cosmonauts also made two space walks last month, the first to
repair damage caused to the spacecraft on takeoff.

   On July 17, they spent seven hours repairing torn thermal insulation
surrounding the Soyuz capsule which would bring them back to Earth.  The
repairs took longer than expected and Soviet media reported the two
cosmonauts could have died because their oxygen was running so low.

   Their spacesuits soaked with perspiration from the exertion, they were
forced to leave the capsule's re-entry hatch slightly ajar and return to
the space station through an emergency porthole.  They left behind
handrails attached to the exterior of the capsule.

   A second, shorter, space walk on July 26 was needed to close the hatch
and retrieve the handrails.

   Tass quoted ground control officials as saying Solovyev and Balandin
had opened the hatch before the airlock was completely depressurized and
it swung outward with such force that a key joint was damaged.

   It was the latest in a series of problems for the Soviet manned space
program, which for decades had been a source of intense national pride.

   For the past two years, the program has been plagued by docking
equipment malfunctions, human error and budget cuts.

   The replacement crew of Gennady Manakov and Gennady Strekalov docked
with the Mir on Friday, two days after blasting off from the Baikanor
Space Center in Kazakhstan.  They will remain in space until Dec.  10,
conducting an estimated 250 experiments, including the production of more
crystals.

   Under President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, pressure has grown on the space
program to prove its worth in a shortage-plagued society.  Some Soviet
lawmakers have raised the once taboo topic of cutting the space budget
since many Soviet people don't have decent housing or enough to eat.

   Manakov and Strekalov will return to Earth with a paying customer, a
Japanese cosmonaut who will have been brought to Mir on Dec.  2 by their
replacement crew.

   Two employees of the Tokyo Broadcasting System are vying for the
seat:  television camerawoman Ryoko Kikuchi and former Washington bureau
chief Toyhiro Akiyama.

   Future flights in 1992 will carry British, Austrian, West German,
French and Spanish passengers.
 

This will be the the last time that a return capsule will de-obit 
"cosmonauts and materials together"  TASS said.

"from now on, the crew will return separately. materials will 
be delivered to earth in the return capsule of a transport 
spacecraft. Gennady Manakov and Gennady Strekalov, who replaced 
Solovyov and Balandin on board the MIR station, will be the first 
to test such a capsule. "

It was expected that PM-6 would be the first such cargo craft.
This expedition is expected to last for 132 days so it is 
possible that 3 progress units could be launch between now 
the end of the mission or even possible before the next 
crew is schedule to go up in the first part of December.

For example a progress unit is needed now, and if one is launch
every 40 to 60  days, then PM-6 could happen 
 start   day   225 then 
 add        80/120  days   within the 132 day mission
------------------------
  then day 305/345 could be the launch of PM-6.
   ( nov to mid dec 1990)
So I would expect PM-6 return cargo to happen before
the next crew will arrive.

cheers John

    

    Curious. According to Spaceflight (Aug 90), the Progress-M capsule may
    be abandoned. It was/is due to fly later this year. The capsule would
    be inserted in the docking hatch of the Progress before undocking. When
    the Progress reenters, the capsule survives. Apparently no effort is
    made to seperate it from Progress.
    
    The alternative is to fly an unmanned Soyuz-TM which allow more
    material to be returned. Soyuz launches are only slightly more
    expensive than Progress launches.
    
    Of course, they'll be able to return boat loads of material from
    Kristall next year in their shuttle.
    
    gary

Date: 9 Aug 90 16:59:24 GMT
From: frooz!cfa250!mcdowell@husc6.harvard.edu  (Jonathan McDowell)
Subject: Soyuz TM-10 lands; Glenn departs
  
    The Glenn Chapman Memorial Report
 
          Aug 9, 1990
 
    Glenn Chapman returned to his native Canada today; good luck,
Glenn.  He asked us all to carry on reporting the Soviet program, so
here goes:
 
    Soyuz TM-10 was launched from Kosmodrom Baykonur at 0932 UT on 1
August. The commander is Test Pilot 1st Class Gennadiy Mikhailovich
Manakov, who was born 1 Jun 1950 in the Orenburg district, and trained
to pilot the Buran shuttle since 1985.  This is his first spaceflight;
his callsign is "Vulkan" (Volcano).  The flight engineer is Twice Hero
of the Soviet Union, Pilot Cosmonaut 1st Class Gennadiy Mikhailovich
Strekalov. Strekalov was born 28 Oct 1940 near Moskva and has been an
engineer cosmonaut since 1973.  He flew to Salyut-6 aboard Soyuz T-3
in 1980; in 1983 he made two failed attempts to get to Salyut-7,
aboard Soyuz T-8 (rendevous radar failure) and the Soyuz launch abort
of Sep 1983; he finally got to Salyut-7 in 1984 aboard Soyuz T-11. 
 
    Soyuz TM-10 docked with the rear port of Kvant on Aug 3.  The crew
will stay aboard the Mir complex until December.  The previous crew,
Anatoli Solov'yov and Aleksandr Balandin, landed in Soyuz TM-9 on Aug
9.  There was a lot of concern about the state of Soyuz TM-9 after the
damage to its thermal insulation blankets, but Radio Moscow reports
the cosmonauts landed safely.  The new crew will concentrate on
producing alloys and crystals with the materials processing furnace on
the Kristall module. They will also conduct an EVA to complete repairs
to the damaged hinge on the Kvant-2 EVA hatch.  The backup crew,
Viktor Afanasev and Musa Manarov, will fly Soyuz TM-11 in December
together with a Japanese journalist. 
 
    - Jonathan McDowell
 

On the 15th of  AUG 1990 a new Progress Cargo ship was launch to MIR.
Latest element set are:

    progress                 (Launch 90-72-  A)   Set:    5, Obj:  20752
          Epoch Year: 1990  Day: 227.653223570    Orbit #       8
          Inclination  =  51.61450000     R.A.A.N      =  30.65890000
          Eccentricity =   0.00133570     Arg of Per   = 283.66910000
          Mean Anomaly =  76.08820000     Mean Motion  =  16.05104924
          Drag         =  0.20992E-02     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6638.4010     Anom Period  =      89.7138
          Apogee Ht    =     269.1080     Perigee Ht   =     251.3741

    

    the Progress TLM was monitored on the 16th of Aug running
    about 22 min behind MIR.   Everything looks normal.
    
    MIR TLM is also on.
    
    jb
    

Hi guys
 
PM4 docked at 0526Z/17aug--sounds like the forward port.  TASS
referred to the docking as having taken place on the "air lock side of
the station" which would indicate forward.
 
 
Does anyone have access to an English version of Pravda.  The
Friday edition (Aug 17) has an article with Galeev (IKI) in which he
discusses space and cosmonautics plans for the next ten years--might
prove interesting.
 
Best regards all,
jb

ps new info indicates that MIR will get invloved in ham operations again
    
    

TASS 09/04 11:16 Cosmonauts conduct experiments
 
 MOSCOW September 4 TASS - Gennadi Manakov and Gennadi Strekalov
continued experiments aboard the Mir space complex.
 
Under a programme of space materials science, the crew made another
smelting on the Gallar unit.  During the smelting, which lasted 240
hours, they received another high-grade crystal of gallium arsenide, a
semiconductor material.
 
The cosmonauts are today performing astrophysical experiments with the
Maria magnetic spectrometer.
 
One of the tasks of this research is to determine a possible link between
the intensity of flows of charged high-energy particles in near-Earth
space and seismic activity on the Earth.
 
The Mir space complex is functioning normally.  The cosmonauts are
healthy and feel well.
 

    TASS 09/03 09:56 New Mir crew has completed a month in orbit
 
   MOSCOW September 3 TASS - by correspondent Rena Kuznetsova:  "The
crew who replaced us -- Gennady Manakov and Gennady Strekalov -- are
doing fine," Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov told TASS after a regular
communication session with the seventh crew aboard the Mir orbital
station.  The latest crew has already spent a month working in space. 
 
"It took us a whole week to bring the new crew up to date on everything
happening on board the station," Solovyov recalled.  "The Mir is an
extremely complex installation, packed with hi-tech equipment.  It weighs
90 tonnes and is 35 metres long.
 
"The transfer required the utmost concentration of both crews -- even
professionals find it hard to keep pace with so much complex equipment."
 
The new crew is expected to work aboard the station for 131 days.  They
have already scored some notable successes.  As soon as the Progress M-4
ferry-craft docked with the station on August 17, they began unloading to
study the behavior of various materials in space, using the Kristall
technological module.
 
The Krater-B and Gallar installations melt materials to obtain top
quality semi-conductors that cannot be produced on Earth.  In addition,
the crew is conducting regular observations of the Earth's surface on
orders from various branches of the Soviet economy.
 
Experiments have been carried out to examine the composition of the
atmosphere in different parts of the station and the modules.  Physical
processes in the ionosphere and the Earth's upper layers are being
studied.
 
Specialists believe that the present crew will be as productive as the
previous crew, who recouped all the mission's expenses and netted 13
million roubles in profits.
 
 
    APn 08/31 1922 Soviet-Space
 
    By LESLIE SHEPHERD
    Associated Press Writer

   MOSCOW (AP) -- Two cosmonauts who made emergency repairs outside their
damaged spacecraft said Friday that the job demanded a cool head, but
they denied earlier reports they had risked running out of oxygen.
   The 179-day mission by Alexander Solovyev and Alexander Balandin,
which ended with their return to Earth on Aug.  9, is expected to show a
$21 million profit, the deputy mission chief said.  He said it is the
first in the 33-year history of the Soviet space program.
   The two cosmonauts walked in space for seven hours on July 17 to
repair insulation surrounding the space capsule that would take them back
to Earth.  Before finishing the repairs, they discovered a problem with
the porthole leading back to the orbiting space station Mir, forcing them
to return through an emergency hatch.  Soviet media reported their life
support supplies were running dangerously low by the time they returned
to Mir.
   Solovyev told a news conference Friday each cosmonaut had 10 hours of
oxygen in their main tank, plus reserve supplies.
   "We consumed only two-thirds of our main balloon of oxygen ... so we
had reserves," he said.
   He said the spacewalk was one of the hardest moments of the mission,
but that cosmonauts train for such crises.
   "I'm sure that men who are not prepared, who do not expect such
situations, will not cope with it," Solovyev said.  "In that situation,
we were quite calm, even cold-blooded, if I may say so, about the
decisions we were taking."
   The cosmonauts made a second space walk on July 26 to finish the
repairs and retrieve some equipment they left behind, attached to the
capsule's exterior.
   Deputy mission chief Viktor Blagov told the news conference that the
mission, the sixth to the orbiting space station, cost $134 million.
   But he forecast revenue of $155 million through the sale of
high-definition photographs of the Earth's surface and of pure crystals
developed in space for use in semiconductors and computer chips.
   "So from a program of scientific investigation, it is being turned
into a program for economic benefit," Blagov said.
   The Soviet space program, for decades a source of national pride, has
come under increasing pressure in recent years to prove its worth as the
country grapples with consumer shortages and other economic woes.
   For the last two years, the program has suffered from docking
equipment malfunctions, mistakes by cosmonauts and budget cuts.
   Blagov said the space program will continue to put even more emphasis
on commercial activities.
   The Soviets have also agreed to take a paying customer into space in
December.  Two employees of the Tokyo Broadcasting System are vying for
the seat.
 

    09/19/90 1642  Soviet cosmonauts enter 50th day aboard Mir space ...
 
    Moscow (Sept 19) TASS - Gennady Manakov and Gennady Strekalov have
been working on board the Mir space station for 50 days. 

   They have carried out a considerable part of the programme, dozens of
soundings of Earth's surface in the interest of the national economy
and unloaded the automatic cargo spacecraft Progress m-4.

   On Wednesday, the cosmonauts were involved in medical researches.
They have tested the state of the flight commander's cardiovascular
system with the help of special equipment. The cosmonauts have conducted
prophylactic work and geophysical research of Earth's atmosphere.

   During the flight, they have fulfilled the programme of materials'
study and conducted a melting experiment on the Krater-v installation,
that took 260 hours.  They have obtained a semiconductor material, zinc
oxide, used in the radioelectronic industry, and have grown a
monocrystal of another semiconductor, gallium arsenide, on the Gallar
apparatus.  The experiment lasted for 240 hours.

   The cosmonauts are also monitoring the state of ecology in some
regions of the Soviet Union.  The research is conducted with the help of
videospectral equipment installed in the Kvant-2 module.  A special
photounit, Priroda-5, installed in the Kristall module, is used to study
Earth's mineral resources. It is also used for ecological monitoring.


    TASS 09/20 12:00 Ferry spacecraft completes its flight
 
    Moscow September 20 TASS -- The Progress M-4 ferry spacecraft which
brought over two tonnes of various cargoes to the Mir space station has
completed its flight.
 
The ferry executed an attitude control in space on orders from the
Flight Control Centre today, and its propulsion system was switched on
at 15:04 Moscow time.
 
As a result of deceleration, the Progress M-4 switched to a descent
trajectory, entered atmospheric dense layers and burnt down.
 
During the ferry's independent flight, the space crew observed and
registered plasma formations ejected by a source mounted on the Progress
M-4.
 
During the work week, the cosmonauts studied the functional state of
their cardiovascular systems by polycardiographic and ultrasound
methods.  They appraised the efficiency of a physical training system.
 
A nine-day cycle to grow gallium arsenide, a semiconductor material, is
nearing completion on the Gallar installation.  Work is under way to
switch on the Krater-V electric furnace.
 
According to incoming information and reports from the crew, onboard
systems of the Mir complex are functioning normally.
 

    The ships are in the right locations for a PM launch on
    the 27th of Sep.  This should be an interesting one as it
    should have the first returnable module.   According to
    inform sources the return module is actually attached to
    the outside of the PM and would separate after retro.
    
    Going threw the calculation there is a good launch window
    at about 10:35 UTC but I don't have an up to date nasa
    element set so it could be +- 10 min.
    
    
    

 
09/27 1016  SOVIET UNION LAUNCHES UNMANNED SPACE FREIGHTER
 
MOSCOW (SEPTEMBER 27) TASS - The Soviet Union launched an unmanned cargo
spacecraft today in keeping with a program of work on board the scientific
research platform mir (peace).
   The freighter, progress m-5, carries expendable materials and other cargoes
for mir.
   It also carries, for the first time, a prototype of recoverable ballistic
capsule, which will be used in the fuuure to return the results of scientific
studies to earth.
   According to telemetry data, the freighter's on-board systems are working
normally.
 
regards John
    
    ps note the use of 'recoverable ballistic capsule' that indicates
    to me that the unit is on the outside of the PM unit and will
    jetterson after retro fire and return on its own.....
    

1st el set for PM5
    tlm received yesterday indicates that it is 3 min early jb
    
    PM 5                           (Launch 90-85-  A)   Set:    1, Obj:  20824
          Epoch Year: 1990  Day: 270.496494170    Orbit #       1
          Inclination  =  51.59430000     R.A.A.N      = 174.86400000
          Eccentricity =   0.00307520     Arg of Per   = 102.47320000
          Mean Anomaly = 258.04270000     Mean Motion  =  16.24492201
          Drag         =  0.00000E+00     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6585.4787     Anom Period  =      88.6431
          Apogee Ht    =     227.5704     Perigee Ht   =     187.0670

    PM 5 r/b                       (Launch 90-85-  B)   Set:    1, Obj:  20825
          Epoch Year: 1990  Day: 270.434989820    Orbit #       0
          Inclination  =  51.59920000     R.A.A.N      = 175.24750000
          Eccentricity =   0.00235510     Arg of Per   =  95.59530000
          Mean Anomaly = 264.84550000     Mean Motion  =  16.25942248
          Drag         =  0.00000E+00     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6581.5628     Anom Period  =      88.5640
          Apogee Ht    =     218.9030     Perigee Ht   =     187.9025

    

This in re the EVA today---
 
  APn  10/30 0552  Soviet-Space
 
      MOSCOW (AP) -- Soviet cosmonauts, working in open space for
   nearly four hours, failed today in an attempt to repair a
   malfunctioning hatch aboard the Mir space station, the
   official Tass news agency said. Cosmonauts Gennady Manakov and
   Gennady Strekalov, who have been in space for nearly three
   months, left the spacecraft at 45 minutes past midnight to
   work on the door, which failed to close properly during a
   spacewalk in July. "They did not manage to correct the hatch
   malfunction," Tass said. The malfunctioning hatch is on Kvant-
   2, a module containing photographic and technical equipment
   attached to the Mir space station. During a spacewalk in July,
   Mir's previous tenants, Anatoly Solovyov and Alexander
   Balandin, apparently were unable to close the hatch after they
   entered the airlock, and had to enter the spacecraft through
   another port, officials said at the time. They were reported
   by Soviet to have come dangerously close to running out of
   oxygen. Tass said that today's malfunction presented no danger
   to Manakov and Strekalov. "This was just ordinary maintainance
   work in space, not some extraordinary situation," Tass quoted
   Mission Control specialists as saying. Today's spacewalk had
   originally been scheduled for Oct. 19, but was postponed after
   Strekalov caught a cold while working out on an on-board
   running track. The Soviet Union's manned space program, which
   for decades has been a source of national pride, has been
   plagued in the past two years by docking equipment failures,
   mistakes by cosmonauts and budget cuts.
 
Radio Moscow reported the boys determined that the problem is caused
by a "fixture element" (does that sound like a hinge?) and that the
next crew must correct the problem.  Now, if we are going to see PM6
around Nov 16, which allows for time to get new parts up, then why the
next crew.  Barring any sun angle problems (and I have not looked at
that) then it's my guess that the problem may require special training
by the new crew due up on TM11.
 
    
    if 'fixture element' was a direct translation it means 
    connection device....jb
    

From: zmapj36@cc.ic.ac.uk (M.S.Bennett  Supvs= Prof Pendry)
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space
Subject: Soyuz mission TM9 summary
Date: 6 Nov 90 19:21:18 GMT
Sender: M.Sean Bennett UKSEDS
Organization: SEDS - UK
 
    The Soyuz TM-9 Mission Ends.   by Neville Kidger
 
    The troubled mission of Soviet cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov and
Aleksandr Balandin ended with a safe landing in Kazakhstan at 7:35 GMT
on August 9th. Despite fears in the Soviet and western press the Soyuz
TM-9 landed without incident after the cosmonauts had conducted an EVA
on July 17th to secure two of three loose thermal blankets which had
become partially detached during the spacecraft's launch on February
11th.  The third blanket was left floating loose after it was found to
have been too badly damaged to secure. The loose blankets had been
considered a potential hazard during the spacecraft's preparations for
re-entry and were secured for this reason. In addition the cosmonauts
ensured that the unintended prolonged exposure to space vacuum and
radiation had not adversely sffected the explosive bolts which are
used to separate the Soyuz descent module from the engine section
after retrofire. 

     However, at the close of the July 17th EVA the cosmonauts
encountered difficulties in securing the hatch of the Kvant-2 module
through which they had exited into open space. The men were forced to
depressurise Kvant-2's second, scientific, section and enter it before
they were able to repressurise and end the EVA after a Soviet record
duration of seven hours.  Soviet reporters made no secret that the
cosmonaut's lives were threatened during the return to Kvant-2 due to
the build up of carbon dioxide in their suits.  While the men were
able to replenish their oxygen supply they were unable to exchange
canisters of lithium hydroxide in the life-support system of their EVA
suits.  The lithium hydroxide removes the exhaled carbon dioxide from
the suit's atmospheres. 

     During a second EVA,on July 26th, Solovyov and Balandin were able
to secure the hatch of the Kvant-2 module after determining that a
hinge had buckled.  At the time of writing the blame for the incident
was being laid on the cosmonauts for breaching the regulations
governing the opening of the hatch - at least by the deputy designer
of the Salyut design beureau where the module was designed and constructed. 

     The charge is that Solovyov and Balandin did not wait for the
internal pressure of the Kvant-2 airlock to reach zero before opening
the hatch. This lead the hatch to being forced open into the space
vacuum.  Despite the fact that the cosmonauts managed to secure the
hatch during their second EVA, yet another EVA will need to be
conducted by Mir's current crew of Gennadi Manakov and Gennadi
Strekalov. 

     This pair will replace a hinge on the hatch door to enable it to
be used as intended. One Soviet commentator has compared the current
state of the hatch to that of a boarded-up door!  The expedition of
Solovyov and Balandinwas notable for another couple of reasons as well
as their Soyuz TM-9 EVAs and subsequent problems. 

     The men were the first to witness the birth, in space, of
Japanese quails from their eggs in a Czechoslovak-made incubator
contained in the Kvant-2 module.  Unfortunately, the chicks grew weak
and unable to feed themselves in their weightless environment, and
the descision was made to put them to sleep. 

     The other major aspect of the cosmonaut's activities in orbit
related to their attempts to secure a profit from their work in space.
At the time of their launch, the cosmonauts were said to be ready to
recoup the cost of the mission (80 million Roubles) and even earn a
further 25 million Roubles from their Earth observations and materials
processing work on the Kristall module which was to be launched in April. 

     But the Kristall launch was delayed to May 31st and then the
docking was further delayed to June 10th because of thruster problems.
The late start tousing the large module's five processing units to
produce semi-conductor crystals and biotechnical materials meant that
the estimate of profit which could be expected to be made from the
flight was reduced to 13 million Roubles. The head of the Soviet space
agency Glavkosmos has said, however, that the profits are
"hypothetical".  He revealed that money still had to be transferred
into the account of Glavkosmos and the amount to be recouped was based
upon the selling price of the Earth photographs that the men had taken
($1,000 each) and in the value of crystals processed in space
(R500,000 each).   The current crew of Manakov and Strekalov are to
continue the processing and observations and Glavkosmos expects their
flight to recoup about the same amount as the previous one. 

     The Soviets have revealed that the amount of money allocated for
1990s manned space programmes is 220 million Roubles and one Soviet
commentator has called for a serious explanation of the amount.   But
from the next launch to Mir of a manned crew - planned for December
2nd this year - part of the costs of each flight will be recouped by
the paying presence of a foreign cosmonaut. 

     The first to go will be a reporter-cosmonaut from a Japanese TV
station TBS.  He or she will accompany two cosmonauts to Mir and will
return with Manakov and Strekalov after an eight-day mission.  The
reporter will make TV and radio broadcasts from the complex during the
approximately six days aboard. 

     The two candidates are a 40-year old male who used to smoke 80 
cigarettes a day and a 25-year old camerawoman.   

     Next up, in May 1991 should be Britain'sJuno mission, but the
continuing quest to find sponsors for the mission may mean that Tim
Mace or Helen Sharman may have to wait for their flight or even find
it cancelled. 

     The following year should see missions including cosmonaut
representatives from Austria, France [for the third time ed.], West
Germany and Spain. 
-- 
/------    -------    -----\       /------   |  ======================  |
|          |          |      \    |          |  M. Sean Bennett         |
\-----\    |----      |       |    \-----\   |  UKSEDS TECH.OFF.        |
       |   |          |      /            |  |  Janet:SEDS@CC.IC.AC.UK  |

    Watch for the first return capsule from the progress unit
    to happen soon !!!   possible the 30th.
    
    Then on the 2 of DEC the tm11 crew will be launch from
    Baikonur for the journalist-cosmonaut Toyehiro Akiayama
    joint mission with the two Sovet Veterans (Musa Manarov and Sergei
    Krikalev).  Akiayma is the only Japanese cosmonaut as the backup
    Tioko Kikuchi underwent surgery monday.
    
    Japan is sending 150 news executives and journalist to cover the
    flight and there will be at least 100 Soviet journalist, along
    with  yours-truely  myself.
    
    Launch time via TASS is for the 2nd of DEC at 11:35 MSK but recent
    nasa element set indicate the launch will be earlier.  My 
    precicions is 8hr 11min utc or 11:11 MSK, Ted Molczan predicts
    08:13 UTC or 11:13 MSK so we all seem to agree that the launch
    time will be earlier.
    
    The new 8th crew will do 4 space walks, including one to
    repair the faulty hatch.
    
    The Japanese crew is expected to stay for 8 days and will make
    a 10-minute tv braoadcast and a 20 min radio transmission each
    day in orbit.
    
    The Soviet crew will stay up until May 1991 or about 6 months.
    
    cheers john
    
                                       

Jeez, John, don't keep us in the dark?  How do you get to see it?

Burns

Subj:	PM5 and capsule down 

This just came in--
    .SPACE CAPSULE WITH RESEARCH MATERIALS PARACHUTES TO EARTH.
     TASS 69
 
     NOVEMBER 28 TASS - BY TASS CORRESPONDENT AT MISSION
                        CONTROL CENTRE:
 
    THE EXPERIMENTAL RETURN CAPSULE, WHICH WAS PART OF THE
    PROGRESS M-5 UNMANNED SPACECRAFT, PARACHUTED SAFELY TO EARTH
    TODAY, BRINGING BACK A  (GARBLED) THE RESULTS OF STUDIES
    BY TWO SOVIET COSMONAUTS ON THE ORBITING PLATFORM MIR.
 
    WHEN THE CARGO SPACECRAFT, JETTISONED FROM THE PLATFORM AT
    9:15, SLOWED DOWN BY ITS OWN PROPULSION ENGINE AND STARTED
    THE DESCENT,THE BALLISTIC CAPSULE WAS DETACHED FROM IT AT A
    PRE-SET ALTITUDE.
 
    PROGRESS M-5 BURNT UP AFTER PLUNGING THROUGH THE DENSE LAYERS
    OF THE ATMOSPHERE, WHILE THE CAPSULE CONTINUED THE DESCENT
    WITH THE HELP OF A PARACHUTE SYSTEM. IT MADE A SOFT TOUCH-
    DOWN AT 14:04 IN THE AREA WHERE SOVIET MANNED SPACESHIPS
    USUALLY LAND.
 
    MEANWHILE, THE TWO COSMONAUTS, GENNADY MANAKOV
    AND GENNADY STREKALOV, CONTINUED THEIR WORK IN SPACE,
    INCLUDING GEOPHYSICAL AND TECHNICAL EXPERIMENTS. TODAY THEY
    ARE TO PRODUCE A TELEVISION REPORT ON THEIR BIOLOGICAL
    STUDIES AND CONTINUE PREPARING TO RECEIVE THE SOVIET-
    JAPANESE MISSION.
 
    THE FLIGHT OF THE MIR PLATFORM IS CONTINUING NORMALLY.
    ITEM ENDS +++
 
    MSK 15.51 28-11-1990

Looks to me as if the undock time is msk and
The touchdown time appears to be msk plus 3 which is the local time
in Kazakhstan.
    

    
    I will post a trip report when I get back, but 
    I will be in Baikonur for the launch of the TM unit
    then off to FCC for the docking, then a tour of
    the Energy, Star city etc.
    
    
    
    john
    
    
    
DEC 1:
	Arrival in Moscow, transfer to 'Vnukovo-3' airport.
	Flight to Baikonur

DEC 2:
	Baikonur

DEC 3:
	Baikonur, transfer to Moscow at the 'Kosmos' hotel

DEC 4:
	City Tour,  Missions Control Center for docking

DEC 5:
	Scientific productive association 'Energy'

DEC 6:
	'Zvezdny' (Star) city, exhibition of achievements
	'Space' exhibition

DEC 7:
	Kremlin with armory, Arbat Street, Farewell Party

DEC 8:
	transfer to airport for flight home


    

Good luck and have fun, John.  Is this the tour offered by the folks in Texas
that you posted a number of months ago?

Burns

    no this is not the normal tour, it is an invitation as a results of the
    soviet visit last summer ( I think ) for thier tour of US space
    loacations. I am very lucky to be on of 16 people going.
    
    That is why it is hard right now to say what I will be able to see,
    as there is no offical skedule.  I have been told it will be very open
    and we will be able to see almost anything the group wants to see.
    
    
    
    john
    

    re: .360
    
    Ask to see the Mir, from inside!
        John Sauter

    from what I have been told we will be going threw some typical
    training exerecise on the mIR/tm etc mockup, simulated dockings etc
    
    john
    

From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca
Subject: Soyuz TM-11 mission launched to the Soviet's Mir space station
Date: 2 Dec 90 21:42:00 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
 
     The USSR successfully launched its Soyuz TM-11 flight to their Mir 
space station according to Radio Moscow.  On board were Musa Manarov (Soyuz 
TM-4 flight of Dec. '87, 366 day mission on Mir), Vikor Afanasyev, and 
Japanese journalist Toyehiro Akiayama.  Launch time was about 11:15 Moscow 
time (12:15 am PST).  They will rendezvous with Gennadi Manakov and Gennadi 
Strekalov at the Mir space complex in about two days. 
     Just before this mission, on Nov. 28th, the Progress M-5 separated 
from the Mir space complex at 9:15 am Moscow Time (1:15 EST) (it had 
arrived on Sept. 29th).  The experimental return cargo capsule was ejected 
from the Progress and landed successfully in Soviet central Asia about two 
hours later (TASS report Nov. 28th)
     Upcoming missions to Mir over the next two years are listed as:
May 1991: British Juno flight (still listed in spite of funding problems)
Nov. 1991: Austrian mission
Mar. 1992: German flight: (Radio Moscow has dropped the term West German)
Aug. 1992: French Antares mission (longish duration)
Dec. 1992: Spanish flight.
(Dates from Oct. '90 BIS Spaceflight confirmed on the Radio Moscow 
discussion of the present launch). Note that this suggests that every crew 
change in the next two years will be a mission in which a western astronaut 
pays for at least part of the mission launch cost.  In point of fact it is 
probable that the charges they have means that the whole launch cost for 
the entire crew is carried by the outside groups (cost of a launch in a 
Soviet A-2 Soyuz booster is about $10 million).
     One last point, with the Columbia's STS-35 launch on the Astro mission 
early this morning, (about 1:50 am EST time) and the Soyuz launch (about 
3:15 am EST) this 1.5 hours must be one of the shortest times between 
manned missions to date.
     I am glad to be back on the net after my move from MIT Lincoln Lab to 
here at Simon Fraser University. My reports on the Russian program will be 
somewhat brief for the next few months though I will try to get up to speed 
soon (a professor's life seems one giant set of grant applications at this 
point).  For those wishing to comment please note my new address.
 
                                        Glenn Chapman
                                        School of Engineering Science
                                        Simon Fraser Univ.
                                        Burnaby, B.C. Canada
                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca
                                        or glennc%cs.sfu.ca@uunet.uu.net

Article        26456
From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Subject: Soyuz TM-11 to dock with Soviet Mir station early Dec. 4th
Date: 4 Dec 90 00:16:00 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
 
     The Soyuz TM-11 will be docking to their Mir space station about 12:00 
noon Moscow Time (1:00 am PST) according to Radio Moscow.  The after about 
a week long stay the two Soviet cosmonauts on TM-11, Musa Manarov, Vikor 
Afanasyev,  will replace the current Mir crew of Gennadi Manakov and      
Gennadi Strekalov, whome have been in orbit for 123 days (since Aug 2).  
They will remain for about a six month mission until May '91 when the 
Soviet/British Juno mission is scheduled to arrive. Their visitor, Japanese 
journalist Toyehiro Akiyama, will travel down with the current Mir crew in 
their Soyuz TM-10 craft.  On board Mir he will be doing broadcasts for the 
Japanese TBS TV station, and taking earth observation pictures according to 
Radio Moscow.
     One point to note Vikor Afanasyev actually had trained for a flight in 
Sept. 1989 together with Vitali Serastyanov and Rimintas Stankuavechus (a 
Buran pilot trainee).  That mission was cancelled when it was decided to 
keep Mir unmanned during the summer of 1989 due to some power problems and 
failure of the experimental modules to be ready for launch (BIS 
Spaceflight, Oct. '90).
     The Aug. 1992 French/Soviet Antares mission crew has been announced by 
CNES (the French space agency) as Michel Tognini (backup for Jean-Loup 
Chretien in the 1988 Soviet/French mission) and Jean-Pierre Haignere.  
Besides an experimental suite one of the main goals of the mission is to 
give extensive zero G experience to a crew member of the European Space 
Agency's Hermes minishuttle.  The twelve day flight will cost the CNES 
about $12 million, the same as the current Japanese mission costs. (BIS 
Spaceflight, Oct. '90)
     For those that watch PBS stations or the CBC News cable channel note 
that Japan Today (an English translation of the Japanese NHK news) may 
carry part of this current mission.  However, it has not shown much to 
date about the flight, perhaps because the journalist is from a rival 
network.
 
                                        Glenn Chapman
                                        School of Engineering Science
                                        Simon Fraser Univ.
                                        Burnaby, B.C. Canada
                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca
                                        or glennc%cs.sfu.ca@uunet.uu.net

    Today the 7th of Jan Monday, the Crew of MIR at 16:47 UTC will do an
    EVA to repair the hatch hinge.  I was told at Star City that they do
    not have any significant works lights to allow them to work during the
    part of the orbit while in earth shadow. Thus each 92 minutes they can
    only work for 46 mins in daylight and rest for the next 46 mins.  They
    can so simple work as long as they dont have to move or lift heave
    objects.
    
    
    
    Other news from TASS
    
    GOES/Radio M1 is due up today Monday the 7th of Jan
    
    Vasili Lazarev (of Soyuz 18 fame) died 'after a long and grave illness'
    
    
    
    cheers john
    

    TASS reported taht the EVA begain at 17:30 UTC and  was to last for
    about 4 hours, not reports yet of what happen.
    

SOVIET COSMONAUTS TAKE FIVE HOUR SPACE WALK
 
MOSCOW (JAN. 8) - Cosmonauts Victor Afanassiev and Moussa Manarov left
the Mir space station overnight for a space walk lasting five hours
and 18 minutes during which they carried out repairs to an exit hatch
damaged last summer, TASS news agency said in a report Tuesday.
 
The two men apparently succeeded in fitting a new hinge to make the
hatch airtight as it had been leaking slightly for several months,
TASS said.
 
The repairs were apparently successful since TASS went on to report
that the two men had gone on to do "routine tasks" after "verifying
that the hatch was working properly".
 
TASS said the two men had also had time to fix a metal frame for use
in an experiment with solar batteries and had removed a television
camera from the Kvant-2 module and recovered a box containing samples
of superconductors left for a year outside the space station.
 
=END=
    

    From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca"  9-JAN-1991 13:59:14.51
    Subj:	Mir cosmonauts do 5 hour space walk 

     On board the USSR's Mir space complex the two cosmonauts, Musa
Manarov and Vikor Afanasyev, held a spacewalk yesterday (Jan. 7) of 5
hours duration.  The task was to repair the hatch on the large airlock
of the Kvant 2 module.  Kvant is a 20 Tonne expansion that is docked
perpendicular to the front ball section of the main Mir section.  One
door hinge was damaged when, on July 17 1990, Anatoll Solovyov and
Alexander Balandin were doing a space walk to repair the loose thermal
blanket on their Soyuz TM-9 capsule.  The large hatch flew open when
the cosmonauts failed to let the air pressure drop fully to zero
before unlocking it (and had removed the stops designed to prevent it
opening).  The pressure forced the hatch open with a 4000 Newton (880
lbs.) force, jamming one hinge and making it difficult to move the
door (note that the main Mir section itself has its own airlock). 

    It is not clear whether the repair was successful, as the first
reports on Radio Moscow simply stated "the cosmonaut have spent
several hours in space on a spacewalk to repair the airlock."  Manarov
and Afanasyev, who were launched on Dec. 2 on Soyuz TM-11, have been
in orbit for 37 days now (Manarov has 402 days total experience when
combined with his Soyuz TM-4 flight in Dec. 1987).  Even Afanasyev now
exceeds the most experience active US astronaut.  They are remaining
as the Mir mission until May 1991, when the British/Soviet Juno
mission will fly. 

     In addition, Radio Moscow has announced that the next Progress
cargo craft will be launched next Monday, Dec. 14.  It will carry
about 2.3 Tonnes of food, fuel, air, and water to resupply the Mir. 
Note that 21 Progress tankers have visited the Mir space station,
while only 12 supplied each of the previous complexes:  Salyut 6
(1977-1981) and Salyut 7 (1981-1986). 

     Sorry about the delay on posting this, but the weather has closed
down the university for two days now. 
 
                                        Glenn Chapman
                                        School of Engineering Science
                                        Simon Fraser Univ.
                                        Burnaby, B.C. Canada
                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca
                                        or glennc%cs.sfu.ca@uunet.uu.net
 

    did any one hear about the instaltion of the crane to
    be use for moving the solar panels...
    
    jb
    

    It looks the the Crane has been sucessfully installed, but
    as yet I can not find any press release. ( based on radio
    reception from MIR )
    
    jb
    

    According to Radio Moscow the Crane Has been tested and everything is
    working fine
    
    john
    

----- Musa notes the war -----
02/01 1554  SOVIET COSMONAUTS SEE EFFECTS OF GULF WAR FROM ...
 
MOSCOW (FEB. 1) - Two Soviet cosmonauts been watching the Gulf
war from front row seats 200 kilometers (125 miles) above the
earth in the space station Mir, Soviet television reported
Friday.  From their perch, the cosmonauts can clearly see thick
black smoke billowing  up into the air above Kuwait and the
outline of the oil slick spreading across  the Gulf, as shown in
a three-minute film taken from the station and broadcast  along
with the report.  "We see the signs of war. We see the oil
burning and we see this unprecedented catastrophe taking place,"
said cosmonaut Mussa Manarov.
 
    

    

------ Soviet reentry prediction--note "descent capsule" again.
Reut 02/01 1346  MOSCOW, Feb 1, Reuter - DISUSED SOVIET SPACE ...
 
MOSCOW, Feb 1, Reuter - DISUSED SOVIET SPACE STATION TO RE-ENTER
ATMOSPHERE NEXT WEEK A disused Soviet space station spinning out
of control will re-enter the earth's atmosphere next Wednesday or
Thursday and up to two tonnes of it could strike the earth, the
official Tass news agency said on Friday. Tass quoted Soviet
anti-aircraft spokesman Mikhail Shpitalnik as saying the most
probable site of impact would be forecast only about 24 hours
before the Salyut 7 station broke apart. "Only the descent
capsule could pose some danger of coming down and hitting the
earth's surface," Tass quoted Shpitalnik as saying. "The weight
of the capsule reaching the earth will depend on the rate it
burns up in the atmosphere and could amount to 1.26 to two
tonnes," he said.
    

    Has anyone got a launch time/date for PM-7, I think it was suposed to
    go on the 12th but with MIRs recent oribit change it does not look good
    until the 13th.   The next good date without a second orbit change
    would be the 21st...  Any news?
    
    PM7 has been ready to go for a long time.  I saw both PM6 and PM7
    spacecraft while I was at Baikonur.
    
    jb
    

    Has anyone heard of PM6 being deorbited, possible
    on the 15/16 or March...  This would make way for
    PM-7 to be launch on the 21st of March...
    
    jb
    

 
   +SPACE-DOCKING-INSPECTION
+ ++
    .CARGO SPACECRAFT DOCKING FAILURE PUZZLES SPACE EXPERTS.
    26/3 TASS 33
 
    MOSCOW MARCH 26 TASS - SOVIET COSMONAUTS VIKTOR AFANASYEV AND
MUSA MANAROV WILL TODAY LEAVE THE SPACE STATION MIR FOR A WHILE,
TRANSFER TO THE SOYUZ TM-11 SPACESHIP AND FLY AROUND THE ENTIRE
ORBITAL COMPLEX TO FIND OUT WHY THE PROGRESS M-7 CARGO SPACECRAFT
FAILED TO DOCK WITH THE KVANT ORBITAL MODULE, THE NEWSPAPER TRUD
REPORTS TODAY.
    BY MEANS OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL, THE COSMONAUTS WILL TRY TO
APPROACH THE KVANT MODULE, WITH WHICH THE PROGRESS SHIP TRIED TO DOCK TWICE, ON
   MARCH 21 AND 23.
    IF THE AUTOMATIC EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTIONS AGAIN, THE COSMONAUTS
WILL HAVE TO DOCK BY MEANS OF HAND-OPERATED CONTROLS. IT WILL
THEN BECOME CLEAR THAT KVANT EQUIPMENT WAS TO BLAME.
    AFTER THE COSMONAUTS RETURN TO THE MIR STATION, IT WILL BE
POSSIBLE TO REPEAT THE PROGRESS SPACECRAFT DOCKING PROCEDURE BUT
ALREADY FROM THE DIRECTION OF THE PROPERLY-FUNCTIONING DOCKING
ASSEMBLY -- WHERE THE SOYUZ SPACESHIP IS NOW DOCKED.
    IF IT IS ESTABLISHED THAT THE KVANT AUTOMATIC EQUIPMENT IS
FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, SPACE EXPERTS WILL BE CONFRONTED WITH THE
QUESTION OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE PROGRESS M-7 SPACECRAFT: EITHER
TO REPEAT THE DOCKING PROCEDURE FOR THE THIRD TIME, DESPITE THE
CRAFT'S FAULTY EQUIPMENT, OR GIVE IT UP ALTOGETHER, TRUD REPORTS.
    THE PROGRESS M-7 CARGO SPACECRAFT, JUST AS THE KVANT ORBITAL
MODULE, WHERE ONE OF THE DOCKING ASSEMBLIES IS POSITIONED, WAS
FITTED OUT WITH THE KURS, A NEW, MORE ADVANCED SYSTEM FOR
AUTOMATIC APPROACH AND DOCKING. THE SYSTEM FUNCTIONED PROPERLY ON
SIX PROGRESS M SPACECRAFT. THE PREVIOUS SYSTEM, THE IGLA, WHICH
MAFLFUNCTIONED DURING MANNED FLIGHTS, OPERATED WITHOUT A HITCH ON
ALL THE 42 PROGRESS CRAFT.
    THE FUEL AND FOOD THE PROGRESS M-7 SPACECRAFT IS CARRYING ARE
ESSENTIAL FOR FURTHER NORMAL FUNCTIONING OF THE ORBITAL COMPLEX
AND ITS CREW. A FAILURE TO DELIVER THE CARGOES WILL QUESTION THE
FORTHCOMING ANGLO-SOVIET SPACE MISSION IN MAY, TRUD OBSERVES.
    A WAY OUT CAN BE FOUND, THE NEWSPAPER POINTS OUT. IN THE LAST
RESORT, A REGULAR PROGRESS SPACECRAFT, TO BE LAUCHED IN MAY,
COULD BE USED. THEN THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO POSTPONE THE
ANGLO-SOVIET SPACE FLIGHT, ALTHOUGH THIS IS LIKELY TO AFFECT THE
MISSION SCHEDULE.
 
 
 
 
 
MSK 17.54 26-03-1991
   .SOYUZ SPACESHIP RE-DOCKS.
    26/3 TASS 73
 
    MOSCOW  MARCH 26 TASS - BY TASS CORRESPONDENT RENA
KUZNETSOVA:
    TASS LEARNT AT THE FLIGHT CONTROL CENTRE THAT THE SOYUZ TM-11
SPACESHIP WAS TODAY RE-DOCKED FROM THE BASIC MODULE TO THE KVANT
ASTROPHYSICAL MODULE WHERE SPACE FERRIES USUALLY DOCK.
    TO CARRY OUT THIS OPERATION, COSMONAUTS VIKTOR AFANASYEV AND
MUSA MANAROV, WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE MIR COMPLEX FOR NEARLY
FOUR MONTHS, MOVED TO THE SOYUZ TM-11 SPACESHIP FROM THE STATION.
    SOYUZ CIRCLED AROUND THE COMPLEX AND THEN APPROACHED THE KVANT
IN AN AUTOMATIC REGIME.
    THE CREW (COULD NOT FIND) THE REASON WHY THE PROGRESS PM-7
FERRY COULD NOT DOCK ON MARCH 21 AND 23. THE FERRY HAD BEEN
BLASTED OFF ON MARCH 19.
    SPECIALISTS BELIEVE THAT THE RE-DOCKING WAS A SUQCESS. IT IS
PLANNED THAT THE PROGRESS PM-7 FERRY WILL DOCK TO THE MIR STATION
ON MARCH 28.
    ITEM ENDS +++
 
Best regards,
    

Interesting...so that implies that it was Progress that was broken rather than
Kvant.  That is probably good news in some ways.

I wonder if they can retrieve some of the contents via EVA?

Burns

    PM7 docked at 12:03 Z on Thursday the 28 of March
    jb
    

    From all indicatons it looks like PM7 docked to the
    front docking port.  If this is true then the MIR
    complex and refule from any docking port, not just
    the one on KVANT.  Initial indications that there
    was a problem with something on KVANT and that the
    TM unit had to manually dock to KVANT
    
    john
    

From: risks@CSL.SRI.COM (RISKS Forum)
Subject: RISKS DIGEST 11.35
Date: 30 Mar 91 00:07:17 GMT
RISKS-LIST: RISKS-FORUM Digest  Friday 29 March 1991  Volume 11 : Issue 35

        FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS 
   ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy, Peter G. Neumann, moderator

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
[RISKS excerpt]

Date: Fri, 29 Mar 91 21:11 GMT 
From: "James H. Paul" <0002296540@mcimail.com>
Subject: Soviet Space Station [PGN Excerpting Service]

                 REUTERS  03-28-91 05:40 PET
   SOVIET SPACE STATION AVOIDS DOCKING DISASTER BY 40 FEET

   MOSCOW, Reuters - The Soviet space station Mir came within 40 feet of a
collision with a cargo module which would almost certainly have killed the two
cosmonauts on board, Soviet television reported Thursday.  Ground control staff
noticed only seconds before impact that computers which should have been
docking an unmanned Progress-7 cargo module onto Mir were in fact steering it
on a collision course. [...]
   The cargo module was only 65 feet from impact when an alert ground
controller watching television pictures of the docking had to make a snap
decision to override the computers and change Progress-7's course.  Rockets
deflected the module, which had already failed to dock once last week, so that
it passed within 40 feet of the space station and narrowly missed protruding
antennae and solar panels.  [...]
   The space station's next crew will have to make more extensive repairs to a
faulty antenna which was found to be the cause of the near miss.  [...]

    The Soviet Union has approve the launch a of US Teacher in Space
    to the MIR complex in 1993.  The agreement was signed by NPO energia
    and Aerospace Ambassadors (the group I took the Soviet Tour with)
    a project of the Aviation Space Education Assn.  The teachr
    will be flow free of charge, but sponsors will have to fun an array
    of experiments for the MIR station to help defray cost.  
    
    While on tour with the teacher group in the Soviet Union I meet
    one of the canidates for the Teacher in Space, they have already
    obtain some sponership.
    
    cheers John
    

Article        29518
From: clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Mir & Progress near accident
Date: 22 Apr 91 13:13:04 GMT
Sender: news@ksr.com
Organization: Kendall Square Research Corp
 
    The 15 April AW&ST has a little blurb on the near collision
between Progress M7 and the Mir complex, adding a little to what's
been posted here.  Two points of interest are that the misalignment
between Progress and Mir is thought to have been caused by the
cosmonauts bumping into a rendezvous antenna during an EVA. This
implies that they have been working outside near the aft end of the
station.  The Soviets have previously announced that they intend to
move the solar panels from one of the large modules docked at the
other end to Kvant-1 (which is at the aft end).  They also want to
place some attitude control thrusters at the ends of booms extending
from Kvant-1 to effect a larger moment arm. 
 
    The other interesting point is that they tested the automatic
rendezvous system by reboarding Soyuz TM11 and docking it with the aft
port (the automatic system failed in the same way so the docking was
done manually).  Progress was later docked at the front port.  I'm
pretty sure there is no refuelling capability at that port, so I don't
know what is planned to refuel Mir.  Probably they'll have to fix the
antenna somehow. 
--
Chris Jones    clj@ksr.com    {uunet,harvard,world}!ksr!clj

    re: -1
    Mir can be refuled when the Progress unit it dock to
    the front ball, in fact it is a bi-directional system
    fule can be also unloaded from MIR to Progress.  This
    was done last year to my suprise.   I will have to
    check on the loading of water however.
    
    As for the EVA I am not sure why they would be close
    to the docking antennas.  There were to move the 
    Solar Panels from Krystal to Kvant-1, but I will have
    to check on the thruster locations.   
    
    It could have been hit by junk, or it could be an 
    electrical failure causing the antenna to have a
    strange pattern.
    
    john
    

Interesting, Helen Sharman would be the first female non-professional astronaut
to fly in space. The Soviets always seems to want to get the first before the
Americans. The first female for the Americans will be Millie Hughes-Fulford on
STS 40 scheduled for May 25th.

From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Subject: British woman selected for Soviet space flight
Date: 23 Apr 91 20:38:53 GMT
 
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- A British woman was tentatively selected Tuesday to
fly into space on the next international flight with two Soviet
cosmonauts to the Mir space station.
	Helen Sharman, nicknamed Lenochka by workers at the cosmonaut
training center, was selected over Timothy Mace to be launched from
Baikonur space station May 18.
	``Each day in Britain is international women's day,'' Mace said,
making way for his collegue in the main crew.
	Sharman will go into space along with cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky
and Sergei Krikalev. Mace was chosen as part of the backup crew along
with Alexander Volkov and Alexander Kaleri.
	Sharman, whom the head of Cosmonaut Training Center Alexei Leonov
tenderly referred to as Lenochka, was the star of the day with her
selection as the first Briton to fly on a Soviet mission.
	She is almost certain to take part in the flight, although the final
decision will be made by the state commission shortly before the
takeoff, the official news agency Tass said.
	In the last pay-as-you-go flight with a Japanese cosmonaut, a woman
television reporter, Rioki Kikuchi, also was a leading candidate, but
the spot went to a man, Toyohiro Akiyama, a veteran reporter.
	Kikuchi then suffered an appendicitis attack a week before the Dec.
2, 1990, liftoff and sadly had to watch from a bus parked behind the
observation deck at the cosmodrome.
	The British flight had been in doubt because of the financing, and
the Tass account of the upcoming British flight made no mention of
money. The Japanese flight cost the Tokyo Broadcasting System at least
$10 million.
	The Japanese mission was the first commercial attempt by the
Glavkosmos space agency to launch cosmonauts for a fee after a decade of
propaganda flights with cosmonauts from Communist and other friendly
nations.
	While Sharman will be the first Briton to fly aboard a Soyuz rocket,
the French have had two missions, and will soon have a third. An
Austrian and a German cosmonaut also will participate in the program.
	Demonstrating their good command of Russian, the two British
cosmonauts managed to hold a news conference without translators. 
	The two Soviet cosmonauts flying to the Mir with Sharman will replace
the station's current occupants, Musa Manarov and Viktor Afanasyev. They
in turn will return to earth with Sharman.
	Sharman will briefly be part of the ninth crew to be aboard the
station was launched in February 1986 and has been occupied almost
continuously since except for two short periods.

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MICHAEL COLLINS)
Subject: Rocket in place for Briton's voyage
Date: 16 May 91 14:51:23 GMT
 
 
	BAIKONUR COSMODROME, U.S.S.R. (UPI) -- Workers rolled a Soyuz TM-12
rocket into place Thursday to take a British woman and two Soviet
cosmonauts to the Mir space station in what may ultimately be seen as an
example of the failure of Soviet plans to make money from space.
	Helen Sharman, a 27-year-old chemist and former employee of the Mars
candy company, was to blast off Saturday afternoon with cosmonauts
Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev.
	Their 160-foot-tall rocket, its gleaming white crew capsule painted
with the the red Soviet hammer and sickle on one side and the Union Jack
on the other, slowly made the milelong rail journey Thursday from the
assembly building at the Soviet launch center in central Asia to the
launch pad where 30 years ago April 12 Yuri Gagarin began man's first
flight into space.
	If Saturday's launch occurs as planned, Sharman and the two Soviets
will become the 248th, 249th and 250th people in space since Gagarin
began manned space travel.
	With the voyage Britain will become the 22nd country to have sent
citizens in space after the superpowers and smaller nations like Vietnam
and Cuba that went along on earlier Soviet missions for propaganda
purposes.
	The ``rollout'' and lifting of the TM-12 rocket into position
pointing to the heavens came in a steady light rain Thursday morning,
but officials said weather forecasts predicted clearing later in the
day.
	Artsebarsky and Krikalev will replace the current crew of the Mir
space station, space endurance record holder Musa Manarov and Viktor
Afanasyev, who will return to Earth with Sharman at the end of her
eight-day mission. Manarov and Afanasyev have been on Mir since being
launched together with a Japanese reporter in December.
	The ``Juno'' mission Saturday is the second ``pay as you go'' foreign
trip on a Soviet rocket in a new era of tighter budgets and less
emphasis on socialist brotherhood in the Soviet space program.
	But unlike last December's flight by Japanese journalist Toyohiro
Akiyama or an expected Austrian mission later this year, the Soviets
will end up paying most of the costs for the first Briton in space.
	Sharman, a vegetarian chemist who left her job at Mars 18 months ago
to begin cosmonaut training at Star City near Moscow, was chosen along
with alternate Maj. Tim Rice from 13,000 applicants who responded to a
June 1989 advertisement that read: ``Astronauts wanted, no experience
necessary.''
	When Sharman first heard of the Juno mission on her car radio, the
joint British-Sovier venture behind the mission was confident sponsors
would pay the estimated $24 million cost to put the first Briton into
space.
	But sponsors were hard to find and then the British Independent
Television Network, with financial problems of its own, withdrew its
reported 500,008 pounds ($875,000) sponsorship offer and other companies
also dropped out.
	In March 1990 it was announced that the Juno project did not have
enough sponsorship money to proceed as planned, and in August the Moscow
Narodny Bank -- a Soviet-owned international institution based in London
-- announced it would take over the project.
	Officials are reluctant to discuss the funding, but the Moscow
Narodny Bank is believed to be underwriting at least $5 million in
training and other costs for the Britons.
	Soviet space officials played down the funding issue in pre-launch
interviews, but they remain obvioulsy concerned about their previously
untouchable budget.
	``No, it is not a waste of money,'' Maj. Gen. Aleksei Shumilin said
as he watched the rocket prepared at the launch site where he has worked
since before the Gagarin mission. ``But now we have to judge the space
program by its results. We hope the results of the joint flight will be
used for everyone's good.''
	About a dozen British experiments originally planned for the flight
have been shelved as a cost-cutting move, however, and the mission will
be a routine Soviet one with Sharman along for the ride -- leading to
criticism in the British press.
	While some newspapers have raved about ``the girl from Mars reaching
for the stars,'' others have derided the mission.
	The Sunday Observer, noting that Britain followed such countries as
India and Bulgaria into space on Soviet largess, joked that Sharman
would be doing nothing more than ``making the coffee'' in her eight-day
mission to the Mir and her only medical complaint would be sore wrists 
``from being slapped every time she got near a control.''

I never noticed this before: the Soviet rockets are first
prepared, then rolled into liftoff position.  Huh, any comments
from the knowledgeable?

Mars candy company is missing a PR coup on this...must be the
price tag.

I dunno, but I'm beginning to suspect that the entire Soviet
space presence is more for status than deed.  Especially so in
the recent period of financial crisis and political turmoil in
the Soviet Union.  I think I've read here that they have sent
some Progress vehicles back with "space products", but I wonder
just how useful the actual presence up there has been.  

Even the result of returning science would be good, but all I've
been hearing about is the science we've done (for once it looks
like we're doing the good work).  Could it be that those folks at
NASA who have argued for the shuttle program vs. a "space
station" at this time are right?

>I never noticed this before: the Soviet rockets are first
>prepared, then rolled into liftoff position.  Huh, any comments
>from the knowledgeable?

Soviet Rockets are prepared in the horizontal position then
roll up on modified railroad cars, then put into the vertical
position, unlike the US rockets they are strong enough to
do this, one might also argue it is excessive weight that
could have been put into the payload.  It however does offer
the ease of assemble and movement.   The Soviet Space exhibit 
at the Boston Museum of Science had a scaled model of this process.




>I dunno, but I'm beginning to suspect that the entire Soviet
>space presence is more for status than deed.  Especially so in
>the recent period of financial crisis and political turmoil in
>the Soviet Union.  I think I've read here that they have sent
>some Progress vehicles back with "space products", but I wonder
>just how useful the actual presence up there has been.  

Yes, but it is not all their fault, the Soviets are trying to
launch meaningful US payload and are block by our government, so
this may be a way to get the PR they need.   They have had excellent
results in growing of plants, semiconductors, plating etc, and have
developed methods to keep people healthy in space for over a year.



>Even the result of returning science would be good, but all I've
>been hearing about is the science we've done (for once it looks
>like we're doing the good work).  Could it be that those folks at
>NASA who have argued for the shuttle program vs. a "space
>station" at this time are right?

The benefits of the MIR space station are enormous, if you can
fault them on anything it would be not making a large return
capsule for space manufactured goods. 
    

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MICHAEL COLLINS)
Subject: First Briton launched into space
Date: 18 May 91 19:40:21 GMT
 
 
	BAIKONUR COSMODROME, U.S.S.R. (UPI) -- The first British cosmonaut
roared into space Saturday on an eight-day mission to the Mir station, a
trip billed as the second commercial manned Soviet flight but ending up
with Moscow paying the tab.
	A Soyuz TM-12 rocket, the Union Jack and the red Soviet flag with
hammer and sickle painted on its sides, blasted off on schedule at 5:50
p.m. with orange flames firing beneath and a roar of its engines that
echoed across the Kazakh steppe at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Central
Asia.
	A threat of rain and brisk winds almost forced postponement of the
launch carrying Helen Sharman, 27, a chemist from Sheffield, England;
mission commander Col. Anatoly Artsebarsky; and civilian cosmonaut
Sergei Krikalev.
	Soviet television reported that the crew was smiling and in good
spirits minutes before the liftoff.
	``Thirty seconds, the flight is normal,'' a mission control operator
announced just after the launch.
	About 100 seconds into the flight, after the spaceship had
disappeared into the overcast sky, Sharman smiled broadly and waved at
the camera inside the capsule. The image was beamed to mission control
and displayed on monitors for several hundred people watching the launch
from an observation deck at Baikonur.
	The capsule went into orbit two minutes after the launch, embarking
on the spiral path that is to deliver it to the Mir on Monday.
	``However many emotions there are, we've just been through them all,''
Sharman's father, John, said after the liftoff.
	Sharman took along on the epic trip a butterfly broach she received
from her father as a child, along with a picture of Queen Elizabeth
given to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin after he completed man's first space
flight in 1961.
	Sharman's parents, joined by British Ambassador to Moscow Rodric
Braithwaite, watched their daughter soar aloft, standing a half mile
from the same launching pad from which Gagarin left Earth to become the
first man in space 30 years ago.
	Tears welled in their eyes when controllers announced that the launch
was successful.
	Sharman's mother, Lyndis, hugged and kissed the chief of Soviet
cosmonaut training, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shatalov, and told reporters: ``I
wasn't worried. I knew she was in good hands.''
	The parents spoke with the quarantined Sharman through a glass
partition several hours before the launch, and her mother later reported
that she had seen no signs of nervousness.
	``She was bright and chirpy as ever,'' Lyndis Sharman said.
	Sharman, who will be the first woman occupant of the Mir since its
launch in February 1986, ended the conversation with a breezy, ``Bye,
mum.''
	Asked what he had told his daughter, John Sharman responded: ``We
wished her and her colleagues a happy flight, a successful mission,
Godspeed and a happy landing.''
	After seeing her off, Sharman's parents ate lunch with Soviet space
officials and drank champagne toasts to the success of the mission.
	``I'm expecting someone to stick a pin in me to prove it's real,''
John Sharman said.
	The three cosmonauts boarded the rocket two hours before liftoff,
smiling and waving to a crowd of space officials, journalists and
Baikonur employees as they appeared on the launch deck.
	Sharman wore a British flag patch on her left arm, while her two co-
passengers displayed a miniature Soviet banner. The Soviet, British and
Kazakh emblems rippled in the wind near the rocket.
	Sharman, chosen for the mission from 130,000 applicants who responded
to a newspaper advertisement, had appeared calm on the eve of her
record-setting space flight and said she was well prepared for the
weeklong adventure.
	``I have done all the training that was required,'' Sharman told
reporters. ``I'm ready.''
	Sharman, a former employee of the Mars candy company, and the two
Russians also carried small blue ``space passports'' identifying them as
cosmonauts and requesting assistance if they are forced to land outside
the Soviet Union.
	Krikalev and Artsebarsky, the ninth crew sent to the Mir since its
launching five years ago, will replace Viktor Afanasyev and space
endurance record holder Musa Manarov, who are to travel back to Earth
with Sharman next weekend.
	The joint flight, called the Juno project, is the second ``pay as you
go flight to the Mir, but unlike November's mission by Japanese
journalist Toyohiro Akiyama the Soviets are paying nearly all the costs
because the current venture did not find significant British sponsors.
	Sharman denied that because Britain canceled its research experiments
for lack of money she had become merely a passenger, and her Soviet
crewmates supported her.
	``We are a crew, and we work as a team,'' Krikyolev said. ``There are
no passengers.''
	Sharman, who had no prior flight experience but is an active athlete,
underwent 18 months of training at Star City outside Moscow.
	The Mir, a jewel of the Soviet space program, is a cylindrical
platform with three expansion modules sent to it for scientific
research, which have increased the station's weight to more than 90 tons
and given it the appearance of a giant corkscrew.
	The space station has experienced a series of problems since its
launching, including delays in launching the module addtions, docking
difficulties with the expansion components and, last year, a hatch that
would not close.
	In 1989, a delay in launching the Kvae three additions, forced the
Soviets to leave the Mir unmanned for 132 days.

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JAMES ROSEN)
Subject: Briton arrives at Mir space station
Date: 20 May 91 21:42:09 GMT
 
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- A 27-year-old British chemist with no flying
experience became the first woman to visit the Mir space station Monday,
but Pravda likened her to Syrian and Afghan cosmonauts who flew gratis.
	President Mikhail Gorbachev hailed the coolness of Helen Sharman and
the two Soviet cosmonauts who accompanied her in a direct conversation
with the Mir crew moments after the TM-12 capsule docked with the space
station.
	Sharman, who began her Russian studies only last year after she was
accepted as a candidate, answered Gorbachev in remarkably fluent
Russian, praising her fellow fliers ``Anatoly (Artsebarsky) and Serezha
(Sergei Krikalev) ... who worked very well and helped me very much.''
	The official Tass news agency said the Soyuz craft apparently docked
without major problems on its first attempt, as compared with past
difficulties the Soviets have experienced in joining module additions to
the Mir.
	Tass said Artsebarsky, the mission commander, had to dock the
spacecraft manually after its computer system ``gave information that
cast doubt among specialists,'' but it said the manual docking was ``not
an emergency situation ... but a completely established procedure that
will have no effect whatsoever on the mission's future.''
	Sharman, Lt. Col. Artsebarsky and civilian flight engineer Krikalev,
who were launched Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Soviet
Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, joined two other cosmonauts on the
Mir.
	Sharman, chosen from 13,000 British applicants for the joint flight,
is to return to Earth Sunday with Viktor Afanasyev and space endurance
record holder Musa Manarov, who are completing a six-month stay on the
orbiting station.
	Gorbachev and a broadly smiling Sharman had a lively exchange that
was later broadcast on national televion, with the Briton and her four
crewmates in front of a Union Jack and a red Soviet flag with hammer and
sickle.
	``I congratulate you on this meeting, on this event in your life,
which is also a great event for our two peoples,'' Gorbachev told her.
	``Thank you, certainly much work has already been done,'' responded
Sharman, who quit her job with the Mars candy company to join the Mir
mission. ``We have been preparing for the flight for two years.''
	At the end of the talk, Gorbachev asked, ``Will there be a festive
dinner?''
	When one of the cosmonauts yelled back, ``Of course,'' Gorbachev
added: ``I wish I were there. Well, goodbye.''
	But the official Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda expressed
resentment that Moscow is paying for Sharman's trip to the Mir because
British companies refused to sponsor the journey.
	``The money for the 'British' flight came practically from our State
Bank's pocket,'' Pravda said. ``There is not a single British scientific
device on the program.''
	Sharman was to have conducted various experiments on the Mir, but the
British research was scrapped because of the lack of funding.
	Pravda chided ``the proud Great Britain'' for accepting a free ride
to the space station, saying it has ``at last become a space power and
caught up with Syria and Afghanistan,'' Soviet allies that previously
sent people to the Mir at Moscow's expense.
	``Let us give a ride to everyone free of charge on our space troika,''
Pravda said. ``Every country in its turn, one by one, without
bargaining, just the way we have started going about it.''
	Artsebarsky and Krikalev comprise the ninth manned expedition to the
Mir, which except for a 132-day break has been continuously occupied
since its launch in February 1986.
	The original platform is shaped like a cylinder, but three expansion
modules sent to it for scientific research have increased the Mir's
weight to more than 90 tons and given it the appearance of a giant
corkscrew.
	The space station has experienced a series of problems since its
launching, including delays in launching the module additions, docking
difficulties with the expansion components and, last year, a hatch that
would not close.
	In 1989, a delay in launching the Kvant-2 module, the second of the
three additions, forced the Soviets to leave the Mir unmanned for 132
days.

    Haven't the Soviets sent female cosmonauts to Mir or Salyut in the
    past?
    
    gary

    Re:.389
    
    	The Soviets have sent two women to Salyut 7 (one of them twice) in
    the early 1980s (off hand I can't remember their names). No woman has
    ever been to the Mir space station until now.
    
    				Drew
    

    If Columbia gets it's delay taken care of in a timely manner and
    launches, there will be 4 women in space at the same time which will be
    another "first"

Re: last couple on Russian women cosmonauts

    No women crews are currently being trained.  Svetlana Savitskaya
(Soyuz T-7, 8 days in Aug. '82, and Soyuz T-12, 11 days in July '84)
the second woman cosmonaut, was to head an all female crew of engineer
Ye. Ivanova and physician Ye. Dobrovakshina in about 1985, but the
flight was delayed.  There problems with Salyut 7 at that time,
control systems failed early in 1985, resulting in the requirement to
send a repair mission of Soyuz T-13 in June '85.  Unfortunately, by
the time the situation stabilized Savitskaya had become pregnant and
the stand by crew was all male due to the lack of a qualified women
cosmonaut with space flight experience (one experienced cosmonaut is
required on each mission).  A. Viktorenko and A. Alexandrov from that
stand by flew the Soyuz TM-3 mission with the Syria guest cosmonaut in
June 1987, while the other, A. Solovyov, went up on the Soyuz TM-5 in
June 1988.  (This does not explain why they did not have a mixed crew
of two rookie women and one experienced man to generate other
exerienced women - they probably were just not interested.) 

Article        31061
From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: British/Soviet Soyuz TM-12 docks with Mir space station
Date: 21 May 91 00:34:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
  
    The Soviet/British Juno flight on Soyuz TM-12 successfully docked
with the Mir space station on today (May 20th ) at about 17:25 Moscow
Time (6:25 PDT).  On board were cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski and
Sergei Krikalev, plus Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut. 
This mission was delayed from its original launch date of May 12th. 
They were greated by Viktor Afanasyev and Musa Manarov, who were
launched on Soyuz TM-11 on Dec. 2 '90.  Afanasyev and Manarov will be
bringing Sharman down on May 26th. Artsebarski and Krikalev will be
staying on board Mir for the next 6 months. They will be doing several
space walks, including one to repair the antenna damage that caused
the Progress M-7 to have problems docking at the March 19th attempt.  
In addition Radio Moscow stated the two would be installing a new
solar panel set to be delivered by their space shuttle. 

    Sharman, who used to work as a chemist for a candy company, is
called in the British press, as the woman from Mars (her former
employer).  There was also considerable comment about the fact that
Britain was the 23 nation to have a person go into orbit, rather sad
considering its considerable contributions to the space field. 

    Net problems at this end have kept me from posting since February.
Actually, I could not post about the launch as I was at a conference
in Europe at that time, but did get to see the British press coverage
of it. Sorry for not being able to cover things up to this date. 
Hopefully I will be back on the net full time now. 
 
							Glenn Chapman
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

    (-1) stated that the extra solar panel pair would be brought by the 
    soviet space shuttle. Are the Soviets planning on launching Buran or
    a new shuttle in the next six months or will it be a progress unit??

    They are gearing up for a VKK/Energiya launch next year. It will not be
    same orbiter that flew last time, but they are saying it will be
    unmanned and it will dock with Mir using the new androgynous docking
    system on one of the expansion modules.
    
    I forget which module it is, but it has a small 'docking ball' with two
    ports. The docking mechanism is similar to that developed for ASTP.
    
    gary

    also VKK will have a life support system
    what is news is what / why the new solar panels
    are for.... any ideas...
    jb
    

    The actual docking time for TM-12 was  17:31 MSK
    a little latter then the predicted 17:25 MSK time.
    
    john
    

Article         1324
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MICHAEL COLLINS)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.tw.space
Subject: British-Soviet space crew lands safely
Date: 26 May 91 16:37:46 GMT
  
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- The first British astronaut and two Soviet
cosmonauts returned safely from the Mir space station Sunday, floating
to Earth with their TM-11 capsule suspended from parachutes for a soft
landing. 

	The official Soviet news agency Tass said Helen Sharman, 27,
of Sheffield, England, and cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Musa
Manarov landed 42 miles southeast of Dzhezkazgan on the barren steppe
of Kazakhstan in Soviet Central Asia at 1:15 p.m. Moscow time. 

	Sharman, a chemist who was chosen from 13,000 people who
responded to an ``Astronaut wanted, no experience required''
advertisement for the British-Soviet mission, spent eight days in
space helping with experiments aboard the Soviet station and speaking
to English schoolchildren by a radio link. 

	Tass said Sharman and the two Soviet cosmonauts were ``feeling
well'' after being lifted out of the landing module.  After a brief
medical check, the cosmonauts were flown to Star City, the cosmonaut
training and living center near Moscow. 

	Sharman was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome May 18 with
cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev, who remained at
work on the orbiting Mir, which has been nearly constantly manned
since its launch in February 1986. 

	Manarov, who holds the space endurance record with more than a
year in orbit from a previous mission, and Afanasyev spent just over
six months aboard Mir since their launch with Japanese journalist
Toyohiro Akiyama last November. 

	Unlike the Japanese mission, for which the Tokyo Broadcasting
System spent at least $24 million to send its reporter into space, the
British voyage was a commercial failure because organizers failed to
find serious sponsorship. 

	Despite the Soviet space program's goal of taking foreigners
to Mir on a ``pay as you go'' basis, the Soviet-owned Moscow Narodny
Bank ended up absorbing training and other costs so Sharman could
travel into space. 

	A dozen or so British experiments originally planned for the
flight were canceled because of the failure to attract sponsorship,
but Sharman and Soviet space officials have insisted the mission was
valuable both because of her scientific assistance and as a sign of
new Soviet-British cooperation. 

    I see from the lastest NASA el set that the Soviets have 
    launch Progress PM-8, any news on its launch time and
    docking time.   Did they have any problem docking and or
    did they use the front docking port
    
    jb
    

    
 
UPn  06/23 1913  Soviet satellite not operating
 
   MOSCOW (UPI) -- A small satellite launched from the Mir space station
has not operated since it was sent aloft a week ago from the giant orbital
complex, Soviet television said Sunday.
   Space experts were trying to determine why the Mag I satellite has been
inoperative since its June 17 launching by cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky
and Sergei Krikalev, the evening "Vremya" news program said.
   "The autonomous sputnik Mag I, launched by cosmonauts Artsebarksy and
Krikalev last Monday, has not shown any sign of working," the television
said. "Experts continue to seek the cause of the failure."
   Technicians reviewed video tape of the two cosmonauts' preparations for
the launch and determined that they are not responsible for the failure,
the television said.
   The news program did not say why the satellite was launched or provide
any other information about it.
   Artsebarsky and Krikalev arrived at the Mir on May 20 along with British
chemist Helen Sharman, who spent five days on the giant complex as its
first woman occupant.
 
    

    Has anyone heard about the planed EVA for today?
    
    john
    

NPR this morning said that they did it "to work on an antenna", presumably
the auto-docking antenna.  I believe that it said they were out for 5 hours,
but it did not say if the work was successful.

Burns

 
   06/25 0441  Cosmonauts replace vital docking guidance antenna
 
   MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two cosmonauts on the Mir orbiting station
   completed a nearly five-hour space walk Tuesday, replacing a
   vital antenna that guides spacecraft arriving at the giant
   complex. Cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev,
   the ninth manned expedition to the Mir, floated into open
   space at 12:12 a.m. Tuesday to begin a busy program, the
   official Tass news agency said. First, they replaced the Kurs
   guidance antenna system with a new one, which had been
   delivered by the progress M-8 cargo space ship. Tass said the
   mission was to "to replace the antenna that ensures guidance
   and docking of a spaceship with the orbital complex and which
   is installed on the Kvant astrophysical module." Tass did not
   say whether the old guidance antenna was damaged or merely due
   for routine replacement. The Kvant is one of three module
   additions sent to the Mir to expand its size since the space
   station was launched in February 1986. The two spacemen also
   installed an experimental girder on a second scientific module
   to evaluate the erection of large structures in open space.
   The crew spent a total of four hours 58 minutes in open space,
   Tass said. Artsebarsky and Krikalev are feeling well after the
   space walk, doctors told Tass. Artsebarsky and Krikalev
   arrived at the Mir May 20 along with British chemist Helen
   Sharman, who spent five days on the large platform as its
   first female occupant.
 
    

Article        32517
From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Mir space walk underway
Date: 25 Jun 91 07:41:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
  
   According to Radio Moscow on board the Soviet's Mir space station
cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski and Sergei Krikalev, have started their
space walk at the current time (June 25th, 12:10 am PST, 11:10 Moscow
Time).  As noted before the main activity will be the repair of the
docking antenna that caused the docking failure during the Progress
M-7 docking of Mar 28th.  Current reports state this Extra Vehicle
Activity has been extended to 5 hrs duration.  Such extensions are
common in space walks.  Artsebarski and Krikalev have been in orbit
now for 45 days, and the current plans call for a 4.5 month mission
(mid September). 
 
							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca


Article        32531
From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviets successfully repace antenna in Mir space walk
Date: 25 Jun 91 16:19:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
  
     USSR cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski and Sergei Krikalev,
successfully completed their 4 hr. 58 min. space walk on board the Mir
space station today (June 25th) according to Radio Moscow. This
operation replaced the docking antenna on the Kvant astrophysical
module at the station rear.  The repair was important for the
automatic docking of the Progress cargo craft prefer to connect to
that port (due to the plumbing for fuel transfer, and it being a
superior place to apply thrust to station which these tankers do just
before leaving).  In addition the Mir crew erected a struct to hold
future experiments. 
 
							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca


Article         1459
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.tw.space
Subject: Cosmonauts begin space walk
Date: 24 Jun 91 21:48:01 GMT 
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two cosmonauts on the Mir orbiting station
began a five-hour space walk early Tuesday to replace an antenna that
guides spacecraft arriving at the giant complex. 

	The two cosmonauts, who make up the ninth manned expedition to
the Mir, floated into open space at 12:12 a.m. Tuesday, the official
Tass news agency said. 

	``Soviet cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev
have just begun extravehicular activities,'' Tass said. ``The
principle aim of their first spacewalk is to replace the antenna that
ensures guidance and docking of a spaceship with the orbital complex
and which is installed on the Kvant astrophysical module.'' 

	The Kvant is one of three module additions sent to the Mir to
expand its size since the space station was launched in February 1986.

	Tass did not say whether the old guidance antenna on the Kvant
was damaged or merely in line for a routine replacement. 

	A small satellite launched manually by the two cosmonauts a
week ago was inoperative as of Sunday, according to Soviet television.

	Technicians were conducting tests to determine the cause of
the Mag I satellite's failure, whose mission was not disclosed. 

	Two predecessors of Artsebarksy and Krikalev on the Mir were
forced to take several unplanned space walks last year to close a balky 
hatch that became jammed during one of their ventures into space. 

	Artsebarsky and Krikalev arrived at the Mir on May 20 along
with British chemist Helen Sharman, who spent five days on the large
platform as its first woman occupant. 


Article         1460
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.tw.space
Subject: Cosmonauts replace vital docking guidance antenna
Date: 25 Jun 91 08:31:03 GMT
  
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two cosmonauts on the Mir orbiting station
completed a nearly five-hour space walk Tuesday, replacing a vital
antenna that guides spacecraft arriving at the giant complex. 

	Cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev, the ninth
manned expedition to the Mir, floated into open space at 12:12 a.m.
Tuesday to begin a busy program, the official Tass news agency said. 

	First, they replaced the Kurs guidance antenna system with a
new one, which had been delivered by the progress M-8 cargo space ship. 

	Tass said the mission was to ``to replace the antenna that
ensures guidance and docking of a spaceship with the orbital complex
and which is installed on the Kvant astrophysical module.'' 

	Tass did not say whether the old guidance antenna was damaged
or merely due for routine replacement. 

	The Kvant is one of three module additions sent to the Mir to
expand its size since the space station was launched in February 1986.

	The two spacemen also installed an experimental girder on a
second scientific module to evaluate the erection of large structures
in open space. 

	The crew spent a total of four hours 58 minutes in open space,
Tass said. 

	Artsebarsky and Krikalev are feeling well after the space
walk, doctors told Tass. 

	Artsebarsky and Krikalev arrived at the Mir May 20 along with
British chemist Helen Sharman, who spent five days on the large
platform as its first female occupant. 

Article         1463
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.tw.space
Subject: Cosmonauts replace docking-guidance antenna
Date: 25 Jun 91 21:10:42 GMT 
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two cosmonauts on the Mir orbiting station
completed a nearly five-hour space walk Tuesday, replacing a vital
antenna that guides spacecraft arriving at the giant complex. 

	Soviet television later reported that there had been ``an
accident with the cargo spaceship due to the problem'' with the
antenna, but it did not provide further details. 

	Cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev, the ninth
manned expedition to the Mir, floated into open space at 12:12 a.m.
Tuesday to begin a busy program, the official Tass news agency said. 

	First, they replaced the Kurs guidance antenna system with a
new one, which had been delivered by the progress M-8 cargo spaceship.

	Tass said the mission was to ``to replace the antenna that
ensures guidance and docking of a spaceship with the orbital complex
and which is installed on the Kvant astrophysical module.'' 

	Tass did not say whether the old guidance antenna was damaged
or merely due for routine replacement. Soviet television, however, later 
referred to the ``broken antenna'' in its report on the space walk. 

	The Kvant is one of three module additions sent to the Mir to
expand its size since the space station was launched in February 1986.

	The two spacemen also installed an experimental girder on a
second scientific module to evaluate the erection of large structures
in open space. 

	The crew spent a total of four hours and 58 minutes in open
space, Tass said. 

	Artsebarsky and Krikalev were feeling well after the
spacewalk, doctors told Tass. 

	Artsebarsky and Krikalev arrived at the Mir on May 20 along
with British chemist Helen Sharman, who spent five days on the large
platform as its first woman occupant. 


Subj:	Soviets successfully repace antenna in Mir space walk 

     USSR cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski and Sergei Krikalev,
successfully completed their 4 hr. 58 min. space walk on board the Mir
space station today (June 25th) according to Radio Moscow. This
operation replaced the docking antenna on the Kvant astrophysical
module at the station rear.  The repair was important for the
automatic docking of the Progress cargo craft prefer to connect to
that port (due to the plumbing for fuel transfer, and it being a
superior place to apply thrust to station which these tankers do just
before leaving).  In addition the Mir crew erected a struct to hold
future experiments. 
 
							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca


Article        32548
From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Cosmonauts to do space walk June 25th for antenna repair
Date: 24 Jun 91 23:38:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet 
 
    On board the Soviet's Mir space station cosmonauts Anatoli
Artsebarski and Sergei Krikalev, are preparing for a space walk that
will take place tomorrow (June 25th).  The main activity will be the
repair of the docking antenna that caused the docking failure during
the Progress M-7 docking of Mar 28th.  This antenna was subsequently
found to be damaged as shown by the Apr. 25th space walk inspection of
Viktor Afansyev and Musa Manarov.  It could not be repaired until the
new crew arrived after May 12th on Soyuz TM-12.  This new EVA is
planned to be 4 hours long. 
 
							Glenn Chapman
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

Article        32567
From: john@newave.UUCP (John A. Weeks III)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Cosmonauts to do space walk June 25th for antenna repair
Date: 25 Jun 91 21:49:29 GMT
Organization: NeWave Communications Ltd, Eden Prairie, MN
 
In article <9106242338.AA02381@eddy.cs.sfu.ca> glennc@CS.SFU.CA writes:

> On board the Soviet's Mir space station cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski and 
> Sergei Krikalev, are preparing for a space walk that will take place 
> tomorrow (June 25th).
 
CNN (Headline News) is showing video of the spacewalk as I read this
note.  The video is looks very good, as good as the best color video
from the Shuttle.  The background is a very bright white and blue
Earth.  Perhaps they will show more of the footage during the weekend
science show on CNN. 
 
This video looks like it might have been recorded live (rather than
being a video tape that was mailed across the ocean).  Having video
available so quickly is very un-Soviet, and doing live video of Soviet
space activities is very rare.  Perhaps they are doing a bit of 
advertising? 
 
> [...]  It could not be repaired until the new crew arrived after
> May 12th on Soyuz TM-12.  This new EVA is planed to be 4 hours long.
 
The report went by very quickly (I was trying to watch it rather than
listen), but I think they said it ended up being 5 hours and it was
sucessful. 
 
-john- 
-- 
=============================================================================
John A. Weeks III               (612) 942-6969             john@newave.mn.org
NeWave Communications, Ltd.                        ...uunet!tcnet!newave!john

From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Subject: Cosmonauts complete second spacewalk
Date: 29 Jun 91 13:28:18 GMT
 
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Soviet cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei
Krikalev completed their second long spacewalk in a week Saturday to
spruce up the surface of their Mir space station.
	Last Tuesday, the cosmonaut replaced a vital antenna that guides
spacecraft docking at the Mir and installed a girder on one of the
station's scientific modules. The spacewalk lasted four hours and 58
minutes.
	Late Friday at 10:02 p.m. Moscow time, the cosmonuats left their
station to mount special panels having to do with scientific work.
	They installed two panels on the Mir's surface for studying the
generation and distribution of super-heavy nuclei in the galaxy, an
experiment devised by Soviet and U.S. scientists, the official Tass news
agency said.
	The crew also installed a set of detectors to measure streams and
spectra of charged particles of space origin.
	Later, the cosmonauts mounted an additional television camera on a
solar battery and tested it.
	Artsebarsky and Kkrikalev worked in outer space for three hours and
24 minutes and are feeling well, Tass said.
	The Mir, the pride of the Soviet space program, was launched in
February 1986 and has been almost continuously occupied since then, with
crews most recently being replaced every six months.

>	Later, the cosmonauts mounted an additional television camera on a
>solar battery and tested it.
    
    CNN had some footage of the EVA that looked like it was taken from,
    say, a Soyuz nearby. I wondered how it was taken; I guess it was this
    new camera?
    
    gary

Article        33147
From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet cosmonauts prepare for new Mir walk
Date: 13 Jul 91 07:56:12 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
  
     On board the Soviet's Mir space station cosmonauts Anatoli
Artsebarski and Sergei Krikalev examined their space suits today (July
12th) in preparation for a new space walk scheduled for Monday July
15th.  The new walk will erect a 13 meter structure to mount
experiments on.  In addition a new experimental structure will be
built some 40 meters long.  Made from "memory metal" the joints on
this structure move from their initial storage position and lock into
place when reheated by the cosmonauts.  It is not clear from these two
announcements whether two separate mounts are being talked about or
just one where an error was made on the length in one of them. 
Artsebarski and Krikalev will be doing 4 extra vehicle activities
within the next two weeks. 

     An Aviation Week article revealed that the panels mounted on Mir
by the cosmonauts during their June 28th walk were built by U.S.
researchers at the University of California at Berkeley.  The 1 square
meter (11 sq ft) sheets were designed to will collect heavy nuclei
from cosmic rays over the next two years. They were brought up on the
Progress M-8 cargo ship which docked with the station on June 1. 
Another smaller 10 cm square (4 inch) panel will be launched in August
and mounted later.  Also in August a Russian Meteor-3 meteorological
will carry a Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) in the largest
Soviet-American instrument program since Apollo-Soyuz in 1975.  TOMS
has been flying on the US Nimbus 7 weather satellite since 1978, but
that is dying.  Using this 15 year old engineering test model on the
Meteor keeps that capacity available.  For example it has been
monitoring the ozone hole in the Antarctic and sulfur dioxide from
volcanic eruptions.  The Meteors operate in 1200 Km (750 mi) orbits at
a high inclination of 82.5 degrees.  In another report it was noted
that a proposal is being prepared for the Bush- Gorbachev summit which
calls for flying a US astronaut on a 60-90 Mir mission in exchange for
Soviet cosmonauts taking two shuttle flights.  (AW&ST July 1). 

     The Soviets have created a smaller version of their large booster
called Energia M with will carry 40 Tonnes, only 40% of the standard
booster. The second Buran style orbiter has completed assembly at the
Baikonur Cosmodrome. They have also validated an eject seat for use on
the shuttle at speeds up to Mach 4. (AW&ST June 10) 
 
							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca


Article        32921
From: pyron@mcopn2.csc.ti.com (Did you vote NO?)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet Space - a trip report
Date: 8 Jul 91 15:31:14 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
 
If you are going to be in the Fort Worth area this year, or near any
of the other sites for the Soviet Space exhibit next year, go see it. 
 
We went on the 5th, no crowds, although it got heavier later in the
day.  The are two coincident exhibits, which I didn't manage to attend
(in-laws in-tow), but will get back to. 
 
Without spoiling anything, the exhibit is a very balance display of
early Soviet hardware, current goodies and some historical events. 
Also, a good mix of manned and unmannded, with duplicates of some of
the Lunar and Venus landers, and (really neat for me) the return
capsule from their S&R mission to the moon.  Most of the stuff is
static, although Lunakhod does move, and they have a "dynamic model"
of Bakhanour (sp?).  The final walkthrough is a mock up of Mir, with a
cute little perspective trick. 
 
There was a very nice gift shop.  Some junk, some out-and-out crap,
but other interesting things.  I found, but didn't buy, a patch from
51-L, which I though NASA had withdrawn from circulation. 
 
All in all, a worthwhile couple of hours, worth the $8 (but don't fool
with with Rainbow!). 
 
Dillon Pyron                         | The opinions are mine, the facts 
TI/DSEG VAX Systems Support          | probably belong to the company.
pyron@skvax1.ti.com                  |
(214)462-3556                        | My favorite Anglisism:
                                     | "Gone missing"

From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Subject: Cosmonauts successfully complete 3rd space walk on Mir
Date: 18 Jul 91 03:51:21 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
 
     On board the Soviet Mir space station cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski and 
Sergei Krikalev, successfully completed their third space walk on July 15th. 
The main activity was the building of a 40 meter (131 ft) tower for mounting 
samples on in future space walks.  This construction was done on the Kristall 
module, a large 20 Tonne addition mounted perpendicular to the front Mir 
docking port. The tower elements used "memory metal" interlocks to hook 
together the structure.  Artsebarski and Krikalev, who have the call sign 
"Ozone" will conduct three more walks during the next two weeks.
     Shortly after this extra vehicle activity, Artsebarski and Krikalev, 
where informed of a change in their schedule.  Originally both were to remain 
onboard Mir until October 10th.  They were to be relieved by the 
Soviet/Austrian AustroMir space visit, to be launched Oct. 2nd, with 
Aleksandr Volkov, Aleksandr Kaleri and Franz Fibeck (from Austria).  For 
"economy reasons" Sergei Krikalev will now be left abord the station and will 
not be coming down until March '92.  Considering the launch was talked about 
a few weeks ago this is rather strange - the economy of launching only two 
cosmonauts rather than 3 is not clear.  The other unusual part was the 
statement that this was related to economic moves within Kirdistan! (I had 
some difficulty with this report as the reception was bad, but I did listen 
to it twice).
     Actually this change is not without precedent within the Russian 
program.  Back in 1988 Dr. Valret Polyakov was left wondering when he would 
be coming down, until they decided to evacuate Mir on Apr. 17 '89 for both 
economic and operational reason.
     I apologize for the delay in this report, but a paper deadline prevented 
me posting this information for the past day.
                                                  

Article         1515
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military
Subject: Soviet launch canceled to save money
Date: 18 Jul 91 18:38:52 GMT 
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- The Soviet Union will cancel one manned space
mission, launch another without a flight engineer and leave a cosmonaut 
on the Mir space station beyond his planned six-month stay to save money, 
an official newspaper said Thursday. 

	Kransnaya Zvesda (Red Star), the official Soviet armed forces
daily, said the changes to the space program were made to cut the
budget with as little disruption to the permanently manned orbital
station as possible. 

	A meeting of the State Commission on Space ordered the changes
in the launch program at a meeting Wednesday because ``the current
economic situation made it impossible'' to carry out previous plans,
the paper said. 

	The launch of Soyuz TM-14, scheduled for November, was
canceled and partly combined with the Soyuz TM-13 mission to Mir
planned for October as a joint mission carrying Austrian astronaut
Klemens Lotaller. 

	Tahir Aubakirov of the republic of Kazakhstan, where the
Baikonur space center is located but which has never had one of its
citizens in space, had been trained for TM-14 as a researcher and will
now take the flight engineer's seat on TM-13, Kransaya Zvesda said. 

	The TM-13 mission is one of a series, about every six months,
bringing a fresh crew to the orbiting Mir space station.  Anatoly
Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev have been on the space station since
March. 

	In the October mission, Vladimir Volkov will captain the TM-13
and replace Artsebarsky on Mir.  Aubakirov and Lotaller will return to
Earth with Artsebarsky. 

	Krikalev will not be replaced and will spend an additional six
months in space because Aubakirov took the place of the flight engineer 
who was to replace him under the original plan.  With a year on Mir, 
Krikalev will be near the space endurance record of 366 days held by 
Musa Manarov. 

Article        34589
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Report on the last 3 Soviet space walks and problems in Moscow
Date: 19 Aug 91 06:15:58 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
 
    On board the Soviet Mir space station cosmonauts Anatoli
Artsebarski and Sergei Krikalev, or the "Ozones" as their call sign is
known, finished off the month with three more space walks, on July 19,
23 and 27. These completed the building of a 40 meter (131 ft.) tower
for mounting samples on in future space walks.  This construction was
done on the Kristall module, a large 20 Tonne addition mounted
perpendicular to the front Mir docking port. The walks gave them a
total of 24 hours of EVAs each during this mission.  In addition
during the July 27th space walk Artsebarski ran into trouble while
putting the Soviet Flag on top of the tower.  Overwork caused moisture
to fog over his suit visor, requiring Kirkalev to lead him back down.
Also this month Soviet contingency plans for evacuating Mir during an
emergency were revealed, include standby landings in the US. (Radio
Moscow, AW&ST Jul. 22, Aug. 5) 
 
     Shortly after the July 15th extra vehicle activity, Artsebarski
and Krikalev, who have been in orbit 92 days (since May 18th) received
a considerable change in their schedules (see some comments in a July
16th posting).  Originally both were to remain onboard Mir until
October 10th.  They were to be relieved by the Soviet/Austrian
AustroMir space visit, to be launched Oct. 2nd, with Aleksandr Volkov,
Aleksandr Kaleri and Franz Fibeck (from Austria).  This was to be
followed by a November mission with another 3 man crew.  That November
mission has been cancelled for "economy reasons."  Takhpar Albakriov,
a researcher assigned to that November mission has been moved to the
October flight, which bumped Kaleri from that mission.  However, 
Kaleri was the long duration cosmonaut intended to replace Sergei
Krikalev.  Thus Krikalev will remain on board until the next mission
after AustroMir, scheduled for May 1992, giving him a year in space. 
The reason why it is important for Albakriov to fly in spite of these
major changes was not stated, but it does seem rather strange. (Radio
Moscow, Space News July 29) 
 
   On July 31 at the Bush-Gorbachev Moscow summit an agreement was
signed that calls for flying a US astronaut on a 60-90 1993 Mir
mission in exchange for Soviet cosmonauts taking two shuttle flights.
The most likely first shuttle flight for the cosmonauts would be the
1993 Spacelab Life Science mission. Also at the summit Gorbachev
pushed for a relaxation in the restrictions on use of Soviet launch
vehicles by Western satellites. (AW&ST Jul. 1, Aug. 5) 
 
   The Soviets are developing a tri-propellant rocket engine, called
the RD-701, for advanced large launchers. It would start with a Liquid
Oxygen/Kerosene fuel to lift off the pad and convert to Lox/Hydrogen
at altitude.  The low density of liquid Hydrogen means that current
launchers must either use other fuels as the first stage, or use
strap-on solid or liquid boosters at takeoff to get a Lox/Hydrogen
booster off the ground. Hence, a tri-propellant engine while more
complex, would eliminate other engines in the system. (Space News Jul.
8)  Budget cuts in the USSR have reduced their launches to 30 during
the first 6 months of 1991, 15% below the average for recent years.
This is consistent with statements by Yuri Rhyzov, chairman of the
Science and Technologies Committee for the Supreme Soviet, which
placed the 1991 budget at the same level as the 1990 one in spite of
inflation. (AW&ST Jul. 8, SpaceNews Jul. 15)  The Proton booster will
undergo an upgrade to the Proton KM version, but replacing older
electrical systems with modern ones, and adjusting the structure.  The
net effect will be a 14% increase in the payload to low Earth orbit,
from the present 20.3 Tonnes to 23.5 Tonnes, and an increase in
payload volume by 126% from 54 to 122 cubic meters (1900 to 4300 cubic
ft.).  (Spaceflight July '91) 

    As I was about to send this when Radio Moscow had only classical
music during its news period.  I have heard that only three times in
the past 12 years, each time when a General Secretary died.  The
currently the Canadian Broadcast Corp. is reporting the a new
government has taken power under a hardliner, with a committee under
the KGB, and the armed forces.  Radio Moscow is now back with news (at
5:00 hrs GMT, 10 pm PDT) but with no comments on this event.  Clearly
this is really going to affect all things in that country for the
foreseeable future. 
                                                  
                                                  Glenn Chapman
                                                  School of Eng. Science
                                                  Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                  Burnaby, B.C. Canada
                                                  glennc@cs.sfu.ca

Imagine how frightening last week's little set-to must have seemed for the 
Cosmonauts in Mir. A massive confrontation could have put them on the Home
Front's back burner for a while. A general strike or a lockout by supporters
for or against could have been alarming for those above.

I doubt anyone would on-purpose shut them off, but it was possible to have 
forgotten them in the shuffle!

						-**Ted**-

Can anyone confirm that most of the important ground facilities for the
cosmonauts are in the Russian Republic?  I can't help but wonder what happens
when there is no longer a single country over there.  (One wonders about
the launch locations for ICBMs, too, for that matter)

Burns

    Re:.413
    
    	The major training and control centers as well as two of the three
    cosmodromes are located in the Russia. There are tracking stations and
    other minor facilities located all over the Soviet (dis)Union with the
    greatest relative concentration located in the central Asian republics.
    	The largest space related facility located outside of Russia is the
    Baikonour Cosmodrome in the republic of Kazahkhstan. All of the heavy
    launch vehicles (e.g. the Proton and Energia) are launched from there
    as are all the manned and manned related spacecraft (e.g. Mir, Soyuz,
    Progress, Buran, etc.). Many important military satellites are launched
    there and most ICBMs are tested from here. I'm not sure if there are
    still any active ICBM installation at Baikonour but there are many
    located throughout Kazahkstan as well as some of the other central
    Asian republics. All in all it doesn't look like a terribly stable
    situation although there still is the possibilty that the some
    arrangement could be made between the Russian and Kazahk governments on
    the use of the cosmodrome.
    
    				Drew
    

Oh no...I didn't realize that the cosmodrome was in Kazakhstan.  That will be
a mess.

BTW, I heard on the radio yesterday that all ICBM installations outside of
Russia were in either the Ukraine, Byelorussia, or Kazakhstan.

Burns

    Just heard that the Ukraine and Russia worked-out a temporay treaty of
    mutual economic & defense help.  Maybe more of the republics will join
    in.
    
    Joe
    

    Gee,  noone commented on the Koka-Kola taste test this week on Mir...
    
    For those that missed it, the last Progress carried up two special cans
    of Coke designed to be consumed in zero-g. They also performed some
    experiment on gas/liquid seperation in zero-g (uh-huh).
    
    Presumably we should be gearing up for a Strategic Cola Initiative any
    day now.
    
    re .412
    
    If I remember correctly, one of the Voskhod missions was waved off by
    one regime and welcomed back by another. I think it was Voskhod-2.
    
    gary

    	What mission did the US astronauts test out their own special
    Coca Cola can, and what were the results?
    
    	No, it was VOSKHOD 1, the first three-man crew, launched for a
    one day mission in October of 1964.  When they went up, Krushchev
    was in power; when they returned to Earth, Brezhnev was in charge.
    
    	Larry
    

STS-19 (aka 51-F aka Spacelab-2) flew a Pepsi container way back in '85.

- dave

RE:             <<< Note 362.419 by PRAGMA::GRIFFIN "Dave Griffin" >>>
>                          -< No Coke. Only Pepsi... >-

I've seen a picture that has a shuttle astronaut sipping from a Coke can. So
maybe both brands have been tried.
						-- Tom

    
    Yes both brands were tried on the STS flight.  NASA did not want to
    look as if it was pushing one over the other.  If I remembered right
    they took steps to make sure it did not even look like a contest and
    no one could tell which one they liked best!   In fact both turn
    out to be a flop, to many bubbles for 'zero-g's' but maybe
    KoKa Cola got it right this time.  According to todays NY TIMES
    (3-sept) 
    
    "The liquid goes very smoothly " Anatoly Artsebarsky, the flight
    commander, said after sipping from a pressureized "Koke" can.  THe
    experence, he added, was pleasent even though his sense of taste had
    changed after three months in space,
      "We want more cans," he told ground control, "during the whole
    flight!"
    
    
    Then again Coca-Cola paid cash to the Soviet Space program for the
    experiment to be conducted on MIR, so do they want more kola for more
    cash....   However Coca-Cola is not permmitted to run commercials about
    the experiment but Coca can publish the results.
    
    
    This 'Kola' can had an apparatus to measure the gas-liquid sepeartion
    in space as the 'astronauts' ( sorry NY TIMES this time it was a 
    'cosmonauts' ) drank the carbonated beverage.
    
    The NY Times goes on to say that Coca-Cola wanted to out do its rival,
    Pepsico, which since 1985 had the exclusive license on Soviet Colar
    Sales and now dominates the market.
    
    ( last Nov the only one I could buy in Moscow was Diet Coke and it was
      great, it was made from the orignal formular)
    
    
    cheers john
    
    
    john
    

  Any late word on who will be controlling the Soviet space program once
there is no more "soviet"?

  As quickly as things are changing, news on that should become out of date
here pretty fast. 

  George

Article         1702
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.tw.space
Subject: Soviet-Austrian space mission begins
Date: 2 Oct 91 13:11:13 GMT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- A Soyuz rocket blasted off for the Mir space
station Wednesday carrying an Austrian electronic engineer and the
first cosmonaut ever from the republic of Kazakhstan where the Soviet
cosmodrome is located. 

	The joint Soviet-Austrian mission began with a flawless 7:59
a.m. liftoff from the barren steppe of Kazakhstan where Yuri Gagarin
began man's first space flight 30 years ago. 

	Wednesday's mission carried two ``cosmonaut-researchers,''
Austrian citizen Franz Viehboeck and Kazakh test-pilot Toktar
Aubakirov, who were to return to Earth next week after a brief stay on
the orbiting Mir station. 

	The commander of Wednesday's mission, Col. Alexander Volkov,
is a veteran of two previous space missions. He was to relieve Anatoly
Artsebarsky aboard Mir, which has been almost continuously manned
since its February 1986 launch. 

	Sergei Krikalev, who has been on Mir since a joint
British-Soviet mission in May, will remain aboard and is expected to
challenge the Soviet record for continuous time in space before he is
relieved by a planned German-Soviet mission next year. 

	Viehboeck, who graduated from Vienna Technological University
and speaks six European languages, has been training in the Soviet
Union for the flight for more than six months. His participation is
part of a Soviet effort to help pay for the space program with
international joint flights that have seen a Japanese newsman and a
British chemist travel to Mir in the last year. 

	Aubakirov, who has flown more than 50 types of aircraft as a
test pilot, is the first Kazakh in space. His inclusion in the mission
after six months of cosmonaut training was seen as a response to
Kazakh complaints of Russian discrimination in the space program
despite the fact that the Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in their
Central Asian republic. 

	Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarabayev has moved for
more direct control of Baikonur for the republic as part of the
decentralization of power in the aftermath of the failed August coup
in Moscow. 

	The cosmodrome and adjacent city of Leninsk were built by the
central authorities specifically for the space program, which is still
under central control, and a majority of the people living and working
at the space center are ethnic Russians rather than Kazakhs. 

From:	DECPA::"isg@bfmny0.BFM.COM" "MAIL-11 Daemon"  4-OCT-1991 13:12:48.45
Subj:	Austrian/Soviet mission docks with Mir space station

    The Soviet/Austrian Soyuz TM-13 space mission, launched Oct. 2,
has successfully docked with the Mir space station complex.  On board
were Alexander Volkov (Soyuz T-14/Salyut 7, 64 day flight in Sept.
1985 which was cut short by the illness of the mission commander
Vladimir Vasyutin, and the French/Soviet exchange mission to Mir,
Soyuz TM-7, 153 days starting Nov 1988), Tokar Aibalorpv (the first
ethnic Kazakh in space) and Franz Viehboeck, Austrian Engineer.
Viehboeck's flight cost Austria $7-8 million as a paying passenger.
Docking with the Mir complex was accomplished this morning (Oct. 4).
On board Mir to greet them were cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski and
Sergei Krikalev, who have been in orbit for 140 days.  Their flight
began on May 18. 

   Franz Viehboeck set a new record of sorts.  On the day that he was
launched his wife had their second child.  In orbit he commented about
both the mission and the baby having a "good start in life". 

   There was a lot of juggling of crews to get Tokar Aibalorpv placed
on this mission.  The point is he is from the Republic of Kazakhstan,
which is where the Baikonour Cosmodrom is located, their only manned
mission launch site.  The Soviets thought this important enough to
bump the original cosmonauts, and replace them with both a primary and
backup Kazakh). 

   Both Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin sent greetings to the crews,
congratulating them on the joint mission.  This is interesting as
during the 1989 Moscow election campaign Yeltsin used the slogan
"Bread not Sputniks."  (Radio Moscow Oct 2-4) 

   In other areas news, reports that the Mir space station was for
sale are not true according to Soviet officials.  Mir volume is
available for rent, but the station itself is not to be sold. (Space
News Sept. 16)  Preparation is underway for the launch of a new Photon
retrievable microgravity satellite.  Meanwhile Glavcosmos has
cancelled a contract that appeared to give a French firm, Novespace,
exclusive rights to the marketing of the Photon system.  It appears
that the Soviets did not understand the English version of the
contract, and only found the implications when Novespace began
demanding that everyone go through their company.  Other European
firms objected. (Radio Moscow and Space News Sept. 16) 

    At a propulsion conference the USSR revealed an extensive research
program into nuclear rockets covering 30 years.  One test system
achieved a 950 sec. specific impulse for nearly one hour (by
comparison good chemical rockets achieve specific impulses of 450 sec,
that is the time that a 1 lb fuel mass generates a 1 lb thrust).  The
engine hit 3000 degrees C (5400 F) temperature using new ceramic
materials, and achieved much better results than the long cancelled US
program. (Space News Sept. 16) 

   New information has come out about the second launch failure in a
row of the Soviet SL-16 Zenit booster on Aug. 30.  The Zenit is a 15
Tonne to orbit modern large launcher, the modified first stage of
which forms the strapons of the large Energiya booster (100 Tonne
capacity).  Apparently there were several problems during the
prelaunch countdown that resulted a switching of the planned booster.
Current reports suggest that the problem was in the second stage,
meaning there is no impact on the Energiya launch system itself.  The
previous failure (Oct. 1990) had resulted from a contamination of the
first stage.  (AW&ST Sept. 9, 23) 

   Sorry that some of this news is a bit late but I had a bicycle
accident (broken collar bone) that made it difficult for me to type
for a while. 

							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
							Simon Fraser U.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

Article: 36399
From: glennc@CS.SFU.CA
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Soviet/Austrian mission successfully lands
Date: 10 Oct 91 06:13:35 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
 
    The Soviet/Austrian Soyuz space mission landed today (Thur. Oct.
10) at about 6:00 am Moscow time (20:00 PDT Wed Oct. 9) according to
the 11:00 PDT Radio Moscow report.  On board the Soyuz TM-12 were, was
long duration cosmonaut Anatoli Artsebarski (145 days in orbit,
launched in Soyuz TM-12 on May 18th), two members of the Soyuz TM-13
mission launched Oct. 2, Tokar Aibalorpv (the first ethnic Kazakh in
space) and Franz Viehboeck, Austrian Engineer.  Viehboeck is said to
have preformed substantial geophysical observations, and materials
processing work. 

    Remaining on board Mir are Sergei Krikalev (also from the May 18th
flight) and Alexander Volkov from the Oct. 2nd Soyuz TM-13 (who
experienced Soyuz T-14/Salyut 7, 64 day flight in Sept. 1985, and the
French/Soviet exchange mission to Mir, Soyuz TM-7, 153 days starting
Nov 1988).  The newer Soyus TM-13 was also left for this crew's usage. 
This strange crew switch was first talked about on July 17th,
resulting from an even stranger canceled flight in November (that had
not been announced before its cancellation). 

    Again sorry these reports are so sparse.  Also a personal note of
thanks to all those that sent me well wishes recently. 
    
							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
							Simon Fraser U.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

    any news on the PROGRESS docking last week
    I have hear rumors that something went wrong and
    the computer aborted the docking, and they were 
    going to try again last weekend
    
    john
    
    

    Still not confirmed data but it looks like
    PM10 did dock on the 21st (Monday). It is 
    also reumored that PM10 has a return capsule
    aboard.
    
    john
    

Article: 39233
From: Wales.Larrison@ofa123.fidonet.org (Wales Larrison)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Cosmonaut Manarov's Condition
Date: 7 Jan 92 06:59:18 GMT
Organization: Universal Electronics Inc. (Public access BBS)
 
  David, you had asked previously about any further information about
Cosmonaut Mus Manarov, who was thought to be suffering from some type
of joint deterioriation due to extended time in weightlessness.  I had
also been following the story, and have this update. 
 
  Good news!  Musa Manarov, who was thought to be suffering a very
painful deterioration of his joints due to extended time in space, has
been reported from the same source to be only suffering from an
ordinary viral infection.  While this viral infection was considered
serious enough that Manarov was hospitalized, he has since been
released to finish his recovery from a terrestrial virus. 

   This story was initially reported by Vern Riportella, a
telecommunications consultant specializing in East-West
communications, who is a personal friend of Manarov.  In more recent
news (24 Dec 1991), Riportella reported that Dr. Igor Gonchorov of the
Biomedical Research Institute in Moscow has informed him that Manorov
"had a serious viral infection, but that is was certainly not
connected with space flight, as was originally thought".  Cosmonaut
Manarov has flown twice on long duration space flights - 352 days from
25 Dec 1987 to 22 Dec 1988, and 175 days from 2 Dec 1990 to 26 May 1991. 

   As reported by Riportella, the onset of Manarov's joint pain was
about 22 Nov.  Riportella reports the effects of space flight on
muscle control as experienced by Manarov are subtle, not primarily
dealing with muscle strength which can be regained fairly quickly, but
are more long-term impairing in the coordination and the interaction
between muscles.  Manarov reportedly doesn't feel he's completely back
to normal until he has recuperated on Earth for about the same time he
has spent on orbit.  When the joint pain struck, Manarov was well
within that period, and assumed a connection - which was reported
world-wide by Riportella. 

   However, as reported above, this has turned out to be just a
terrestrial virus - which while serious, had nothing to due to
Manarov's time in space. 

   [Commentary:  The story of "the cosmonaut hospitalized due to
effects of long-term weightlessness" was picked up by the world-wide
press.  I wonder how far this follow-up story will be carried.  From
every article I was able to track, the source of the data was Riportella.  
Now Riportella is reporting Manarov just had a terrestrial virus, and 
had jumped to a premature and erroneous conclusion.] 
------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Wales Larrison                          Space Technology Investor
--  
Wales Larrison
Internet: Wales.Larrison@ofa123.fidonet.org
Compuserve: >internet:Wales.Larrison@ofa123.fidonet.org

X-Andrew-WideReply: netnews.sci.physics
From: johnp@lupulus.ssc.gov (Dr. Palkovic (214) 708-4224)
Newsgroups: sci.physics
Subject: WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 10 January 1992
Date: 20 Jan 92 19:40:29 GMT
Lines: 71
Nntp-Posting-Host: lupulus.ssc.gov
Cc: srw@horus.ps.uci.edu (Steven White)

WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 10 January 1992                Washington, DC
 
MIR COSMONAUTS REST A LITTLE EASIER FOLLOWING MINSK AGREEMENT.
Watching the disintegration of the nation that represents your
lifeline from a space station 300 miles up must be stressful, but nine
republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States agreed on New
Year's eve to continue the Soviet space program.  Launch facilities
for Mir resupply missions and landing sites for crew returns are all
in Kazakhstan, which signed the agreement, but the boosters are
manufactured in Ukraine, which did not.  The two cosmonauts on Mir 
had issued a dramatic appeal for support just a few days earlier. 
Maintaining Mir is not very expensive; because of the exchange rate,
it is even claimed that the $14M dollars paid by Japanese news
agencies to take a journalist on board is enough to keep Mir going for
a year.  Nevertheless, one of the cosmonauts who was expecting to
return to Earth was recently told he will have to wait another six
months.  The meeting in Minsk of leaders of the new Commonwealth dealt
primarily with military issues, such as whose finger is on the nuclear
button. 
 
Robert L. Park  (202) 232-0189   The American Physical Society.
--
I joined the League for Programming Freedom -- write to john@phc.org
Not speaking for the SSC, the DOE, or the URA


X-Andrew-WideReply: netnews.sci.physics
From: johnp@lupulus.ssc.gov (Dr. Palkovic (214) 708-4224)
Newsgroups: sci.physics
Subject: WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 17 January 1992
Date: 20 Jan 92 19:44:26 GMT
Lines: 58
Nntp-Posting-Host: lupulus.ssc.gov

WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 17 January 1992               Washington, DC

ASTRONOMERS URGE AID FOR TOP SCIENTISTS OF FORMER SOVIET UNION to
collaborate with American colleagues.  The plight of leading
scientists in what was the Soviet Union was recognized by the Council
of the American Astronomical Society at their meeting in Atlanta
Monday.  The resolution adopted by the Council emphasizes the
opportunity to enrich American science at a modest cost.  The monthly
salary of most Russian scientists amounts to only $10-20.  In an
insiders-only meeting at the White House recently, Yuri Ossipian, the
former science advisor to Gorbachev, warned of the imminent collapse
of science under the Yeltsin government. 

Robert L. Park  (202) 232-0189      The American Physical Society.
--
I joined the League for Programming Freedom -- write to john@phc.org
Not speaking for the SSC, the DOE, or the URA

    AvWeek claimed last week that Ukraine was holding out for a better
    deal, but that they did eventually sign.  SOunds like this article
    may be newer, but it is still possible that the info is wrong in either
    article.
    
    Burns
    

I have lost count would this be PM-11 if so the
    PM-10 was launch on 91-290 thus it has been 102 days or so
    since the last progress launch, this is above the normal
    time between progress launches.
    
    jb
    
    
Article 38893 of sci.space:
Path: engage.pko.dec.com!e2big.mko.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!uunet!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!jbh55289
From: jbh55289@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Progress Docks at MIR
Message-ID: <1992Jan28.024621.21215@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 28 Jan 92 02:46:21 GMT
Article-I.D.: ux1.1992Jan28.024621.21215
Sender: usenet@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (News)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Lines: 18

The BBC announced that an unmannded cargo vehicle (Progress) docked at The
Commonwealth's MIR space station today.  They said that the crew (2) had been
up for 8 months (which means they were launched pre-coup and certainly before
the demise of the USSR for those who've been asking).  Another crew is due
to be launched soon.
Reportedly, ground controllers protested at the launch.  Due to the collapse
of the economy and fixed goverment wages, some say their salaries are equal to
$6 US per month and are comperable to wages earned by taxi drivers.  Many are
reportedly considering leaving the country or joining commercial ventures that
are starting up.  The BBC did not explain what ventures they were refering to.
Although some doctors are considering a strike (or they are striking - I didn't
hear clearly), the ground crew has said that their protests will not affect the
saftey of the crew.             

			Josh Hopkins
Disclaimer: The above information came from a BBC broadcast on Jan. 27 1992.
With a few exceptions, all the information is theirs, although as the lack of
quotation marks shows, I have paraphrased it from memory.


    

Article: 2331
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.aviation,clari.news.interest,clari.tw.science
Subject: Balloon awaits Earth orbit launching
Date: 30 Jan 92 15:30:15 GMT
 
	AKRON, Ohio (UPI) -- Crews inflated the 18-story Earthwinds
helium balloon to 70 percent of capacity and scientists began a
two-day leakage test Thursday prior to launch. 

	The $200,000 one-of-a-kind polyethylene balloon is designed to
carry three men on the first around-the-world balloon journey. 

	``We're relieved all this work we've been putting in for 2 1/2
years is finally paying off,'' Larry Newman said. 

	Newman, the captain and organizer of the $3.5 million trip,
holds the ballooning distance record of 5,209 miles for crossing the
Pacific and the duration record of 137 hours in an Atlantic crossing.
He said no one has circled Earth in a balloon. 

	Newman said he and his crew hope to break both marks when they
lift off on an as yet unscheduled date within the next few weeks from
the Loral Air Dock. 

	To avoid being ripped to shreds, the balloon must be launched
on a calm day, with winds of less than 5 mph. The expedition also
needs northeasterly winds of at least 75 mph at 35,000 feet, where the
jet stream will carry Earthwinds like a piece of driftwood. The
balloon itself has no means of propulsion. 

	``I have to stress we only have a 50-50 chance of
succeeding,'' Newman said. ``If it takes us off over the Persian Gulf,
we can't help it. If we go up toward the North Pole there is nothing
we can do about it.'' 

	He said there is only a 1 in 1,000 chance of returning
precisely to Akron. 

	``Weather is the driver,'' said Newman. ``The weather will
determine the flight date, where we fly and when we land.'' 

	Technicians were busy Thursday packing the 24-by-10-foot
capsule in which Newman, Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov and
flight engineer Donald Moses will fly. They have planned for a 21-day
trip but will carry an extra 10 days worth of survival good and water.

    according to AWST 3 FEB
    
    They are planning a large-scale test of a solar sail concept in Oct
    using a Progess cargo spacecraft to MIR.   
    
    A 25 Meter dia solar sail will be included in the Progress unit.
    
    'After the module separates from MIR, the solar sail wil be deployed
    for a series of experiments.  The Progress will fly at a distance of
    several dozen meters to several kilometers from MIR.'
    
    Also they are developing a large sail of 200 meters in dia, possible
    built for the race to the Moon..
    
    
    jb
    

    Russian Psychiatrist Tries to Make sure Cosmonauts Stays Up
    
    is the tilte of an article in todays Wall St. Journal.
    
    A very interesting article about how the Sergei Krikalev spirts
    are down about his long flight and a vicim of Politics.
    
    Pressure to keep him in orbit for a year, this would save 
    3 Million Dollars mission to bring the Cosmonaut down.
    
    One interesting point, after the attempted coup in Aug
    Mr Krikalev refused to make contact with FCC (mission control)
    for two consecutive orbits.... his first word were
    "yes, we've have heard the news"
    
    The go on to say that it takes 3 months to get used to living
    in a tin can, they comparied it to being in a bottomless elevator shaft
    after the cable breaks, then the next 3 monts bing the best, as 
    the get the sense that they are in heaven.  Thus six months is
    considered optimal for Cosmonauts.
    
    Krikalev is under pressure as there is no trained enginner to 
    replace Mr. Krikalev.
    
    However Krikalev does not want to hurt his chances of continuing to
    work in his field but he he agreed to stay longer in return for
    permission to undertake another space walk, normally limited for
    safty reason to one per flight.  Mr Krikalev will finally return to
    earh in the spring barely missing the record of 366 days.  Then his
    worries of how his familly is and how they can afford the new prices
    and the change in political ideals.
    
    

Article: 2381
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.tw.science
Subject: Weather postpones balloon launch eight months
Date: 23 Feb 92 12:15:15 GMT
 
	AKRON, Ohio (UPI) -- Virgin Earthwinds project leaders
temporarily have end efforts to launch a fragile 18-story helium
balloon designed to circle the globe and make scientific observations.

	Larry Newman of Virgin Earthwinds said the $3.5 million
project to circumnavigate Earth non-stop will resume in November. 

	``Based on what we saw on the launch field Friday night and
weather analysis for the future, we have concluded that the prospects
for finding suitable weather for the balance of this season are non-
existent,'' he said Saturday, in announcing the decision to scrub the
mission. 

	Flight engineer Don Moses and Russian cosmonaut Vladimir
Dzhanibekoz were to join Newman in making the flight. 

	``We felt that last night was our last good chance for a
launch this season.  The forecast was for near-perfect launch
conditions, and we began the launch sequence with high expectations,''
Newman said. 

	The $200,000 one-of-a-kind polyethylene balloon is designed to
carry three men on the first around-the-world balloon journey.  The
balloon itself has no means of propulsion. 

	The launch sequence began with calm winds, but shortly
afterwards, the wind increased to 6 to 10 knots, 6 knots higher than
allowable for a safe launch, he said.  The calm was needed to keep the
balloon from being ripped to shreds. 

	The balloon was be launched early Saturday and to circle Earth
at 35,000 feet in the troposphere.  The morning hours were deemed to
be the calmest time of the day for a launch. 

	``Those winds alone represented a challenge and the helium
balloon itself withstood tremendous forces after we took it outside,
soon becoming unmanageable in the higher-than-forecast winds,'' said
Newman. 

	Newman, the captain and organizer, holds both the ballooning
distance record (5,209 miles crossing the Pacific) and the duration
record (137 hours crossing the Atlantic).  He noted that no one has
ever orbited Earth in a balloon, not even in piecemeal fashion. 

	Launch master Tom Barrow had indicated the need for perfectly
calm conditions at the launch site for eight hours.  Meteorological
analysis indicated that the so-called launch window generally extended
from November through February. 

	The project said the unusually mild winter for northeast Ohio
meant less stable surface conditions.  Analysis of 768 hourly
observations from Akron-Canton Airport since Jan. 22 has shown that
there were only a total of five hours of calm air -- or less than one
half of 1 percent, project officials said. 

	The balloon was stored in Loral Defense Systems' airdock
during several efforts to launch it. 

	``We have spent more then three years putting this ambitious
project together utilizing some of the world's finest aerospace and
aviation talent.  Through hard work, generous support and creativity 
we have conquered many challenges that have made us flight-ready,''
Newman said.  ``I believe we have built a unique and remarkable flying
machine.  Eight months from now we intend to fly it.'' 

From:	DECWRL::"usenet-space-news-request@ames.arc.nasa.gov" 21-FEB-1992 
        23:34:40.90
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
Subj:	* SpaceNews 24-Feb-92 *

Subject: * SpaceNews 24-Feb-92 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0224
* SpaceNews 24-Feb-92 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0224

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                       MONDAY FEBRUARY 24, 1992

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR NEWS *
============
On 17 March at 10:22 UTC a Soyuz module will lift off to take the next
pair of Soviet replacement cosmonauts plus a visiting German cosmonaut to
Mir.  They should dock at 11:30 UTC on 19 March.  All three have amateur
radio callsigns, and the DL call will be either DP1MIR or DP2MIR.  They
will use 145.550 MHz simplex FM speech and packet radio as usual, plus a
connected onboard digital speech system acting as a "repeater", which will
listen for one minute and then replay the content back for one minute.

Sergei U5MIR, Alex U4MIR, and the visitor will return to Earth around
25/26 March, and UA3CR is suggesting to RSF that for posterity they retain
their callsigns for terrestrial use, rather in the way that Ernst Krenkel
UPOL2 did his.

[Info via G3IOR, PA0DLO, and W2RS]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>

/EX
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 607

Article: 1859
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MICHAEL COLLINS)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.gov.international
Subject: Rocket launches to take cosmonauts to space station
Date: 17 Mar 92 14:29:02 GMT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Tuesday, carrying a German and two Russian
cosmonauts to the orbiting Mir space station in the first launch since
the disintegration of the Soviet Union. 

	The white TM-14 rocket, with the flags of Russia, Germany and
Kazakhstan painted on its capsule, lifted off from the snow-covered
Kazakh steppe on time at 1:54 p.m. Moscow time and soared into a
cloudless blue sky in a flawless launch. 

	The Russian cosmonauts will replace the current crew of the
manned orbiting station, including Sergei Krikalyev, who has spent 10
months in space because the replacement mission schedule was changed
last fall for economic and political reasons. 

	German test pilot Klaus-Dietrich Flade will spend eight days
in space helping with experiments as part of the Russian effort to
defray some of the costs of their space program.  The Germans have
reportedly spent about $24 million on the mission. 

	Traveling to Mir with with Flade were mission commander
Alexander Viktorenko, a 44-year-old veteran with two previous space
flights, and flight engineer Alexander Kaleri. 

	Viktorenko and Kaleri will replace Krikalyev and commander
Alexander Volkov on the Mir station, with the current orbiting
cosmonauts returning to Earth with Flade next week. 

	Volkov arrived at Mir in October on the last space flight launched 
from what was the Soviet Union, but Krikalyev has been on Mir since a May
mission that also brought the first British astronaut into space. 

	The Soviets decided to cancel one of two scheduled fall
launches last year.  On the October mission, they sent two
``passengers'' -- an Austrian and a Kazakh.  Both were only trained for
a short time in space, so while the Mir commander rotated as scheduled
Krikalyev agreed to remain in orbit an extra five months. 

	Krikalyev, a pilot and flight engineer, will be returning to
what is really a different country. 

	He was launched as a Soviet cosmonaut, a member of a
privileged group in which adherance to Communist ideology was almost
as important as scientific and technical skills. 

	He returns as a Russian citizen, but will be landing in an
entirely different country because the huge Baikonur Cosmodrome that
is the primary launch and return site for the manned space program is
in newly independent Kazakhstan. 

	The now-independent republics that made up the Soviet Union
that Krikalyev left in May have made a 180-degree political and
economic turn.  He watched from 400 miles above Earth as hard-line
Communists attempted a coup and failed in August.  He heard on the Mir
radio that the Communist Party of which he is a member was banned. 

	In December, the central Soviet government that controlled the
space program was dissolved, President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, and
a new loose Commonwealth of Independent States was formed with only
vague ideas about cooperation on things like expensive space programs.

	Russia has vowed to push ahead as successor of the Soviet
space program, denying reports that the Mir station was for sale, but
putting increasing emphasis on commercial ventures for hard currency
like the German launch. 

	The next launch, to replace Viktorenko and Kaleri, is
scheduled in July. 

Article: 1893
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MICHAEL COLLINS)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.hot.ussr
Subject: Russian cosmonauts return to different country
Date: 25 Mar 92 13:25:36 GMT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two Russian cosmonauts returned Wednesday from months
orbiting Earth on the Mir space station, floating down to a soft landing
in an entirely different country than the one they left.

	Sergei Krikalev, who has been in orbit 10 months, and Alexander
Volkov, aboard Mir since October, were accompanied on their return trip
by German air force pilot Klaus-Dietrich Flade, who had arrived at Mir
on the mission that brought replacement cosmonauts to the space station.

	Krikalev, Volkov and Flade returned in their TM-13 capsule slowed by
a huge parachute for a perfect soft landing at 11:51 a.m. on the barren
steppe 40 miles northeast of the town of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan, central Asia.

	When Krikalev and Volkov left for Mir, they were part of the Soviet
Union's showcase space program. They returned as Russian cosmonauts
after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

	Kazakhstan, location of the the main Soviet space port the Baikonur
Cosmodrome, has been an independent country since the breakup of the
Soviet Union in December.

	The returning cosmonauts were replaced on Mir, manned continuously
since its 1986 launch except for a four-month period in 1989, by
cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Kaleri in the 10th manned
mission to the space station.

	Krikalev spent 312 days in space on his latest mission that began
with a May 18, 1991, launch that also brought Briton Helen Sharman to Mir.

	Krikalev's time aboard the space station was extended when the
Soviets decided to cancel one of two relief missions scheduled last fall
to save money.

	The latest mission was the second on Mir for Krikalev, who has now
spent a total of 464 days in space and is second on the overall space
endurance list list behind fellow cosmonaut Musa Manarov, who has a
total of 541 days in orbit including the continuous space endurance
record of 366 days.

	Krikalev, who like all cosmonauts was a Communist Party member,
returns to a country where the party has been outlawed since the August
coup attempt that he only heard about on the Mir radio while orbiting
400 miles above.

	The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the sweeping political 
and economic reforms of the last months have raised questions about the
future of the space program, which was already facing a budget crunch.

	The former republics of the Soviet Union that make up the
Commonwealth of Independent States have agreed in general on the need
for space exploration, but few specifics have been hammered out.

	Russia has vowed to push ahead on its own, if necessary, to support
the space program as successor of the Soviet Union.

	Officials have denied reports that Mir was for sale, but the space
program is putting increasing emphasis on commercial ventures that earn
hard currency.

	The Germans reportedly paid about $25 million for Flade's eight-day
mission, in which he conducted experiments as part of a German research
program that also included a flight by German Ulf Merbold aboard the U.
S. space shuttle two months ago.

	The next Russian launch, scheduled to replace Viktorenko and Kaleri
in July, will carry another paying foreigner, this time a French flier.


Article: 1895
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (TOBIN BECK)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.bulletin
Subject: Shuttle Atlantis researches sun, Earth's atmosphere
Date: 25 Mar 92 13:36:55 GMT 
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- The Atlantis astronauts studied
shimmering auroras Wednesday, tested an electron gun that will be used
to mimic nature's light shows and chatted with school kids in England
amid around-the-clock research on the health of Earth's atmosphere.

	In one television shot from space, a low-light-level camera was used
to film the hard-to-detect glow produced by Atlantis's passage through
tenuous clouds of oxygen at extreme altitudes.

	Later, astronaut David Leestma talked with students in Great Britain
as part of an amateur radio experiment while his crewmates concentrated
on scientific observations. Later in the flight, the crew hopes to talk
with cosmonauts aboard the Russian space station, Mir.

	The goal of Atlantis's flight is to monitor the sun's energy output
and its effect on Earth's environment and to study the structure,
composition and chemistry of the planet's atmosphere.

	The crew is divided into two 12-hour shifts to accomplish the maximum
amount of work during the mission. Working the day shift are commander
Charles Bolden, 45, co-pilot Brian Duffy, 38, Kathryn Sullivan, 40, and
civilian researcher Dirk Frimout, 51, the first Belgian to fly in space.

	The overnight shift includes David Leestma, 42, Michael Foale, 35,
and civilian researcher Byron Lichtenberg, 44.

	Most of the crew's time during the 46th shuttle mission is being
taken up by two experiments to create and study artificial auroras.
Natural auroras like the ``northern lights'' are created when
electrically charged particles from the sun get caught in Earth's
magnetic field and crash into the atmosphere.

	During Atlantis's mission, the crew will fire an electron beam
repeatedly into space to create dim, artificial mini-auroras, hoping to
will learn more about the processes governing the interplay of solar
energy, various physical processes and the Earth's magnetic field.

	The crew tested the electron gun early Wednesday. But it was natural
auroras that caught the crew's attention.

	``We've just got everybody ooing and ahing. We don't know when we're
going to get Mike (Foale) to go to sleep,'' Sullivan radioed at one
point. ``He's never seen this good of an aurora before.''

	While the astronauts concentrated on atmospheric and solar research,
an ultraviolet telescope operated from the ground was used to photograph
sources of high-energy radiation from deep space. The telescope is the
only one of 13 instruments aboard Atlantis that is not devoted to
studies of Earth or the Sun.

	Atlantis sailed over a spectacular auroral display in the southern
hemisphere about 5 1/2 hours after blastoff, which Sullivan described it
while eating lunch.

	``We had two arcs, two active arc regions, that came up towards us,
we believe the tops of the rays were up to or close to our altitude, and
that the brightest of the arcs extended very close to our latitude,''
she radioed to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.,
which oversees the shuttle's Spacelab instruments.

	After a one-day delay, Atlantis rocketed into space nearly on time
Tuesday. Monday's flight was postponed by leaks of liquid hydrogen and
liquid oxygen during fueling. The leaks were attributed to seals that
took longer than expected to seat properly as they reached the fuel's
supercold temperature. Only minor leakage was detected at the start of
fueling Tuesday.

	After Tuesday's launch, which was delayed 14 minutes past the
scheduled 8 a.m. liftoff by clouds that obscured a runway the shuttle
would have used in an emergency landing, Atlantis rocketed into an orbit
about 185 miles high.

	Atlantis's flight is the first in a series of 10 shuttle missions
planned over the next decade to study the sun and Earth's atmosphere
over a complete solar cycle, an 11-year period in which the sun's energy
output goes from maximum to minimum and back again.

	The mission is the 46th shuttle flight overall and the second of
eight planned this year. Flight data will help determine the impact of
pollution and what might be needed to reverse dangerous trends like
depletion of the protective ozone layer.

	Atlantis is scheduled to land April 1 on the Kennedy Space Center's
3-mile-long shuttle runway.

Article: 42147
From: fcrary@ocf.berkeley.edu (Frank Crary)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Cosmonaut on Mir
Date: 25 Mar 92 19:45:55 GMT
Organization: U. C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
 
Rudi Albricht (ralbrich@eso.org) asked me to post this for him, as he is
having some problems with his net connection. (Line lenghts have been 
changed slightly.)
 
Let me try to get a little order into the chaos of who is on MIR and for
how long.
 
As everybody probably knows the CIS is conducting space flights at
roughly half year intervals. The strategy is to have a long term crew of
two on the station, and to do crew changes with a one-week overlap. In
addition, there is usually is what in Russian is called a "guest-cosmonaut"
on board during that week, making it a total of 5 people on the station.
Even though MIR is quite big (especially now that additional modules have
been added), there is still a lot of traffic during that week: this is
the time when the foreign cosmonaut performs his/her experiments.
 
Way back during the days of ideology the guest-cosmonauts were precisely
what the name implies: guests from "socialist brother countries", who were
invited to witness the great achievements of the USSR. The foreign
cosmonauts were normally from the military forces of their respective
countries, usually politically/ideologically selected. Even the first
"Western" mission was political: France was invited to send a cosmonaut
(J.-L. Cretien) because they opposed the NATO medium range missile decision
of the mid-1970s.
 
More recently this has been turned into a hard-cash generating exercise
(which personally I consider legitimate, and actually +good+). Here is
the history of these missions:
 
Dec 90: Japanese mission. Commander Viktor Afanasyev, Engineer Musa
Manarov, Guest-Cosmonaut Toyohiro Akiyama. Task: report from space for the
Japanese news media. Akiyama received streamlined training of a little less
than one year. The results were not widely circulated outside of Japan, but
there are rumors that he did not feel well *at all* in orbit. CIS
journalists are still pissed that the first journalist in space was a
foreigner.
 
May 91: British mission. CDR Anatoli Artsebanski, ENG Sergei Krikalyev, GC
Helen Sherman. Helen was selected from hundreds of applicants in the JUNO
program. She received the full Scientist-Cosmonaut training of more than
two years. The original idea was to perform a British science program, but
the (private) funding only covered the "ticket". She was involved in some
Russian experiments, most of them life science. I think the UK lost out on
a great opportunity.
 
Oct 91: Austrian mission. CDR Aleksandr Volkov, ENG Toktar Aubakirov, GC
Franz Vieboeck. I am very familiar with this mission because I am a
co-investigator on one of the experiments (total of 14, almost all life
science). Franz was selected from 200 applicants, received training in
Austria with the different groups of experimentors, and the full 2 years
of scientist-cosmonaut training in Russia. The experiments went well, ours
is still being operated by the CIS cosmonauts.
 
This also was the mission which did not change the station engineer:
originally Aleksandr Kaleri was supposed to relief Krikalyev, but for
political reasons he was replaced by Aubakirov (a Kazakh). While Aubakirov
was qualified to fly, he had not been trained to perform the long-term
station keeping engineering duties. It was for this reasons that a decision
was made to keep Krialyev on  MIR for another tour of duty.
 
March 92 (as you are reading this): German Mission. CDR Aleksandr
Viktorenko, ENG Aleksandr Kaleri (Finally relieving Krialyev), GC
Karl-Dietrich Flade. Again Flade is a fully trained scientist-cosmonaut;
he will perform 14 life science experiment during his space flight.
 
As indicated the last three foreign cosmonauts were fully trained and fully
qualified scientist-cosmonauts: if somebody received a total of almost
three years of cosmonaut training he/she is as much an astro/cosmonaut as
the average American payload specialist on the Shuttle. In other words,
while they might be a "guest" (paying guest!), they are  certainly not a
"tourist", nor a "passenger". So for future references to these people 
please be more considerate. I know from following Franz Vieboeck's training
that it is *not easy*. The major difference between the CIS cosmonauts and
the American astronauts is that they do not have the NASA PR infrastructure
to turn them into honest to God American heroes.
 
Rudi Albrecht
Co-Investigator,
AUSTROMIR project
 
Article: 42158
From: roberts@CMR.NCSL.NIST.GOV (John Roberts)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Cosmonaut on Mir
Date: 26 Mar 92 02:01:57 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology
 
-From: fcrary@ocf.berkeley.edu (Frank Crary)
-Subject: Cosmonaut on Mir
-Date: 25 Mar 92 19:45:55 GMT
 
-Rudi Albricht (ralbrich@eso.org) asked me to post this for him, as he is
-having some problems with his net connection. (Line lenghts have been 
-changed slightly.)
 
-Dec 90: Japanese mission. Commander Viktor Afanasyev, Engineer Musa
-Manarov, Guest-Cosmonaut Toyohiro Akiyama. Task: report from space for the
-Japanese news media. Akiyama received streamlined training of a little less
-than one year. The results were not widely circulated outside of Japan, but
-there are rumors that he did not feel well *at all* in orbit. 
 
According to the US press, he was a heavy smoker, and spent most of his time
in space complaining about not being allowed to smoke.
 
It would have been nice if the Japanese had used something *besides* politics
in deciding who to send.
 
John Roberts
roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov

Article: 42169
From: dfi@specklec.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de (Daniel Fischer)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: cosmonaut on Mir
Date: 26 Mar 92 13:25:39 GMT
Sender: news@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Organization: Max Planck Institut fuer Radioastronomie
 
In <grgtjn#@rpi.edu> strider@acm.rpi.edu (Greg Moore) writes:

>	According to the report I've read, they will be doing a full
>crew replacement.
 
And that they did - but can somebody tell me why the International Herald
Tribune (of today, p.6) claims that "they were replaced by three Austrians"?
This article originates in the Washington Post: could someone tell me whether
this joke was also in the original text?

Article: 1901
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.interest.people
Subject: Large bonus, cars for Russian cosmonauts
Date: 26 Mar 92 18:59:24 GMT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, whose time on the
Mir space station was extended to 10 months when one of two fall
relief missions was canceled to save money, is getting a large bonus
and a car from the government for his trouble. 

	The independent Interfax news agency said the Russian
government had awarded Krikalev a bonus of the ruble equivalent of
$1,500 at the most common exchange rate but 150 times the average
monthly wage for Russians. 

	His companion aboard the Mir space station since October,
commander Alexander Volkov, will get $750.  Both will be given new
Volga sedans. 

	While Krikalev was circling 400 miles above the Earth, the
Soviet Union disintegrated and his native Russia took a 180-degree
turn politically and economically. 

	Although economic reform brought skyrocketing prices while he
was aboard Mir, it also brought an increase in cosmonauts' monthly
salaries from about 600 rubles ($6) to roughly 5,000 rubles ($50) --
five times the average in the country. 

	Krikalev and Volkov also received medals from the Russian
government on their return.  But rather than the previous standard
award for spaceflight of Hero of the Soviet Union, Russian President
Boris Yeltsin presented them with the Order of Friendship of Peoples. 

Article: 623
From: kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com (John Magliacane)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: * SpaceNews 30-Mar-92 *
Date: 28 Mar 92 01:10:09 GMT
Sender: digester@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: ka2qhd - Ocean NJ
 
SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0330
* SpaceNews 30-Mar-92 *
 
Bulletin ID: $SPC0330
 
                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========
 
                         MONDAY MARCH 30, 1992
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR NEWS *
============
The following farewell message from U5MIR was downloaded from the packet
radio personal message system on Mir by Dave, N6JLH:
 
Date: 24-Mar-92
 
Today I finished my work on the Space Station Mir.
Tomorrow Alexandr Volkov, Klaus-Dietrich Flade and I will go home.
Flight engineer Alexandr Kaleri will continue my work on this station.
Mant thanks for connections with us and for helping us.
I do not have the license to operate on the Earth yet,
but I shall ask Leo (UA3CR) to save mail for me on Moscow BBS RK3KP.
 
The most convient address for letters:
 
  Sergei Krikalev
  Post Of Cosmonauts
  Moscow Region
  Star City
  141160
  Russia
 
Dosvidania
 
73 U5MIR
 
* THANKS *
==========
Thanks to all those who sent comments to SpaceNews, especially:
 
N1GKE  JF2ONG  N2IOP  WA2N  G4IJL  KC4VBT  KD6CXX  N6RXA  ZS6FT  LU7AKC
N7NIP  WN9L    W0XK
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>
 
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 607

Article: 42742
From: craigh@pro-woolf.cts.com (Craig Hillebrant)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Mir
Date: 10 Apr 92 23:22:21 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: ProLine [pro-woolf] The Woolf's Den BBS & Vintage Hobbies
 
For those who are interested, this is reply I recieved to a comment
about the CIS space program, Sergey Krikalev, and the MIR space station. 
 
From: ralbrech@eso.org 
 
     We just had the European International Space Year Conference here
in Munich last week.  There were (among *many* other activities)
presentations on the Austrian program, including preliminary science
results, and on the German program, status report only - they had
essentially just landed. 
 
     There also was a presentation on future flight opportunities on
the MIR station.  During the discussion the issue of "MIR falling
apart" came up. One of the CIS  cosmonauts (Artsebanski, I believe)
said that indeed, after six years of service, the station core module
should be replaced. He also said that a new core module is available,
sitting in a hangar; except that it takes money to launch it, which is
what they don't have at this point. He confirmed that the other MIR
modules (Kvant, Kvant II, Cristal, Spektr) were designed to be
compatible with the new core module.  He estimated that the new core
module would reduce the station keeping and maintenance tasks of the
crew by about 50%, freeing up time for the science program. 
 
    I also picked up the following rumor: the Republic of Kasakhstan
originally planned an all-Kasakhi mission; however, when they mapped
their ambitions into the available cash,  they found out they could
not do this. So they decided to fly Tokhtar Aubarirov, the Kasachi
flight engineer, on the Austrian mission, and this was the reason why
Krikalyev was "stranded". 
 
    I also picked up another rumor: Tokhtar Aubakirov might be the
next defense minister of the Republic of Kasakhstan. 
 
     Regards,
 
     Rudi Albrecht
     ralbrech@eso.org
 
PS: You may post this to the net if you feel like it. My connec-  
----craigh
ProLine:  craigh@pro-woolf
Internet: craigh@pro-woolf.cts.com
UUCP:     crash!pro-woolf!craigh

From:	DECWRL::"usenet-space-news-request@ames.arc.nasa.gov" 19-MAY-1992 
        17:16:13.74
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
Subj:	* SpaceNews 18-May-92 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0518
* SpaceNews 18-May-92 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0518

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                          MONDAY MAY 18, 1992

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR NEWS *
============
A thruster package known as Sofora will be installed on a 14 meter
mast fixed atop the Kvant 1 building block module. Sofora is designed
to reduce the amount of propellant burned when Mir is rolled around
its longitudinal axis. 

Sofora weighs 700 kilograms and will be sent up to Mir on a modified
Progress mission in August. 

Energia engineers report Sofora carries its own propellant tanks.
Doctor Blagov estimated Sofora will reduce the amount of fuel now
needed to perform longitudinal roll by a factor of eight. 

Russia's next large module to be launched to Mir will be called
Priroda, a unit that will perform Earth resource/observation duties.
Priroda will be launched in 1993, with the last large building block
to be launched the same year or in early 1994. 

Mir 2 is currently under construction.  Mir 2 will assume the duties
of the current Mir 1 spacecraft when its useful life has ended.  So
far, Mir 1 has performed better and has lasted longer than engineers
had originally anticipated. 

On July 26, two Russian cosmonauts and a French cosmonaut, Michel Tognini, 
will visit Mir for 12 days and return to Earth on August 9, 1992. 

The next Progress supply rocket will be launched on June 30, and its
payload will include experiments and hardware to be used by Michel.
Another Progress mission is targeted for launch on October 5th. This
spacecraft will deploy a solar sail on October 20th. 

An Israeli will follow the Frenchman and then perhaps be followed by a
cosmonaut from South Korea. 

Source: Jeffery Lenorovitz/Kaliningrad - Star City

[Info via Dave, N6JLH]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

Article: 1145
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com (John Magliacane)
Subject: Mir News 132
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: ka2qhd - Ocean NJ
Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1992 21:35:18 GMT
 
Subject: Mirnews.132 30-May-92
 
SB NEWS @ AMSAT < PA2WJZ $25526_PI8EAE
Mirnews 132
 
MIRNEWS.132  30 MAY 1992
 
The cosmonauts o.b. MIR have been working on experiments instead of
repairing and replacing life-support equipment. They used a camera
named Liva for Earth-observations and mentioned the areas of which
they had to make videorecordings. 

The crew also used equipment for the  Austrian experiments of
Austromir. They worked on a few of those experiments in coordination
with an expert on TsUP. Monimir (reflexes under micro-gravity) and
Migmas (raster ion microscope) of which the data with the device
Datamir are transmitted via MIR's telemetry channels. The continuation
of experiments with equipment left behind by guest cosmonauts must be
of a great advantage: funds for Russian spaceflight and the fact that
the Austrians have constructed the equipment not only for the short
stay on board MIR of Franz Viehbock in Oct. 1991. 
 
THE EX-TRACKING FLEET: Some of the ships of that fleet are still
seaborne, but not for tracking or relay purposes. During the last
weeks there have been messages that the Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin, the
K. G. Dobrovolskiy, the K.V. Komarov and the K.P. Belyayev left their
homeports. Obviously the ships made short cruises. It took some
investigation work to get the following information: the Russians
decided to keep the ships floating and to maintain the original shape
as to make the ships 'attractive' for foreigners during cruises and
business trips and eventual expeditions. Important persons involved in
spaceflight, science and commerce founded some organisations to use
the ships for cruises and business promotion trips. They already
started one or more cruises. One of the travel agencies is leaded by
the former cosmonaut Beregovoy. If they pay 350 thousand rubles
cosmonauts and spaceflight employees can enjoy a cruise. 

A few days ago the Kosmonavt Pavel Belyayev showed up in radiocontacts
with the MIR station. So just as it has been before: MIR traffic in
the West while MIR was still out of range of Yevpatoriya. The Belyayev
visited Hamburg and the mayor of that city greeted the cosmonauts.
Some experts on board kept the transceiver for MIR communications in
good order and the scientist and tradesmen on board Belyayev spoke
with the cosmonauts. The ship does not work for TsUP and on 30 May,
during orbit 35950, 1106-1117UTC wondered with whom the crew has been
speaking. On 1 June the ship will visit London and some important
passengers on board will speak with MIR during orbits 35982
(1049-1100UTC) and 35983 (1225-1235UTC). Some scientist and tradesmen
on board will try to promote Russian products and look for partners
for commercial and scientific cooperation. 

There will be not much propaganda for spaceflight for they do not have
much material on board. They  have photographs, but no TV-films.
Viktorenko told the ship that he regretted this. The Belyayev will be
involved in a number of events in relation to the Columbus-92
expeditions and Viktorenko promised that the MIR-crew if necessary and
possible will cooperate and assist.  There are rumours that an
ex-tracking ship (Belyayev or Dobrovolskiy) will visit Rotterdam for 2
days around 10 June 1992. 
 
Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202
 
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

From:	DECWRL::"usenet-space-news-request@ames.arc.nasa.gov" 20-JUN-1992 
        11:17:47.12
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 22-Jun-92 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0622
* SpaceNews 22-Jun-92 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0622

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                         MONDAY JUNE 22, 1992

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR NEWS *
============

In packet radio messages to Dave Larson, N6JLH, Mir cosmonaut Alex,
U8MIR is reporting that an EVA has been scheduled for July.  The
cosmonauts are having some trouble with Mir's attitude control system
at the present time, and this is having an impact on their geophysical
and astrophysical research experiments.  Mir is rotating like a free
body with a period of 0.15 to 0.20 degrees per second. 

In the meantime, the cosmonauts are keeping busy conducting technical
and medical experiments and making small repairs within the space station. 

[Info via Dave, N6JLH]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

From:	DECWRL::"usenet-space-news-request@ames.arc.nasa.gov" 30-JUN-1992 
        00:31:14.25
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 29-Jun-92 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0629
* SpaceNews 29-Jun-92 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0629

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                         MONDAY JUNE 29, 1992

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR NEWS *
============
The next crew to join Mir will take off on July 26, 1992 with a French
cosmonaut.  The crew will consist of:

Anatolij Solovjov - commander,
Sergej Avdejev - flight engineer
Michael Tognini - research.

The back-up crew will consist of:

Gennadij Manakov - commander,
Alexandr Poleshchuk- flight engineer,
Jean-Pierre Enere - research.

These cosmonauts will relieve the present Mir crew who will land with the
Frenchman on August 9.

[Info from Alex, U8MIR via Dave, N6JLH]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>

-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

Article: 1370
From: kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com (John Magliacane)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: * SpaceNews 06-Jul-92 *
Date: 3 Jul 92 22:48:15 GMT
Sender: digester@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: ka2qhd - Ocean NJ
 
SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0706
* SpaceNews 06-Jul-92 *
 
Bulletin ID: $SPC0706
 
                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========
 
                         MONDAY JULY 6, 1992
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR NEWS *
============
The Man and His World Exhibition has opened in the Tel-Aviv
fairgrounds and the main attraction is the Russian Space Pavillion,
where for the first time outside of the ex-USSR a full size replica of
MIR is on display with 3 cosmonauts on hand.  The following bulletin
from 4X4LF came out a few weeks ago: 
 
A 14-Metre long module from the space station MIR will be the main
feature of the Russian space exhibit at the "Man and His World"
exhibition, opening in Tel-Aviv next month.  In addition to this
module, several of which are connected together to form the space
station, other exhibits will demonstrate all aspects of life in space.
Several Russian Cosmonauts will be at the exhibit, each one for a
period of about 10 days.  Among them will be Sergei Krikaylev, U5MIR,
who was very active on Amateur Radio (both voice and packet) during
his 10 month sojourn on MIR (May 1991 to March 1992). 
 
The IARC (Israel Amateur Radio Club) has invited Sergei Samburov,
RV3DR, to operate a ham station from the exhibit, for the purpose of
contacting MIR during it's passes over Israel.  We will also discuss
Amateur Radio operations during the planned flight of an Israeli
Cosmonaut on MIR.  Sergei is the grandson of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky,
who formulated the theoretical foundations of space travel at the turn
of the century.  He is employed by NPO "Energiya", the Russian Space
Agency, and is in charge of the Amateur Radio program and Cosmonaut
training. 
 
The exhibit will be in pavilion 27 at the Tel-Aviv Fair Grounds.  The
opening date for groups is June 8, and for the general public June 18.
The fair will continue until August 31. 
 
[Info via Ron, 4X1MK]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>
 
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

From:	DECWRL::"usenet-space-news-request@ames.arc.nasa.gov" 10-JUL-1992 
        23:22:31.06
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 13-Jul-92 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0713
* SpaceNews 13-Jul-92 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0713

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                         MONDAY JULY 13, 1992

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR NEWS *
============
Mir cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, U8MIR, reports that the Soyuz TM-15
module docked and recently left the Mir complex.  Medical and
geophysical experiments were performed, often running all night.  The
orbit of Mir was such that it was in continuous sunlight, raising the
internal temperature of Mir. 

On 25-Jun-92, Alex reported the following to Dave, N6JLH:

Attitude control is working now.  Two days running we have prepared 
our space suits for the future EVA.  We was busy from morning to the
evening.  EVA will be on July 8 or 10.  Next few days we'll make 
some medical tests to get permission for EVA.  On Friday's night the
freighter will leave us.  On July 2 will be rendezvous and docking 
with the next frighter.  And then we'll have much work. 

Mezospheric clouds are visible during the whole working day.  From
America through Siberia to Europa.  Fantastic! 

Good bye! 73 Alex U8MIR

Alex has been downloading space related files N6JLH obtained from 
the N3ITQ PBBS.  Information regarding these files was carried in
SpaceNews last month.  Alex captured all 18 kilobytes of data from
N6JLH's packet radio TNC in just one pass.  Alex enjoyed reading 
about the space programs of other countries. 

[Info via Dave, N6JLH]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>

-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

From:	DECWRL::"usenet-space-news-request@ames.arc.nasa.gov" 17-JUL-1992 
        23:40:36.30
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 20-Jul-92 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0720
* SpaceNews 20-Jul-92 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0720

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                         MONDAY JULY 20, 1992

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR NEWS *
============
The following packet beacon was copied by N6RME on 04-Jul-92 at 04:33:55 UTC:

U8MIR>CQ <UI>:
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY USA TO ALL AMERICANS. CREW OF THE SPACE STATION MIR

Ted, VE7LEE, reports that contrary to what was reported in the 06-Jul-92
issue of SpaceNews, the first full-scale model of Mir was on display
at EXPO 86 during the world's fair that ran from May to October 1986.
This model was also over 14 Metres long.

Alex, U8MIR reports the French Cosmonaut Michel Tognini has obtained
an Amateur Radio license.  His callsign onboard Mir will be F5MIR.
His "ANTARES" mission begins on 26-Jul-92.

The Mir cosmonauts reported that their recent EVA was relatively easy
and short, lasting only 2 hours.  The EVA was needed to install a
"gyrodyne", which acts like a large gyroscope and rotates the Mir
space station without fuel consumption.  There are six gyrodynes in
the KVANT module, and six more in the KVANT-2 module.  They are situated
inside the KVANT module, and are outside of the KVANT-2 module.
However the 5 gyrodynes in KVANT-2 have failed.  Supplementary gyrodynes
were installed inside KVANT-2.  The failure occurred after the launch
of the current Mir crew, who had no experience or training in the
installation of the supplementary gyrodynes.  With the help of some
pictures and consultations with specialists at the Space Missions
Control Center, the work was completed in five days, including a day
devoted entirely to EVA preparations.

[Info via N6RME, VE7LEE, N8DEU, and N6JLH]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -OR- kd2bd%ka2qhd@ocpt.ccur.com

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>

/EX
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

Article: 46361
From: r.kracht@abbs.hanse.de (Rainer Kracht)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Launch of Sojus TM-15 delayed
Date: 22 Jul 92 22:27:55 GMT
Organization: ABBS AstroMail, D-W 2121 Dahlenburg / Germany
 
 Launch of Sojus TM-15 delayed
 -----------------------------
 
 According to Radio Moscow, the launch of Sojus TM-15/Antares will 
 be on July 27 at 06h08m UTC (one day later than previously announced).
 
 Rainer Kracht
 r.kracht@abbs.hanse.de
 
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABBS AstroMail, the first and most popular German astronomical bulletin board
------------------------- for amateur astronomers ----------------------------
    + 49 5851 7896 / V.21, V.22, V.22bis, V.32, V.42, V.42bis and MNP5
    ------------------------------------------------------------------

Article: 2559
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.hot.ussr
Subject: Russian-French manned mission to Mir launched
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 92 23:24:51 PDT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two Russian cosmonauts and a French researcher
blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the hot barren steppe of
Kazakhstan Monday on a regular rotation mission to the space station Mir. 

	The Soyuz rocket carrying the cosmonauts in its TM-15 capsule
lifted off exactly on time at 10:09 a.m. Moscow time in a nationally
televised launch for the flight to the permanently manned station
orbiting Earth. 

	Russian commander Anatoly Soloviyev and flight engineer Sergei
Avdeyev will replace Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Kalery aboard
Mir.  The new crew plans to stay on the space station until January of
1993 in the regular six-month rotation program on the space station. 

	As part of Russia's commercial program to carry foreign
researchers to space, Monday's mission also carried Frenchman Michel
Tonini, who will help carry out experiments on Mir until he returns to
Earth with Viktorenko and Kalery in their TM-14 capsule next week. 

Article: 2560
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.hot.east_europe
Subject: Russian-French team blasts off on trip to Mir space station
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 9:04:00 PDT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two Russian cosmonauts and a French researcher
blasted off Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the hot barren
steppe of Kazakhstan for a two-day journey to the Mir space station,
where they will conduct research and work to prolong the life of the
world's only manned space station. 

	The Soyuz rocket carrying the cosmonauts in its TM-15 capsule
lifted off on time at 10:09 a.m. Moscow time in a nationally televised
launch for the flight to the permanently manned station that has been
orbiting Earth since 1986. 

	The trio will reach Mir at lunchtime Wednesday.

	The cosmonauts plan to conduct four space walks and perform
maintenance on the 6-year-old orbiting space station. 

	Russian commander Anatoly Solovyov and flight engineer Sergei
Avdeyev will replace two Russian cosmonauts, Alexander Viktorenko and
Alexander Kaleri, who have been working on the Mir for four months. 

	The new Russian crew will work on the space station until
January 1993, but French astronaut Michel Tognini will stay for 12
days and then return to Earth with the two other Russians finishing
their job in space. 

	Monday's mission was part of Russia's commercial program to
carry foreign researchers into space to work on Mir. 

	The Russian Itar-Tass news agency said France paid about $14.6
million to launch Tognini into orbit.  That is roughly the amount paid
by Germany to send one of its citizens into space in the previous
international launch last spring. 

	Russia also has been been seeking to launch joint projects
with NASA, and on July 16 the United States and Russian space agency
directors announced plans to put a Russian cosmonaut on the U.S. space
shuttle in October 1993 and send an American astronaut to Mir the
following year. 

	The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also signed
a $1 million contract to study Russian space developments to see what
can be adapted for NASA use. 

	Tognini will conduct radiation, medical and bio-technological
experiments before returning with Viktorenko and Kaleri in their TM-14
capsule, now parked at Mir. 

	Russia assumed control of the Soviet space program, even
though the launch pad is in another former Soviet republic,
Kazakhstan.  The launch is part of the regular rotation of Mir crews,
but a primary task of these cosmonauts will be to conduct needed
maintenance to keep Mir functional until Mir-2 replaces it in 1996. 

	For Tognini, 43, the launch has been a four-year wait that saw
romance intervene.  The Frenchman was on standby in 1988 when another
French astronaut was launched in a Soviet rocket.  During his training
in the Soviet Union, Tognini met and married a Russian woman and they
have a daughter, Itar-Tass said. 

Article: 46555
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
Subject: Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 mission launched to Mir station
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 00:10:28 GMT
 
     The Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 mission to the Mir space station was 
launched today (July 27). Onboard this  flight were cosmonauts Anatoli 
Solovyov and (Soyuz TM-5 to Mir June '88 for 9 days and Soyuz TM-9 to Mir in 
Feb '90 for 180 days) Sergei Avdeyev (first mission) from CIS (Commonwealth 
of Independent States) plus Frenchman Michel Tognini (also first flight).  
The crew will dock with the Mir complex on July 29th to join cosmonauts 
Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Kaleri, who are in their 5th month in 
space (since Mar. 17th).  This "Antares" mission was paid for by the French 
and is devoted to life sciences/materials processing.  Equipment for the 
flight was brought up on the Progress M-13 cargo craft which was launched on 
June 30th and docked with Mir on July 4th, after an unsuccessful docking 
attempt on July 2nd.  One interesting point is the duration, which was 
originally set for 12 days, then increased to 16 days several months ago.  
After this mornings launch the CBC reported it as a month long mission. 
Viktorenko and Kaleri will return with Tognini in the Soyuz TM-14 craft.
 
    Solovyov and Avdeyev are scheduled to receive Progress M-14 on Aug. 14th 
bringing up the 0.7 Tonne Sofora propulsion unit (VDU).  Solovyov and Avdeyev 
will engage in four space walks to attached the Sofora to the 14 metre truss 
built on the Kvant module by Arsebarski and Krikalev in July 1991.  The long 
leaver arm of the truss will enable the Sofora rockets to control the 
attitude of the Mir complex with considerably less fuel usage.  The heavy 
attitude demands of Mir, with tis two 20 Tonne side modules, have put 
excessive demands on the gyrodyne attitude controllers on the Kvant modules, 
causing 5 of them to suffer damage. October will see Progress M-15 bring up a 
test solar sail that will be deployed about Oct. 20th.
 
    The next mission is scheduled for November when cosmonauts Manakov and 
Poleshchuk bring up an Israeli visitor on a commercial mission. Manakov and 
Poleshchuk are training for the space walks to repair the gyrodynes, which 
were never expected to be replaced in space. (Radio Moscow, CBC radio and 
Spaceflight, July)
 
    Sorry that I have been off the net in reporting for a while.  
 
							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

    according to NPR radio the docking has been completed and all
    is well.
    
    jb
    

Article: 46670
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
Subject: Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 docks with Mir space station
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 19:54:15 GMT
 
     The Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 mission successfully docked with
the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Mir space station today
(July 29).  Docking time was not stated after the fact but was expected
at 11:05 am Moscow time (1:05 am PDT).  Launched on July 27th the Soyuz
crew transferred to the station were cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov,
Sergei Avdeyev from CIS, plus French "spationaut" Michel Tognini.  The
mission is now stated as lasting 12 days on board the station. 
Greeting them were Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Kaleri, who
spent 134 days in orbit.  The Radio Moscow report stated that
contracts for an additional 4 French missions during the next decade
were currently proceeding. 

     One interesting opportunity is open for people who have access on
their cable to a TV channel from France, as we do here in Vancouver. 
French TV naturally gives this mission much more coverage than the
regular news. Indeed last night there was an lively presentation about
the cosmonaut spacesuits in a "Johnny Carson" like show.  Keep an eye
on that channel if you can get it. 

                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
                                                        Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
                                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca

Article: 2565
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JEFF BERLINER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.tw.space
Subject: Trio docks at Russia space station
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 11:15:43 PDT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Arriving just three minutes late, two Russian
cosmonauts and a French researcher docked at the Mir space station
Wednesday after a difficult manual docking maneuver required when one
of the automatic systems failed. 

	The trio left Earth -- in a country where normal air travel on
the national airline is fraught with delays lasting hours or days --
on time Monday and fell only three minutes behind schedule on the
50-hour flight from Kazakhstan to the Mir space station. 

	The Russian TM-15 spaceship docked -- successfully but with
difficulty, according space officials -- at 11:49 a.m., just three
minutes after the scheduled docking announced after Monday's
mid-morning lift-off from the Central Asian launch pad in the republic
of Kazakhsatan. 

	The three new arrivals climbed through a special hatch and
joined the two cosmonauts who have been working there for the past
four months. 

	The five will spend a week and a half together. Then Frenchman
Michel Tognini will return along with Alexander Viktorenko and
Alexander Kaleri while Anatoly Solovyov and Sergei Avdeyev settle in
for a stay that will keep them on Mir until January. 

	Just before the rocket docked at Mir, it became necessary to
use a back-up manual course direction system, according to space
officials and Russian television news reports, which broadcast footage
of the actual docking and the cosmonauts floating weightlessly into Mir. 

	The flight control center said, however, there was never any
danger during the docking. 

	The cosmonauts are to conduct experiments on the effect of
space travel and weightlessness on the cardio-vascular system and
immune resistance as well as other perform psychological and medical
studies, according to the Russian Itar-Tass news agency. 

	They also plan to do needed maintenance to keep the space
station operating. The world's only permanently manned orbiting space
station was launched in 1986 and is to be replaced by Mir-2 in 1996. 

	Russia took over the Soviet space program with the collapse of
the Soviet Union, but has been seeking commercial ventures to help pay
for it in the face of serious Kremlin financial problems. 

	France paid about $14 million to launch Tognini into space, a
little more than Germany paid when its astronaut joined the last
international space flight. 

	The Russian space agency also just won a $1 million contract
from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for joint
efforts aimed at putting a Russian on the U.S. Space Shuttle late next
year and an American on Mir the following year. 

From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman" 30-JUL-1992 16:32:25.10
Subj:	Russian/French mission to Mir: agreement signed for future ones

     The Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 mission to the CIS (Commonwealth
of Independent States) Mir space station has begun its research. 
French President Mitterand spoke with the crew, cosmonauts Anatoli
Solovyov, Sergei Avdeyev from the Soyuz TM-15, long term crew
Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Kaleri, plus French "spationaut"
Michel Tognini.  Viktorenko and Kaleri, and Tognini will return in the
Soyuz TM-14 on Aug. 10th.  On July 29th French and CIS officials
signed an agreement to send joint missions of 14 day duration to Mir
every two years for the next eight years, paid for by the French.
Solovyov and Avdeyev will stay up until January, which means they may
not return with the scheduled Israeli mission in November or that
mission has been delayed until January. (From Radio Moscow reports). 

     Since Mir is currently occupied by two crews a year the
French/CIS agreement means that half of the cosmonaut replacement
missions for the rest of this decade are paid for. 

                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
                                                        Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
                                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca

Article: 46782
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
Subject: Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 had problems docking with Mir station
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 16:25:09 GMT
 
     Radio Moscow has revealed that a problem occured during the July
29th docking of the Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 mission to the CIS
(Commonwealth of Independent States) Mir space station.  Cosmonauts
Anatoli Solovyov, Sergei Avdeyev and "spationaut" Michel Tognini were
starting the approach to Mir when the Kurs autodocking system failed. 
Kurs (course in English) consists of a radar antenna on the Soyuz,
which does not require active transponders on board the Mir complex. 
Kurs makes initial contact with the space station some 200 Km (125
miles) away, but begins to maneuver the Soyuz 20 - 30 Km from MIr. 
Kurs was introduced with the Soyuz TM-1 in 1986, but the older system
which requires more active action by the station was retained as a
backup.  A couple of years ago they also discussed experiments with a
laser docking system.  All that the report stated was that a backup
system was employed for the docking, not which one was used.  However,
it should be noted that the Progress M-13 also had docking problems
during a July 2nd attempt, and required a delayed docking until July 4th. 

     Other reports stated that the work slated for Solovyov and Avdeyev 
over the next few months would involve some of the most complex space 
walks the CIS has ever attempted, starting with a detailed inspection of 
the 14 metre tower built on the Kvant module in 1991. 

     July 31 saw the start of a extensive set of biomedical tests on
Mir using equipment supplied by the French.  These are checking for
changes in the cosmonauts immune system due to space flight.  Having
both long term cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Kaleri
(up for 5 months) to compare with the new crew should give some
interesting results. 
     
                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
                                                        Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
                                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca


Article: 46747
From: paulg@griffin.demon.co.uk ("Paul J. Gravestock")
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Russian/French mission to Mir: agreement signed for future
Date: 31 Jul 92 18:02:30 GMT
Sender: usenet@gate.demon.co.uk
Organization: Where's the beach ?
 
In article <1992Jul30.203019.16569@cs.sfu.ca> glennc@cs.sfu.ca writes:
 
>     The Russian/French Soyuz TM-15 mission to the CIS (Commonwealth of 
>Independent States) Mir space station has begun its research.
 
Aren't the Russians getting about, the 22-28 July Issue of Flight
International gives the Shuttle / Mir link up another going over. 
 
Apparantly a cosmonaut will fligh on STS-60 / Discovery mission in
November 93, which will possibly involve a space walk with a US
astronaut. The mission is sceduled to carry the first Spacehab
mid-deck augmentation module. 
 
The [ US and Russian ] agencies have also agreed to the docking of a
shuttle and Mir around 1994-5 ans a five month flight on Mir by a US
astronaut doctor. 
 
Paul
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul J. Gravestock                  | email: paulg@griffin.demon.co.uk
Hertfordshire, England              |        pgravestock@cix.compulink.co.uk
                                    |
               /It may be old news, but I just want to talk\
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman" 10-AUG-1992 15:40:40.99
Subj:	Russian/French crew returns from Mir space station

     The Russian/French "Antares" to the Mir space station landed
today (Aug. 10) after a 12 day flight. Onboard the older Soyuz TM-14
were CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) cosmonauts Alexander
Viktorenko and Alexander Kaleri, who spent 146 days in space (since
Mar. 17th) and Frenchman Michel Tognini (who went up in the Soyuz
TM-15 on July 27).  The majority of the experiments performed during
this mission were medical in nature. Staying on board the Mir complex
were the remaining Soyuz TM-15 crew, cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov (also
Soyuz TM-5 to Mir June '88 for 9 days and Soyuz TM-9 to Mir in Feb.
1990 for 180 days) and Sergei Avdeyev (first mission).  Solovyov and
Avdeyev will be staying until the Jan. 1993 CIS/Israeli visit. (Radio
Moscow) 

     In another area the company formed to continue the building of
the Proton booster is offering Ariane class geosynchronous satellite
launches for 66% of the current costs.  Current Ariane flights cost
$85 million, but Krunichev Enterprises, combined with the KBSalyut
design bureau, are offering missions for $56 million.  Under a June
17th agreement with the U.S. the CIS will be allowed only a single
commercial launch of western satellites. However more flights will be
allowed if they offer "fair prices" - raising them to U.S. and
European levels. (Space News July 20) 
     
                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
                                                        Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
                                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca

Article: 2641
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.hot.ussr
Subject: French, Russian cosmonauts return from space station
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 92 1:50:04 PDT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- A French pilot and two Russian cosmonauts
touched down safely on the steppe of central Kazakhstan early Monday
after a 14-day international mission on the space station Mir. 

	``He felt wonderful on landing,'' Alexander Kotov, a Russian
space official coordinating the flight, said of the return of French
researcher Michel Tognini. 

	Tognini's safe return marked another success for Russia's
commercial program to take foreign researchers into space. France paid
73.2 million francs, about $14.6 million, to send Tognini to Mir,
designed and built by the former Soviet Union. 

	Tognini, 43, returned to Earth in a TM-14 capsule with two
Russian cosmonauts, Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Kaleri, who had
worked aboard Mir for 146 days on the eleventh mission to the
6-year-old orbiting station. 

	The Frenchman blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur
Cosmodrome July 27 with Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Sergei
Avdeyev, who replaced Viktorenko and Kaleri and will remain aboard Mir
until January 1993. 

	Tognini, an air force pilot, took with him a French program of
medical and bioligical research, including experiments on the
cardiovascular system. 

	``He was exceptionally-well trained and prepared,'' Kotov said.

	Viktorenko and Kaleri had been commissioned by several
European and former Soviet states to conduct research -- on a strictly
commercial basis, the Russian state news agency Itar-Tass reported.
They also took a series of photographs for the United Nations to show
ecological damage to Earth's surface. 

Article: 47163
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com (Dennis Newkirk)
Subject: Mir Radiation Exposure
Organization: secure_comm
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1992 17:04:51 GMT
Sender: news@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News)
 
Recently, there were questions about radiation exposure on Mir. Here's
some numbers I've run across for radiation exposure on long duration
missions on Salyut 7 and Mir.  This kind of data is usually found
translated in the periodical NASA CR-3922. 
 
Soyuz T-9    long duration mission / 149 days - Salyut 7
Launched : June 27, 1983, 1:12 P.M.
Crew : Vladimir Lyakhov & Aleksandr Aleksandrov

Reported were exposed to 1755 mrad radiation.
 
Soyuz TM-4     Long Duration / 12 months - 3rd Main Mir Expedition
Launched : Dec. 21, 1987, 2:18 P.M.
Crew : Vladimir Titov & Musa Manarov 

The radiation environment over the entire flight was rated as calm.
The total radiation exposure amounted to 12.2-14.0 rems or 7.6-8.7 rads. 
 
Soyuz TM-8   Long Duration / 5th Main Mir Expedition
Launched : Sept. 8, 1989  1:38 AM
Crew : Aleksandr Victorenko & Aleksandr Serebrov  

Between Sept. 29 and Oct. 24, four major solar flares.  Mir's orbit,
then at 387 * 407 km. and 51.6 inclination, is protected somewhat by
the Earths magnetic field. On Sept. 29, during the worst of the
flares, the cosmonauts experienced 600 mrem compared to the normal 15
to 40 mrem per day.  Dangerous levels to health were considered to be
50 rem per day.  If high levels of radiation were detected in orbit,
the cosmonauts were told to enter the Kvant module for added
protection which could lower exposure by about 2 to 3 times.  The
cosmonauts did go into Kvant as a precaution when Mir passed over the
South Atlantic Anomaly where the Earths magnetic field weakens to
allow increased radiation to penetrate to lower altitudes. This lasted
from 6 to 12 minutes typicially.  The Moscow Institute for Biomedical
Problems has a Space Radiation Group or Radiation Safety Service
checks solar activity and the threat to cosmonauts in space.  It
started service for the ASTP flight in 1976 and has operated ever since. 
 
Dennis Newkirk (dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com)
Motorola Inc, Land Mobile Product Sector
Schaumburg, IL                       


Article: 47187
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: ghasting@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu (George Hastings)
Subject: Primary Cosmonaut Training
Organization: Virginia's Public Education Network (Richmond)
Date: Sun, 09 Aug 92 06:29:34 GMT
 
American Primary Cosmonaut Training
 
     I pulled on the T-shaped handle with the fingers of my right
hand, a quick tug and release. I heard the short high-pitched hoot of
control gas escaping from the four corners of the Ikarus "flying
chair", and grinned as the Russian manned maneuvering unit began to
back me away from the airlock of MIR. 

     A light touch sideways on the other hand controller activated the
yaw thrusters, and the view of MIR slewed to the right as the Ikarus
began to rotate me toward the left. The main core of the space station
drifted past my face plate, and the Kvant module came into view. When
I had turned far enough to see the Kristal module directly in front of
me, I flicked a toggle switch under my fingers, and the automatic
stabilizers kicked in. They canceled out any movements I had
initiated, holding me in place about a hundred meters from the MIR,
pointing in the direction I wanted to move next. 

     In automatic mode, I pushed forward on the controller, and the
space station loomed larger in my field of view as I approached.
Releasing the pressure on the hand controller, I came to a halt,
floating in the blackness within easy reach of the hand holds on the
space station exterior. 

     I could hear the voice of the commander speaking in Russian, and
the translator's voice in my earphones relayed his congratulations on
the successful completion of my first flight in the cosmonaut mobility
unit. Suddenly the unit lurched back sharply, the space station began
to recede, and a bright white light split the darkness at the edges of
my vision as the chair was pulled out of the black box surrounding the
simulator. It was time for the next trainee to have an opportunity for
a familiarization run on the computer driven equipment. 

     If I had been preparing for an actual EVA assignment on a MIR
flight, I would have spend hundreds and hundreds of hours with this
sophisticated simulator, but I had only a week to sample of all the
major areas of training experienced by guest cosmonauts preparing to
travel to the Russian MIR Space Station.

     There were an even dozen of us here as guests, the first American
civilians ever to be admitted to primary spaceflight training at the
Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Zhvuzhdny Gorodok (Star
City). Two were professional cameramen, here video taping for a
television documentary. Four were people with a keen interest in the
Russian space program. The other six were all teachers, applicants in
a competition to select an American guest cosmonaut flight to the MIR
Space Station as Educator In Space. 

     Aerospace Ambassadors, a private American organization, has a
signed contract with Russian space officials to act as the
coordinating agency for the solicitation of science experiments to be
transported on a paying basis to MIR. When enough experiments have
been booked to pay for the flight, one American educator will ride as
a guest cosmonaut on a Soyuz flight to the MIR Space Station. Our week
in Star City was an intense, compressed introduction to the nine to
twelve months of training the selected Educator In Space will experience. 

     We attended lectures and briefings by top Russian scientists,
engineers, and cosmonauts. Inside the full size training model of the
huge MIR space station, became familiar with the general configuration
of the orbital complex and its life support systems. We were given
flight physicals. We experienced the physiological effects of high
altitude in the hypobaric chamber, where the air pressure was reduced
to reach the equivalent of 5,000 meters. 

     We rode the centrifuge, where we experienced the forces felt
during liftoff in the Soyuz-TM spacecraft. The normal forces felt
during a Soyuz-TM flight are only about 3 G's, the same experienced
during a space shuttle flight. The maximum centrifuge load of up to
six G's would only be endured in the event of an emergency ballistic
reentry. 

     Rendezvous and docking training inside the Soyuz-TM simulator is
not for the claustrophobic. The spacecraft is designed for maximum
efficiency, and that means minimum weight and volume. The three
cosmonauts in a Soyuz-TM lie on their backs in acceleration couches
just big enough to cradle body, head, and upper arms. The footrests
placed close together create a radial arrangement for the seats. With
my feet in place, my knees were bent almost up to my chest. 

     We all gained a new respect for extravehicular operations when we
donned the "Orland" EVA space suits used outside MIR. When you hear
that the suit is entered through a door in the back of the integrated
life support system, it sounds easy. It isn't! Blood pressure,
respiration, and heart rate monitoring telemetry were attached to my
body. The hooded cooling garment that I put on next had woven into it
tubes about the diameter of my little finger. Chilled liquid
circulated through the tubes removes excess body heat from head, arms,
torso, and upper legs. Cloth mesh headgear equipped with earphones and
microphones, worn under the liquid cooling garment hood allowed me to
communicate from inside the space suit. 

     Sitting on the edge of the space suit door, it is easy to slip
your feet into the legs. Left arm into the sleeve. I ducked my head
and hunched my right shoulder at the same time to squeeze through the
narrow opening. As I struggledd to get both hands into the attached
gloves, I thrust my face close to the front of the helmet. Breathing
hard , I could feel the carbon dioxide level building up. Groping down
blindly across my body with my left hand, I found the handle on the
end of a cable. Tugging on it hard, I strained to lift it over the
edge of a hook on the front of the suit, and I could feel the door in
the back of the suit being pulled closed. I grabbed a lever at the
side of the suit, and shoved it down, sealing the door. I heaved a
sigh of relief as fresh air began to blow into the helmet and the
liquid cooling garment began to work. 

     As the suit came up to full working pressure, I found it easy to
move the rotating shoulder and wrist joints on the suit, but bending
elbows and fingers was hard work.  Cosmonauts must be in excellent
physical condition to work in EVA suits outside the MIR! 

     The highlight of the was weightlessness training on board the
Ilushin-76 MDK aircraft. Ten of us sat expectantly on the four inch
padding covering the floor of the square twenty meter long fuselage of
the plane while it climbed to high altitude. As the pilot nosed the
plane into a slight dive to pick up speed, I felt as though I was in a
fast dropping elevator. The plane pulled up sharply, engines at full
power, and I sank into the cushioned floor covering as the G forces
built up. At maximum speed and rate of climb, the pilot eased back on
the throttle and pushed forward gently on the controls. 

     As the aircraft nosed over, the floor floated out from under me,
and I was floating weightless, feet and body off the floor, hanging on
to the handrail on the wall. There was no sense of falling, just
freedom and elation. As I looked around I saw one cameraman floating
in the middle of the room, feet flailing around, but eye pressed
firmly to the view finder, determined to catch on tape this
extraordinary event. His partner, hanging on to a railing, pulled him
to the floor just as we pulled out of the dive twenty five seconds
later, and assisted him with the large video camera that now weighed
three times as much as it should. 

     As the IL-76 MDK flew through each parabolic arc I was weightless
for about thirty seconds. Each time, I was given a different skill to
practice by the cosmonaut working with me. I practiced moving hand
over hand along railings on the wall. I pushed off the floor gently,
and floated to the ceiling, staying there until pushing myself back to
the floor. I pushed off the wall with the lightest muscle movement,
and flew across the room. I stuck my feet under floor straps and moved
around a 100 kilogram package that was weightless, but still had a 100
kilos of mass. By the time we had completed ten flight arcs, I had
been weightless for about five minutes.  The five trainees that were
busy by this time filling plastic bags with this morning's breakfast
were glad that this part of the training was over, but the remaining
five were ready to fly another ten arcs. We're hoping to be included
in the full length guest cosmonaut training program in the not too
distant future, so that one of us can feel the freedom of movement in
weightlessness and the reward of space science experimentation aboard
the MIR space station. 
 
BIO:  George Hastings was an aerospace education specialist for NASA's
Educational Programs Office for more than ten years. He currently
helps run spaceflight simulations in the Signet Challenger Center in
Richmond, Virginia and teaches astronomy and space science classes for
the Richmond Mathematics and Science Center. 
 
George Hastings                     GHASTINGS@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu
Mathematics & Science Center        CompuServe 72407,22
2401 Hartman Street
Richmond, VA 23223

From:	DECWRL::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane"  5-SEP-1992 01:12:55.44
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 07-Sep-92 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0907
* SpaceNews 07-Sep-92 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0907

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                      MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 1992

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR NEWS *
============
The planned operation of a Special Event Station from the Russian
Space Exhibit in Tel Aviv did not take place. 

Neither Sergei Samburov, RV3DR, nor Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, was able
to come to Israel, apparently because of financial considerations. Two
veteran Cosmonauts were on hand - Alexsander Alexandrov and Valeri
Ryumin - but neither of them are hams. 

The exhibit itself was extremely interesting, and gave a detailed
picture of Russian space exploration from Sputnik to the present. The
14-Metre long Mir module gave visitors some indication of the living
conditions aboard the Mir Space Station. 

[Info via Shlomo, 4X4LF]

* MESSAGES *
============
Thanks to the following who sent feedback to SpaceNews:

KC1CO  PE1LXR  IW2BSF  4X4LF  WG4Q

... and also a special greeting to all those at Dow Jones who read
SpaceNews on a regular basis.

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
BITNET   : ...princeton!ocpt!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

    <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter to be read in space! -=>>

/EX
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 842-1900 ext 3607

From:	DECWRL::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "Voevodin S.A." 14-DEC-1992 
To:	pands@cix.compulink.co.uk
Subj:	VSA032: The Current Cosmonauts' Status No 1

*****************************************************************
*  VSA032       10.12.1992       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
*****************************************************************

            Current Cosmonauts Status No 1
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Orbit
~~~~~~~~
Soloviyov A. (76)
Avdeyev      (87)


Group D-7-13  ( The 13th Resident Mir Mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Manakov     (85)        Tsibliyev   (87)         Volkov?   (76)
Polishchuk  (89)        Usachyov    (89)         Budarin   (89)


Group D-7-14  ( The 14th Resident Mir Mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Malenchenko (87)
Kalery?     (84)


Group D-7-1  ( The first Commanders' row )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Gidzenko    (87)        Krichevsky  (89)
Dezhurov    (87)        Onufrienko  (89)
Musabayev   (91)        Padalko     (89)


Group D-7-2  ( The second Commanders' row )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Vozovikov   (90)        Sharipov    (90)
Zalyotin    (90)


Group D-7-3?  ( The visiting Mir mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Korzun      (87)        Kondakova   (89)
Afanasiyev  (85)


Group K-S  ( Rescue-cosmonauts )
~~~~~~~~~
Afanasiyev  (85)        Volkov      (76)
Viktorenko  (78)


Group B  ( Buran )
~~~~~~~
Boroday     (78)        Stepanov    (65)
Kadenyuk    (88)        Illarionov  (70)
Polonsky    (89)        Fefelov     (70)
Yablontsev  (89)


Group Sh?  ( Space Shuttle in USA )
~~~~~~~~
Krikalyov   (85)
Titov       (76)


Group K-M  ( Candidates )
~~~~~~~~~
Vinogradov  (92)
Lazutkin    (92)
Treshchev   (92)


Group F  ( France )
~~~~~~~
Haignere
Deshaye


Group N  ( Germany )
~~~~~~~
Ewald
Flade


Group E  ( ESA )
~~~~~~~
Duque
Merchez
Fuglesand


Active  ( Ready for space flights but out of crews )
~~~~~~
     TsPK  ( The Cosmonaut Training Centre )

           Berezovoy   (70) from D-7-14 & K-S groups - MD
           Artsebarsky (85) from D-7-13 group - D

     NPO "Energiya"  ( The Scientific Research Enterprise "Energiya" )

           Strekalov   (73)
           Ivanchenkov (73)
           Aleksandrov (78)
           Serebrov    (78)
           Zaitsev     (85)
           Balandin    (78) from D-7-13 group - MD
           Laveikin    (78) from D-7-3  group - MD

     IMBP  ( The Institute of Medical-Biological Problems )

           Polyakov    (72)                 Pozharskaya (80)
           Arzamazov   (78)                 Stepanov    (85)
           Borodin     (78)                 Karashtin   (89)
           Dobrokvashina (80)               Lukiyanyuk  (89)
           Zakharova   (80)                 Morukov     (89)

     RAN  ( Academy of Sciences )

          Latysheva    (80)
          Ivanova      (83)

     LII  ( The Flight Research Institute )

          Volk         (78)                 Tresvyatsky  (85)
          Sultanov     (83)                 Sheffer      (85)
          Tolboyev     (83)                 Prikhodko    (89)
          Zabolotsky   (84)

     NII VVS  ( The Air Force Scientific Research Institute )

          Maksimenko   (89)                 Pushenko     (89)
          Puchkov      (89)                 Tokarev      (89)

     NPO "Zvezda"  ( The Scientific Research Enterprise "Zvezda" )

          Severin      (90)

     The Union of Journalists

          Baberdin     (90)                 Sharov       (90)
          Andryushkov  (90)                 Mukhortov    (90)
          Omelchenko   (90)                 Krikun       (90)

Reserve  ( fit for space flights but out of trainings )
~~~~~~~
     TsPK

           Glazkov     (65)                 Lyakhov     (67)
           Zudov       (65)                 Malyshev    (67)
           Klimuk      (65)                 Dzhanibekov (70)
           Rozhdestvensky (65)              Romanenko   (70)
           Khludeyev   (65)                 Tereshkova  (62)

     NPO "Energiya"

           Grechko     (66)                 Lebedev     (72)
           Kubasov     (66)                 Soloviyov V (78)
           Sevastiyanov (67)                Savitskaya  (80)

     IMBP

           Atkov       (83)
           Aubakirov   (91)

Abbreviation: D - disqualification, MD - medical disqualification

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su (Voevodin S.A.)
% Subject: VSA032: The Current Cosmonauts' Status No 1

From:	DECWRL::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "Voevodin S.A." 14-DEC-1992 
To:	pands@cix.compulink.co.uk
Subj:	VSA033: The Current Russian Space Plans for 1993

*****************************************************************
*  VSA033       11.12.1992       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
*****************************************************************

News No 15

           The Current Russian Space Plans for 1993
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On January 12 Soyuz TM-16 with androgynous docking unit will be
launched. Crews for the mission are:

    Monakov             Tsibliyev           Volkov?
    Polishchuk          Usachyov            Budarin

On January 30 Soloviyov and Avdeyev will be grounded in Soyuz TM-15
landing capsule.

On July 1 the 4th Russian - Franch crew will start for Mir complex:

    Tsibliyev           Volkov?             Afonasiyev?
    Kalery?             Budarin             Usachyov
    Haignere            Deshays

                        Four experienced cosmonauts: Artsebarsky, Berezovoy,
                        Balandin and Laveikin were disqualified recently. If
                        they will be reabilitated than crews change:

                        Tsibliyev     Berezovoy      Artsebarsky
                        Balandin      Budarin        Usachyov

Some days later ( on 8 july (?)) new international Russian - German
crew will be launched:

    Afanasiyev          Viktorenko?         Volkov?
    Usachyov            Kondakova           Budarin
    Ewald               Flade

                        Artsebarsky   Malenchenko    Berezovoy
                        Usachyov      Kalery         Budarin
                        Ewald         Flade

It will be the first time when three Soyuz TM spaceships are docked
with Mir station.

On July 14 (?) Manakov/Polishchuk will be landed on soyuz TM-16.

On July 21 Afanasiyev/Haignere/Ewald will be grounded in Soyuz TM-17
landing capsule.

Tsibliyev, Kalery and Usachyov  will work on Mir complex board until
January 1994.

In November 1993 Krikalyov ( bu  Titov ) will fly on STS-60 board,
but it are not Russian but US plans.

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su (Voevodin S.A.)
% Subject: VSA033: The Current Russian Space Plans for 1993

From:	DECWRL::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane" 10-JAN-1993 00:18:02.11
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 11-Jan-93 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0111
* SpaceNews 11-Jan-93 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0111

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                        MONDAY JANUARY 11, 1993

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* NEWS FROM SPACE *
===================
Our friends on Space Station Mir send the following greetings to everyone:


                         HELLO FROM MIR-STATION !!!

          WE WILL WORKING ON THE ORBIT UNTIL 1 FEBRUARY NEXT YEAR /1993/
                   AND WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO MEET YOU AGAIN !

                           73 ANATOLY & SERGEY

            *
          *****        Happy NEW YEAR 1993 !!!
         *******
       ***********        With best wishes
            I         Crew #12 of Space Station MIR:
        flight commander - Anatoly Solovyev [U6MIR];
        flight engineer  - Sergey  Avdeyev  [RV3DW on the Earth].


    73  PMS  U6MIR-1  Anatoly & Sergey

[Downloaded from Mir by N6JLH and N8DEU]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...catfish.ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>

-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Engineering & Technology Dept.     AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 224-2948

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com (John Magliacane)
% Subject: * SpaceNews 11-Jan-93 *

Article: 54914
From: R.KRACHT@ABBS.hanse.de (Rainer Kracht)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Launch of Soyuz TM-16
Date: 10 Jan 93 14:11:55 +0100
Organization: ABBS AstroMail (FRG)
 
 Today (Jan 10) Radio Moscow announced that Soyuz TM-16 will be
 launched on January 24.  The first crew consists of Genadi Manakov
 and Alexander Polishchuk.
 
 r.kracht@abbs.hanse.de
 

Article: 2879
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com (John Magliacane)
Subject: * SpaceNews 18-Jan-93 *
Sender: digester@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: ka2qhd - Ocean NJ
Date: Sat, 16 Jan 1993 01:23:28 GMT
 
SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0118
* SpaceNews 18-Jan-93 *
 
Bulletin ID: $SPC0118
 
                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========
 
                        MONDAY JANUARY 18, 1993
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR NEWS *
============
Date: 01/09/93: U6MIR was very active on speech FM on New Year's Eve,
exchanging greetings messages.  The packet station has been off for much
of the time recently.  On 20-JAN-93 SOYUZ-TM-15 will take replacement
cosmonauts Manakov and Polishchuk to MIR to dock 26-JAN-93.  G3IOR has
heard nothing as to the likely amateur radio activity of this new crew,
but he can only assume the usual cosmonaut training will also include
instructions in amateur radio and how to run the radio equipment aboard
MIR.  The current crew of Solovyov and Avdeyev will return in TM-15
1-FEB-93 1st.  On 5-FEB-93 a PROGRESS supply will go to MIR.  Another
visiting French cosmonaut is due to go up in July '93.  If he is half as
active as his French predecessor Michel Tognini (F5MIR) we will be in for
a treat!  MIR QSL's have been long awaited by many.  The problem of non-
supply has been brought about by the change over in governments, and,
believe it or not, there is a desperate shortage of envelopes in Russia!
Now UA3CR, RV3DR and LW2DTZ have met to discuss this this problem.  MIR
QSL's should be sent with S.A.S.E., 2 IRC's or one green stamp to: Sergei
Samburov, RV3DR, prospect Kosmonavtov. d.36, kw.96, Kaliningrad City,
MOSCOW 141070, RUSSIA.  For those stations who hear or work MIR and your
QTH is South America only, you should send your cards to Gustavo Carpignano
LW2DTZ, M.ROSAS 2044, 1828 BENFIELD, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA.
 
[Info via ANS]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...catfish.ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
 
/EX
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Engineering & Technology Dept.     AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 224-2948

Article: 55276
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
Subject: Soyuz TM-16 crews prepares for flight to Mir space station
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1993 11:06:40 GMT
 
    Final preparations are being made for the Soyuz TM-16 flight to
the Commonwealth of Independent States Mir space station space
station, set for Jan 24th. The new crew, Manakov and Polishcuk,
arrived at the Baikonor Cosmodrome on Jan. 9/10th. They will be
releaving cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov and Sergei Avdeyev (up for 173
days now, since July 30) who are preparing for the end of their
mission.  In addition two other flights to Mir are planed for 1993, a
joint French mission in July, and another flight at the end of the
year.  That final flight will provide a crew which plans to stay up
for 18 months, beating the current record of 366 days. (Radio Moscow) 

     An interesting report noted that a joint Russian/French flight
tested an improved version of the Russian supersonic ramjet engine
(scramjet) on top of a rocket booster.  The scramjet started at Mach
3.5 (3.5 times the speed of sound) and had a successful subsonic to
supersonic combustion transition at Mach 5.  It ran supersonic
combustion for over 15 seconds (three times longer than the flight
last year) until running out of liquid hydrogen.  (AW&ST Dec. 7, 14/21) 
 
                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
                                                        Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
                                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca

Article: 55293
From: dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com (Dennis Newkirk)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Znamya: Orbiting mirror.
Date: 19 Jan 93 09:49:52 GMT
Sender: news@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News)
Organization: Motorola
 
In article <1993Jan17.173706.1@vax1.tcd.ie> apryan@vax1.tcd.ie writes:
 
>In article <30262@castle.ed.ac.uk>, ntc@castle.ed.ac.uk (N T Clifford) writes:
>>
>> Apparently a recent Progress cargo ship (1992-71A?) currently docked 
>>(or station keeping) with Mir is due (maybe next month) to unfurl a 65 foot
>>'space mirror' constructed from aluminium coated plastic film, in an 
>>experiment known as `Znamya' (Banner).
>> 
>> Apparently this is an attempt to extend the daylight hours of the 
>> Siberian regions by reflecting sunlight to the required areas.
 
>The information carried on our UK newsline (0891-88-1950) says that
>the last Progress in Oct'92 carried p an experimental solar sail perhaps
>this is where the confusion arises? Anyway, Mir will now be crossing UK and
>Ireland in daylight until it is visible in morning skies in early Feb. (and
>evening skies from early March) although such a large item could probably be
 
Progress M-15 launched on Oct 5 1992 is the ship in question.  It will
remain docked to Mir through the Soyuz TM-16 docking and Soyuz TM-15
undocking.  In February it will undock to begin several days of mirror
tests using its Znamya solar sail. 
 
The tests were originally scheduled for October but were delayed due
to control and thermal reasons.  This was reported in an Energiya-USA
press release.  There are also reports of budget problems contributing
to the delay.
 
Source: James Oberg, a Houston space engineer and consulting speciallist
in Russian aerospace.
 
Dennis Newkirk (dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com)
Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Schaumburg, IL

Article: 55387
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com (Dennis Newkirk)
Subject: Russians plan 540 day Mir mission
Organization: Motorola
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 10:06:25 GMT
Sender: news@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News)
 
Flight International quoted official Russian sources confirming rumors
that the crew to be launched to Mir in late 1993 will probably include
a doctor with the objective of staying on the station for 540 days.
The mission would last through the visiting French flight scheduled
for mid-1994, and they would be joined by the NASA astronaut in early
'95 to round out the last 100 or so days. They hope to be returned by
the US Shuttle in 1995 after the planned docking with Mir and delivery
of the replacement Mir crew. This plan presumably takes advantage of
NASA's post flight medical analysis skills for what would be the
longest manned spaceflight ever. 
 
Flight International also reports that the 540 day mission was planned
earlier to succeed the year long mission in 1988, but was delayed by
the policy change to fly 5-6 month missions to increase productivity
of the crew. Exactly what caused the latest change in policy is
unclear, but I suspect it is intended to entice NASA into long term
missions using Mir or Mir 2 studying life sciences. 
 
Also, remember to watch the news for the Soyuz TM-16 launch this
Sunday (Jan 24.). CNN usually allocates 10 or 15 seconds of their
precious time for a tapeed Soyuz launch. Current plans are for the
Soyuz TM 16 crew to be replaced by the Soyuz TM-17 joint French
Mission scheduled to be launched July 1. 
 
There are still a number of other nations interested in visiting
flights to Mir so the Russians immediate problem may be to much demand
to satisfy within the constraints of their current infrastructure. The
Soyuz TM-18 in late 1993 will also probably be a joint German flight.
Assuming the routine 6 month visiting crew interval is unchanged this
leaves late 1993, mid 1994, and late 1994 Soyuz missions undefined
before the joint NASA flights begin. 
 
Dennis Newkirk (dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com)
Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Schaumburg, IL

Article: 3088
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.tw.space
Subject: Russia launches cosmonauts on Mir mission
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 93 9:07:03 PST
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Two Russian cosmonauts blasted off from the
snow-covered Baikonur Cosmodrome Sunday on a regular rotation mission
to the orbiting Mir space station. 

	The Soyuz TM-16 spaceship blasted off on time at 8:58 a.m. and
was to dock with Mir Tuesday. The launch carried Col. Gennady Manakov,
a 42-year-old test pilot making his second trip to Mir, and Alexander
Poleshchuk, a flight engineer who works for the Russian Energiya space
organization. 

	Manakov and Poleshchuk will replace Anatoly Solovyov and
Sergei Avdeyev on Mir, the nearly 7-year-old space station where they
have been living and working since July 27 last year. 

Article: 31000
From: wats@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Bruce Watson)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Znamya orbiting mirror brightness
Date: 22 Jan 93 19:57:15 GMT
Organization: Alpha Science Computer Network, Denver, Co.
  
As early as next month (February) Mir Complex cosmonauts are planning
to unfurl a large sheet of aluminized mylar to test the concept of a
space mirror to reflect sunlight to illuminate an area 10's of
kilometers in diameter (probably European Russia or Siberia) with the
equivalent light of several full moons. The mirror (called Znamya or
"Banner"), which is aboard the Progress cargo resupply craft that is
currently attached to Mir, will be 20 meters in diameter when deployed. 
                                                                            
This is reminscent of the large aluminized mylar balloons of the 1960s:
Echo I launched in the summer of 1960 at 30 meters in diameter, Echo
II in 1964 at 41 meters, and Pageos in 1966 at 30 meters and two
Explorers each at 3.6 meters. The Echo balloons were zero magnitude at
1600 kms and Pageos at +3 at 4000 km. 
 
The amount of sunlight reflected to the target area from a flat
specularly reflecting mirror is the square of the fraction of the
subtense of the mirror at slant range to the subtense of the Sun from
Earth: 
 
(1)        B_sat/B_sun = (subtense of mirror/30 arc-min)^2
 
where subtense of mirror at 350 km (Mir's minimum distance to an observer)
is arc-sin(20/350x1000) = 12 arc-sec.
 
So, from (1), B_sat/B_sun = 0.0066 and magnitude M is related to brightness 
B by:
 
(2)        M_sun - M_sat = +2.5 log_10 (B_sat/B_sun)
 
The magnitude of the sun is M_sun = -26.7 so, from (2), M_sat = -15.8 (the 
full moon has a magnitude of -12.5, so -15.8 is 20 full moons). Of course, 
the magnitude estimate assumes 100 percent specular reflectivity of the mylar 
and an optical flat surface--neither of which will be realized.
 
This magnitude is for observers in the relatively small directly illuminated 
area. However the off-axis brightness seen by observers not in the direction 
of intended illumination will be observed as an increased brightness of the 
Mir Complex of perhaps a few magnitudes. Mir is commonly 0 or -1 magnitude, 
but with the mirror deployed, the Mir Complex may appear brighter than -4.
This is about the brightness of Venus seen in the southwest after sunset.
 
Mir will be visible from North America in the pre-dawn hours in the month of
February (from the 1st to the 26th) until it returns to visibility in the
evening hours after sunset (from Feb 26th to Mar 19th). Mir spends a great deal
of time passing low to our north. With this increase in magnitude it may be
more easily observable during these times.
-- 
Bruce Watson (wats@scicom) Bulletin 629-49 Item 6700 Extract 75,131

Article 2949 of sci.space.news:
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Path: nntpd2.cxo.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!news.crl.dec.com!deccrl!caen!saimiri.primate.wisc.edu!ames!dont-send-mail-to-path-lines
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
Subject: Russian Soyuz TM-16 docks with Mir space station
Message-ID: <1993Jan27.075947.26050@cs.sfu.ca>
Apparently-To: uunet!sci-space-news
Followup-To: sci.space
Keywords: Russian, Space
Sender: digester@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 07:59:47 GMT
Approved: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Lines: 29


     The Soyuz TM-16 flight to the Commonwealth of Independent States Mir 
complex docked today (Jan. 26th) at the station .  The new crew, Manakov and 
Alexander Polishcuk, were launched from the Baikonor Cosmodrome on Jan. 24th. 
Shortly after docking they entered the station to greet the cosmonauts 
Anatoli who have been up for 180 days now, since July 30.  Solovyov and 
Avdeyev will be returning in the Soyuz TM-15 capsule on Feb. 1.  Manakov and 
Polishcuk will be staying up at least until the French/Russian mission set 
for July.
     The docking itself was of considerable interest.  For the first time a 
connection was made with the new docking port on the Kristall module.  Soyuz 
dockings to date have taken place on either the front or rear axial ports.  
The Kristall module, a 20 Tonne experimental section launched in 1990, is 
mounted perpendicular to the main axis on the station at the front or ball 
multiport section.  Its docking section is special, designed as simpler and 
smaller than the current ones.  However it is meant to mate with space craft 
of up to 100 tonnes, such as the Buran shuttle, or the U.S. space shuttles 
(when they carry up a docking adaptor).  According to Energia NPO, the 
builders of the Mir complex, several times this year the station will have 
two Soyuz's and a Progress cargo tanker docked to the station at the same 
time.  (Radio Moscow, Space News Jan. 11)
     Sorry the launch was not reported, but I was out of the country during 
it.

                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
                                                        Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
                                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca

From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  1-FEB-1993 10:52:54.75
Subj:	CIS Soyuz TM-15 successfully lands from Mir space station

     The Soyuz TM-15 flight to the Commonwealth of Independent States
Mir complex successfully landed today (Feb 1st) in south central Asia.
On board were Anatoli Solovyov and Sergei Avdeyev who have just spent
187 days, in orbit since arriving with a French visitor on July 30. 
They have been replaced by the new crew, Gennadiy Manakov and
Aleksandr Polishchuk, which were launched from the in Soyuz TM-16 on
Jan. 24th.   One interesting point is that Radio Moscow stated they
would be up for 179 days on Mir, which makes their landing date July
24th.  In most previous flights the landing date has not been so
clearly specified.  The replacement crew at that time will include a
French visitor, which is now training for the flight. 

     On of the new things Manakov and Polishchuk will be working on 
is the February test of a 20-metre (65-foot) solar sail.  It will be
attached to the Progress TM-15 tanker currently at the Mir station,
which will be undocked and moved from the station before the sail is
deployed.  The 3 day mission will permit the solar sail to act like a
reflector, generating very a bright light in the sky for a short
period of time (1 minute) as seen from the ground, as well as move the
Progress tanker with light pressure.  Reports say this will be the
brightest object in the sky at the times of the tests. (Radio Mosow,
SpaceNews Jan. 11, CBC) 

     In other news Russia has announced that a third lander on their
1994 Mars probe has been dropped due to funding problems.  The irony
is that the third lander was to contain mostly U.S. equipment, and
delays in U.S. payments supporting this probe were a significant
factor in the cancellation. However the remaining two probes and the
rest of the mission is proceeding on schedule.  (SpaceNews Jan. 4, 11)

     NASA/CIS teams have found pleasing results in initial studies on
using a modified Soyuz capsule as the Freedom space station's
emergency assured crew return vehicles.  Over the next year more
detailed investigations of the changes needed and launch costs will be
done. The U.S. Lockheed Corporation has agreed to market the Proton
booster for Russia's Khrunichev Enterprise under the joint
Lockheed-Khrunichev International corp.  The Proton, a 20 Tonne to
orbit booster, is currently produced by Khrunichev at a yearly
production rate of 9, which could rise to 18 if needed.  Lockheed will
market the booster, especially pushing it as a launcher of the Soyuz
as Freedom's assured crew return vehicles.  Lockheed will also inject
$5 million into Khrunichev to maintain the plant.  However, while the
U.S. State Department gave quick approval to the project, battles
broke out with other agencies which wished to stop the project. 
(AW&ST Jan. 4) 

     The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) is planning
to purchase four more Russian Topaz space nuclear reactors, in
addition to the two already delivered to the U.S.  There is worry
though that radiation from the reactors in space will hurt
measurements on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. (SpaceNews Jan. 11)

                                                        Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Science
                                                        Simon Fraser U.
                                                        Burnaby, B.C., Canada
                                                        glennc@cs.sfu.ca

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: CIS Soyuz TM-15 successfully lands from Mir space station

From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  1-FEB-1993 22:05:41.72
Subj:	Russian solar sail flight possibly set for Feb. 4th

Subject: Russian solar sail flight possibly set for Feb. 4th
Newsgroups: sci.space
Keywords: Russian, Space

     There has been some questions asked about the Russian solar sail
experiment.  Here is the best current information that I have.  This
in this test, called the Znamya experiment, the progress TM-15 tanker
with the 20 metre mirror solar sail folded, will be detached from the
Mir space station on Thurs. Feb. 4th according to one CBC report. 
After moving a few hundred metres from Mir it will deploy the sail and
orientate itself to have the sun in line with the sail.  The
experiment will continue for three days (till Feb. 6th).  However take
all this with a grain of salt.  This experiment was originally to take
place in December, and was delayed from the previous Mir crew to the
current one, which just arrived on Jan. 26th.  There has been no
announcement that I have heard on Radio Moscow of the time of
separation or the date only the month.   Further only a small change
in the orbit of Mir, will significantly alter any viewing time
numbers.  Such changes usually are made a few days before the Progress
tanker leaves by firing the Progress's engine to raise Mir's orbit. 

    Best viewing will probably occur near sunrise, when the mirror,
which is pointed towards the sun, is reflecting light while towards
the Earth's edge just before it enters the terminator for the Earth's
shadow. Exact times will depend on the orbital elements and your
location 

     Hope this helps those that are looking for it.  I will provide
better information as I get it. 

                                                        Yours truly
							Glenn Chapman
							Simon Fraser U.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: Russian solar sail flight possibly set for Feb. 4th

NPR said this morning that the test would begin around 7:30PM EST over the
Atlantic (implying it might be visible).

Can anyone with an orbit tracker program tell where MIR will be tonight at that
time?

Burns

Article: 56079
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
Subject: Russian solar sail test now confirmed for Feb. 4th
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1993 19:22:07 GMT
 
     The Russian solar sail experiment schedule was announced on Radio
Moscow this morning (Feb. 3).  The starting point for the experiment
is the Progress TM-15 cargo craft, which is currently attached to the
rear docking port (Kvant module port) of their Mir space station. The
Progress masses about 5 Tonnes at this point, as it delivered about
2.5 Tonnes of fuel/supplies to Mir when it arrived there in October.
This in this test, called the Znamya experiment, the Progress TM-15
tanker has a 20 metre mirror diameter solar sail folded on the
vehicle. It will be detached from the Mir space station on "In the
early hours of Thurs. Feb. 4th" Radio Moscow.  After moving a few
hundred metres from Mir it will deploy the sail and orientate itself
to have the sun in line with the sail.  However in some experiments
the sail will be angled to reflect that light to Earth (they talk of
trying to illuminate dark Arctic areas, but do not make it clear if
that is only for future work, and not an experiment to be done now). 

     The test  will continue for three days (till Feb. 6th).  One
point of care is that only a small change in the orbit of Mir, which
usually is done a few days before the Progress tanker leaves, would
significantly alter any viewing time times.  However the latest Norad
orbital elements (Feb. 2nd) indicate no new changes.  Note that Mir is
currently in about a 400 Km orbit, so that it does not take much
change in location on Earth to significantly alter were to look for
the space station and the Progress.  Probably one would see Mir itself
first, and then sometime during the pass get a bright flash when the
mirror becomes properly aligned to your location. Brightness in a
close approach would be nearly that of the Moon according to one
estimate. 

    Best viewing will probably occur near sunrise, when the mirror,
which is pointed towards the sun, is reflecting light while towards
the Earth's edge just before it enters the terminator for the Earth's
shadow. Exact times will depend on the orbital elements and your location 

    For those that have satellite observing programs here is the
latest Mir data:
 
Epoch Day:            30.5959211
Inclination           51.6201
Rt Asc. of the Node: 190.3727
Eccentricity           0.0002579
Arg. of Periaps      333.1555
Mean Anomaly          26.9263
Mean Motion           15.5833193
Mean M. Accel.         0.0000793
 
                                                        Yours truly
							Glenn Chapman
							Simon Fraser U.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca
  

Has anyone seen it?  Can anyone give times directions to look for the Nashua
or Greater Maynard area?

Thanks,

Burns

From:	DECWRL::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane"  7-FEB-1993 14:22:24.64
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 08-Feb-93 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0208
* SpaceNews 08-Feb-93 *

BID: $SPC0208

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                        MONDAY FEBRUARY 8, 1993

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.

* MIR CREW FAREWELL MESSAGE *
=============================
Subject: GOOD BYE from CREW#12

                             Space Station MIR
                             H=400km from Earth
                             January 31 , 1993 .
Dear "Hams"!
      Tomorrow we will have to return at the Earth...
      We wish to say good-bye to you and many thanks
      for your nice contacts.
      Your messages and voice was help us in the space!

           We will be very happy to meet you again...
                                   ...on the Earth...

                    GOOD BYE !!!

   Crew #12 of Space Station MIR:
              flight commander - Anatoly Solovyev ,
                                          &
                 flight engineer  - Sergey Avdeyev  .

     73 !   U6MIR

 Tomorrow (February 1,1993) PMS callsign will be   R2MIR-1 .
     Crew #13 of Space Station MIR:
              flight commander - Gennadiy Manakov  [U9MIR] ,
              flight engineer  - Alex Poleshtshouk [R2MIR] .

[Message via Dave, N6JLH]

* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:

FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...catfish.ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>

/EX
-- 
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : (908) 747-7107
Engineering & Technology Dept.     AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: (908) 224-2948

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com (John Magliacane)
% Subject: * SpaceNews 08-Feb-93 *

From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  5-FEB-1993 17:38:36.92
CC:	
Subj:	Russian Solar Sail Results and Obervations pointers

     For those interested in watching the Russian Solar Sail
experiment here is some more useful information.  The experiment
started with the Progress TM-15 cargo craft, undocking from the Kvant
module port at the rear of the Russian Mir space station about 12
midnight PST on Feb 4th.  The Progess was rotated about its axis and
the kevlar/aluminum solar sail was spun out to be held ridgid by the
rotation force.  The sail have ellipse like holes forming 8 missing
"spokes" to help shape the structure.  One announcement stated that
shortly after it was deployed and had gone over Europe the sail was
detached from the from the Progress.  Thus what was observed here in
Vancouver was 3 objects on Thursday, the solar sail, which was
flashing at about 2 sec intervals, followed 4 minutes later by the
progress and Mir (sepearated by 5 degrees from each other). 
Observations today had the sail appearing some 13 minutes before Mir,
consistant with an estimate I have of orbital decay for the very light
sail.  I estimate the sail will appear about 53 minutes infront of Mir
for areas on saturday, Feb. 6th.  By the way on Radio Moscow they
announced that the sail, when reflecting on an area, will illuminate a
ground area 4 km in diameter. 

							Glenn Chapman
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        School Eng. Science.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: Russian Solar Sail Results and Obervations pointers

From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  5-FEB-1993 23:18:05.69
CC:	
Subj:	New Russian Solar Sail results - data to help you see it

     Some additional information for those looking for the Russian
solar sail experiment (Znamya).  For those who have not seen the solar
sail it appears as a bright yellow flashing object some time in front
of the Mir space station.  On Feb. 4 at Vancouver, B.C. Canada it
appeared at 6:37, about 4 minutes ahead of the Mir station, which was
itself preceeded by a dimmer object - which probably is the Progress
TM-15.  The 5 degrees separation of Mir and the Progress corresponds
to about 35 km (21 miles) - about what I would expect in this
experiment.  The Znamya's lead those was 1800 km - certainly this
could only come from rapid orbital decay.  On Feb. 5th it came some 13
minutes (+/- 1 minute) in front of Mir according to another observer
here , at 7:04 am (in an area not covered by the overcast sky). My
estimates suggest now that for Saturday it will be between 39 and 53
minutes ahead of the Mir station values.  This corresponds to a drop
of 95 Km in altitude, to about 300 km, in just two days. 

     This is not unreasonable for such a low mass object.  The Mir
space station, with about the same cross sectional area as this 20
metre diameter solar sail, falls about 1 km per day unless corrective
action is taken.  The much lighter solar sail has less energy to lose,
and hence would fall faster. My initial estimate was that the
Progress/Znamya combination would fall about 20-30 km per day -
Progress masses 5 Tonnes at this point, about 5% of Mir stations
mass).  Hence this is falling much faster than that estimate and tends
to confirm the statement that Znamya was separated from the Progess. 
At this rate it will burn up in just a few days.  The reason why the
solar sail is flashing is probably it has now lost its shape and is
tumbling without the mass of the Progess to stabilize it. In some ways
this makes it much easier to spot - it is just that the time estimates
are now way off from those of Mir station. 

     I would have to say that more than anything else this seeing this
string of 3 objects coming one right after the other in orbit and the
flashing sail was one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen
in observing satellite objects.  If you get the chance try to see it. 

							Glenn Chapman
							Simon Fraser U.
                                                        School Eng. Science.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca




% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: New Russian Solar Sail results - data to help you see it

From:	DECWRL::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  9-FEB-1993 00:23:06.21
To:	uunet!sci-space-news
CC:	
Subj:	Russian Solar Sail experiment ends

     The Russian solar sail Znamya experiment ended yesterday (Sunday, 
Feb. 7th) when the sail entered the atmosphere.  Current reports indicate 
that initial results went well after it was deployed from the Progress TM-15 
cargo craft at the Mir space station about 4 am UTC (11 pm PST) Feb. 4th.  
The solar sail illumined several areas in Europe, especially in Toulouse 
France.  Apparently in that southern French city, near the Spanish boarder, 
the streets were noticeably brighter during the pass as seen by several town 
people.  Shortly after it crossed the day/night terminator in Europe the 
solar sail was released from the Progress.  Observations here in Vancouver 
suggested that it fell about 95 Km (60 mi) to about 300 km altitude in just 
about 30 hours, by Friday (Feb. 5th) morning.  Since such orbital decays would 
increase rapidly so it would seem that by Feb. 6th it would have been down to 
a 200 km orbit, and renter shortly there after on Feb. 7th as reported.  This 
is not unreasonable for a 20 metre (85 ft) diameter very light sail.  Some 
reports indicate that the Znamya was set free after the rotation which was to 
stabilized its shape caused problems with the Progress' guidance.  However, 
note that the original experimental plan called for only about 3 days of 
flight, consistent with this same time frame.  Until more reports come out it 
is not possible to tell which was the reason for the release.  Dr. Leigh 
Palmer here observed the Mir space station on Feb. 7th, but the Progress was 
no longer near it, so that has probably deorbited by now as well.  That would 
be consistent with standard operations.  (Radio Moscow, BBC, CBC)

     Certainly this ranks as one of the more noticed Russian/CIS space 
experiments in recent years.

                                                        Yours truly
							Glenn Chapman
							Simon Fraser U.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
% Subject: Russian Solar Sail experiment ends                           

From:	DECWRL::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "MAIL-11 Daemon" 9-FEB-1993 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	VSA036: Cosmonauts' News

***********************************************************
*  VSA036       07.02.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

*   Alexander Laveikin got his flight status again, he is training
    for a visiting mission.

*   Valery Kubasov, Alexander Serebrov and Gennady Strekalov confirmed
    their space conditions too.

*   Anatoly Berezovoi will be out of trainings for a half of a year,
    this is the decision of the Central Medical-Flight Commission (TsVLK)

*   The Main Medical Commission (GMK) adimited Sergey Moshchenko ( from
    KB Salyut ) and Mikhail Churin ( from NPO Energiya ) to special
    trainings. Soon they will be offered to the State Inter-Department
    Commission (GMVK) for including in the Cosmonaut Detachment.

*   On November 11, 1992 Alexander Petrushenko died, he was in the
    Cosmonaut Team in 1965-1973.

*   On December 5, 1992 Sergey Avdeyev died due to a heart attack, he
    was in the NPO Energiya Cosmonaut Detachment from February 15, 1984
    to May 14, 1992.

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su (Voevodin S.A.)
% Subject: VSA036: Cosmonauts' News

Article: 31738
From: wats@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Bruce Watson)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: The Future *is* What It Used To Be
Date: 8 Feb 93 21:15:17 GMT
Organization: Alpha Science Computer Network, Denver, Co.
 
From _Satellite!_, Bergaust and Beller, 1956:
 
"One of the most remarkable aspects suggested by [Professor Hermann]
Oberth at that time was the _space mirror_ concept. A huge mirror in
space would reflect the Sun's radiation in focused beams, its utility
aspects including heating and illuminating cities. It could also be
used to "boil" the water of our oceans, which in turn would yield
vapor and rain during drought periods. Considered seriously by many
scientis today [1956], the space mirror was first suggested in 1923. 
-- 
Bruce Watson (wats@scicom.alphaCDC.COM) Bulletin 629-49 Item 6700 Extract 75,131

From all accounts of this experiment covered by Aviation Week, the illuminate-
the-Earth aspect of the experiment was much less important than the solar sail
study, which was the primary purpose. Yet virtually all other accounts of the
experiment talk about the illumination aspect, with little or no mention of the
sail aspect. Why the difference in coverage? Just because lighting the Earth is
more interesting to the populate at large?
						-- Tom

    Off course Tom
    
    Solar sails will probally never be more then a marginal sideline, but 
    lighting up the skys is what really interests the regular Tom and Harrys 
    out there. Me too, I must confess.
    
    The idea of using large mirrors in space to illuminate or even heat
    ground areas really has possibilities. And gets people excited either
    for or agaisnt it.
    
    Gil

From:	DECWRL::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "Voevodin S.A."  5-MAR-1993 
Subj:	VSA037: The Current Cosmonauts' Status No 2

***********************************************************
*  VSA037       02.03.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

            Current Cosmonauts Status No 2
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Orbit
~~~~~~~~
Manakov     (85)
Poleshchuk  (89)


Group D-7-14  ( The 14th Resident Mir Mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tsibliyev   (87)         Afanasiyev(85)           Volkov?   (76)
Serebrov    (78)         Usachyov  (89)           Budarin   (89)
Haignere                 Deshaye


Group D-7-15  ( The 15th Resident Mir Mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Malenchenko (87)         Dezhurov  (87)           Polyakov  (72)
Kalery      (84)         Balandin? (78)           Arzamazov (78)
                                                  Morukov   (89)


Group D-7-1  ( The first Commanders' row )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Gidzenko    (87)        Onufrienko  (89)
Krichevsky  (89)        Padalko     (89)
Musabayev   (91)


Group D-7-2  ( The second Commanders' row )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Vozovikov   (90)        Sharipov    (90)
Zalyotin    (90)


Group D-7-3  ( The visiting Mir mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Korzun      (87)        Viktorenko  (78)
Laveikin    (78)        Kondakova   (89)


Group K-S  ( Rescue-cosmonauts )
~~~~~~~~~
Afanasiyev  (85)        Volkov      (76)
Soloviyov A.(76)        Viktorenko  (78)


Group B  ( Buran )
~~~~~~~
Boroday     (78)        Stepanov    (65)
Kadenyuk    (88)        Illarionov  (70)
Polonsky    (89)        Fefelov     (70)
Yablontsev  (89)        Ivanchenkov (70)


Group Sh  ( Space Shuttle in USA )
~~~~~~~~
Krikalyov   (85)
Titov       (76)


Group K-M  ( Candidates )
~~~~~~~~~
Vinogradov  (92)
Lazutkin    (92)
Treshchev   (92)


Active  ( Ready for space flights but out of crews )
~~~~~~
     TsPK  ( The Cosmonaut Training Centre )

           Berezovoy   (70)
           Artsebarsky (85)

     NPO "Energiya"  ( The Scientific Research Enterprise "Energiya" )

           Strekalov   (73)
           Aleksandrov (78)
           Zaitsev     (85)
           Avdeyev     (87)

     IMBP  ( The Institute of Medical-Biological Problems )

           Pozharskaya   (80)               Zakharova   (80)
           Stepanov      (85)               Karashtin   (89)
           Borodin       (78)               Lukiyanyuk  (89)
           Dobrokvashina (80)

     RAN  ( Academy of Sciences )

          Latysheva    (80)
          Ivanova      (83)

     LII  ( The Flight Research Institute )

          Volk         (78)                 Tresvyatsky  (85)
          Sultanov     (83)                 Sheffer      (85)
          Tolboyev     (83)                 Prikhodko    (89)
          Zabolotsky   (84)

     NII VVS  ( The Air Force Scientific Research Institute )

          Maksimenko   (89)                 Pushenko     (89)
          Puchkov      (89)                 Tokarev      (89)

     NPO "Zvezda"  ( The Scientific Research Enterprise "Zvezda" )

          Severin      (90)

     The Union of Journalists

          Baberdin     (90)                 Sharov       (90)
          Andryushkov  (90)                 Mukhortov    (90)
          Omelchenko   (90)                 Krikun       (90)


Reserve  ( fit for space flights but out of trainings )
~~~~~~~
     TsPK

           Glazkov     (65)                 Lyakhov     (67)
           Zudov       (65)                 Malyshev    (67)
           Klimuk      (65)                 Dzhanibekov (70)
           Rozhdestvensky (65)              Romanenko   (70)
           Khludeyev   (65)                 Tereshkova  (62)

     NPO "Energiya"

           Grechko     (66)                 Lebedev     (72)
           Kubasov     (66)                 Soloviyov V (78)
           Sevastiyanov(67)                 Savitskaya  (80)

     IMBP

           Atkov       (83)

Inactive
~~~~~~~~
     TsPK

           Anikeyev    (60)      Shatalov     (63)      Preobrazhensky(65)
           Bykovsky    (60)      Artyukhin    (63)      Beloborodov  (67)
           Volynov     (60)      Buinovsky    (63)      Kovalyonok   (67)
           Gorbatko    (60)      Voronov      (63)      Kozelsky     (67)
           Zaikin      (60)      Dyomin       (63)      Pisarev      (67)
           Kartashov   (60)      Zholobov     (63)      Alekseyev    (67)
           Leonov      (60)      Kolodin      (63)      Burdayev     (67)
           Nikolayev   (60)      Kugno        (63)      Gaidukov     (67)
           Popovich    (60)      Matinchenko  (63)      Isakov       (67)
           Rafikov     (60)      Beregovoi    (64)      Porvatkin    (67)
           Titov G     (60)      Rebrov       (65)      Sologub      (67)
           Filatiyev   (60)      Voloshin     (65)      Dedkov       (70)
           Khrunov     (60)      Kizim        (65)      Isaulov      (70)
           Shonin      (60)      Kramarenko   (65)      Kozlov       (70)
           Yorkina     (62)      Sarafanov    (65)      Popov        (70)
           Kuznetsova  (62)      Skvortsov    (65)      Vasyutin     (76)
           Ponomariyova(62)      Fyodorov     (65)      Moskalenko   (76)
           Soloviyova  (62)      Sharafutdinov(65)      Protchenko   (76)
           Vorobiyov   (63)      Belousov     (65)      Grekov       (78)
           Gubarev     (63)      Dyagteryov   (65)      Bystrov      (84)
           Kuklin      (63)      Kolesnikov   (65)      Diyakonov    (84)
           Filipchenko (63)      Lisun        (65)      Zhernovkov   (84)

     NPO "Energiya"

           Feoktistov  (64)                 Andreyev     (70)
           Bugrov      (66)                 Ponomaryov   (70)
           Dolgopolov  (66)                 Aksyonov     (73)
           Yeliseyev   (66)                 Ryumin       (73)
           Makarov     (66)                 Manarov      (78)
           Rukavishnikov(67)                Savinykh     (78)
           Fartushny   (68)                 Kuleshova    (80)
           Yazdovsky   (68)                 Pronina      (80)


     NPO "Mashinostroyeniya"

           Makrushin    (72)                Grechanik    (78)
           Yuyukov      (73)                Romanov      (78)
           Gevorkyan    (78)                Khatulev     (78)

     IMBP

            Yegorov B   (64)                Smirenny     (72)
            Iliyin      (65)                Potapov      (78)
            Kiseyov     (65)                Amelkina     (80)
            Senkevich   (65)                Klyushnikova (80)
            Machinsky   (72)

      RAN

            Katys       (64)                Kolomiitsev  (67)
            Gulyayev    (67)                Fatkhulin    (67)
            Yershov     (67)                Yegorov V    (67)

      NII VVS

            Bachurin    (78)                Sokovykh     (78)
            Mosolov     (78)                Chirkin      (78)
            Sattarov    (78)

      Journalists

            Golovanov   (65)                Letunov      (65)


            Aubakirov    (91)

Dead
~~~~
       TsPK

            Belyayev     (60)               Lazarev      (64)
            Bondarenko   (60)               Sorokin      (64)
            Varlamov     (60)               Petrushenko  (65)
            Gagarin      (60)               Shcheglov    (65)
            Komarov      (60)               Yakovlev     (65)
            Nelyubov     (60)               Grishchenko  (65)
            Dobrovolsky  (63)               Ivanov       (76)
            Gulyayev     (63)

       NPO "Energiya"

            Anokhin      (66)               Patsayev     (68)
            Volkov V     (66)               Yemeliyanov  (84)

       LII

            Kononenko    (78)               Stankyavichus(78)
            Levchenko    (78)               Shchukin     (78)

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su (Voevodin S.A.)
% Date: Wed,  3 Mar 93 10:07:48 +0300 (MSK)
% Subject: VSA037: The Current Cosmonauts' Status No 2

Article: 60789
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: ghasting@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu (George Hastings)
Subject: Re: MIR
Organization: Virginia's Public Education Network (Richmond)
Date: Thu, 08 Apr 93 13:59:43 GMT
 
 (meszena@ludens.elte.hu) writes:

> Does anybody have information about MIR? What kind of modules does it have?
> How does it compare to the current (?) version of SSF? What are the
> kosmonauts doing up there?  
> Thanks:
> Geza
> 
> Geza Meszena
> Deparment of Atomic Physics
> Eotvos University, Budapest
> MESZENA@LUDENS.ELTE.HU
 
     I had a chance to practice aboard the full-size MIR training
simulator last summer in Zhvedzhdny Gorodok, and it's pretty impressive! 

     The Main Core Module of Mir was launched on February 20, 1986 on
a Proton rocket from Baikonur, Kazakstan. It is 12.6m long, and 4.35m
in diamter. It has a mass of 20 tons. It incorporates the five-point
multiple docking adapter, a very small RMS remote manipulator system
arm a little over a meter in length,used for transferring modules from
one docking port to another, solar panels, gyrocompass, the central
control post, a "veloergometer" (treadmill build into the floor
section), instrument and equipment servicing systems, a multipurpose
ward-room table, with all sorts of neat modules that fold out of it,
individual sleeping compartments about as big as a phone booth, each
with their own porthole, an airlock, and the "hygiene section"
(toilet, covered wash-basin, and shower facility).

     The KVANT (quantum) Module was launched on March 30, 1987 and
docked with the back end of the Main Module on April 12th. It has a
mass of 11 tons. It is 5.3m long and 4.35m in diameter. It
incorporates an active docking unit, approach equipment ILGA, a
passive docking unit at the other end, an optical unit, a scientific
instrumentation unit, the Approach Equipment KURS (which NASA is
considering using on SSF), an electron beam magnetometer, an
ultra-violet telescope GLAZAR, a gas spectrometer SIREN, a transmitter
unit PULSAR, a control post. 

     KVANT 2 Module was launched on November 26, 1989, and docked at
the multiple-docking port on December 6, 1989. It has a mass of 19.5
tons, is 12.2m long, and 4.35m in diameter. It has about 55sq.meters
of solar panels. There are three airtight compartments:
instrument/cargo, science instrument, and airlock. It has life support
systems, provides drinking water tankage, oxygen renegeration
equipment, shower and washing facilities, and an airlock and storage
for the ORLAND EVA space suit and IKARUS MMU. It also includes: 

	Incubator 2 biotechnology equipment to study embryology,
MKF-6i multispectral camera for Earth surface and atmospheric
photography in six different spectral bands, the Epsilon calorimeter
to monitor the characteristics of heat-control coatings of space
vehicles, the Volna-2 experiment to develop fuel supply devices using
capillary action in weightlessness, distance-controlled videospectral
instruments for experiments that require search, guidance,and tracking
of objects on Earth and in space, Komplast and ERE equipment to study
the effects of space exposure on screen-vacuum thermal insulation
samples, construction materials (mainly carbon-filled and glass fiber
plastics and composite materials) and electronic components (sort of
like NASA's LDEF).

     KRISTALL was launched on May 31, 1990, and docked with the
orbital complex on June 10, 1990. It has a mass of 19.5 tons, is 11.9m
long and 4.35m in diameter. It has 70 sq.meters of solar panels. It
has two airtight compartments: instrument/cargo and
instrument/docking. It is designed for two tasks, the first of which
is to develop materials production technologies for use in
weightlessness. Materials being investigated include those for
construction, high quality mono-crystal semi-conductors, and
biological preparations utilizing electro-phoretic separation
techniques. Secondly, KRISTALL has a docking port which could have
been used for docking with the Russian space shuttle Buran. It is
unlikely that Buran will ever fly again, according to the officials I
spoke to at Star City. However, the Energia Corporation has signed a
contract to modify the Buran docking adaptor for use by American Space
Shuttles, and NASA has a signed memorandum that commits to docking an
American space shuttle with MIR, probably in 1995. 

   The instrumentation on KRISTALL includes KRATER V, Optizon Zona 2
and 3 for developing production technologies for high-quality
semi-conductors used in microelectronics, atomic equipment, and
optics. Kristallizator group for developing directionally grown
semi-conductors, eutectic alloys,glasses, and composites. Ainur
multi-purpose automatic electrophoresis equipment for effective
separation of protein preparations such as synthetic human
interferons, antigens, surface proteins, and various viruses for
vaccine and serum preparation. GLAZAR 2 for ultra-violet stellar
photography. Maria 2 spectrometer for researching antiprotons and high
energy electron/positron components of charged particle fluxes. BUKET
telescope/spectrometer for high resolution study of soft gamma rays.
GRANAT spectrometer to measure and determine the compostion of gamma
ray fluxes and fast and slow neutrons in near-Earth space. SVET
greenhouse for plant growth and development of space cultivation
technology. Priroda 5, wich does Earth resources photography. YKTF-2
integrated training facility for medical experiments and crew physical
training. 

   Completed and ready for launch, but not scheduled yet due to severe
financial restrictions are two other modules: 

	SPEKTR, a 20 ton module 9.1m long, 4.35m diameter, designed to
monitor the Earth. Study processes related to the changes of teh Sun's
activity, recording of ionizing cosmic radiation, measurement of
terrestrial radioation sources - oilwell gas torches, active volcaos,
forest fires; measurment of the Earth radiation background; research
into the transparency of the atmosphere through orbital solar
occultation observations, and study fo environmental pollution. 

	PRIRODA module, 20 tons, 9.7m x 4.35m, is designed for the
purpose of refining spectro-radiometric methods for remote sensing of
the Earth. Module equipment is designed to do reserach on the
condition and interaction of the ocean and atmosphere, study
hydrologic processes in the oceanand on the land for the study of
oceanography. It will examine atmosphereic physics, acquire
hydro-meteorological data, construct maps of the Earth's surface for
the study of geology, hydrology, and economics. It will continue
astrophysical, biotechnological and technical experiments started on
other Mir modules. 

	And that about exhausts my notes!  8-)
 ____________________________________________________________
| George Hastings		ghasting@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu |  
| Space Science Teacher		72407.22@compuserve.com      |  If it's not
| Mathematics & Science Center 	STAREACH BBS: 804-343-6533   |   FUN, it's
| 2304 Hartman Street		OFFICE:       804-343-6525   |  probably not
| Richmond, VA 23223		FAX:          804-343-6529   |    SCIENCE!
 ------------------------------------------------------------

Article: 62695
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: PREGAN%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de
Subject: Message from Space Digest
Sender: news+@cs.cmu.edu
Organization: [via International Space University]
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 12:29:18 GMT
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phil Regan  Tecnodata Italia    Email : PREGAN@ESOC.BITNET
Mission Support Systems  European Space Operations Centre
Darmstadt 6100 Bundesrepublik Deutschland  tel 06151-90-3060
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
 
Press Release Nr.24-93
Paris, 7 May 1993
 
Selection of ESA astronauts for Mir Precursor flights in 1994 and 1995
 
Mr Jean-Marie Luton, Director General of ESA, has today, Friday 7 May,
selected the four ESA astronauts from among whom two will be chosen to
take part in the precursor flights to Mir-1 scheduled in 1994 and 1995. 
 
They are Pedro Duque and Ulf Merbold for the ESA/Mir flight in
September 1994 (mission 17), which will last 30 days, and Christer
Fuglesang and Thomas Reiter for the ESA/Mir flight in August 1995
(mission 19), which will last 135 days. 
 
This selection was made on the recommendation of the ESA European
Astronaut Centre, following a series of physical and medical tests. 
 
In August the four astronauts start on a special course of training
for Mir missions at Star City, near Moscow in Russia. 
 
About eight months before each mission, the ESA Director General will
nominate the astronaut chosen to fly and the back-up.  The prime and
back-up crews will then train in parallel.  About a week before the
mission, following the last in the series of medical assessments, the
final crew selection will be made. 

It is already planned that the ESA astronaut on the 1995 Mir mission
will carry out extravehicular activities. 
 
The main objectives of these precursor flights are twofold:
operational and scientific.  The ESA astronauts will be able to gain
and develop experience of crewed flight in preparation for the future
programmes that it is currently planned to carry out in cooperation
both with the Americans and with the Russians.  At the same time, a
number of scientific experiments, notably connected with microgravity
(life sciences, human physiology and materials science), will be
performed. 
 
30-day ESA/Mir flight (mission 17) - launch in September 1994 
 
Name:                                      Pedro DUQUE
Date and place
of birth:                              14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain
 
Education:                 Degree in Aeronautical
                           Engineering from the
                           Polytechnic University of Madrid
 
Marital status:            Married with one child
 
Experience:                Prior to his selection as an ESA
                           candidate astronaut, Mr Duque
                           worked as a software engineer
                           in the Flight Mechanics Group
                           at the European Space
                           Operations Centre (ESOC, an
                           ESA establishment) in
                           Darmstadt, Germany, where he
                           was in charge of orbit determination 
                           of Earth-orbiting satellites.
 
Name:                      Ulf MERBOLD
Date and place
of birth:                  20 June 1941 in Greiz, Germany
 
Education:                 Degree in Physics from Stuttgart
                           University (1968), Doctorate of
                           Science (1976)
 
Marital status:            Married with two children
 
Experience:                On leaving university, Mr
                           Merbold worked at the Max
                           Planck Institute of Metallurgical
                           Research in Stuttgart, Germany.
                           In 1977 he was selected by ESA
                           as a payload specialist for the
                           Spacelab-1 mission (STS-9),
                           which took place from 28
                           November to 8 December 1983.
                           This made him the first non-
                           American astronaut to take part
                           in a Shuttle mission.  His
                           second flight was on the
                           Spacelab IML-1 mission (STS-
                           42),from 22 to 30 January 1992.
 
 135-day ESA/Mir flight (mission 19) - launch in August 1995

Name:                       Christer FUGLESANG
Date and place
of birth:                   18 March 1957 in Nacka, Sweden

Education:                 Master of Science in Physics,
                           Mathematics and Engineering
                           from the Royal Institute of
                           Technology (KTH) in
                           Stockholm; Doctorate in
                           Experimental Particle Physics
                           from Stockholm University.
 
Marital status:            Married with two children
 
Experience:                Mr Fuglesang worked as a
                           graduate student in experimental
                           particle physics at Stockholm
                           University.  In 1988 he joined
                           the European Organisation for
                           Nuclear Research (CERN) in
                           Geneva, Switzerland, where he
                           worked until 1990 as project
                           leader on the particle subdetector of 
                           the CPLEAR experiment.  Prior to his
                           selection, he was a research
                           assistant at the Manne Siegbahn
                           Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
 
Name:                      Thomas REITER
 
Date and place
of birth:                  23 May 1958 in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany
 
Education:                 Dipl. Ingenieur in Aerospace
                           and Technology from the
                           University of the Armed Forces,
                           Munich.  Trained as a test pilot
                           at the Military Flight Test
 
                           Centre in Manching, Germany.
Marital status:            Married with one child
 
Experience:                Mr Reiter trained as a jet pilot
                           with the United States and
                           German Air Forces and passed
                           out successfully from the
                           Empire Test Pilots' School in
                           the United Kingdom before
                           being selected as an ESA
                           candidate astronaut.
 

     "Is there life on Mars?  Maybe not now.  But there will be."

        -- Daniel S. Goldin, NASA Administrator, 24 August 1992
 

Article: 62993
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com (Dennis Newkirk)
Subject: Mir flights 1993-1995
Organization: Motorola
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 18:32:43 GMT
Sender: news@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News)
 
I ran across a few schedules for future Mir missions in the last week 
and thought I'd post them. This is by no means all that is known 
about future Mir flights, but is the best I could put together in a
few minutes.
 
Valeri Poliakov has been chosen as the doctor to attempt an 18 month 
long flight on Mir from 1993-1995. Poliakov is a veteran of a 240 
day Mir flight in 1988. The data below for 1993 is solid, the data 
for 1994-5 is more fluid at this date. The Russian crewmembers denoted  
by "?" are yet to be officially announced. Likely candidates are known 
among the 'Russia watchers', but not listed here to avoid excessive
speculation.
 
Dennis Newkirk (dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com)
Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Schaumburg, IL
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Deputy General of the Russian Space Agency, Boris Ostroumov 
said on 11 December 1992 that three manned launches and six flights 
of the Progress M cargo ships were scheduled for 1993.

The first manned launch was on January 24 when a two-man replacement 
crew was sent to the Mir station. In July the next replacement 
crew will be accompanied by French cosmonaut Jean-Pierre Haignere 
and the mission will last for 3 weeks. At the end of 1993 a mission 
will start which will last for 1.5 years and will include a doctor
[Poliakov]. In a schedule released by the Flight Control Centre 
(TsUP) on 30 November 1992 the following dates for [1993] missions 
to and from Mir were announced."[1]
 
Ship		     Date             Crew
-------------- ---------------  -------------------------------
1993 Launches:
 
Soyuz TM-16    24 January       Manakov/Poleshchuk[1]
Progress M-16   3 February[1]
Progress M-17  23 March[1]
Progress M-18  18 May[1] 
Soyuz TM-17     1 July          Tsibilev/Serebrov/Haignere[1,2]
Progress M-19  27 July[1]
Progress M-20  12 October[1]
Soyuz TM-18    16 Nov/Dec?      ?/?/Poliakov[1,2]
 
1993 Landings:
 
Soyuz TM-15    30 January       Solovyov/Avdeyev[1]
Soyuz TM-16    21 July          Manakov/Poleshchuk/Haignere[1,2]
Soyuz TM-17    Nov/Dec?         Tsibilev/Serebrov
 
1994 Launches:
 
Soyuz TM-19    May 1994         ?/?/Canada or France astronaut?[3] 
Soyuz TM-20    Sept 1994        ?/?/ESA astronaut[2]
 
1994 Landings: 
 
Soyuz TM-18    June 1994        ?/?/ESA astronaut[2]
Soyuz TM-19    Sept? 1994
 
1995 Launches:
 
Soyuz TM-21    March 1995       ?/?/NASA astronaut[2]
STS            June 1995       
Soyuz TM-22    August? 1995     ?/?/ESA astronaut(135 days)?[2,3]
 
1995 Landings:
 
Soyuz TM-20    March? 1995       ?/?
STS            June 1995         NASA astronaut/Poliakov/?/?[2,4]*
Soyuz TM-21    Sept? 1995        ?/?
 
* possible return of Poliakov and other cosmonauts on the space 
  shuttle are still TBD, see [4].
** Priroda and Spektr launches are still TBD but no earlier than 
   late 1993
*** I have reference to German/French flights to Mir in the 1994-5 
    time frame but can't immediately find a solid reference. A 
    multitude of other rumored international participants have yet
    to materialize. 
 
[1] "Mir Mission Report", Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, Vol 35, 
    May 1993, pp. 175
[2] "Poliakov aims for new fligth record", Tim Furniss, Flight 
    International, April 28-May 4, 1993, pp.24
[3] "ESA Considers Manned Options", Tim Furniss, Flight 
    International, Aptil 7-13, 1993, pp. 23
[4] "Astronaut Sees Need for Several Shuttle-Mir Missions", 
    William Harwood, Space News, May 10-16, 1993, pp. 11

From:	US1RMC::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane"  5-JUN-1993 00:21:17.02
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 07-Jun-93 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0607
* SpaceNews 07-Jun-93 *
 
BID: $SPC0607
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                          MONDAY JUNE 7, 1993
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR NEWS *
============
G3BGM has had several recent conversations with the Mir cosmonauts
who report they have changed frequencies from 145.550 MHz to 145.850 MHz 
after much searching for a less congested frequency.
 
However, it should be pointed out that the new frequency of 145.850 MHz
is within several OSCAR satellite uplink and downlink passbands, so
caution should be excercised when communicating with the Mir cosmonauts
on their new frequency.
 
In other news, sources indicate that tape recordings made in Mir of Amateur 
Radio contacts with ground stations have been played over Moscow Radio.
 
[Info via G3RWL]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...catfish.ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
 
-- 
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Newsgroups: sci.space.news
% From: kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com (John Magliacane)
% Subject: * SpaceNews 07-Jun-93 *
% To: sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
% Sender: digester@news.arc.nasa.gov
% Organization: KA2QHD - Ocean NJ/Monmouth Co.
% Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1993 16:14:19 GMT
% Approved: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov

From:	US1RMC::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "MAIL-11 Daemon"  4-JUN-1993 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	VSA040: Russian Manned Space Plans

***********************************************************
*  VSA040       30.05.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

               Russian Manned Space Plens

14th Resident Mir Mision/Soyuz TM-17 - launch 01 July 1993
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Tsibliyev      Afanasiyev     Malenchenko
      Serebrov       Usachyov       Strekalov
      Haignere       Desaye

      Mir Complex - 03 July 1993 - 28 July 1993
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Manakov
                     Poleshchuk
                     Tsibliyev
                     Serebrov
                     Haignere

                     Soyuz TM-16 - landing 28 July 1993
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Manakov
                                    Poleshchuk
                                    Haignere

      Mir Complex - 28 July 1993 - 26 November 1993
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Tsibliyev
                     Serebrov

15th RMM/Soyuz TM-18 - launch 24 November 1993
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Afanasiyev      Volkov?       Malenchenko             doctors:
      Usachyov        Budarin       Strekalov               Polyakov
      doctor1         doctor2       doctor3                 Arzamazov
                                                            Morukov

      Mir Complex - 26 November 1993 - 04 December 1993
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Tsibliyev
                     Serebrov
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     doctor1

                     Soyuz TM-17 - landing 04 December 1993
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Tsibliyev
                                    Serebrov

      Mir Complex - 04 December 1993 - ?? April 1994
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     doctor1

16th RMM/Soyuz TM-19 - launch ?? April 1994
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Malenchenko    Dezhurov       Volkov?
      Strekalov      Kalery         Budarin
      journalist?

      Mir Complex - ?? April - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     doctor1
                     Malenchenko
                     Strekalov
                     journalist?

                     Soyuz TM-18 - landing ?? April 1994
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Afanasiyev
                                    Usachyov
                                    journalist?

      Mir Complex - ?? April - ?? September 1994
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Malenchenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctor1

17th RMM/Soyuz TM-20 - launch ?? September 1994
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Viktorenko     Korzun         Volkov                  ESA:
      Kondakova      Laveikin       Budarin                 Fuglsang
      ESA1           ESA2                                   Duque
                                                            Raiter
                                                            Merbold

      Mir Complex - ?? September 1994 - 30 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Malenchenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctir1
                     Viktorenko
                     Kondakova
                     ESA1

                     Soyuz TM-19 - landing ?? October 1993
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Malenchenko
                                    Kondakova
                                    ESA1

      Mir Complex - ?? October 1994 - ?? February 1995
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Viktorenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctor1

18th RMM/Soyuz TM-21 - launch ?? February 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Volkov         Gidzenko       Dezhurov                USA:
      Budarin        Avdeyev        Kalery                   ?
      USA1           USA2                                    ?

      Mir Complex - ?? February 1995 - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Viktorenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctor1
                     Volkov
                     Budarin
                     USA1

                     Soyuz TM-20 - landing ?? February 1995
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Viktorenko
                                    Strekalov

      Mir Complex - ?? February 1995 - ?? May 1995 (90 days)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Volkov
                     Budarin
                     doctor1
                     USA1

19th RMM/Space Shuttle - launch ?? May 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Dezhurov       Tsibliyev      Gidzenko                ESA:
      Kalery         Vinogradov?    Avdeyev                 Fuglsang
      ESA1           ESA2                                   Duque
                                                            Raiter
                                                            Merbold

      Mir Complex -  ?? May 1995 - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Volkov
                     Budarin
                     doctor1
                     USA1
                     Dezhurov
                     Kalery
                     ESA1

                     Space Shuttle - landing ?? May 1995
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Volkov
                                    Budarin
                                    doctor1
                                    USA1

      Mir Complex -  ?? May 1995 - ?? October 1995 (135 days)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Dezhurov
                     Kalery
                     ESA1
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

From:	US1RMC::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "MAIL-11 Daemon" 18-JUN-1993 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	VSA041: News

***********************************************************
*  VSA041       05.06.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

* Anukeyev Ivan Nikolayevich and Filatiyev Valentin Ignatiyevich
  who were Soviet cosmonauts in 1960-1963 died from cancer on
  August 8, 1992 and September 15, 1990 accordingly.

* Anatoli Berezovoy, Valery Illarionov, Vladimir Isakov, Yuri
  Malyshev, Valery Rozhdestvensky, Eduard Stepanov, Anatoli
  Fyodorov and Vladimir Kozelsky resigned from their TsPK's
  posts in accordance with Russian Minister of Defence order
  because they are older than 50 years old.
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

From:	US1RMC::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "Voevodin S.A." 18-JUN-1993
Subj:	VSA040: Russian Manned Space Plans

***********************************************************
*  VSA040       30.05.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

               Russian Manned Space Plans

14th Resident Mir Mision/Soyuz TM-17 - launch 01 July 1993
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Tsibliyev      Afanasiyev     Malenchenko
      Serebrov       Usachyov       Strekalov
      Haignere       Desaye

      Mir Complex - 03 July 1993 - 28 July 1993
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Manakov
                     Poleshchuk
                     Tsibliyev
                     Serebrov
                     Haignere

                     Soyuz TM-16 - landing 28 July 1993
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Manakov
                                    Poleshchuk
                                    Haignere

      Mir Complex - 28 July 1993 - 26 November 1993
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Tsibliyev
                     Serebrov

15th RMM/Soyuz TM-18 - launch 24 November 1993
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Afanasiyev      Volkov?       Malenchenko             doctors:
      Usachyov        Budarin       Strekalov               Polyakov
      doctor1         doctor2       doctor3                 Arzamazov
                                                            Morukov

      Mir Complex - 26 November 1993 - 04 December 1993
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Tsibliyev
                     Serebrov
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     doctor1

                     Soyuz TM-17 - landing 04 December 1993
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Tsibliyev
                                    Serebrov

      Mir Complex - 04 December 1993 - ?? April 1994
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     doctor1

16th RMM/Soyuz TM-19 - launch ?? April 1994
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Malenchenko    Dezhurov       Volkov?
      Strekalov      Kalery         Budarin
      journalist?

      Mir Complex - ?? April - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     doctor1
                     Malenchenko
                     Strekalov
                     journalist?

                     Soyuz TM-18 - landing ?? April 1994
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Afanasiyev
                                    Usachyov
                                    journalist?

      Mir Complex - ?? April - ?? September 1994
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Malenchenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctor1

17th RMM/Soyuz TM-20 - launch ?? September 1994
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Viktorenko     Korzun         Volkov                  ESA:
      Kondakova      Laveikin       Budarin                 Fuglsang
      ESA1           ESA2                                   Duque
                                                            Raiter
                                                            Merbold

      Mir Complex - ?? September 1994 - 30 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Malenchenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctir1
                     Viktorenko
                     Kondakova
                     ESA1

                     Soyuz TM-19 - landing ?? October 1993
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Malenchenko
                                    Kondakova
                                    ESA1

      Mir Complex - ?? October 1994 - ?? February 1995
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Viktorenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctor1

18th RMM/Soyuz TM-21 - launch ?? February 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Volkov         Gidzenko       Dezhurov                USA:
      Budarin        Avdeyev        Kalery                   ?
      USA1           USA2                                    ?

      Mir Complex - ?? February 1995 - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Viktorenko
                     Strekalov
                     doctor1
                     Volkov
                     Budarin
                     USA1

                     Soyuz TM-20 - landing ?? February 1995
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Viktorenko
                                    Strekalov

      Mir Complex - ?? February 1995 - ?? May 1995 (90 days)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Volkov
                     Budarin
                     doctor1
                     USA1

19th RMM/Space Shuttle - launch ?? May 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Dezhurov       Tsibliyev      Gidzenko                ESA:
      Kalery         Vinogradov?    Avdeyev                 Fuglsang
      ESA1           ESA2                                   Duque
                                                            Raiter
                                                            Merbold

      Mir Complex -  ?? May 1995 - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Volkov
                     Budarin
                     doctor1
                     USA1
                     Dezhurov
                     Kalery
                     ESA1

                     Space Shuttle - landing ?? May 1995
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Volkov
                                    Budarin
                                    doctor1
                                    USA1

      Mir Complex -  ?? May 1995 - ?? October 1995 (135 days)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Dezhurov
                     Kalery
                     ESA1
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

From:	US1RMC::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "MAIL-11 Daemon" 22-JUN-1993 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	VSA042: The Russian Cosmonaut's Detachments and Groups

***********************************************************
*  VSA042        17.06.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

        The Russian Cosmonaut's Detachments and Groups

TsPK
~~~~
Commander - col. Volkov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich      08.03.52
Deputy    - col. Lyakhov Viktor Afanasiyevich         20.07.41

Cosmonaut-tester group

            col. Afanasieyv Viktor Mikhailovich       31.12.48
            col. Artsebarsky Anatoli Pavlovich        09.09.56
         lt.col. Dezhurov Vladimir Nikolayevich       30.07.62
         lt.col. Gidzenko Yuri Pavlovich              26.03.62
            col. Korzun Valery Grigoriyevich          05.03.53
         lt.col. Krichevsky Sergei Vladimirovich      09.07.55
            col. Manakov Gennadi Mikhailovich         01.06.50
         lt.col. Matinchenko Yuri Ivanovich           22.12.61
            maj. Musabayev Talgat Amangeldyyevich     07.01.51
            maj. Onufriyenko Yuri Ivanovich           06.02.61
            maj. Padalka Gennadi Ivanovich            21.06.58
           capt. Sharipov Salizhan Shakirovich        24.08.64
            col. Soloviyov Anatoli Yakovlevich        16.01.48
            col. Tsibliyev Vasili Vasiliyevich        20.02.54
            col. Viktorenko Aleksandr Stepenovich     29.03.47
            maj. Vozovikov Sergei Yuriyevich          17.04.58
            maj. Zalyotin Sergei Viktorovich          21.04.62

Cosmonaut-researcher group

            col. Andryushkov Aleksandr Stepanovich    06.10.47
            col. Baberdin Valeri Vasiliyevich         28.10.48
            col. Fefelov Nikolai Nikolayevich         20.05.45
                 Krikun Yuri Yuriyevich               03.06.63
                 Mukhortov Pavel Petrovich            10.03.66
                 Omelchenko Svetlana Oktyabrevna      20.08.51
                 Sharov Valeri Yuriyevich             26.12.53



NPO "Energiya"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander -      Aleksandrov Aleksandr Pavlovich      20.02.43
Deputy    -      Laveikin Aleksandr Ivanovich         21.04.51

                 Avdeyev Sergei Vasiliyevich          01.01.56
                 Balandin Aleksandr Nikolayevich      30.07.53
                 Budarin Nikolai Nikolayevich         29.04.53
                 Ivanchenkov Aleksandr Sergeyevich    28.09.40
                 Kalery Aleksandr Yuriyevich          13.05.56
                 Kondakova Yelena Vladimirovna        30.03.57
                 Krikalyov Sergei Konstantinovich     27.08.58
                 Kubasov Valeri Nikolayevich          07.01.35
                 Lazutkin Aleksandr Ivanovich
                 Poleshchuk Aleksandr Fyodorovich     30.10.53
                 Savitskaya Svetlana Yevgeniyevna     08.08.48
                 Serebrov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich    15.02.44
                 Sevastiyanov Vitali Ivanovich        08.07.35
                 Soloviyov Vladimir Alekseyevich      11.11.46
                 Strekalov Gennadi Mikhailovich       28.10.40
                 Treshchyov Sergei Yevgeniyevich
                 Usachyov Yuri Vladimirovich          09.10.57
                 Vinogradov Pavel Vladimirovich
                 Zaitsev Andrei Yevgeniyevich         05.08.57


IMBP
~~~~
Commander -      Polyakov Valeri Vladimirovich        27.04.42

                 Arzamazov German Semyonovich         09.03.46
                 Atkov Oleg Yuriyevich                09.05.49
                 Borodin Aleksandr Viktorovich        03.03.53
                 Dobrokvashina Yelena Ivanovna        08.10.47
                 Karashtin Vladimir Vladimirovich     18.11.62
                 Lukiyanyuk Vasili Yuriyevich         22.09.58
                 Morukov Boris Vladimirovich          01.10.50
                 Pozharskaya Larisa Grigoriyevna      15.03.47
                 Zakharova Tamara Sergeyevna          22.04.52


RAN
~~~
                 Ivanova Yekaterina Aleksandrovna     03.10.49
                 Latysheva Irina Dmitriyevna          14.03.56
                 Lebedev Valentin Vitaliyevich        14.04.42


LII
~~~
Commander -      Zabolotsky Viktor Vasiliyevich       19.04.46

                 Prikhodko Yuri Viktorovich           15.11.53
                 Sheffer Yuri Petrovich               30.06.47
                 Sultanov Ural Nazibovich             18.11.48
                 Tolboyev Magomed Omarovich           20.01.50
                 Tresvyatsky Sergei Nikolayevich      06.05.54
                 Volk Igor Petrovich                  12.04.37


NII VVS
~~~~~~~
Commander - col. Boroday Aleksei Sergeyevich          28.07.47

            col. Kadenyuk Leonid Konstantinovich      28.01.50
            col. Maksimenko Valery Yevgeniyevich      16.07.50
         lt.col. Polonsky Anatoli Borisovich          01.01.56
            col. Puchkov Aleksandr Sergeyevich        15.10.48
         lt.col. Pushenko Nikolai Alekseyevich        10.08.52
            col. Tokarev Valeri Ivanovich             29.10.52
         lt.col. Yablontsev Aleksandr Nikolayevich    03.04.55


NPO "Zvezda"

                 Severin Vladimir Gayevich                  56
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

From:	US1RMC::"ESAPRESS@ESOC.BITNET" "ESAPRESS list" 12-JUL-1993 04:24:54.40
To:	sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	ESA and NPO Energia sign contract for Mir precursor flights
        [ESA Release 34-93] 

Press Release Nr.34-93
Paris, 8 July 1993

ESA and NPO Energia sign contract for Mir precursor flights

On Wednesday 7 July 1993, with its signature by Yuri Semenov, Director
General of NPO Energia, and Fredrik Engstrom, Director of Space
Station and Microgravity at ESA, the agreement between ESA and NPO
Energia concerning the missions to be undertaken by European
astronauts on board the Mir space station in 1994 and 1995 was
concluded. 

This contractual agreement is the first practical expression of
cooperation between ESA and Russia in the field of crewed spaceflight.
 Four ESA astronauts (see ESA press release no. 24-93), Pedro Duque,
Christer Fuglesang, Ulf Merbold and Thomas Reiter, will now be setting
off for Star City near Moscow to begin training. 

The first mission will last 20 days and will take place in September
1994, while the second 135-day mission will begin in August 1995. 

The contract is worth 45 million ECU and covers astronaut training,
all mission preparations, integration of the equipment and experiments
to be flown and post-flight follow-up and processing of data. 

Welcoming signature of the contract, Mr Engstrom had the following
comment: "We have now embarked on crewed spaceflight with the
Russians.  I have no doubt that the operational experience and
scientific results that will be acquired in the course of these
missions will enable ESA to strengthen its role in future crewed
flight programmes, whether they be in cooperation with other partners
or purely European". 

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman" 29-JUN-1993 19:17:24.91
Subj:	Soyuz TM-17 mission set to launch French/Russian Crew

     On board the Russian/Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Mir
space station Gennadiy Manakov and Aleksandr Polishchuk are preparing
leave the station.  Manakov and Polishchuk, which arrive in the Soyuz
TM-16 on Jan. 24th, are into their 156th day.  At the Baikonour
Cosmodrome final preparations are being made for the July 1st Soyuz
TM-17 French/Russian launch of cosmonauts Alexander Serebrov and
Vasily Tsibliev to become the new Mir station crew.  Joining them are
French Spationaut Jean-Pierre Haignere or backup Claudie Andre-Deshays, 
which are undergoing final preparations for the flight.  The stated 
return time for Manakov, Polishchuk, and Haignere in the older Soyuz 
TM-16 is July 21st (or possibly July 23) according to the Radio Moscow 
report. 

     In addition the Russian government has given the offical approval
for the building of the replacement Mir 2 space station.  Mir 2 will
start out with a central core like the current Mir.  However current
plans call for the addition of truss structures holding solar arrays,
in addition to the modules docked with the central core.  Mir 2 will
be launched in about 1997.  The current Mir is into its seventh year. 

							Glenn Chapman
                                                        School Eng. Sci.
							Simon Fraser U.
							glennc@cs.sfu.ca

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1993 16:15:27 -0700
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: Soyuz TM-17 mission set to launch French/Russian Crew

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  1-JUL-1993 20:10:26.08
Subj:	Russian/French Soyuz TM-17 launched to Mir space complex

    The Russian/French Soyuz TM-17 mission successfully launched today
(July 1st) from the Baikonour Cosmodrome.  On board were cosmonauts
Alexander Serebrov and Vasily Tsibliev, with paying passenger
Spationaut Jean-Pierre Haignere.  Launch time was 16:35 Baikonour time
(3:35 PST) according to French TV5.  Docking with the Mir space
station will be on July 3.  On board the station Gennadiy Manakov and
Aleksandr Polishchuk are preparing for the experimental suit. Manakov,
Polishchuk, and Haignere will return in the older Soyuz TM-16 on July
21st. (Radio Moscow and French TV5) 

    For those of you which have it on your cable station (very common
in Canada) the International French video station TV5 has great
coverage of the preparations and launch.  Watch there for the docking
and other flight coverage. 

                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1993 17:09:11 -0700
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: Russian/French Soyuz TM-17 launched to Mir space complex

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  5-JUL-1993 21:32:07.00
Subj:	Russian/French Soyuz TM-17 docks with Mir space station

    The Russian/French Soyuz TM-17 mission successfully docked with
the Mir space station on July 3rd.  On board were cosmonauts (mission
commander), with paying passenger Spationaut Jean-Pierre Haignere. 
Docking time was not mentioned, and indeed the announcement was not
made on Radio Moscow until July 4th.  Haignere will conduct 11 major
experiments on Mir in a suite called "Altiar."  On board the station
Gennadiy Manakov and Aleksandr Polishchuk have been preparing for this
mission.  On June 18th they did a 4.5 hour space walk on to help
prepare for the new crew's space work.  Manakov, Polishchuk, and
Haignere will return in the older Soyuz TM-16 on July 22nd. 

     In September Serebrov and Tsibliev will do series four Extra
Vehicle Activities which move the solar arrays from the Kistal
experimental module (located the side of Mir's forward ball docking
port) to the Kvant 1 module. In addition they will erect a 5 metre
(16.5 ft) tower for instrument mounting. These also help configure the
station for the U.S. shuttle visit set for 1995. (Radio Moscow, AW&ST
Jun 28, and French TV5) 

                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 18:30:20 -0700
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: Russian/French Soyuz TM-17 docks with Mir space station

From:	US1RMC::"magliaco@pilot.njin.net" "John Magliacane" 17-JUL-1993 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 12-Jul-93 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0712
* SpaceNews 12-Jul-93 *
 
BID: $SPC0712
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                          MONDAY JULY 12, 1993
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS *
=============================
Questions from the
BROAD STREET SCHOOL
NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE
GRADE 3   MRS. PORTER'S CLASS
 
Sent to the Russin Space Station MIR on June 3, 1993 by Amateur Radio.  
The answers were received June 9.
 
Jessica Bushell 8:
Q: Can you see other planets? 
 
ALEX:
A: Yes, we observe Venus, Mars, Jupiter and once we have seen Saturn with 
it's rings using binoculars.  Through the binoculars we could see 4 of 
Jupiter's satellites, Io, Europe [Europa], Callisto, and Ganimed [Ganymede].
 
Lauren Oscilowski 9:
Q:What is it like to be in space for 6 months? Do you ever feel sick?
 
ALEX:
A: We are living in space with Gennady for 4.5 months now.  Gennady has 
spent approximately the same amount of time in his first mission. 
But we are not bored up here - one can work in different roles: as a pilot,
doctor, cook, actor, mechanic and so on - it is very interesting.
On the first days of the mission, a cosmonaut may have the motion sickness 
- dizziness, nausea.  But we got lucky - we didn't have it.
 
Emily Comeau 10:
Q: Do you ever miss your family?
 
ALEX:
A: Sure, we reminisce about our families sometimes.  Phone conversations, 
video and audio records, letters, arriving with "loadtrucks" (that is how 
we name transport spaceships carrying cargoes for us) help us to bear with 
the long time apart.  With the last "loadtruck" my daughter set me her 
sewing application - lilac bouquet.  I have pinned up in my room next to 
the "illuminator" (round window - translator's remark).
 
[Info via Miles, WF1F]
 
* THANKS! *
===========
Thanks to all those who sent messages of appreciation regarding SpaceNews, 
especially:
 
      G1FMU   GX1XIC   NW2L   VK2FBI  NW3V  VE4SET  HB9PCX   TG9IKE
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...catfish.ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
 
-- 
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman" 22-JUL-1993 03:41:09.40
Subj:	Russian/French crew set to leave Mir space station

    Onboard the Mir space station the Russian/French mission is
preparing to depart for a landing on July 22.  Long term cosmonauts
Gennadiy Manakov and Aleksandr Polishchuk, who arrived at Mir on Jan.
24th, will be flying French Spationaut Jean-Pierre Haignere in the
older Soyuz TM-16 capsule. Manakov and Polishchuk will have spent 174
days in orbit during this mission, while Haignere will have had 22
days in orbit.  Manning the Mir complex will be cosmonauts Alexander
Serebrov and Vasily Tsibliev (mission commander).   They are slated to
do several space walks in September to modify the power systems on the
Mir space station. 

     The International French video station TV5 has shown several news
conferences with the combined Mir crew, including one with the French
Prime Minister.  Interestingly for most of these a huge French flag
was in the backdrop.  These appeared to be broadcast from one of the
large Star modules extending perpendicular from the front ball docking
adaptor of Mir.  Views were show of the Soyuz TM-17 during from a
window during one of the conferences. 

     In other news according to a Radio Moscow report on July 19th the
US and Russia reached an agreement on the selling of Russian space
hardware to other countries.  The problem arose over the sale of
liquid hydrogen/oxygen rocket technology to India for use in an upper
stage.  This was considered by some to violate the missile control
treaty which prevents the sale of ICBM hardware.  Russia will be
allowed to sell upper stages, but not the technology to build them. 
Another agreement was signed in Washington on July 20, for cooperation
in manned space missions.  This calls for the flight of a Russian
cosmonaut on the space shuttle, and an 1995 visit to Mir by a US
astronaut.  This second agreement was being held up until the Indian
export problem could be solved. (Radio Moscow and French TV5) 

                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 17:08:44 -0700
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: Russian/French crew set to leave Mir space station

Actually, that was yesterday.  I saw in the paper today that they had landed
safely in Khazakstan.

Burns

Article: 3241
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.hot.ussr
Subject: Joint Russian-French cosmonaut crew lands in Kazakhstan
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 93 5:32:17 EDT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Three cosmonauts, including one Frenchman,
landed in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan Thursday after a
successful mission aboard the Russian orbiting space station Mir. 

	The 22-day Russian-French mission was launched from the
Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan July 1 on board a Soyuz TM-17 craft,
and two days later docked with the permanently manned Mir station. 

	While on board Mir, the crew, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Haignere,
45, Russian engineer Alexander Serebrov, 49, and Cmdr. Vasily Tsibliyev, 
39, carried out a series of medical experiments and geophysical tests. 

	They landed 10:42 a.m. local time 87 miles from the Kazakhstan
town of Dzhezkazgan, which is 2,210 miles southeast of Moscow, the
Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported. 

	This was the fourth Russian expedition to include a French
cosmonaut, and is part of longterm space cooperation project between
France and Russia. 

Article: 4275
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: glennc@cs.sfu.ca (Glenn Chapman)
Subject: Russian/French Soyuz TM-16 mission successfully lands.
Sender: digester@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 17:52:36 GMT
 
    The Russian/French mission to the Mir space complex successfully
landed in the Soyuz TM-16 capsule this morning at 10:42 am Moscow time
(0:42 am PDT) in south west central Asia. On board were the former Mir
crew cosmonauts Gennadiy Manakov and Aleksandr Polishchuk, who have
spent 174 days in orbit since arriving Jan. 24th, and French
Spationaut Jean-Pierre Haignere (launched on July 1). The remaining
crew from the July 1st Soyuz TM-17 flight, Alexander Serebrov and
Vasily Tsibliev will be staying on Mir until December.  Then they will
be replaced by a long duration crew, with one of those Soyuz TM-18
crew members possibly staying 18 months according to some reports. 

    For flight engineer Alexander Serebrov this will be his fourth
mission: Soyuz T-7/Salyut 7 for 8 days in 1982, Soyuz T-8 for 2 days
in April 1983 (making him the first human to fly on space successive
missions, unfortunately shortened by a docking failure), and Sept.
1989 Soyuz TM for 167 days on board the Mir station (which saw the
docking of the Kvant 2 module to Mir).  He also trained for the 1987
Soyuz TM-2 but the crew was switched.  His current total is 199 days
of orbital work. 

    On other point on Serebrov: he seems to have a connection with
French missions. Two of his earlier flights were proceeded by
Russian/French missions (Soyuz T-6 in June 1982 and Soyuz TM-7 in Nov.
1988) giving him much experience with French equipment left on the
station.  Lt. Col. Tsibliev is on his first flight and is the mission
commander. 
 
    For those of you which have it on your cable station (very common
in Canada) the International French video station TV5 will probably
carry the landing today.  Their news time is at 4 pm (PDT) delayed
about 1 hour from the original broadcast in France. 
 
                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada
  

From:	US1RMC::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane" 31-JUL-1993 04:10:36.56
To:	sci-space-news@rutgers.edu
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 02-Aug-93 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0802
* SpaceNews 02-Aug-93 *
 
BID: $SPC0802

                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                          MONDAY AUGUST 2, 1993
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR QSL NEWS *
================
The following is from Serge Samburov, RV3DR, the Mir Space QSL Manager.   
 
Dear HAMs!   TNX for your QSL. I confirm your QSO and send to you QSL
from U_MIR (R_MIR) in March 1993: 
 
1-14:VK3CFI,VK6IG,IW1QDZ,KI4TD,KT0H,K2CL,
N0MIR,W0SL,W2IFR,FC1OKN,IV3WLQ,4X4LF,KDX1A, N2PKF. 
 
I confirm your QSO and send to you QSL from U_MIR (R_MIR) in April-May 1993: 
 
15-61:SV2AGW,PE1MQC,K0SK,W2LRJ,OZ-OR 2197 (SWL),
ON7QD,ON4APB,KA3AFY,WG0I,N3KYP,WB8IMY,N2JNT,VE7VVW,
ZL2UYH,FC1CDC,G0PWU,5B4ZL,ON2AKJ,F11BYB(SWL),FE6DOK,
EB5IFI,VE5RC,N1FWV,N4QN,LU1MIK,LU1MHG,UA3IFI,ZS2ABF,
G3MFQ,N8KCG,KD4OJD,WN3Z,WA3LKT,WA3TNT,N1NEG,N2RBJ,K4PTB
N2PKF,DE1MSA,FC1GTU,SV8BEV,SV2BNY,14 ICC 666 (SWL),HB9RHV,
HB9SKA,PE1OKI,OH8UV. 
 
I confirm your QSO and send to you QSL from U_MIR (R_MIR) in June-July 1993:
 
  62 N3KYP-from U6,U8MIR
  63 N3NCS-from R2MIR
  64 N7SUR-from R2MIR
  65 W1AIM -from U5MIR
  66 WA1UAY-from R2MIR
  67 SM0IIN-from R2MIR
  68 VE3UXQ-from R2MIR
  69 OZ-DR 2197-from U6MIR
  70 ON4ARJ-from R2MIR
  71 IW0QEO-from U5MIR
  72 VK2ASR-from R2MIR
  73 W6NFD -from R2MIR
  74 N0UVP -from R2MIR
  75 KE5FK -from R2MIR
  76 KC4YAU-from U6,U8MIR
  77 N0NNK -from R2MIR
  78 KQ4AV -from R2MIR
  79 FC1SRH-from R2MIR
  80 I4AYP -from R2MIR
  81 CT1EAT-from R2MIR
  82 WA9BVS-from R2MIR
 
I often receive your letters, which are opened.  PSE send me well
closed envelopes with your QSL.  PSE send me IRC only from 01.01.1993,
self-addressed envelope with your QSL.  PSE send me letter.  You can
send me packet MSG: RV3DR@R2MIR-1 or RV3DR@RK3KP.MSK.RUS.EU. 
 
Mir QSLs should be sent to:
 
 RV3DR-Serge Samburov, Space QSL Manager
 P.O.141070, BOX 73, Kaliningrad-10 city, Moscow Area,
 RUSSIA.
 
or direct:
 
 P.O.141070,Kaliningrad city, Moscow Area,
 prospekt Cosmonavtov, dom 36, kw 96, RUSSIA
 
For South America, the QSL manager is LW2DTZ.  His address is:
 
 Gustavo Carpignano
 M.Rosas 2044
 1828 - Banfield
 Buenos Aires - Argentina
 
BEST 73
 
Chief of Cosmonaut Amateur Radio Department NPO "Energia"
                  ***RV3DR***
  
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
UUCP     : ...catfish.ocpt.ccur.com!ka2qhd!kd2bd
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
 
-- 
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

From:	US1RMC::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "Voevodin S.A." 12-AUG-1993 
Subj:	VSA043: News

***********************************************************
*  VSA043       20.07.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

* Academician Vladimir Pavlovich Barmin, the Chief Designer
  of the Soviet Launch Pads died in Moscow on July 18, 1993.
  He was the last from the famous six of the first Council
  of the Soviet Space Cheif designers.

* Russian cosmonaut, major Sergey Vozovikov (born April 17, 1958) 
  sank in the Black Sea near Anapa during the water tests on July 11. 
  He was selected for the TsPK VVS Detachment in 1990.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Organization: ADAMANT
% From: Voevodin S.A. <vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su>
% Date: Thu, 12 Aug 93 12:32:16 +0400
% Subject: VSA043: News


From:	US1RMC::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "Voevodin S.A." 12-AUG-1993 
Subj:	VSA045: Current Cosmonaut Status No 3

*****************************************************************
*  VSA045       12.08.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
*****************************************************************

            Current Cosmonauts Status No 3
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Orbit
~~~~~~~~
Tsibliyev   (87)
Serebrov    (78)

Group D-7-15  ( The 15th Resident Mir Mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Afanasiyev(85)           Malenchenko (87)         Viktorenko  (78)
Usachyov  (89)           Musabayev   (91)         Kondakova   (89)
Polyakov  (72)           Arzamazov   (78)         Morukov     (89)


Group D-7-16  ( The 16th Resident Mir Mission )
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dezhurov  (87)
Strekalov (73)


Group D-7-1  ( The first Commanders' row )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Gidzenko    (87)        Onufrienko  (89)
Krichevsky  (89)        Padalko     (89)


Group D-7-2  ( The second Commanders' row )
~~~~~~~~~~~
Korzun      (87)        Sharipov    (90)
Zalyotin    (90)


Group K-S  ( Rescue-cosmonauts )
~~~~~~~~~
Afanasiyev  (85)        Volkov      (76)
Soloviyov A.(76)        Viktorenko  (78)


Group Sh  ( Space Shuttle in USA )
~~~~~~~~
Krikalyov   (85)
Titov       (76)


Group K-M  ( Candidates )
~~~~~~~~~
Vinogradov  (92)
Lazutkin    (92)
Treshchev   (92)


Group ESA
~~~~~~~~~
Duque
Merbold
Fuglesang
Raiter


Active  ( Ready for space flights but out of crews )
~~~~~~
     TsPK  VVS ( The Cosmonaut Training Centre of The Air Forces )

           Lyakhov     (67)                 Omelchenko   (90)
           Artsebarsky (85)                 Sharov       (90)
           Manakov     (85)                 Mukhortov    (90)
           Baberdin    (90)                 Krikun       (90)
           Andryushkov (90)                 Fefelov      (70)


     NPO "Energiya"  ( The Scientific Research Enterprise "Energiya" )

           Sevastiyanov(67)                 Aleksandrov (78)
           Kubasov     (66)                 Laveikin    (78)
           Lebedev     (72)                 Kaleri      (84)
           Soloviyov V (78)                 Zaitsev     (85)
           Savitskaya  (80)                 Avdeyev     (87)
           Savinykh    (78)                 Poleshchuk  (89)
           Ivanchenkov (70)                 Balandin    (78)

     IMBP  ( The Institute of Medical-Biological Problems )

           Pozharskaya   (80)               Zakharova   (80)
           Borodin       (78)               Karashtin   (89)
           Dobrokvashina (80)               Lukiyanyuk  (89)
           Atkov         (83)


     LII  ( The Flight Research Institute )

          Volk         (78)                 Tresvyatsky  (85)
          Sultanov     (83)                 Sheffer      (85)
          Tolboyev     (83)                 Prikhodko    (89)
          Zabolotsky   (84)

     NII VVS  ( The Air Force Scientific Research Institute )

          Borodai      (78)                 Pushenko     (89)
          Kadenyuk     (88)                 Yablontsev   (89)
          Polonsky     (89)

     NPO "Zvezda"  ( The Scientific Research Enterprise "Zvezda" )

          Severin      (90)

     The Ministry of the High Education

          Ivanova      (83)


Inactive
~~~~~~~~
     TsPK  VVS

           Bykovsky    (60)      Zholobov     (63)       Kozelsky     (67)
           Volynov     (60)      Kolodin      (63)       Pisarev      (67)
           Gorbatko    (60)      Kugno        (63)       Alekseyev    (67)
           Zaikin      (60)      Matinchenko  (63)       Burdayev     (67)
           Kartashov   (60)      Beregovoi    (64)       Gaidukov     (67)
           Leonov      (60)      Rebrov       (65)       Isakov       (67)
           Nikolayev   (60)      Voloshin     (65)       Porvatkin    (67)
           Popovich    (60)      Kizim        (65)       Sologub      (67)
           Rafikov     (60)      Kramarenko   (65)       Malyshev     (67)
           Titov G     (60)      Sarafanov    (65)       Dzhanibekov  (70)
           Khrunov     (60)      Skvortsov    (65)       Romanenko    (70)
           Shonin      (60)      Fyodorov     (65)       Dedkov       (70)
           Yorkina     (62)      Sharafutdinov(65)       Isaulov      (70)
           Kuznetsova  (62)      Belousov     (65)       Kozlov       (70)
           Ponomariyova(62)      Dyagteryov   (65)       Popov        (70)
           Soloviyova  (62)      Kolesnikov   (65)       Berezovoy    (70)
           Tereshkova  (62)      Lisun        (65)       Illarionov   (70)
           Vorobiyov   (63)      Preobrazhensky(65)      Vasyutin     (76)
           Gubarev     (63)      Glazkov      (65)       Moskalenko   (76)
           Kuklin      (63)      Zudov        (65)       Protchenko   (76)
           Filipchenko (63)      Klimuk       (65)       Grekov       (78)
           Shatalov    (63)      Rozhdestvensky(65)      Bystrov      (84)
           Artyukhin   (63)      Khludeyev    (65)       Diyakonov    (84)
           Buinovsky   (63)      Stepanov     (65)       Zhernovkov   (84)
           Voronov     (63)      Beloborodov  (67)       Aubakirov    (91)
           Dyomin      (63)      Kovalyonok   (67)


     NPO "Energiya"

           Feoktistov  (64)                 Fartushny    (68)
           Golovanov   (65)                 Yazdovsky    (68)
           Letunov     (65)                 Andreyev     (70)
           Bugrov      (66)                 Ponomaryov   (70)
           Dolgopolov  (66)                 Aksyonov     (73)
           Yeliseyev   (66)                 Ryumin       (73)
           Makarov     (66)                 Manarov      (78)
           Grechko     (66)                 Kuleshova    (80)
           Rukavishnikov(67)                Pronina      (80)


     NPO "Mashinostroyeniya"

           Makrushin    (72)                Grechanik    (78)
           Yuyukov      (73)                Romanov      (78)
           Gevorkyan    (78)                Khatulev     (78)

     IMBP

            Yegorov B   (64)                Smirenny     (72)
            Iliyin      (65)                Potapov      (78)
            Kiseyov     (65)                Amelkina     (80)
            Senkevich   (65)                Klyushnikova (80)
            Machinsky   (72)

      RAN

            Katys       (64)                Fatkhulin    (67)
            Gulyayev    (67)                Yegorov V    (67)
            Yershov     (67)                Latysheva    (80)
            Kolomiitsev (67)

      NII VVS

            Bachurin    (78)                Chirkin      (78)
            Mosolov     (78)                Maksimenko   (89)
            Sattarov    (78)                Puchkov      (89)
            Sokovykh    (78)                Tokarev      (89)


Dead
~~~~
       TsPK  VVS

            Anikeyev     (60)               Gulyayev     (63)
            Belyayev     (60)               Lazarev      (64)
            Bondarenko   (60)               Sorokin      (64)
            Filatiyev    (60)               Petrushenko  (65)
            Varlamov     (60)               Shcheglov    (65)
            Gagarin      (60)               Yakovlev     (65)
            Komarov      (60)               Grishchenko  (65)
            Nelyubov     (60)               Ivanov       (76)
            Dobrovolsky  (63)               Vozovikov    (90)


       NPO "Energiya"

            Anokhin      (66)               Patsayev     (68)
            Volkov V     (66)               Yemeliyanov  (84)

       LII

            Kononenko    (78)               Stankyavichus(78)
            Levchenko    (78)               Shchukin     (78)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Organization: ADAMANT
% From: Voevodin S.A. <vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su>
% Date: Thu, 12 Aug 93 12:35:08 +0400
% Subject: VSA045: Current Cosmonaut Status No 3


From:	US1RMC::"vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su" "Voevodin S.A." 12-AUG-1993 
Subj:	VSA044: Corrections

***********************************************************
*  VSA044       30.07.1993       (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin  *
***********************************************************

                     Corrections

Igor A. Marinin, the Main Editor of Videokosmos's "Novosti
Kosmonavtiki" ("Space news") Bulletin ask me to give correc-
tions for VSA040 & VSA042. Here I am trying to do this:

-----------------------------------------------------------

Re: VSA040

15th RMM/Soyuz TM-18 - launch 16 November 1993
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Afanasiyev      Malenchenko   Viktorenko
      Usachyov        Musabayev     Kondakova
      Polyakov        Arzamazov     Morukov

      Mir Complex - 18 - 24 November 1993
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Tsibliyev
                     Serebrov
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     Polyakov

                     Soyuz TM-17 - landing 24 December 1993
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Tsibliyev
                                    Serebrov

      Mir Complex - 24 December 1993 - 09 April 1994
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     Polyakov

16th RMM/Soyuz TM-19 - launch 07 May 1994
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Malenchenko    Viktorenko     Dezhurov
      Musabayev      Kondakova      Strekalov
      Germany?

      Mir Complex - 09 May - ? days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Afanasiyev
                     Usachyov
                     Polyakov
                     Malenchenko
                     Musabayev
                     Germany?

                     Soyuz TM-18 - landing ?? June 1994
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Afanasiyev
                                    Usachyov
                                    Germany?

      Mir Complex - ?? June - ?? December 1994
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Malenchenko
                     Musabayev
                     Polyakov

17th RMM/Soyuz TM-20 - launch ?? December 1994
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Viktorenko     Dezhurov       Soloviyov
      Kondakova      Strekalov      Budarin
      Duque          Merbold


      Mir Complex - ?? December 1994 - 30 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Malenchenko
                     Musabayev
                     Polyakov
                     Viktorenko
                     Kondakova
                     Duque

                     Soyuz TM-19 - landing ?? January 1995
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Malenchenko
                                    Musabayev
                                    Duque

      Mir Complex - ?? January 1995 - ?? May 1995
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Viktorenko
                     Kondakova
                     Polyakov

18th RMM/Soyuz TM-21 - launch ?? May 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Dezhurov       Soloviyov      Gidzenko                USA:
      Strekalov      Budarin        Kaleri                   ?
      USA1           USA2                                    ?

      Mir Complex - ?? May 1995 - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Viktorenko
                     Kondakova
                     Duque
                     Dezhurov
                     Strekalov
                     USA1

                     Soyuz TM-20 - landing ?? May 1995
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Viktorenko
                                    Kondakova
                                    Duque

      Mir Complex - ?? May 1995 - ?? August 1995 (90 days)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Dezhurov
                     Strekalov
                     USA1

19th RMM/Space Shuttle - launch ?? August 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Soloviyov      Gidzenko       Tsibliyev
      Budarin        Kaleri         Treshchov
      Fuglesang      Reiter


      Mir Complex -  ?? August 1995 - 7 days
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Dezhurov
                     Strekalov
                     USA1
                     Soloviyov
                     Budarin
                     Fuglesang

                     Space Shuttle - landing ?? August 1995
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    Dezhurov
                                    Strekalov
                                    USA1

      Mir Complex -  ?? August 1995 - ?? December 1995 (135 days)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Soloviyov
                     Budarin
                     Fuglesang

21th RMM/Soyuz TM-22 - launch ?? December 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Gidzenko       Tsibliyev      Korzun?
      Kaleri         Treshchov      Avdeyev

-----------------------------------------------------------

Re: VSA042

There are only two official Cosmonaut Detachments ( TsPK VVS &
NPO "Energia" ) and only three Cosmonaut Groups ( IMBP, LII &
NII VVS ) in Russia.

TsPK VVS
~~~~~~~~~
Commander - col. Volkov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich      08.03.52
Deputy    - col. Lyakhov Viktor Afanasiyevich         20.07.41

Cosmonaut-testers

            col. Afanasieyv Viktor Mikhailovich       31.12.48
            col. Artsebarsky Anatoli Pavlovich        09.09.56
         lt.col. Dezhurov Vladimir Nikolayevich       30.07.62
         lt.col. Gidzenko Yuri Pavlovich              26.03.62
            col. Korzun Valery Grigoriyevich          05.03.53
         lt.col. Krichevsky Sergei Vladimirovich      09.07.55
            col. Manakov Gennadi Mikhailovich         01.06.50
         lt.col. Malenchenko Yuri Ivanovich           22.12.61
            maj. Musabayev Talgat Amangeldyyevich     07.01.51
            maj. Onufriyenko Yuri Ivanovich           06.02.61
            maj. Padalka Gennadi Ivanovich            21.06.58
           capt. Sharipov Salizhan Shakirovich        24.08.64
            col. Soloviyov Anatoli Yakovlevich        16.01.48
            col. Titov Vladimir Georgiyevich          01.01.47
            col. Tsibliyev Vasili Vasiliyevich        20.02.54
            col. Viktorenko Aleksandr Stepenovich     29.03.47
            maj. Zalyotin Sergei Viktorovich          21.04.62

Cosmonaut-researchers

            col. Andryushkov Aleksandr Stepanovich    06.10.47
            col. Baberdin Valeri Vasiliyevich         28.10.48
            col. Fefelov Nikolai Nikolayevich         20.05.45
                 Krikun Yuri Yuriyevich               03.06.63
                 Mukhortov Pavel Petrovich            10.03.66
                 Omelchenko Svetlana Oktyabrevna      20.08.51
                 Sharov Valeri Yuriyevich             26.12.53


NPO "Energiya"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander -      Aleksandrov Aleksandr Pavlovich      20.02.43
Deputy    -      Laveikin Aleksandr Ivanovich         21.04.51

Cosmonaut-testers

                 Avdeyev Sergei Vasiliyevich          01.01.56
                 Balandin Aleksandr Nikolayevich      30.07.53
                 Budarin Nikolai Nikolayevich         29.04.53
                 Ivanchenkov Aleksandr Sergeyevich    28.09.40
                 Kalery Aleksandr Yuriyevich          13.05.56
                 Kondakova Yelena Vladimirovna        30.03.57
                 Krikalyov Sergei Konstantinovich     27.08.58
                 Kubasov Valeri Nikolayevich          07.01.35
                 Lazutkin Aleksandr Ivanovich
                 Lebedev Valentin Vitaliyevich        14.04.42
                 Poleshchuk Aleksandr Fyodorovich     30.10.53
                 Savinykh Viktor Petrovich            07.03.40
                 Savitskaya Svetlana Yevgeniyevna     08.08.48
                 Serebrov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich    15.02.44
                 Sevastiyanov Vitali Ivanovich        08.07.35
                 Soloviyov Vladimir Alekseyevich      11.11.46
                 Strekalov Gennadi Mikhailovich       28.10.40
                 Treshchyov Sergei Yevgeniyevich
                 Usachyov Yuri Vladimirovich          09.10.57
                 Vinogradov Pavel Vladimirovich
                 Zaitsev Andrei Yevgeniyevich         05.08.57


IMBP
~~~~
Commander -      Polyakov Valeri Vladimirovich        27.04.42

Cosmonaut-researchers

                 Arzamazov German Semyonovich         09.03.46
                 Atkov Oleg Yuriyevich                09.05.49
                 Borodin Aleksandr Viktorovich        03.03.53
                 Dobrokvashina Yelena Ivanovna        08.10.47
                 Karashtin Vladimir Vladimirovich     18.11.62
                 Lukiyanyuk Vasili Yuriyevich         22.09.58
                 Morukov Boris Vladimirovich          01.10.50
                 Pozharskaya Larisa Grigoriyevna      15.03.47
                 Zakharova Tamara Sergeyevna          22.04.52


LII
~~~
Commander -      Zabolotsky Viktor Vasiliyevich       19.04.46

Cosmonaut-testers

                 Prikhodko Yuri Viktorovich           15.11.53
                 Sheffer Yuri Petrovich               30.06.47
                 Sultanov Ural Nazibovich             18.11.48
                 Tolboyev Magomed Omarovich           20.01.50
                 Tresvyatsky Sergei Nikolayevich      06.05.54
                 Volk Igor Petrovich                  12.04.37


NII VVS
~~~~~~~
Commander - col. Boroday Aleksei Sergeyevich          28.07.47

Cosmonaut-testers

            col. Kadenyuk Leonid Konstantinovich      28.01.50
         lt.col. Polonsky Anatoli Borisovich          01.01.56
         lt.col. Pushenko Nikolai Alekseyevich        10.08.52
         lt.col. Yablontsev Aleksandr Nikolayevich    03.04.55


Cosmonaut-researcher of NPO "Zvezda"

                 Severin Vladimir Gayevich                  56


Cosmonaut-researcher of the Ministry of the High Education

                 Ivanova Yekaterina Aleksandrovna     03.10.49

-----------------------------------------------------------

Please contact with Videokosmos TV Company, Novosti Kosmonavtiki
bulletin & Igor A. Marinin

                           tel. +7 095 2178147
                           fax  +7 095 2178145
             International Fax  +7 501 2152055

Exellent sources of information!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergey A. Voevodin     
8 Okruzhnoy proezd 11-2, 156014 Kostroma, Russia
e-mail: vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su          tel: +7 0942 553291

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Organization: ADAMANT
% From: Voevodin S.A. <vsa@msd.orbi.kostroma.su>
% Date: Thu, 12 Aug 93 12:34:06 +0400
% Subject: VSA044: Corrections

Article: 2358
Newsgroups: sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary,sci.space
From: p257shu@fs1.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de (Susanne Huettemeister)
Subject: Strange Notions about the Nature of the Perseids
Sender: news@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Organization: Max-Planck-Institut f"ur Radioastronomie
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1993 17:33:09 GMT
 
      From the German newsletter Skyweek Vol.9 #35 (27 Aug. 1993):
 
            Strange Notions about the Nature of the Perseids
	    ================================================
    seem to prevail in the space community: the old conception of a
    murderous hail of meteors awaiting spacecraft was revived this August.
 
  The meteoroid flux during a Perseids shower with a Zenithal Hourly Rate
of 100 is only 10^-11 particles per square meter and second, and this
incorporates all dust down to the most tiny specks which create a barely
visible meteor of magnitude 6.5. According to the studies available so
far [i.e. IMO Preliminary Reports] this rate has been never surpassed by
more than a factor of 5 during the 1993 shower: Thus a rough estimate of
the probability for even a tiny speck of dust crossing any given square
meter yields 1 in a million - and for a hit with consequences it should
have been orders of magnitude lower. [MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL
ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Vol.262 L36(1993) + calculations by D. Fischer]
 
  So how is it then possible that the Russian space station
controllers claim that "Mir 1 experienced as many as 60-70 meteorite
hits during this month's Perseids meteor shower, but there were no
initial reports of damage to the station's modules, which are designed
to withstand meteor impacts. However, some impacts occurred on Mir 1's
solar panels, including one that created a hole the size of a
softball. The panels still are operational, and tests are expected to
be conducted to determine whether the meteor hits caused any
measurable drop in the station's power supply. 

  An extravehicular activity (EVA) with the Mir 1's backpack manned
maneuvering unit is under consideration for a general inspection of the
station after the Perseids meteor shower." [AVIATION WEEK & SPACE 
TECHNOLOGY Aug 23, 1993, p.24]
 
  The manager of the Titan 4 rocket program, Col. F. Stirling, was
informed by the USAF of a secret video of the accident [on Aug. 6th],
much more detailed than the amateur video shown on TV - and supposedly
showing some unidentified object hitting the rocket at 33.5 km altitude.
"Stirling said he would like to believe that the rocket was knocked out
of the sky by a meteor from the approaching Perseid meteor shower. But
more likely the unidentified object was a plume of propellent released
during a normal venting procedure or perhaps an imperfection in the
video that had nothing to do with the explosion." [SPACE NEWS Aug. 23,
1993, pp. 1 + 20] 
 
  An the European Space Agency says that it "should not be excluded"
that the loss of attitude experienced by the Olympus satellite which led
to its complete loss [it was written off on Aug.26th] could have been
caused by a Perseid particle, since the event took place in the same
night that the Perseids peaked. The analysis, though, would be
continuing. [Interview with a spokesperson at ESA HeadQtrs, 27 August]
 
		      (Story originally written and translated by
		       D. Fischer, using the original text quotes)
 
Comments from the astronomy and space community welcome!         Susanne

From:	US1RMC::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com" "John Magliacane"  9-OCT-1993 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 11-Oct-93 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1011
* SpaceNews 11-Oct-93 *
 
BID: $SPC1011
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                         MONDAY OCTOBER 11, 1993
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR OPERATING HINTS *
=======================
This Week: "Logging Out of MIR"
 
More and more people are trying to use the MIR PBBS these days, and
that is fine if we all follow some simple rules. 
 
How many times have you seen a whole MIR pass full of <<DM>> messages
(DM-Disconnect mode) with no data, and it appears that no one is
logged in? Well, in reality someone IS logged in, but may have gone
out of range of MIR and is unable to logout of the MIR PBBS.  This
results in the PBBS being tied up until the watchdog timer expires and
forces a disconnect to the out-of-range station.  After 7-10 minutes,
MIR will try to force out the missing station with ten (10) <<D>>
(D-Disconnect request) packets.  After the last <<D>> packet, MIR will
accept the next connect request heard. 
 
Rule: If you are connected to the MIR PBBS, make sure you send the BYE
command (B) to MIR 2-minutes before LOS.  This will prevent ruining a
whole pass for the stations down range of your QTH. 
 
Remember, only one station can connect to MIR's PBBS at a time.  All
others must wait. 
 
[Story by G. Miles Mann, WF1F]
 
* FROM THE EDITOR *
===================
Over the past month, I have received a record number of requests from
people with Internet addresses asking to be placed on the "SpaceNews
mailing list". While such a list does exist, it is used primarily to
increase article circulation speed across the world-wide packet radio
network.  Having geographically diverse entry points into the packet
radio network, radio amateurs can receive these bulletins in an
acceptable amount of time around the world. 
 
Requests from single individuals who want SpaceNews mailed to them
simply to avoid searching through the rec.radio.amateur.misc,
sci.space.news, and rec.radio.info newsgroups on Usenet cannot be
accepted.  It just takes more time than I have available to maintain 
a large and growing mailing list. 
 
Please take advantage of the wide circulation SpaceNews currently
enjoys through Usenet, amateur packet radio, digital amateur
satellites, as well as the Internet (finger magliaco@pilot.njin.net). 
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET   : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

From:	US1RMC::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane" 30-OCT-1993 13:13:43.63
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 01-Nov-93 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1101
* SpaceNews 01-Nov-93 *
 
BID: $SPC1101
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                        MONDAY NOVEMBER 1, 1993
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR OPERATING HINTS *
=======================
This week: Digipeating through MIR
 
As some have discovered, it is possible to digipeat though the MIR packet 
station and use it to connect to other packet stations hundreds of miles 
away.  Unfortunately, the data throughput is pitifully small.  WF1F in 
Billerica, Massachusettes ran a test with Joe WA2GSY in New Jersey.  Both 
stations ran 20 foot 2-meter Yagis with an ERP of approximately 1200 watts.  
Late one weekday evening, both stations were fortunate enough to find the 
MIR PBBS with no users on frequency.  This is an extremely rare condition.  
Both stations attempted to directly connect to each other using MIR as a 
digipeater, and were successful.  Every line of text that was sent to each 
other made it through without error.  However, because of retries, 
acknowledgments, and other packet related overhead, the 120 character per 
second transmissions were reduced to approximately 1 character for every 
2.5 seconds.
 
The following short message took 4 minutes and 37 seconds to transfer
through Mir, and required over 132 packet transmissions.  There were
probably many more transmissions, but the equipment was not set up to
count any packet collisions at either end. 
 
CONNECTED to WA2GSY VIA R2MIR [04/18/93  00:25:00]
WA2GSY>:PLEASE CONNECT TO WA2GSY-1 FOR MY PMS
WA2GSY>:Hi miles
WF1F>:HI JOE GOT YOU
WA2GSY>:How are you
WA2GSY>:Glad to see you on 
WA2GSY>:Whats up
WA2GSY>:Sure is happy to hear you 
WF1F>LETS TRY OSCAR 13 OR SSB
WA2GSY>:Did you get the equip fixed 
WA2GSY>:*** DISCONNECTED [04/18/93  00:29:37]
 
Now for the statistics:
 
Packets from WF1F to WA2GSY through MIR: 31
Packets from WA2GSY to WF1F through MIR: 35
 
Total time 4:37
Total characters sent by WF1F:   39
Total characters sent by WA2GSY: 110
 
Throughput would further be reduced if there were ground stations
trying to connect to the PBBS on MIR while other stations used MIR for
digipeating purposes.  The bottom line is that digipeating through MIR
is NOT recommended while others are actively connected to the MIR
PBBS. Even under ideal conditions with high ERP, it is not possible to
get much data though MIR acting as a digipeater. 
 
Remember, only 1 station can connect to MIR's PBBS at a time.  All
others must wait. 
 
G. Miles Mann
WF1F @ K1UGM.MA
mann@pictel.com
 
[Story by G. Miles Mann, WF1F]  
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET   : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  7-JAN-1994 16:27:40.61
To:	uunet!sci-space-news@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com
CC:	
Subj:	Soyuz TM-18 mission set for launch to Mir Jan. 8th

    Final preparations are underway for the Saturday Jan. 8th 
launching of a record breaking manned mission to the
Russian/Commonwealth of Independent States space station Mir.  On
board the Soyuz TM-18 will be cosmonauts Victor Afanasyev, Yuri
Usachyov and Valeri Poliakov.  Dr. Poliakov, who is a physician, will
be staying on board Mir for 427 days, until March 11, 1995 according
to Radio Moscow. 

    The exact duration may vary as Aviation Week had reported he would
be up 421 days just last week.  Radio Moscow emphasized that this
mission equals the requirements for a manned mission to Mars.  The
previous record, 366 days, 19 hours, was set by the Soyuz TM-4 crew of
Moussa Manarov and Alexander Titov when they landed in Dec. 21 1988.
In addition Dr. Poliakov spent 241 day on board Mir starting with the
Soyuz TM-6 mission starting  Aug. 29, 1988.  This will make Poliakov
the human with the longest orbital experience: 668 days.  Yuri
Romanenko was the previous record holder, with 430 days total (from
Soyuz 26/Salyut 6 Dec. 10 1977, Soyuz 38/Salyut 6 in Sept. 18 1980 and
Soyuz TM-2/Mir in Feb. 5 1987).  Afanasyev and Usachyov by comparison
will spend the common long duration visit of about five months. In
addition there are reports the Russians are preparing a woman for a
long duration starting in September. 

    Onboard the Mir space station the Alexander Serebrov and Vasily
Tsibliev are preparing to depart.  They having been up for 190 days
todate, since the Soyuz TM-17 Russian/French mission arrived on July
1, 1993.   They have done several space walks to modify the power
systems on the Mir space station. (Radio Moscow and AW&ST Jan. 3) 

                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman"  9-JAN-1994 00:23:52.39
To:	uunet!sci-space-news@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com
CC:	
Subj:	Russian Soyuz TM-18 mission launched to Mir space station

    The Russians successfully launched from the Baikonour Cosmodrom
today (Jan. 8th) the Soyuz TM-18 record breaking manned mission to the
Russian/Commonwealth of Independent States space station Mir.  On
board were cosmonauts Victor Afanasyev (mission commander, 45 year
old, 2nd flight), Yuri Usachyov (36 year old flight Engineer, first
mission) and Dr. Valeri Poliakov (51 years old, second mission). 

    New endurance records will be set the physician, Dr. Poliakov, who
will be staying on board Mir for about 430 days, until March 1995. 
The exact duration may vary it has been reported as 421, 427, 429 and
"about 430 days" by either Radio Moscow or other media in the past
day.  The main aim of this is to investigate the medical conditions
for a manned mission to Mars, which is of this duration.  The previous
record, 366 days, 19 hours, was set by the Soyuz TM-4 crew of Moussa
Manarov and Alexander Titov when they landed in Dec. 21 1988. With Dr.
Poliakov's previous 241 days on board Mir in the Soyuz TM-6 mission of
Aug. 29, 1988 this will make Poliakov the human with the longest
orbital experience: 668 days.  Yuri Romanenko was the previous record
holder, with 430 days total (from Soyuz 26/Salyut 6 Dec. 10 1977,
Soyuz 38/Salyut 6 in Sept. 18 1980 and Soyuz TM-2/Mir in Feb. 5 1987).
The Russians will now have at least four people with over 1 year
cumulative in orbit experience. Afanasyev and Usachyov will have a
"long duration" visit of a scheduled 179 days, until July 6th. 

    The flight should dock with the Mir space complex on Jan. 10th. 
Waiting for them are the Alexander Serebrov and Vasily Tsibliev who
are preparing to depart.  They having been up for 190 days todate,
since the Soyuz TM-17 Russian/French mission arrived on July 1, 1993. 
(Radio Moscow) 

                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman" 10-JAN-1994 16:55:53.92
To:	uunet!sci-space-news@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com
CC:	
Subj:	Russian Soyuz TM-18 successfully docks with Mir space station

    The Russian Soyuz TM-18 successfully docked today (Jan. 10th) with
the Russian/Commonwealth of Independent States Mir space station.  On
board were cosmonauts Victor Afanasyev (mission commander, previously
175 days Soyuz TM-11, Dec. 2 1990), Yuri Usachyov (flight Engineer,
first mission) and Dr. Valeri Poliakov (51 years old, second mission).
 Greeting them were cosmonauts Alexander Serebrov and Vasily Tsibliev,
who been on Mir for 192 days, since the Soyuz TM-17 Russian/French
mission arrived on July 1, 1993.  They will be returning in about one
week.  Afanasyev and Usachyov will have a "long duration" visit of a
scheduled 179 days, until July 6th. 

     Dr. Poliakov will be setting a new endurance record by staying on
board Mir for about 429 days, until March 1995.  The previous record,
366 days, 19 hours, was set by the Soyuz TM-4 crew of Moussa Manarov
and Alexander Titov when they landed in Dec. 21 1988. With Dr.
Poliakov's previous 241 days on board Mir in the Soyuz TM-6 mission of
Aug. 29, 1988 this will make Poliakov the human with the longest
orbital experience: 668 days.  Please note I made a mistake in my last
posting.  Musa Manarov is the previous record holder with 366 days
from the Soyuz TM-4 mission and 175 days from the Soyuz TM-11 flight
of Dec 2, 1990 for a total of 541 days.  Thanks to Pawel Moskalik for
pointing this out.  That is what I get for writing this when I am down
with the flu and away from my data base.   Also interesting is that
Afanasyev was also the other cosmonaut on the Soyuz TM-11 mission with
Manarov that set the previous record, though he himself will "only"
have a total of 354 days after this mission. 

     The main aim of this medical experimentation for a manned mission
to Mars, which is of this duration.  One interesting experiment
mentioned on Radio Moscow connected with that Mars simulation was use
of "low temperature medical experiments" - no more details were given.

     This mission was originally scheduled for November, but was
delayed due to a shortage of booster rockets, according to the CBC. 
The videos of the launch on CBC Newsworld the launch site quite snowed
in, and the booster disappeared into the clouds shortly after takeoff.
(Radio Moscow, CBC Newsworld) 

                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada

From:	US1RMC::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane" 11-JAN-1994 14:24:04.05
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 10-Jan-94 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0110 
* SpaceNews 10-Jan-94 *
 
BID: $SPC0110
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                        MONDAY JANUARY 10, 1994
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* NEW MIR CREW *
================
By Serge Samburov, RV3DR
 
Launch: 08.01.94 aboard SOYUZ-TM18 (crew #15)
Docked at the port of "MIR" 10.01.94
Undocked and launched to Earth cosmonauts V. V. Ziblyiv
and A. A. Serebrov (crew #14) 14.01.94 aboard Soyuz TM-17
 
Crew #15:
Viktor Afanasiev (commander) HAM #30, call U9MIR
Yuri Usachev (flight engineer) HAM #31, call R3MIR
Valerij Polyakov (doctor) HAM #32, call U3MIR
Call packet: R0MIR
Call PMS "MIR": R0MIR-1
Call voice U3MIR, U9MIR, R3MIR, R0MIR op. Viktor, Valerij, Yuri 
 
=========================================================       
#  CALL    NAME                # CREW   FLIGHT TIME
=========================================================  
30 U9MIR  VIKTOR AFANASIEV         15   08.01.94-04.07.94
31 R3MIR  YURI  USACHEV            15   08.01.94-04.07.94
32 U3MIR  VALERIJ POLYAKOV   15/16/17   08.01.94-april 95
 
Starting 01.01.93 the new QSL Manager for cosmonauts is RV3DR.
I also confirm all QSOs with station MIR from 1988.
 
RV3DR-Serge Samburov, Space  "MIR" QSL Manager
Chief of Cosmonaut Amateur Radio Department NPO "Energia"
 
All QSLs should be sent to:
P.O.BOX 73, Kaliningrad-10 city, Moscow Area, 141070, RUSSIA.
 
Send me message via PKT: RV3DR#R#MIR or RV3DR@RK3KP.#MSK.RUS.EU
 
Happy QSQ     BEST 73 ***RV3DR***
 
[Info via N2NRD]
  
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET   : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> 

--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

Article: 81088
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com (Dennis Newkirk)
Subject: Re: Soyuz TM-18 mission (Female cosmonauts) 
Organization: Motorola
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 21:22:11 GMT
Sender: news@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News)
 
In article <38268@ksr.com> clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones) writes:

>In article <CJCE2B.FBF@zoo.toronto.edu>, henry@zoo (Henry Spencer) writes:
>>In article <2gnqen$o7k@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes:
>>>>In addition there are reports the Russians are preparing a woman for a long 
>>>>duration starting in September.
 
It may be Ryumin's wife. Her name (I for get it now) has been rumored
for about a year, and last year Grechko also mentioned:
 
"Seriously I hear this year they will launch another woman in space.
She is the wife of our chief of mission control Ryumin..." 4/7/93
 
So he was a little off... 
 
>>>Um,  what happened to the female cosmonauts?
 
Well, most of the original group still works in space related jobs or
at the training center itself. Plans for an all female mission in the
1980's lead by Savitskaya never came to fruition.
 
>Svetlana Savitskaya, who flew twice, and made the first EVA by a woman just
>before Kathy Sullivan (I think) did it from the shuttle.
>
>It seems very likely that both flew primarily for propaganda value.
>
>Yup.
 
Savitskaya also had the advantage to being the daughter of a high
ranking Air Force general. If it didn't help her get selected, it most
likely helped her be in that position as a pilot of high performance jets. 
 
Dennis Newkirk (dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com)
Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Schaumburg, IL

From:	US1RMC::"glennc@cs.sfu.ca" "Glenn Chapman" 14-JAN-1994 11:28:51.06
Subj:	Russian Soyuz TM-17 successfully lands from Mir space station

    The Russian Soyuz TM-17 successfully undocked from the
Russian/Commonwealth of Independent States Mir space station and
landed today (Jan. 14th).  On board were cosmonauts Alexander Serebrov
and Vasily Tsibliev who been up for 197 days, since the Soyuz TM-17
Russian/French mission arrived on July 1, 1993.  According to Radio
Canada the Soyuz TM-17 collided with the Mir station after separation.
There appeared to be no damage to either so the landing continued
(Radio Moscow made no mention of this event). 

    Remaining on are the Soyuz TM-18 crew, which were launched on Jan.
8th, consisting of cosmonauts Victor Afanasyev (mission commander),
Yuri Usachyov (flight Engineer) and Dr. Valeri Poliakov.  Afanasyev
and Usachyov will have a "long duration" visit of a scheduled 179
days, until July 4th.  Physician Dr. Poliakov will be setting a new
endurance record by staying on board Mir for about 429 days, until
March 1995.  Note that this landing of the Soyuz TM-17 is a
historically short time between launch of the replacement crew and
landing of the previous crew - 6 days rather than the usual 7-10. 

    It was announced in Moscow that an agreement has been signed
during President Clinton's visit for the building of an International
space station called Alpha.  The main core of the new station will be
launched on a Proton booster. For the next 3 years crews will train on
the Mir space complex in preparation for work on the new station. 
This will include a US astronaut visiting Mir for 3 months next year,
and a Russian flight on the shuttle this year.  (Radio Moscow) 

                                                       Glenn Chapman
                                                       School Eng. Science
                                                       Simon Fraser Univ.
                                                       Burnaby, BC Canada

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 08:20:11 -0800
% From: Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca>
% Subject: Russian Soyuz TM-17 successfully lands from Mir space station

Article: 81341
From: pam@astro.as.utexas.edu (Pawel Moskalik)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Russian Soyuz TM-18 missions launched to Mir space station
Date: 15 Jan 1994 00:09:21 GMT
Organization: McDonald Observatory, University of Texas @ Austin
 
In article <1994Jan9.035616.13349@cs.sfu.ca>,
Glenn Chapman <glennc@cs.sfu.ca> wrote:

>Soyuz TM-2/Mir in Feb. 5 1987).  The Russians will now have at least four 
>people with over 1 year cumulative in orbit experience. Afanasyev and 
>Usachyov will have a "long duration" visit of a scheduled 179 days, until 
>July 6th.  

i   Actually, the precise number is eight people.
 
1. Musa Manarov               541days   2 flights
2. Sergey Krikalev            463       2 flights
3. Yuri Romanenko             431       3 flights
4. Aleksander Volkov          391       3 flights
5. Anatoly Solovyov           378       3 flights
6. Leonid Kizim               375       3 flights
7. Aleksander Serebrov        373       4 flights
8. Vladimir Titov             368       2 flights
 
Pawel Moskalik
 
Article: 81347
From: pam@astro.as.utexas.edu (Pawel Moskalik)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.science
Subject: Re: Russian Soyuz TM-18 successfully docks with Mir space station
Date: 15 Jan 1994 00:24:13 GMT
Organization: McDonald Observatory, University of Texas @ Austin
 
In article <2gt82u$q9g@samba.oit.unc.edu>,
Benigno Muniz Jr. <Ben.Muniz@lambada.oit.unc.edu> wrote:

>Can someone post the total orbital man-hours for both the U.S. and Russian
>programs? Also, what is the U.S. personal record time?
 
   The US personal record is 84days for the third Skylab crew (Carr,
Gibson, Pogue. 
 
The total orbital times are (as of today):
 
USA               3387 man-days
Russia/USSR       9621
 
I have included non-Russian and non-American astronauts flying on
board of Russian or American spacecrafts (that is a small correction).
 
My numbers might be slightly off because of the rund-off errors, but
not much. 
 
Last year (1993) US logged 429man-days  versus Rusian 808man-days.
In its best year (1992) shuttle program logged 482man-days.
 
Pawel Moskalik
 

Article: 550
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
From: dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com (Dennis Newkirk)
Subject: Mir exterior built structures, etc
Organization: Motorola
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 20:43:31 GMT
Sender: news@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News)
 
By special request:
 
Mir currently has a large beam called Sofora which was built by
cosmonauts on EVA. The beam is used to hold an attitude control module
which was delivered to Mir on a special Progress. The beam is attached
to the Kvant module and pivits to put the end near a docked Progress
so devices can be attached. The beam is about 10-12 meters long and
made of many peices assembled using a memory metal joint. 
 
A test beam was built on Salyut 7 by the Soyuz T-15 crew.
 
The French also deployed a structure outside the Mir airlock but it
was later ejected. 
 
Mir also had added a pole type crane to help move objects around the
exterior of the station. New mountings for solar arrays were added to
Kvant and the crane will be used to transfer Kristall's solar arrays
to Kvant. 
 
Check Aviation Week late last year for good photos (including the
cover so you can't miss it) of Mir showing these developments. All of
this is well covered in Russian media, the US media usually ignores it
all, but I remember a TV news report about the Salyut 7 experiment. 
 
This is all I can remember now without a search of my files.
 
Dennis Newkirk (dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com)
Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Schaumburg, IL

Article: 6723
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.hot.ussr
Subject: Astronauts named for Mir flights
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 94 7:52:42 PST
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) - Shuttle astronauts Norman Thagard
and Bonnie Dunbar will become the first U.S. crewmembers to serve on
the Russian space station Mir, as the two countries take steps to
unite their manned space programs, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin
said Thursday. 

	Thagard, 50, a physician who has made four flights on the
shuttle, is the prime candidate for the first three-month stint aboard
Mir, scheduled to begin next year. Three-time shuttle flier Dunbar
will serve as backup. 

	Thagard, who is to ride a Russian Soyuz rocket to Mir, will be
the first U.S. astronaut flying aboard a non-U.S. launcher. 

	Goldin made the announcement following Thursday morning's
liftoff of space shuttle Discovery and six astronauts, including
Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, the first from his country to fly
on the shuttle. 

	NASA and the Russian Space Agency are planning a series of
astronaut exchanges and cooperative science projects before uniting
their programs in the international space station, scheduled for
construction later this decade. 

From:	US1RMC::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane"  5-FEB-1994 04:36:45.27
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 07-Feb-94 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0207 
* SpaceNews 07-Feb-94 *
 
BID: $SPC0207
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                        MONDAY FEBRUARY 7, 1994
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR MUSIC REQUEST *
=====================
Ongoing contacts on 145.550 MHz are taking place between the cosmonauts of 
the Russian Mir space station and a few hams in Israel, mainly 4X4LF Shlomo 
on Packet, and Mark 4Z4KX, a native-Russian speaker, on voice.  When Mir is 
overhead, one may often hear Mark and one of the cosmonauts chatting away.
 
Followers of Israeli popular music know well the name Ofra Haza, a
singer who has made a name for herself, especially in Europe. 
Nonetheless, Mark 4Z4KX was rather surprised when Cosmonaut Alexander
Serebrov, R0MIR, on one of his overhead QSO's with him, asked Mark to
send greetings to Ofra! Alexander related that he's a fan of hers, and
asked Mark to see if he could get a cassette of hers for him. 
   
No problem!  As the ham connection goes, 4Z4XC Yair Haza is Ofra's brother, 
and promised to procure her latest CD, which will have to be transcribed to 
cassette, as all they have on board the Mir is a cassette machine.
 
[Info via Shlomo, 4X4LF@4X4LI.ISR.MDLE]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET   : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> 
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

Article: 83123
From: obyrne@cp.dias.ie (Chris O'Byrne)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.policy,sci.space.tech
Subject: Progress M-17 to re-enter Feb.26 to Mar.1?
Date: 17 Feb 1994 00:30:40 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
Sender: daemon@cs.utexas.edu
 
Yoshiro Yamada (yamada@ysc.go.jp) reminded me where I had seen
satellite decay formula - on his BBS in Japan. He provided two formula
from past posts, the first from 14/1/91 issue of John A. Magliacane's
(kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com) "SpaceNews": 
 
>A good approximation for predicting the re-entrance date for Salyut-7
>is given by the formula:
>Epoch + (16.666666 - Mean Motion) / (Decay Rate * 10)
 
Latest elements on Dr. T.S. Kelso's ftp site (archive.afit.af.mil) are:
ProgressM17

1 22588U 93019A   94044.88624243  .00358812  11602-4  27655-3 0  5080
2 22588  51.6132  60.6384 0044563 264.5201  95.0730 16.11928503 50122
 
which implies a decay date of 44.886+(16.666666-16.119285)/(.0358812)
in days since Jan. 0, 1994 = 60.1416 i.e. March 1st.
 
Second formula was from a post by Bruce Watson (wats@scicom):

>I put together some data from the graph on p. 153 of Bate, Meuller, and
>White and some empirical data (all of it less than 35 years, of course)
>and came up with results very much like these. My best fit is:
>
>log_10 t_years = 7.4 log_10 a_km - 19.1
>
>where t is time and a is altitude above the surface of the earth of the
>circular orbit (except for Molniyas virtually all are these days).
>
>Of course the atmospheric density varies daily, tidally with the sun
>and the moon, annually and with the sun spot cycle, so the fit can
>only be approximate.
>
>As you say, the density of the satellite matters. Especially with the
>balloon satellites of the 60's. Echo I lasted 8 years from its 1600 km
>orbit. Had it been more iron than air it would still be up there with
>10's of thousands of years to go.
 
applying this I get: log_10 t_years = 7.4 log_10 241.5 - 19.1
  whence t_years = 0.0341654  i.e. 12.479 days
  so decay predicted for February 26.

(where 241.5km is the average orbital altitude I get from perigee=212km
and apogee=271km - or should I use perigee=>Feb. 18 or apogee=>Mar.15?)
 
A couple of weeks ago while watching Mir in the morning I saw a sat
moving faster than any other I'd ever seen (later found to be Progress
M-17). It must have been low and close to re-entering I thought, but I
never thought this close. Is it really going to be so soon?
 
WOULD ANYONE CARE TO COMMENT ON THESE CALCULATIONS?
ANY COMMENTS ON ANYTHING LIKELY TO SURVIVE RE-ENTRY?
 
-David Moore BSc FRAS, Editor, ASTRONOMY & SPACE magazine published by:
 Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 1, Ireland. VISA/MC accepted.
 (ONE OF WORLD'S LARGEST ASTRO. SOC. per capita-email any larger! 0.047%)
Tel:   0 8 9 1 - 8 8 - 1 9 - 5 0     for U.K. Hotline (new message Mondays)
(dial 1550-111-442 in Republic of Ireland)         EMAIL: OBYRNE@CP.DIAS.IE

    "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked 
  about." - Oscar Wilde
 

From:	US1RMC::"kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com" "John Magliacane" 19-FEB-1994 01:47:45.41
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 21-Feb-94 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0221
* SpaceNews 21-Feb-94 *
 
BID: $SPC0221
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                        MONDAY FEBRUARY 21, 1994
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* DISCOVERY-MIR RADIO LINK *
============================
The Space Shuttle Discovery's crew and the MIR Russian space station
made an Amateur Radio contact on 08-Feb-94 during a period of time
when Discovery was over the south Pacific and MIR was over the Caribbean. 
 
"We fly during a lot of time with Sergej and I wish a good work with
his North American collegues, and a not problems return to the Earth",
said Valery Polyakov one of the MIR cosmonauts. "Thanks, I heard you
perfect", replied Krikalev in Russian. 
 
[Info via Gustavo, LW2DTZ of AMSAT-LU]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET   : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com  -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> 
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

Article: 7055
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (AP)
Newsgroups: clari.world.europe.eastern,clari.news.hot.ussr,clari.tw.space
Subject: Russian Women In Space Test
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 94 5:50:21 PST
 
	MOSCOW (AP) -- Eight women have agreed to spend four months
lying with their heads below their feet in an experiment simulating
conditions of long-term space flights, the military newspaper Krasnaya
Zvezda reported today. 

	No women have spent lengthy periods in space.  Cosmonaut Yelena
Kondakova is scheduled to spend six months aboard the orbiting space
station Mir this fall. 

	The experiment aims at assessing how women react to long
periods of immobility and weightlessness. 

	During the four months, the women will not be allowed to move
from their horizontal positions. Their only exercise will be leg
workouts on stationary bicycles and treadmills. 

	The newspaper said a lengthy search was conducted to find the
volunteers for the experiment. 


Article: 7056
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (AP)
Newsgroups: clari.world.europe.eastern,clari.news.hot.ussr,clari.tw.space
Subject: Ex-Space Racers Now Cooperate
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 94 9:50:35 PST
 
	STAR CITY, Russia (AP) -- Like anxious hosts before a party,
Russian space officials are impatiently awaiting the arrival of
guests they thought they'd never invite: Two American astronauts.

	``We've been waiting one and a half months for your
astronauts!'' Star City official Boris Yesin told a reporter. ``We
have everything ready.''

	The astronauts, Norman Thagard and Bonnie Dunbar, plan to arrive
Thursday to begin their yearlong training as cosmonauts.

	Their arrival underlines a major shift in the U.S. and Russian
programs, which have feverishly competed since the Soviet Union
ignited the space race in 1957 by launching the Sputnik satellite.

	Nearly 20 years after Americans and Soviets briefly set aside
their differences in space with the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz docking
mission, the United States and Russia have discovered they have a
lot to learn from each other.

	``It's a new stage: space integration,'' said Piotr Klimuk, a
former cosmonaut and now director of Russia's once-secret Star City
cosmonaut training center just outside Moscow.

	``This is a sea-change, a fundamental change in the strategy of
space activities,'' said James Oberg, a senior American space
engineer and author who follows the Russian space program closely.

	``It's much more than an empty gesture,'' he said in a telephone
interview from Houston. ``It makes concrete an actual shift in
mutual attitudes which has been going on.''

	The Americans come to Russia to learn from the masters of
long-duration space flights. Russia's Mir space station last week
entered its ninth year in orbit, a feat American space experts have
only dreamed of attempting.

	In March 1995, Thagard will ride a Russian rocket into orbit and
spend three months aboard the Mir with a Russian crew. Dunbar is
his backup.

	He will be taken back to Earth aboard a U.S. shuttle which will
carry a replacement Russian crew to the Mir.

	Thagard, a four-trip shuttle veteran, has never spent more than
eight consecutive days in space. Dunbar's longest space trip, her
third, lasted 13 days. Some cosmonauts have spent more than a year
in space, although the usual tour is about six months.

	The first phase of the new U.S.-Russian program was completed
earlier this month when Russian Sergei Krikalev blasted into space
aboard the U.S. shuttle Discovery.

	Thagard and Dunbar will live the lives of cosmonauts for the
next year, staying among dozens of their Russian colleagues in an
11-story apartment building that towers over the firs of Star City.

	Their hosts have outfitted their three-room apartments with
amenities including cable TV and fax and copying machines. When
they want to get away, they'll find Volga sedans at their disposal.

	During five-day work weeks, they will also study technical
procedures and undergo extensive physical training. All of this
will be conducted in Russian and the Americans say they expect
learning the language will be their toughest challenge.

	Thagard and Dunbar will use simulators inside a Soyuz capsule
and an exact replica of the 130-ton space station at Star City.

	Just as the Mir is a symbol of Russia's remarkable success in
space, a symbol of its failure can be found along the frozen Moscow
River in the Russian capital.

	Last fall, while Krikalev trained for his U.S. shuttle mission,
Russia sent one of its Buran space shuttles to Moscow's Gorky Park,
where it is to open in spring as a tourist attraction.

	The Buran shuttles, which closely resemble their U.S. cousins,
have flown only one unmanned mission and likely will never return
to space. The costly program has been quietly shelved as the space
program tries to stretch its dwindling rubles.

	``It's the last, greatest monument to the folly of the space
race, where each country had to build something better than what
the other country had, whether it was really practical or not,''
Oberg said.

	Russia's space program faces other problems as well, including
ongoing talks with neighboring Kazakhstan about the main Soviet
launching facility at Baikonur. It also must contend with the same
severe financial difficulties that have plagued Russia since the
breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

	In the past three years it has sought money by carrying paid
passengers and commercial cargo, plastering ads on the sides of its
rockets and selling memorabilia at Western auctions.

	There there has been little or no spinoff from the space program
into Russian industry, as there has been in the United States.
Although Russians have always been proud of their accomplishments
in space, it could become increasingly difficult to justify the
space budget without some material gains back on Earth.

	``It's one of the things we can teach them about, how to
encourage this technical flow from the space industry into
commercial enterprises,'' Oberg said.

	``America tends to reinvent things, to have fresh teams of
engineers reinvent and expand technologies,'' Oberg said. ``The
Russian approach, which has much to commend it, is a very
evolutionary step-by-step series of improvements over previous
designs, rather than the U.S. policy of revolutionary leaps.

	``Our approach really was the only way to get to the moon or get
a working shuttle,'' he said. ``Our approach has merits. But when
it comes to building a reliable long-term space facility, the
Russian approach is clearly the choice, and we are learning it.''

I am impressed by the accuracy of the results with those two formulae, 
using relatively old elsets. 

I am working on a different model, fitting an equation derived from a
hypothetical atmosphere model to element sets published. I am using
the epoch times of equator crossings, and revolution numbers ( as published
or corrected to agree with average nodal period between elsets ).
I have problems with the solution method, and some convergence problems
probably associated with not considering periodic perturbations. 

With recent elements, I obtain a decay date between March 3 and March 5,
and it is currently visible in the evenings on a large part of the
northern hemisphere, so keep your eyes open!

I know too little of the mass distribution within Progress to say anything
about the chances/risks of anything reaching ground level, but I would
that there is a high probability.

I do not trust formula no.2 using orbit radius only, since it depends too
much on satellite area/mass ratio and atmospheric conditions.

A problem with formula no.1 is that published values of the decay rate seem
to vary too much from elset to elset - much more than errors in predictions
indicate, if a best fit decay factor value is chosen.

A by-product of my method is a very simple estimation formula :
The inverse of the decay rate is linear with time. However, the point
on the time axis where the inverse is zero, is the hypothetical
time when the orbit period would be zero, so you would have to
use the logarithmic integral of the decay rate, and fit it to
mean motion/period values, and compute the time when it reaches
a certain value like 16.6 revs/day or thereabouts. 
For most normal satellites the difference between the extrapolated
zero point and the real decay is about 0.8 days.

If you're interested, take a look at the following values :

      EPOCH            MMDOT(decay)   MM       REVNO           DEC.EST.
22588,94, 60.06115817, .01609213, ,16.32996500, 5258,"93 19  A",94063.2
22588,94, 59.87754592, .01409117, ,16.32321304, 5255,"93 19  A",94063.5
22588,94, 59.69387398, .01170366, ,16.31615270, 5252,"93 19  A",94064.2
22588,94, 59.51011921, .01147575, ,16.31144802, 5249,"93 19  A",94064.2
22588,94, 59.32630772, .01240557, ,16.30767146, 5246,"93 19  A",94063.7
22588,94, 58.83590770, .01024466, ,16.29503241, 5238,"93 19  A",94064.3
22588,94, 58.09967207, .00979372, ,16.27934370, 5226,"93 19  A",94064.0
22588,94, 57.85409882, .00995315, ,16.27469389, 5222,"93 19  A",94063.7
22588,94, 57.30129635, .00992448, ,16.26364538, 5213,"93 19  A",94063.3
22588,94, 57.05550516, .00772068, ,16.25664389, 5209,"93 19  A",94064.9
22588,94, 56.01000079, .00729104, ,16.24002759, 5192,"93 19  A",94064.5
22588,94, 53.66928354, .00914685, ,16.20613552, 5154,"93 19  A",94060.7
22588,94, 52.49693842, .00535068, ,16.18727913, 5135,"93 19  A",94064.8
22588,94, 52.06470303, .00515061, ,16.18090391, 5128,"93 19  A",94065.0
22588,94, 51.50878776, .00502494, ,16.17493536, 5119,"93 19  A",94064.8
22588,94, 51.13807181, .00423219, ,16.16997810, 5113,"93 19  A",94067.0
22588,94, 50.08719784, .00406661, ,16.16069458, 5096,"93 19  A",94066.7
22588,94, 48.10747850, .00409898, ,16.14465106, 5064,"93 19  A",94064.8
22588,94, 47.11688008, .00382354, ,16.13624735, 5048,"93 19  A",94065.1
22588,94, 46.68332985, .00388844, ,16.13305040, 5041,"93 19  A",94064.4
22588,94, 46.24968714, .00380714, ,16.12950201, 5034,"93 19A",94064.4
22588,94, 45.87792903, .00367159, ,16.12654547, 5028,"93 19A",94064.8
22588,94, 44.88624243, .00358812, ,16.11928503, 5012,"93 19A",94064.3
22588,94, 42.21893176, .00327037, ,16.10065504, 4969,"93 19A",94063.7
22588,94, 40.23202333, .00328588, ,16.08795029, 4937,"93 19A",94061.8
22588,94, 39.54865966, .00334192, ,16.08356457, 4926,"93 19A",94060.8
22588,94, 39.23797786, .00351451, ,16.08173232, 4921,"93 19A",94059.4
22588,94, 38.18136746, .00377185, ,16.07454208, 4904,"93 19A",94057.1
22588,94, 34.19948561, .00281316, ,16.05081311, 4840,"93 19A",94059.8
22588,94, 27.71809034, .00231825, ,16.01965602, 4736,"93 19A",94059.1
22588,94, 24.53531897, .00175091, ,16.00593008, 4685,"93 19A",94066.2
22588,94, 19.66294022, .00166500, ,15.98907365, 4607,"93 19A",94063.7
22588,94, 18.16272217, .00172044, ,15.98408626, 4583,"93 19A",94060.8
22588,94, 13.22121753, .00170781, ,15.96846365, 4504,"93 19A",94056.3
22588,94,  3.13585108, .00163415, ,15.93738648, 4343,"93 19A",94048.4

I forgot to note in my text in 362.517  that it was a response to note 362.514.

It was my first or second response ever, and I typed it in a hurry because of
the short time left in orbit for Progress M-17.

There is also a MIR debris object due to decay around 
March 02, 1986-017 HC, catalog #22637, in a similar orbit, and around
March 04, 1986-017 HU, catalog #22866, in an orbit about 15 degrees W of:
March 04, 1993-019 A , catalog #22588, which is Progress M-17

Article: 2170
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
From: dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com (Dennis Newkirk)
Subject: VSA047 Mir mission update
Organization: Motorola
Date: Wed, 18 May 1994 18:08:40 GMT
Sender: news@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News)
 
**************************************************************
*  VSA047         02-04-1994         (c) Sergey  A. Voevodin *
**************************************************************
 
                Mir the 14th Resident Mission
 
Soyuz TM-17  L     01.07.93      14:32:58 GMT
             D     03.07.93      16:24:03 GMT
             U     14.01.94      04:37:11 GMT
             LD    14.01.94      08:18:20 GMT
 
             Tsibliyev/Serebrov duration:   196d  17h 45m 22s
 
Progress M-19    L     10.08.93        22:23:45    GMT
                 D     13.08.93        00:O0:OO    GMT
                 U     12.1O.93        17:59:08    GMT
                 B     12.1O.93        ??:??:??    GMT
                 LCE   12.1O.93        ??:??:??    GMT
                 LD    13.1O.93        00:22:??    GMT
 
Progress M-17    U     11.O5.93        15:36:42    GMT
 
Progress M-20    L     11.10.93        21:33:19    GMT
                 D     13.1O.93        23:24:48    GMT
                 U     21.11.93        02:38:43    GMT
                 B     21.11.93        ??.??.??    GMT
                 LCE   21.11.93        ??.??.??    GMT
                 LD    21.11.93        09:06:93    GMT
 
Soyuz TM-18      L     08.01.94        10:05:34.081   GMT
                 D     10.01.94        11:50:20  GMT
 
Tsibliyev/Serebrov EVAs:

1. 16.09.93  open 05:57:30  close 10:16:??   EVA durartion 4h 18m
2. 20:09:93       03:51:50        07:05:40                 3h 14m
3. 28.09.93       00:57:??        02:48:40                 1h 52m
4. 22.10.93       15:47:28        16:25:??                 38m
5. 29.10.93       13:38:??        17:50:??                 4h  12m
 
Abbreviation: L - Launch; D - Docking; U - Undocking; 
RD - redocking; B - TDU-burn; LCE - landing capsule ejection; 
LD - landing; DS - destruction
 
 
* I'm just passing this on for Sergey, any typo's are the result of
my scanner, not Sergey.
 
Dennis Newkirk (dennisn@ecs.comm.mot.com)
Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Schaumburg, IL

Article: 2280
From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: NASA's "Russian Experts"
Date: 24 May 1994 13:10:04 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
 
At NASA's press conference on Russian cooperation Monday (May 16), top
officials continued to insist that the Russian Soyuz mission to carry
Norm Thagard into orbit next March will be called "Soyuz-18". This
terminology was used in charts and in statements by officials. 
 
Since late last year, NASA has consistently used the designation
"Soyuz-18", particularly in reports to the White House, to the
Congress, and in press releases. 
 
The actual designation, of course, will be "Soyuz TM-21". Soyuz TM-18
(Afanasyev, Usachyov, Polyakov) is currently in flight, TM-19 will be
launched June 24 (Malenchenko, Musabayev), TM-20 will be launched Oct
3 (Viktorenko, Kondakova, Merbold), and TM-21 follows next year.
Meanwhile, the REAL "Soyuz-18" was launched twenty years ago. But when
outside experts have tried to bring this minor but revealing
terminology error to NASA's attention, they have been arrogantly
rebuffed. NASA officials huffily proclaim that THEIR experts know best
and that THEY do not need outside advice. 
 
This may seem only a trivial, superficial issue, but it raises some
fundamental questions. Just how shallow and misinformed is NASA
in-house expertise on the Russian space program if they can't get
something SIMPLE like this correct? 
 
The source of the confusion probably lies with the Russian practice of
numbering "main expeditions" to space stations, in sequence, and in
parallel to numbering the spacecraft and launch vehicles (since a main
crew may use more than one spacecraft over the course of its
expedition). And indeed, Thagard (together with cosmonauts Dezhurov
and Strekalov) will be the 18th "main expedition" to Mir. 
 
(The officials even had trouble with the spelling of Dezhurov's name.
At first they spelled it "Dejourov", a half-French-style
transliteration that was at variance with standard cyrillic-to-English
transliteration. Then they tried "Dezhourov", which was better.
"Dezhurov" is the ONE standard way that everyone else in the
English-speaking world will use, except -- apparently -- NASA.) 
 
Sometimes the Dezhurov-Strekalov-Thagard crew is referred to as the
"Mir-18" crew, which is another sloppy NASA terminology error. 
Although they are part of what the Russians call "EO-18" (main
expedition #18), there have also been some "visiting expeditions"
(short term stays) to Mir, so Dezhurov's crew will NOT be the 18th
CREW to Mir, just the 18th "main expedition". 
 
NASA just can't seem to get it right, but it's not that complicated or
that difficult. They just need to call on some REAL experts, and then
trust the people with REAL track records (there are a good number of
them out there). Instead, they have their own in-house
officially-designated "experts" who can't seem to even keep Russian
spacecraft names straight. But being "right" is not the requirement,
it seems. Being "NASA official" is more important, no matter whatever
the reality happens to be. 
 
These are the same guys, recall, who have been publicly promulgating
falsehoods about the track record of the Russian "Salyut Tug", which
is to be the base block of the International Space Station. The last
time that this module was the base block of a space station was the
Polyus launch in 1987 atop Energiya-1, and the module failed
miserably. The entire space station was lost. NASA officials and
official NASA reference documents still insist that this failure never
occurred and that "all Tug flights have been successful". 
 
We got problems, folks.  To be polite, could we use the politically
correct term "reality-challenged" to refer to these kinds of experts? 
 
Article: 2283
From: tfrielin@catfish.bbc.peachnet.edu (Thomas J. Frieling)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: NASA's "Russian Experts"
Date: Tue, 24 May 1994 13:24:58
Organization: Bainbridge College
 
Look Jim, NASA pioneered screwing up mission desinations--look at all
that STS-41-C, etc. crap and even today it is NASA common sense to fly
mission numbers out of sequence (a practice that dates back at least
to the Saturn 1 program).  But I do agree that it is rather insulting
to our Russian partners to have this particular brand of bureaucratic
mumbo jumbo laid on them. 
 
"Reality? We don't need no stinking reality!"

Article: 2290
From: higgins@fnalv.fnal.gov (Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Transliterating Russian (was Re: NASA's "Russian Experts")
Date: 24 May 94 17:23:51 -0600
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
 
In article <2rtcdc$5cn@search01.news.aol.com>, jamesoberg@aol.com
(JamesOberg) writes: 

> (The officials even had trouble with the spelling of Dezhurov's name.
> At first
> they spelled it "Dejourov", a half-French-style transliteration that
> was at
> variance with standard cyrillic-to-English transliteration. Then they
> tried
> "Dezhourov", which was better. "Dezhurov" is the ONE standard way
> that everyone
> else in the English-speaking world will use, except -- apparently --
> NASA.)
 
Those of us not versed in Russian (I know *most* of the letters in the
Cyrillic alphabet...) find the question of transliteration bewildering.  
At the very least, it seems an exaggeration that "everyone else in the 
English-speaking world" will use a single system of transliteration.  
But it may be true-- I'm ignorant!  We see a variety of spellings for 
many Russian/Soviet names in various publications. 
 
I'd appreciate hearing a little more about this subject, though you're
not the only person on the Net I could ask, I guess.  Still, it would
be nice to know the Official James Oberg Fan Club Transliterations for
such names as Korolev, Tsiolkovsky, Energiya, and so forth.  Then your
fans could use the correct spellings and look down their noses at
people who subscribe to competing transliterations. 
 
                  [o]
                  [|]   ///        Bill Higgins
   E               H   ///
  |8D:O:          occc))))<))      Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
   E               H ///
                  [|]//            Bitnet: HIGGINS@FNALB.BITNET
                  [|]
Bumper sticker seen on a Soyuz:    SPAN/Hepnet/Physnet: 43011::HIGGINS
       MY OTHER SPACESHIP 
           IS A byPAH              Internet: HIGGINS@FNALB.FNAL.GOV

Article: 2327
From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: Transliterating Russian (was Re: NASA's "Russian Experts")
Date: 26 May 1994 00:23:03 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
 
The basic transliteration style manual is pretty straightforward
EXCEPT for the "yo" letter (e with double dots), which is usually just
spelled "e" (although I prefer the closer phonetic version, "yo", as
in Korolyov). And sometimes the "i" and "y" ("short "i") are combined,
although the "correct" transliteration is "Yuriy", not "Yuri"
(convention allows "Yuri" even though it's not "correct" way, it's
indistinguishable phonetically). Lastly, the "KS" in Russian is
sometimes just abbreviated in English as "X", as in "Aleksei",
although the formal version should be "Aleksey". I don't quibble over
those because there ARE different versions. But the "ZH" sound is a
"J" only in French, except that in that case, the French always
transliterate the final "-v" as "-ff" (which is actually how it
sounds). 
 
The issue is consistency.  Once you spell a name KUBASOV, you don't go
and respell it Koubassoff. Ditto Dezhurov. 
 
Sure, it's a trivial item worth only a few teases.  But there are
bigger problems out there.... 
 
Article: 2336
From: clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: NASA's Russian "Experts" [was Re: Transliterating Russian
         (was Re: NASA's "Russian Experts")] 
Date: 26 May 1994 15:26:48 GMT
Organization: Kendall Square Research Corp
 
In article <2s1877$2ou@search01.news.aol.com>, jamesoberg@aol
(JamesOberg) writes: 

>The basic transliteration style manual is pretty straightforward
[transliteration lesson deleted]
 
>Sure, it's a trivial item worth only a few teases. But there are
>bigger problems out there....
 
Upon rereading your earlier posts, specifically on the ANSER visit to
Baikonur, I found a slightly less trivial item: 
 
(from <2pi982$jlk@search01.news.aol.com>, posted on 26 April 1994): 
 
"Proton Processing
 
 ANSER also toured a Proton vehicle processing facility where the
vehicle stages are mated and tested and the payload is mated to the
booster. The vehicle processing facility has a capacity of three
complete launch vehicles, including strap-on boosters." 
 
Proton launchers don't HAVE strap-on boosters.  I know it sort of
looks like it, and I recall you wondering about this years ago from
studying film of the Salyut 1 launch, but, since the Russians have
published all sorts of information about the Proton for years now, an
expert could reasonably be expected to know those are propellant tanks
(fuel, I think) more analogous to those on the Saturn I and IB than to
strap-ons. 
--
Chris Jones    clj@ksr.com

Article: 2337
From: clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: NASA's Russian "Experts"
Date: 26 May 1994 15:31:26 GMT
Organization: Kendall Square Research Corp
 
Since I may not have made it clear enough in my earlier posting, I was
quoting James Oberg's article which was quoting the ANSER report.  It
was ANSER's qualifications as experts I was questioning, not Mr. Oberg's, 
who I'm sure is more familiar with Proton's configuration than I. 
-- 
Chris Jones    clj@ksr.com

Article: 2298
From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Next Soyuz Delayed
Date: 25 May 1994 01:02:02 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
 
Note of Interest: Soyuz TM-19 launch delayed
 
When ITAR-TASS on May17 said that the next launch would be delayed
from Jun20 (or Jun24) until no earlier than July 20, some of my
friends said they'd heard as early as May14 about the delay. Some
Soyuz manufacture problems were blamed, but I also heard that booster
problems like last time had also been involved. 
 
Afanasyev had been slated for 179 days, which together with his
previous 175 days still left him short of a year. Now he will become
the ninth man to exceed one full year space flight experience. 
 
Latest word is that no veteran third crewman will be needed to
accompany the two rookies Malenchenko (whose name I first saw on the
locker room roster at Starry Town in 1989) and Musabayev (whose
technical qualifications have been questioned by many Russian space
folks). If so, perhaps the planned 14-day overlap will be shortened
to the standard 8 day mission.
 
After all, if an extra 30 days is added to the current mission, the
Soyuz TM-18 will spend 209 days in orbit, compared to the longest
previous Soyuz flight of 197 days. If the overlap is reduced, the
Soyuz duration drops to 201 days, still a record, but not
significantly longer.
 
ITAR-Tass says that Polyakov's total duration won't be affected, and
this suggests that the 30 days will be taken OUT of the next crew's
duration, dropping it from 120 to 90 days. But they still have two
space walks.
 
Any comments??

Article: 2321
From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: Next Soyuz Delayed
Date: 25 May 1994 21:37:07 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
 
Now we're officially told there is NO planned delay of the next launch!
 
The reported Soyuz TM-19 launch delay from June 20 to "no earlier than
July 20" meant a Soyuz TM-18 mission duration of about 205 days, which
would have allowed Afanasyev to break the career cumulative "full year
in space" mark. He would then be the 10th person to do so (I said
"8th" in an earlier message without checking my archives -- sorry!).
Polyakov also broke the year mark just recently, on May 12, with his
first flight of 241 days added to his second flight which began
January 8 and will last about 430 days. The others in order of their
setting that mark as as follows, along with to-date career flight
totals (days): 
 
1. Kizim (376)
2. Romanenko (430)
3. Titov, Vladimir (368)
4. Manarov (541)
5. Volkov,A. (389)
6. Krikalyov (463)
7. Solovyov,A (378)
8. Serebrov (373)
9. Polyakov (about 670)
MAYBE == 10. Afanasyev (about 380)
 
Viktorenko will be next (10th 11th) to break this mark, with his
3-flight total of 320 already and with a flight of about 120 days due
to begin about October 3 of this year. Strekalov (Soyuz TM-21 next
March) has only 154 days on four and a half flights, so his 90 more
days in 1995 won't get him close. Titov will get 8-10 more days aboard
STS-63 early next year. Solovyov already has broken the mark, but will
get more time after he takes over Mir following the STS-71 mission in
May. Krikalyov is bound to fly again after he returns to Russia next year. 
 
Note that Krikalyov, Serebrov, and perhaps now Afanasyev all broke the
mark only due to unplanned extensions of their missions once they had
gotten into orbit! 
 
There is no realistic prospect for any American astronaut breaking
this mark until the next millenium. 
 
Watch the new launch date rumors, and keep counting.......
 

From:	US4RMC::"magliaco@pilot.njin.net" "John Magliacane" 23-JUN-1994 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 20-Jun-94 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0620
* SpaceNews 20-Jun-94 *
 
BID: $SPC0620
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                          MONDAY JUNE 20, 1994
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR NEWS *
============
Progress M-23 docked with the Mir complex at 0618 UTC on May 24.  The
EO-15 commander and flight engineer, Viktor Afanas'ev and Yuriy Usachyov, 
will be replaced this month by the EO-16 crew, Yuriy Malenchenko and 
Talgat Musabaev, who will be launched on the Soyuz TM-19 ferry ship on 
June 20. Physician-cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov will remain aboard Mir.  
Both Malenchenko, a Russian Air Force cosmonaut, and Musabaev, a Kazakh 
Space Agency cosmonaut, will be on their first flights. 
 
[Info via Jonathan McDowell]
 
* SPACE CALENDAR *
==================
The following is a tentative calendar of space related events for the  
next several weeks.
 
Jun 20-23 - International Conference of Environmental Systems, Germany
Jun 24    - UHF Follow-On Atlas Launch
Jun 24    - Soyuz TM-19 Launch (Russian)
Jun 25-26 - Space Auction, Superior Galleries, Beverly Hills, California
Jun 25-26 - Universe 94 Conference, Flagstaff, Arizona
Jun 27    - Ulysses, Begin of 1st Solar Passage (-70.07 degrees latitude)
 
Jul 04 - Soyuz TM-18 Landing (Russian)
Jul 08 - STS-65, Columbia, International Microgravity Lab #2 (IML-2)
Jul 09 - 15th Anniversary (1979), Voyager 2, Jupiter Flyby
Jul 11 - 15th Anniversary (1979), Skylab Re-enters Earth's Atmosphere
Jul 16-22 - Comet Shoemaker-Levy 1993e Collision with Jupiter
Jul 16 - 25th Anniversary (1969), Apollo 11 Launch
Jul 20 - 25th Anniversary (1969), Man on the Moon (Apollo 11)
Jul 24 - 25th Anniversary (1969), Apollo 11 Return to Earth
Jul 28 - 30th Anniversary (1964), Ranger 7 Launch (Moon Impact Mission)
Jul 28 - DirectTV Atlas II Launch
Jul 31 - 25th Anniversary (1969), Mariner 6, Mars Flyby
 
[Info via Ron Baalke at JPL]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX      : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET   : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org -or- magliaco@pilot.njin.net
 
MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Engineering and Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> 
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: magliaco@pilot.njin.net
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

From:	GEMVAX::US4RMC::"ESAPRESS%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de" "ESAPRESS list"  
        4-JUL-1994 11:36:22.16
To:	Multiple recipients of list ESAPRESS <ESAPRESS%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de>
CC:	
Subj:	 

Press Release Nr.19-94
Paris, 29 June 1994

EUROMIR 94 Press Conference at ESA/EAC
Last appearance of ESA astronauts in western Europe.

The first ESA manned spaceflight with Russia is scheduled for 3
October this year. This 30 day-long mission, dubbed EUROMIR 94, will
see the participation of ESA's astronaut Ulf Merbold, from Germany.
Pedro Duque, from Spain, is also training for the same mission and has
been assigned to the stand-by crew. 

On Thursday 14 July 1994, ESA's European Astronauts Centre (EAC) in
Cologne, Germany, will host a press conference to highlight the
EUROMIR 94 mission. This will also be the last opportunity for the
media to interview the ESA astronauts in western Europe before the
mission begins. 

The programme will also include a visit to DLR's (*) Microgravity
Users Support Centre (MUSC), which will play a major role during the
mission in helping experimenters plan their operations. 

The programme of the event will be as follows:

13:45 hrs              Registration.
14:00 hrs              "A first step for ESA's co-operation
                       with Russia in manned space flights", J.
                       Feustel-B chl, ESA Director of Manned
                       Spaceflight and Microgravity.
                       "EUROMIR 94 mission, presentation
                       and status", W. Nellessen, ESA
                       EUROMIR Project Manager.
14:30 hrs              Q&A session, including ESA astronauts
                       Ulf Merbold and Pedro Duque and
                       Russian cosmonauts Alexander
                       Viktorenko and Sergiej Avdejev.
15:00 hrs              Individual interviews.
16:00 hrs              Presentation and visit of DLR's MUSC facility.
17:00 hrs              Cocktail.
18:00 hrs              End of event.

Media representatives wishing to participate in the press conference
are requested to fill-out and return the attached form directly to
ESA/EAC, Public Relations. 

(*) DLR:        Deutsche Forschungsanstalt f r Luft-und-Raumfahrt-
 German Aerospace Research Establishment

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date:         Mon, 4 Jul 1994 17:26:15 EST
% Reply-To: ESAPRESS list <ESAPRESS%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de>
% Sender: ESAPRESS list <ESAPRESS%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de>
% Comments:     Converted from PROFS to RFC822 format by PUMP V2.2X
% From: MAILRP%ESA.BITNET@vm.gmd.de
% To: Multiple recipients of list ESAPRESS <ESAPRESS%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de>

From:	US1RMC::"magliaco@pilot.njin.net" "John Magliacane" 12-AUG-1994 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 15-Aug-94 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0815
* SpaceNews 15-Aug-94 *
 
BID: $SPC0815
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                         MONDAY AUGUST 15, 1994
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR NEWS *
============

The Soyuz-TM20 spacecraft will be launched to the Mir space station on
03-Oct-94 carrying a European cosmonaut who will remain on Mir for 30 days.  
The visiting cosmonaut will conduct experiments relating to life sciences 
including the monitoring of the human body in microgravity conditions.
 
The launch of the Progress-M24 cargo vehicle to Mir that was originally 
supposed to be launched during the July/August 1994 time frame has been 
postponed because of economic reasons.  Progress-M24 is now expected to be 
launched on 24-Aug-94 and will deliver the normal cargo to the Mir complex 
in addition to equipment to be used by the European cosmonaut (Ulf Merbold 
or Pedro Duque) during the EuroMir94 mission in October 1994. 
 
[Info via Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX       : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET    : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET  : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16 
 
MAIL      : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
            Department of Engineering and Technology
            Advanced Technology Center
            Brookdale Community College
            Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
            U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> 
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: magliaco@pilot.njin.net
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

From:	US1RMC::"ASTRO%GITVM1.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu" "Astronomy Discussion 
        List" 30-AUG-1994 04:55:52.30
To:	Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%GITVM1.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
CC:	
Subj:	Mir space chase is on!

Subject: Mir space chase is on!
Newsgroups: ie.news,ie.events,ie.announce,ie.general,uk.announce,uk.misc,uk.org.
            starlink.misc,uk.radio.amateur,uk.events
Summary:
Keywords:

Mir is visible over Ireland and U.K. every night until September 2nd.
Last Thu (Aug 25) a Progress resupply craft was launched to dock with
Mir on Saturday. It did not. I saw it 50km (6 seconds) ahead of Mir on
Saturday night. Mir was seen from south coast of Ireland on Sunday and
from east coast of Ireland tonight Monday. On every occasion the
Progress craft was about 5 degrees ahead of Mir in the sky. Looks like
they've got problems. Last sighting was at 20:26UT Aug. 29. 

If you're in UK/Ireland you can get a list of predictions of when to
watch via ftp from ftp.iol.ie in /users/ai/ai-iol.mir. If you're
interested we also update the first line of our recordings on  the
newslines below every day  before noon with the very latest prediciton
of when to watch. 

It's well worth getting out to watch Mir with its three men on board.
The Progress craft was as bright as most of the real stars in the sky
yet Mir itself was 40 times brighter so it is an unmistakable sight
taking a few minutes to cross the sky from west to east. 

Good luck and let us know what you see.

--
David Moore BSc FRAS, Editor of "Astronomy & Space" magazine.
(ai@iol.ie) Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 1.
Tel: +353-1-459 8883. Fax: +353-1-459 9933. Irish News: 1550-111-442
____________________U. K. NEWSLINE: 0891-88-1950____________________

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date:         Tue, 30 Aug 1994 03:24:49 +0100
% Reply-To: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%GITVM1.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
% Sender: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%GITVM1.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
% From: Astronomy Ireland <ai@IOL.IE>
% Subject:      Mir space chase is on!
% X-To:         ASTRO%gitvm1.bitnet@irlearn.ucd.ie
% To: Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%GITVM1.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>

Article: 69736
From: dk058@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Walter Nissen)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Re: Mir space chase
Date: 31 Aug 1994 00:05:28 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
 
I just heard Connie Chung report, on the CBS Evening News, that the second
docking attempt of the Progress cargo tug failed and that if the third
attempt fails, that might impair the mission of the cosmonauts.

Article: 69740
From: ai@iol.ie (Astronomy Ireland)
Subject: Mir in trouble
Date: 31 Aug 1994 01:20:56 GMT
Organization: Ireland On-Line
 
Following a failed docking over the weekend, controllers tried to dock 
the Progress resupply craft again today (Tue. Aug. 30) and failed yet 
again. They've got one last try tomorrow. If unsuccessful, the  3 men on 
board may have to return. Poliakov's space endurance record challenge 
will be over. Mir will be unmanned for  first time in 5 years(?). All 
because  of  the first Progress  docking failure in 60+ dockings I believe.
 
This Progress was already late as the food for it was stolen!
I hear the cosmonauts are complaining they have to eat stale food already.
 
Those in Ireland and U.K.can see both craft as announced previously:
predictions  via ftp from ftp.iol.ie in /users/ai/ai-iol.mir
or  call the  newslines below for the times to watch.
 
This  is the  biggest space story at the moment, surely?
 
--
David Moore BSc FRAS, Editor of "Astronomy & Space" magazine.
(ai@iol.ie) Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 1.
Tel: +353-1-459 8883. Fax: +353-1-459 9933. Irish News: 1550-111-442
____________________U. K. NEWSLINE: 0891-88-1950____________________

Article: 3266
From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.tech
Subject: New Progress launch
Date: 28 Aug 1994 10:44:02 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
 
So Russia launches its delayed automated Progress resupply flight to Mir
on Thursday, while the cosmonauts on Mir are complaining about stale food
and recycled water, and the only way to even learn about it is phone calls
to contacts in Moscow. What's with this US media blackout of
"uninteresting" space news?
 
And has anyone heard if the linkup yesterday was successful?

Article: 5254
From: jlgreen@clark.net (jennifer green)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Progress Failed Docking
Date: 30 Aug 1994 20:07:42 GMT
Organization: Clark Internet Services, Inc., Ellicott City, MD USA
 
According to Reuter's, the current Progress failed to dock for a second 
time on Tuesday. Currently they don't have enough fuel for a second 
docking attempt, but apparently they are going to make another try somehow. 
If they can't dock with the third try, the cosmonauts will have to leave 
the Station. In addition, the Oct. 4 German mission is in doubt. 
 
Yesterday they reported that Mir was moving too much for the sensitive 
Progress docking mechanism. Doesn't sound good...
 
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jennifer Green    | WWW Server on US/Russian Space Programs        
 jlgreen@clark.net | http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~jgreen/fpspace.html 
-------------------------------------------------------------------

From:	US1RMC::"rstein%jscdm@jesnic.jsc.nasa.gov" "MAIL-11 Daemon"  1-SEP-1994 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	Soviet Progress Fails Second Attmpt

Russian manned space programme depends on today's docking

30/8 TASS 76

Moscow August 30 ITAR - By ITAR-TASS correspondents Veronika Romanenkova and
Viktor Gritsenko:

This Tuesday looks like one of the most tense workdays at the Space Flight
Control Centre.  The second attempt at docking between the Progress M-24 ferry
and the Mir Space Station is scheduled for 18:53, Moscow time.

The implementation of the Russian manned space programme and a flight by a
representative from the European Space Agency (ESA) depends on a successful
docking.  Besides, several dozen millions of dollars are at stake.

The Progress M-24, fired off on August 25, was to be docked to the Mir Station
on Saturday evening.  However, its rendezvous regime switched off
automatically some 150 meters away from the station.

The ferry was switched over to controlled independent flight.  A special
commission which analysed the failure on Monday evening, decided to make the
second attempt at docking.  ITAR-TASS was assured at the Flight Control Centre
that adequate measures will be taken to make a successful docking.

The Progress carries about two tonnes of goods.  These are foodstuffs,
consumable materials and fuel.  Besides, the ferry is to bring to the orbit,
under contracts, American and Japanese containers to carry out explorations
ordered by these countries as well as ESA equipment for the flight of its
representative Oelf Merbold.

If all this "luggage" is not delivered to the Mir station, the Russian side
will possibly have to pay a forfeit to its partners.

Cosmanauts Yuri Malenchenko, Talgat Musabayev and Valery Polyakov, now
working at the station, are also worried.  The continuation of their work in
orbit depends on a successful docking, since the stock of foodstuffs is to
last till the end of September.

Today's attempt at docking is the second and evidently the last one: the
Progress has fuel only for another attempt.  If it fails, the ferry's travel
on the orbit will be stopped, and it will burn down on entering the upper
layers of the atmosphere.

Further events may develop along two versions: the leaders of the space
industry may decided to launch a new ferry, or the cosmanauts will be
returned to Earth.

Both versions are extremely undesireble.  In the first case, it will be
necessary to manufacture a new Progress and a booster rocket, which will take
about 45 days and several billion roubles.

Besides, it is improbable that the European Space Agency will have time
enough to produce new equipment for its Austronaut.  In the second, the
Russian manned space programme, closely connected with dozens of international
contracts, will be suspended.

Item ends

[Tue Aug 30 10:44:08 1994 - 242t2834]OSTED BY COMTEX AT VMSPFHOU ON
VMSPFHOU.VMBOARDS:SPACENEW 

Russian space specialists still hopeful for docking in space

31/8 TASS 87

Moscow August 31 ITAR -- By ITAR-TASS Correspondent Viktor Gritsenko:

Specialists at the Russian Space Mission Control Centre outside Moscow have
not ruled out the possibility of a successful docking, after two abortive
attempts, between the space ferry Progress M-24 and the space complex Mir.

A conference is under way in the mission control centre which is considering
technical problems of the docking and preparing recommendations to be
submitted to the Inter-State Commission which will make the final decision.

The commission headed by Colonel-General Vladimir Ivanov, Commander of the
Russian Military Space Forces, is expected to make the decision on Wednesday
evening, competent sources told ITAR-TASS.

If a go-ahead is given to the last attempt (there is just enough fuel to make
one last try), the docking will proceed as follows: until the two spacecraft
reach a distance of one kilometer from each other, the process will be
controlled automatically and then Mir Commander Yuri Malenchenko will take
over to control the process from the spaceship Soyuz TM-19 which docked with
the station Mir earlier.

Malenchenko, 32, has worked aboard the station Mir for two months on his
first space mission and has not yet managed any docking in space, although he
had extensive training on land.  Specialists say he had passed all tests with
flying colours.

The crew on board the Mir station has enough food to last until September 15
and fuel for one last docking, because manual controls result in a greater
fuel spending.

If the last attempt fails, the crew will have to return to Earth, even though
the space complex Mir, which has been out there for eight years, needs a
permanent presence of humans on board to operate it.  If all the cosmonauts
abandon the complex, which is not ruled out, Mir will cease to exist soon,
just as the previous space station, Salyut-7, did a few years ago.

Item ends

[Wed Aug 31 09:09:56 1994 - 243t2944]OSTED BY COMTEX AT VMSPFHOU ON
VMSPFHOU.VMBOARDS:SPACENEW 

Russian second space docking attempt fails

30/8 TASS 186

Moscow August 30 ITAR - By ITAR-TASS:

The second attempt of docking between the Progress ferry and the Mir space
station failed on Tuesday, ITAR-TASS learnt at the flight control centre.

Item ends

[Wed Aug 31 08:13:02 1994 - 242t2887]OSTED BY COMTEX AT VMSPFHOU ON

gee I have not copied tass satellite link to Cuba in a long time
    but I see they are still droping bits... I though it was my
    receiveing equipment but its not,, here is the current status from
    TASS:
    
COSMONAUT TO RESCUE TOMORROW'S DOCKING AND SPACE INDUSTRY

1/9 TASS 61

MOSCOW  SEPTEMBER 1 ITAR - BY ITAR-TASS ANALYST VERONIKA  ROMANENKOVA:

THE FATE OF THE RUSSIAN PROGRAMME FOR MANNED SPACE MISSIONS  AND, CONSEQUENTLY, 
THE PRESTIGE OF THE INDUSTRY ARE LITERALLY IN  THE HANDS OF ONE MAN 
-- YURI MALENCHENKO, 32, COMMANDER OF THE  PRESENT SPACE CREW, NOW HURTLING 
ROUND THE EARTH ABOARD THE MIR 

HE WILL MAKE THE THIRD ATTEMPT ON FRIDAY TO DOCK THE PROGRESS  M-24 FERRY 
TO THE MIR RESEARCH COMPLEX. FOR THIS PURPOSE, HE WILL MOVE FROM THE STATION 
TO THE SOYUZ TM-19 SHIP, DOCKED TO THE  COMPLEX EARLIER, AND WILL CARRY OUT 
THE DOCKING OPERATION  MANUA

ATTEMPTS TO DOCK THE FERRY TO THE RESEARCH COMPLEX  AUTOMATICALLY TURNED TO BE 
FUTILE LAST SATURDAY AND LAST TUESDAY  THIS WEEK. THE SATELLITE STUBBORNLY 
PASSED THE STATION ON BOTH  OCCASIONS. RESEARCHERS ON EARTH COULD NOT FIND THE 
REASON FOR  MALFUNCTIO

THE ENTIRE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OPERATION NOW RESTS WITH  MALENCHENKO, 
MAKING HIS FIRST SPACE FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT ENGINEER,  KAZAKH TALGAT MUSABAYEV, 
AND DOCTOR COSMONAUT VALERI POLYAKOV,  WHO HAVE NO EXPERIENCE OF WORK IN SPACE, 
WILL BE OF SMALL HELP TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE INDUSTRY CANNOT PERMIT ITSELF
THE LOSS OF THE FERRY. IF THE CARGO ABOARD THE FERRY IS NOT BROUGHT TO THE 
COSMONAUTS, IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO CONTINUE THEIR  MISSION.

ALL OTHER FLIGHTS WILL BE PUT OFF FOR A CONSIDERABLE PERIOD,  THE PROGRAMME OF 
WHICH WAS ALREADY SET BY THE RUSSIAN SPACE  AGENCY FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, 
WITH ONE FOREIGN ASTRONAUT  PARTICIPATING IN EACH MISSION.

UNDER CONTRACTS, PART OF MONEY WAS ALREADY RECEIVED, WHICH WAS VERY HANDY FOR
THE INDUSTRY NOW IN DIRE NEED.

IT IS QUITE PROBABLE, SOME SPECIALISTS BELIEVE, THAT ECONOMIC  DIFFICULTIES
OF THE HITHERTO THRIVING INDUSTRY ARE TO BLAME FOR  THE DOUBLE FAILURE WITH 
THE DOCKING. SALARIES OF WORKERS  ASSEMBLING SATELLITES AVERAGE SOME 200,000 
ROUBLES (UNDER 100  U.S. D PEOPLE FULFILLING THIS WORK LOSE RESPONSIBILITY AS 
WELL AS  ENTHUSIASM, OF  WHICH THE SPACE INDUSTRY WAS SO PROUD IN THE PAST. 
BESIDES, IT BECOMES INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO PURCHASE  APPROPRIATE INSTRUMENTS 
AND MATERIALS. INCIDENTALLY, THEIR  QUALITY ALSO  ALTHOUGH VARIOUS EMERGENCIES 
OCCURRED IN ORBIT REPEATEDLY, THE PRESENT CASE IS SPECIAL. NOT ONLY THE 
PRESTIGE OF RUSSIAN MANNED  SPACE EXPLORATIONS ARE AT STAKE.

APART FROM PAYING A BIG FORFEIT TO FOREIGN PARTNERS, IF THE  FERRY IS LOST, 
RUSSIA WILL LOSE THEM, SINCE THEIR SMALL (EVEN  NOW) WISH TO COOPERATE WITH 
RUSSIANS WILL DISAPPEAR INTO THIN  YEAR. THE MOST APPEALING IDEA FOR 
FOREIGNERS WAS A CHANCE TO MAKE JO IT IS ALSO PLANNED TO ACTIVELY USE THE 
RESEARCH COMPLEX IN  BUILDING AN INTERNATIONAL ORBITAL STATION. THIS PROJECT 
CAN BE  REVIEWED IF THE MIR SPACE COMPLEX STOPS TO EXIST IN CASE OF A  DOCKING 
FAILURE.

THEREFORE, SPECIALISTS PIN THEIR HOPES ON THE THIRD ATTEMPT.  
THEY LOOK FOR OTHER WAYS OUT AT THE SAME TIME. 
ONE OF THEM IS TO  MANUFACTURE URGENTLY ANOTHER FERRY, 
WHICH WILL TAKE ABOUT 45  DAYS.

ITEM ENDS

[Thu Sep 01 08:27:50 1994 - 244t3024]OSTED BY COMTEX AT
 VMSPFHOU ON VMSPFHOU.VMBOARDS:SPACENEW
    

Article: 5318
From: charles@tranquest.com (Charles Radley)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: New Progress launch
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 94 09:49:28 GMT
Organization: Tranquest Corporation
 
Since nobody mentioned it.....
 
The Progress presently in orbit carries three NASA experiments.
 
The first NASA experiments provided to be installed on a Russian
manned spacecraft.
 
It is therefore a very historic mission, and a real shame if it fails.
 

    re .last few
    
    Are there other options to get at least part of the supplies e.g. dock
    the return vehicle with the supply vehicle using the return vehicle as
    a ferry (over 150 metres or so)? Or if they are really desperate, are
    the items packed in a way (i.e. could survive exposure to space) that
    would allow manual transfer? Do they have a long enough tether?
    
    Getting some of the supplies could be useful if it extended the time
    that the cosmonauts could remain on board until after another supply
    vehicle could be sent (stated as some 45 days).

I find it amazing and kind of hard to believe that the failure of a single
supply mission could -- permanently -- end the use of Mir (as was suggested in
some of the posts). If so, the planning was too optomistic and/or the margins
way too thin (which is I suppose believable).
						-- Tom

	Re: last few

	Reports over internet indicate a successful docking. Hope to get
	more info later.

	Susan

Yes, a Globe article yesterday said that Cosmonaut YURI MALENCHENKO manually
docked the Progress.  I believe that he was sitting the the Soyuz and
controlling both the Progress and Mir from that position.  Not clear if S. was
actually powered up and undocked, or if its windows just happened to provide a
good view or exactly what.  (I don't think I would have wanted to undock given
the circumstances!)

I think this is probably a big boost not only the the Russian space program but
to the US one as well.  Think of all the joint ventures that would be sunk if
Mir was abandoned, not to mention the loss of confidence.  Of course that is a
psychological thing mostly.  Let's face it...confidence perhaps SHOULD be a bit
shaky given the close nature of this whole affair.

Burns

re .533
    
>(I don't think I would have wanted to undock given the circumstances!)
    
    I know what you mean but...
    
    maybe they were already packed, loaded etc. and if things had gone wrong
    being in the undocked Soyuz would have been the *best* place to be. (-:
    
>Let's face it...confidence perhaps SHOULD be a bit shaky given the close
>nature of this whole affair.
    
    Their docking system has never been perfect (they've had failures on
    first attempt before) but I must admit that I didn't realise the
    margins were so slim.

>>(I don't think I would have wanted to undock given the circumstances!)
>    
>    I know what you mean but...
>    
>    maybe they were already packed, loaded etc. and if things had gone wrong
>    being in the undocked Soyuz would have been the *best* place to be. (-:

Good point. 
   
>>Let's face it...confidence perhaps SHOULD be a bit shaky given the close
>>nature of this whole affair.
>    
>    Their docking system has never been perfect (they've had failures on
>    first attempt before) but I must admit that I didn't realise the
>    margins were so slim.

Yes, there have been failures before (both Soyuz and Progress, if I recall
correctly), but no one ever hinted that the future of the Russian Space Program
hinged on them.  Perhaps it did, but it was just less open.  The whole business
of being within a week or so of totally out of supplies is not
confidence-inspiring.  A program that one would have confidence in should be
able to deal with at least one, if not two successive Progress failures, either
by virtue of having enough supplies on MIR or by having several Progresses ready
to go quickly.

Burns

    The implication is that Mir cannot currently run autonomously, i.e. it
    needs a crew to remain operational. If the Progress had not docked,
    they would not have had enough supplies to wait for the next
    opportunity (they claim to be able to launch a Progress with 45 days
    lead time).
    
    If the current crew had returned, there was a chance that they would
    not be able to maintain attitude control for another docking.
    
    It is routine procedure for the crew to be in the Soyuz capsule while a
    Progress (or other modules) are docking.
    
    gary

As I recall, Mir was unstaffed for a few months several years ago.  I inferred
that it could not tolerate it this time because of the lack of supplies (fuel?).

Thanks for the info about the crew moving into Soyuz normally.  I did not
realize that.

Burns

    The details of the docking procedure are a little confusing, but if
    I understand them correctly, a manual docking was initiated remotely
    using the Soyuz as the command interface.  IF this is the case, it
    shows a rather unique capability (which I'm not sure anyone knew
    about).  Can anyone contact Oberg over the internet to see if he has
    any background on this?  
    
    I would imagine that the Mir complex, because of its current size and
    age, requires a lot of housekeeping/maintenance and as such is less
    tolerent of extended non-tended flight.

RE: <<< Note 362.537 by skylab.zko.dec.com::FISHER "25 Years Ago:  Tranquility base here.  The Eagle has landed." >>>

>As I recall, Mir was unstaffed for a few months several years ago.

Right. Shortly after launch in 86 or 87, there was a short period with no crew
present. It's been continuously manned for the last six years or so (pretty
impressive). 
						-- Tom

Why not contact him yourself and tell us what you find?

Burns

From:	US1RMC::"R4650001@nickel.laurentian.ca" "Andrew Yee, Science North"  
        4-SEP-1994 02:11:22.83
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	Intensive training for European astronauts in EUROMIR 94 & 95 missions

European Space Agency
Press Information Note No. 06-94
Paris,France					29 April 1994

INTENSIVE TRAINING FOR THE EUROPEAN ASTRONAUTS IN PREPARATION FOR THE 
EUROMIR 94 AND 95 MISSIONS

The four European astronauts on EUROMIR 94 (Pedro Duque and Ulf 
Merbold) and EUROMIR 95 (Christer Fuglesang and Thomas Reiter) are 
continuing their intensive preparations, mainly at Star City near Moscow 
and at ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.

After their basic training from August 1993 to December 1993 at Star 
City, the four men embarked on a new phase of preparations in early 
1994, with more emphasis on the tasks they will be required to carry out 
for EUROMIR 94 (30 days on board the Russian space stations MIR) and 
EUROMIR 95 (135 days on MIR).

On the basis of the ESA's astronauts' overall training schedule for the 
various disciplines, the European crew member will be spending 80 
hours studying how the manned vehicles move about in space.  Among 
other things, this will enable them to review the principle of navigation in 
space and more particularly orbiting around the Earth.  They will also 
spend 95 hours becoming familiar with the command and control 
systems of the Soyuz crew transport vehicle and MIR station.  Although 
the ESA astronauts will not be in command of the spacecraft, this training 
is compulsory for emergency cases.

However, on top of the studies of behaviour of material and technologies 
in weightlessness, most of their training will concentrate on specific 
aspects of scientific monitoring of the human body when leaving Earth 
and its gravity for a spell in space under conditions of weightlessness 
(325 hours for EUROMIR 94 and 630 hours for EUROMIR 95).  One of the 
objectives of both missions is to obtain precise data on the function of the 
cardiovascular system of each astronaut at rest and work on Earth so that 
the results can be compared with those recorded during and immediately 
after their mission.  The reason for this is simple: on Earth, when standing 
upright, the heart has to pump powerfully against the hydrostatic forces 
acting on the blood, but in space, where there is no gravity, the heart no 
longer needs to pump against these forces and therefore becomes less 
stressed.  The longer the mission, and if left unchallenged, the higher the 
risk for potential atrophy.  By studying this phenomenon, scientists can 
determine the appropriate corrective action needed to reduce and even 
prevent cardiac atrophy during long-duration missions.

The cardiovascular system is not the only one affected by near 
weightlessness or microgravity -- the neuro-sensory system too is prone 
to the change and will be subject to scientific experiments.  That system 
is not only disrupted by microgravity, which affects the inner ear and 
therefore the sense of balance, but also by the absence of the usual 
points of reference and astronauts, floating and tumbling about on MIR, 
loose track of their environment.  It would seem that there is nothing more 
disconcerting than not to be able to distinguish the floor from the ceiling!

Other hightlight of the European astronauts' training is preparing for the 
scientific experiments they will have to carry out during their missions in 
space and learning to work as a team in perfect coordination with the 
Russian coordination wiht the Russian cosmonauts (630 and 870 hours 
respectively) given that each astronaut is involved in one way or another 
in his companions' tasks and experiments.

This means that the astronauts have to cope with a particularly heavy 
schedule of various activiities that take place mainly at Star City and EAC 
in Cologne.

It was during a period in Cologne from 20 March to 1 April that European 
scientists carried out further investigations enabling them to supplement 
their biomedical research on each astronaut.  For example, blood, saliva 
and urine samples were taken as reference norm on Earth, where they 
are still subject to gravity and whilst in good health, such that they can be 
compared with samples taken in microgravity during the missions.  Those 
latter samples will be frozen and stored temporarily on MIR and will be 
brought back by the European astronaut.

Other data gathered at the Microgravity User Support Centre (MUSC) at 
the German Aerospace Research establishment, DLR, in Cologne 
concerns the respiratory characteristics of each astronaut before and 
after any exercise.  These data too will be compared with those gathered 
before and after their flights.

Special attention is being paid to the astronauts' muscles and 
comparative experiments on muscle mass and force will be conducted 
before and after the EUROMIR missions.  Like the heart, the body's 
muscles tend to atrophy in microgravity because they are not used as 
much as on Earth.  In the same way as objects, the body and its 
extremities become weightless and the muscles work far less, the result 
being a loss of mass and force.  By gaining an understanding of the 
internal mechanisms that give rise to this state, scientists should be able 
not only to formulate a compensation strategy for the astronaut (special 
physical exercises to be done during the spaceflight) but also to 
envisage new therapies for persons suffering from diseases affecting the 
muscular system.

These experiments will reveal insights into the astronauts' physiological 
behaviour on Earth and the information gathered is dubbed the "baseline 
data collection" (BDC).  When it comes to comparing this information with 
data gathered first in space and then upon the astronauts' return, the 
BDC will be extremely valuable for the purpose of a specifically scientific 
evaluation of the exact effects of spaceflight on the human body.

It is planned to hold further BDC sessions in Cologne.  After completion 
of a three-week training period in Star City, where the European 
astronauts will become familiar with, among other things, the orbital 
module Kristall (weighing 19.5 tonnes and dedicated mainly to 
technology experiments), docked with MIR in 1990 they wiil spend four 
weeks on BDC, two ending in mid-May, two others at the beginning of June.

This will be the last lap for the EUROMIR 94 astronauts until they leave 
for Baikonour for a liftoff into space scheduled for 3 October 1994.  For 
most of the time until October they will be at Star City, except for a final 
water survival training session to cater for the exceptional eventuality of 
the Soyuz space capsule splashing down instead of landing on firm ground.

If Soyuz, which is perfectly watertight, has to splash down, the crew must 
get ready to abandon the spacecraft.  This involves removing the 
spacesuits which the astronauts have to wear for re-entering the Earth's 
atmosphere and donning survival suits before emerging from the capsule 
to await the arrival of the rescue teams.  Those who have already 
experienced what it is like being in a waterborne Soyuz mockup, claim it 
is partuclarly tiring.  Because of the relatively cramped space inside 
Soyuz, the astronats have to take it in turns to remove their spacesuits. 
This involves a great deal of manoeuvring and requires that help of the 
other two.  There is also the temperature inside the capsule, which is 
generally high if not stifling, and the pitch and yaw, which vary depending 
on how rough the sea is.

Because of all this, it is a great relief when the rescuers actually arrive.

EUROMIR 94/95
THE ASTRONAUTS TALK ABOUT ...

... THEIR TRAINING AT STAR CITY!

Ulf MERBOLD: "The instructors in Star City know their subjects very will.  
But the same goes for NASA.  The Russians as the Americans are 
proficient and professionals, and at the same time complement each 
other.  Studying the MIR systems is interesting but I would have liked to 
spend more time preparing for the experiments which we shall be 
carrying out on the mission."

Pedro DUQUE: "In Star City everybody we meet while training is very 
enthusiastic and very professional.  They really know their subject.  The 
Russians have a deep sense of hospitality, especially towards foreigners.  
On the other hand, in terms of training we are treated as the Russians are 
treated.  If we make mistakes, the consequences are the same for us as 
for the Russian cosmonauts.  No excuses are made for us."

Christer FUGLESANG: "The instructors know what they are talking about 
and are real professional.  Although I sometimes have the impression 
that training could go more quickly, I am sure that the time spent is 
necessary to properly learn what we need to know.  For the EUROMIR 95 
mission, we are able to train two years.  We shall not perhaps learn as 
much as a Russian mission engineer, who trains for four years before a 
mission, but I am convinced that we shall have enough time to become 
thoroughly acquainted with the systems and experiments for which we 
shall be responsible."

Thomas REITER: "There is a high degree of professionalism in Star City.  
Just think what the Russians have accomplished so far in the field of 
manned spaceflight.  Their technology is reliable and it works, and their 
training programme is designed accordingly.  Personally, I have every 
confidence in the way they are training us to learn about their space 
technologies."

... THEIR PROBLEMS!

U. MERBOLD: "In our training, it is the language which poses the main 
problem.  Russian is a very rich and beautiful language but I shall never 
be able to speak like a Russian even if I were to spend the rest of my 
days learning it."

P. DUQUE: "The main problem in adapting has clearly been the 
language.  There is also the fact that the Russian way of thinking is not 
the same as ours, a different culture.  That is the main difficulty and it 
makes our presence here all the more interesting."

C. FUGLESANG: "The main problem is the language.  At the beginning I 
had great difficulty in following lectures and preparing for exams.  I 
remember it sometimes took me half an hour to read one page of the first 
books I studied in Russian.  In fact, it was not so much reading as an 
exercise in decoding."

T. REITER: "The main problems are in two areas.  On the professional 
side, we have to adjust is that our families have to get used to the living 
conditions in Moscow, which are of course very different from what we 
are used to in the West.  It's harder.  But people are very nice, very 
helpful and very friendly, which helps a lot.  Our number one problem is 
definitely the language.

... THE THINGS THEY LIKE!

U. MERBOLD: "I like the Russians as a people.  They are very warm-
hearted and well educated.  I also greatly appreciate my young 
European colleagues.  It is a pleasure to work with highly motivated, 
gifted young people."

P. DUQUE: "During our short breaks, I enjoy being with the Russian 
cosmonauts.  For instance, between lectures we have a cup of tea with 
our Russian counterparts and not only do we get a real chance to 
practise our Russian but we also obtain a great deal of information.  I also 
enjoy playing football matches with the cosmonauts, young and old alike."

C. FUGLESANDG: "I very much enjoy all the physical training such as 
diving in a spacesuit to the bottom of the weightlessness simulation tank.  
That was great fun."

T. REITER: "I very much enjoy the practical side of our training.  What I 
like best is training in spacesuits in the tank containing a model of the 
MIR station.  You go underwater and find yourself in a balance state 
similar to weightlessness.  That is absolutely fascinating.  Apart from that, 
I enjoyed the parabolic flights on board an Ilyushin 76."

... THEIR JOBS AS ASTRONAUTS!

U. MERBOLD: "It's a job for along time, although perhaps not for life.  
Those of us who go into space have invaluable experience.  To optimise, 
space agencies should make it possible for them to keep this career for 
as long as 10 to 20 years."

P. DUQUE: "In the long run, the job of "astronaut" will tend to disappear 
because, as technology advances, people will be able to journey into 
space without any specific training.  I hope that one day, it will no longer 
be necessary to be a qualified astronaut to go into space.  But I think the 
qualification will be necessary for a long time yet."

C. FUGLESANG: "It's not enough to want to be an astronaut to actually 
become one, so in that sense it's not a job as such.  You have to have a 
lot of luck.  But I think it's a good thing that many young people dream of 
being astronauts and thus keep the dream alive.  The desire to seek the 
unknown and push back the limits is the distinguishing feature of our 
civilisation."

T. REITER: "Being an astronaut is a real profession and is very 
demanding.  You have to know all about a great number of subjects 
relating to a whole range of scientific disciplines.  In addition, great 
psychological and physical demands are made of an astronaut.  It's a 
fascinating job and you have to give it all you've got."

... THE FUTURE FOR THE CONQUEST OF SPACE!

U. MERBOLD: "The generations before us have always sought to push 
the horizon back, from the known towards the unkonwn whenever the 
technical means became available.  I think our generation would be 
considered to be decadent if it did not continue this tradition of 
exploration.  The manned spaceflight programme is currently going 
through a depressive phase that I am convinced will not last.  Clearly, the 
next logical step is to establish a permanent international base in low 
orbit."

P. DUQUE: "I am optimistic.  I think the general public will come back to 
the idea that this is mankind's new adventure.  We have to continue with 
our exploration.  I think people will return to the feeling that space 
constitutes the adventure of the next millennium."

T. REITER: "As far as manned spaceflight is concerned, we are going to 
go through a somewhat difficult period but I am sure that in the long run 
things will be better and the budgets allocated for manned space 
missions will increase.  I see the international space station as an 
ambitious objective.  There is of course a lot still to be done before such a 
station comes into being.  So I would like to see an international manned 
spaceflight programme continue.  I think Europe should work on 
developing its autonomous access to space and that, looking ahead to 
the longer term, we should be capable of developing our own space 
stations with attached modules."

C. FUGLESANG: "I hope that a large international space station will be 
built soon and that we shall build a station on the moon in twenty years' 
time.  I shall be 56 then.  One of the astronauts who recently went on a 
spacewalk to service the Hubble telescope was 58, so I think I stand a 
reasonable chance of going to the moon."

From:	US1RMC::"R4650001@nickel.laurentian.ca" "Andrew Yee, Science North"  
        4-SEP-1994 02:20:46.52 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	Science on EUROMIR 94

European Space Agency
Press Information Note No. 21-94
Paris, France				3 August 1994

SCIENCE ON EUROMIR 94

EUROMIR 94, the first of two ESA manned missions onboard the Russian 
space station Mir, is scheduled for launch on 3 October 1994.  This 
mission, which is taking place within the framework of the Columbus 
Precursor Flights, will last 30 days and represents the longest western 
European manned space flight opportunity to date.  Twenty three of the 
experiments to be flown are dedicated to human physiology, four to 
material science and three to technology.

The human physiology experiments will investigate the effects of 
microgravity on the human cardiovascular system, the human neuro-
sensory system and the human muscle system.  These investigations will 
give insight into the functioning of these body systems and their 
interaction with one another.  This will lead to an increase in fundamental 
knowledge of the human body which will not only help in the support of 
manned space flight through provision of the necessary 
countermeasures, but may also have terrestrial applications on patients 
suffering from heart disease or with neurological, muscular, circulatory or 
bone disorders.

Past flights have shown that humans are remarkably tolerant to 
microgravity conditions, even for extended periods of time.  Such 
tolerance is largely thanks to countermeasures -- mainly physical 
exercise -- performed during the flight which prevents the body from fully 
adapting to the microgravity conditions.  Although necessary for the 
health of the astronaut, such countermeasures make the science more 
difficult as it reduces the adaptation and associated changes within the 
body which scientist wants to measure.  Long duration space flights are 
consequently particularly favourable to human physiological studies 
since they permit this small change to be measured over a longer period 
of time, thus increasing the validity of the results.  Also, at the beginning 
of long duration flights, the astronauts are not obliged to work out with the 
intensity necessary during short missions.  The less demanding exercise 
regime permits greater adaptation to microgravity and more marked and 
significant measurements.

Of particular interest in these human physiological studies is the 
investigation of the muscle system which will be measured before and 
after the one month flight.  Due to the short length of previous European 
flights and the effective countermeasures taken, this system has not been 
studied systematically and in depth before on an ESA astronaut.  It is 
however believed that the strength and mass of muscle fibres diminish in 
microgravity.

An important element of the human physiology experiment is the 
Baseline Data Collection (BDC), which comprises essentially carrying 
out the same experiment on the ground as in space, together with the 
collection and monitoring of urine, blood and saliva samples at regular 
intervals before and after space flight.  This physiological reference data 
permits the impact of space flight on certain parameters to be evaluated.

The fact that 80% of the experiments come from within the human 
physiology domain is explained by the opportunity of having humans 
available as test subjects as well as the possibility of human intervention, 
both of which are available on Mir.

The four material science experiments to be flown concentrate on the 
areas of undercooled melts, metal matrix composite materials and 
glasses.  The knowledge acquired about these materials and their 
processing in space may later be applied during their manufacturing on 
Earth.  This could lead to improved industrial techniques and materials.

The technology experiments will investigate: the robustness of a lap-top 
PC in the space environment and its utility in crew support functions; the 
ability of special adhesive pads (aluminium plates coated with a non-
setting adhesive) to retain small objects which would otherwise float 
around in the microgravity environment; and the long duration 
performance of the ion emitter of a mass spectrometer.

Due to the tight schedule for the preparation of the EUROMIR 94 mission, 
maximum use will be made of French, German, Austrian and Russian 
equipment already available onboard Mir.  However, ESA is also 
providing a freezer, a centrifuge and passive cooling containers for the 
respective processing, storage and return of samples.  The freezer will 
permit about 100 blood, urine and saliva samples to be stored, and 
returned in a frozen state back to Earth.  It will be the first time that such 
a large amount of frozen samples is returned from a one month stay in 
orbit.  ESA is also providing a photocamera and video equipment for 
scientific documentation of the experiments and for public relations use.

The payload activity flow from mission go-ahead, to payload selection, 
preparation, integration, in-flight operation and return to Earth

Approval for the EUROMIR missions was given by the ministers of the 
ESA participating states at the Granada Council meeting in November 
1992, and actual implementation began in January 1993.  This involved 
working out the legal framework with the Russian Space Agency (RKA), 
negotiating the industrial contract with the prime Russian contractor NPO 
Energia, and defining with the ESA user disciplines (microgravity, space 
science, Earth observation and technology) the guidelines for selection 
of experiment proposals for the mission.

The majority of the proposals received for the EUROMIR 94 mission 
came from the microgravity discipline and are based on experiments 
already flown on the French, German or Austrian bilaterial missions.  
Only a few proposals came from other disciplines due to the extremely 
short preparation time available before the launch, which did not permit 
design and development of new hardware and experiments.  These 
other disciplines will however be more largely involved in the EUROMIR 
95 mission.  Reflying experiments has the advantage of confirming data 
from earlier shorter flights and increasing the statistical reliability of the 
results.

Typical payload selection and preparation

The selection of the experiments for space flights is a long and time 
consuming process.  Initially, an announcement of opportunity is made to 
the scientists in states participating in the programme through scientific 
journals, and letters sent to universities, hospitals, commercial institutes, 
space orgranisations, etc.

For EUROMIR 94, due to the time constraints, no specific announcement 
of opportunity was made.  Instead proposals came mainly from the 
Columbus announcement of opportunity pool.

The proposals, once received, are assessed with regard to their space 
relevance and scientific value -- convincing arguments have to be put 
forward to show the experiments cannot be performed equally well on 
Earth, and to prove that their results will be of importance to science.  
Their technical feasibility in terms of mass, power and crew time is then 
considered and the validity of the methods and quality of the backup 
support evaulated.  In order for an experiment to be selected, 
confirmation of its funding also has to be provided, since ESA, unlike 
NASA, cannot finance the development of experiments.  Funding 
normally comes from national authorities such as national space 
organisations and research boards, universities, etc.

The screening is carried out by a scientific peer group and by a technical 
team.  The scientific peer group, which is made up of experts in the fields 
of the scientific objectives of the mission, for example muscle 
physiologists and neuroscientists in the case of EUROMIR missions, who 
are not associated with ESA and are not necessarily involved with space 
projects, meet several times and discuss the ranking of the experiments 
with regard to the different selection criteria mentioned above.  The 
technical team looks into the technical feasibility of the experiments and 
makes sure that they meet the required safety standards.

The human physiology experiments are also assessed by a medical 
board who verifies the compatibility of the experiments and assures that 
there are no risks entailed for th astronaut.

Once passed the initial selection procedure the technical documentation 
describing the experiment and the necessary equipment is produced.  
Mockups of the experiments are then made for accomodation studies 
and astronaut training.  Environmental, mechanical, thermal, acoustic, 
electrical, safety and reliability testes are carried out on the experiments 
to make sure that they meet all the specified requirements and will not 
harm the space station.  Documentation giving details of these tests 
enables both ESA and the Russians to assess the results and standards 
met.  Further documentation detailing the on-board operations procedures 
of each experiment down to the minute also have to be provided.

From:	US1RMC::"magliaco@pilot.njin.net" "John Magliacane"  8-SEP-1994 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 05-Sep-94 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0905
* SpaceNews 05-Sep-94 *
 
BID: $SPC0905
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                        MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 1994
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR NEWS * 
============
The Mir space station apparently suffered no hits from the recent Perseid
meteor shower.  Several particles collided with the space station during
last year's meteor shower.
 
The PROGRESS-M24 freighter was scheduled for launch Baykonur on 25-Aug-94
at 1425 UTC.  Listeners in Western Europe were alerted listen for 
transmissions related to this launch on the known frequencies (166.140, 
166.130, 165.874 and 922.755 MHz  +/- Doppler) 3 hours after liftoff.
 
Instead of 4, only 2 EVAs will be made by Malenchenko and Musabayev.  These 
EVAs are scheduled for the 8th and 12th of September 1994.  Their purpose
is to transfer solar panels from the Kristall to the Kvant-1 module.
 
The launch of Specktr (Module-O) has been delayed once again.  Now there is 
word that the launch will take place in May 1995.  Undoubtedly, this will 
also mean that the launch of Priroda (Module-E) will be put back too. 
 
The schedule for American flights to Mir might need to be changed due to 
Spektr launch delay.  No further details are available as of yet.
 
[Info via Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202]
 
* MORE MIR NEWS *
=================
Ascending nodes of Mir are currently taking place almost directly under
the Sun.  It is crossing the terminator close to its extreme northern and 
southern latitude excursions.  As a result, Mir will be visible shortly 
before sunrise in the southern hemisphere, and shortly after sunset in the 
northern hemisphere for the next few weeks.  Consult your favorite satellite 
orbital prediction software for the exact times for your location.
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX       : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET    : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET  : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16 
 
MAIL      : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
            Department of Engineering and Technology
            Advanced Technology Center
            Brookdale Community College
            Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
            U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> 
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: magliaco@pilot.njin.net
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

Article: 70551
From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Re: MIR News?
Date: 8 Sep 1994 07:48:02 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
 
Now that we've learned how the Progress space freighter slammed into
the back end of the Mir space station on its second docking attempt
(the crew could hear it from the Soyuz where they had taken shelter),
we will immortalize this scary orbital adventure as follows: 
 
The Progress M-24 Memorial Knock-Knock Joke
 
1:     (thud)(thud)
2:     Who's there?
 
1:     Mir.
2:     Mir who?
 
1:     Mirucle we're still in business
 
There really was a "knock knock" joke aboard Salyut-7 more than a
decade ago. The two-man crew was many months along on their
expedition. One man decided to take a few hours off to catch a nap,
and went into the mothballed Soyuz for a little privacy. He pushed the
hatch mostly closed, then soon fell asleep. His shipmate didn't know
where he'd gone, and a short time later began searching for him for
some official task. He quickly covered all corners of the Salyut, then
reached the Soyuz and noticed the mostly-closed hatch. Attempting to
observe the protocols of space manners ("Respect your partner's
space"), he politely rapped on the door gently with his knuckles. His
partner, startled from a deep sleep, blurted out, "Who's there?" Both
immediately burst out in hysterics and laughed heartily for an hour.
Even months later, as morale sagged under the zero-G load, a rap on
the wall and an innocent "Who's there?" from one of the cosmonauts
would engender a burst of amused chuckles from the other, enhancing
morale through some of the tougher stretches. Knock, knock.... 
 
Article: 70552
From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Re: MIR News?
Date: 8 Sep 1994 07:48:06 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
 
New details continue to emerge on the triple-header Progress M-24
rendezvous.
 
The crew will perform an EVA on Friday, Sep 9, to inspect the outer
surface of Mir near the docking mechanism, where the Progress hit and
bounced at least twice during the second failed docking attempt on Aug
30.  While outside they will also perform other "scheduled tasks",
unspecified by TASS. 
 
One other required task is repair to thermal insulation caused by the
recontact of the Soyuz TM-17 last January. 
 
For maximum ground comm coverage, cosmonaut EVAs usually begin about
the first rev after 20 E longitude, soon after equator northbound
crossing. It is preferred that this also occur near the time of Moscow
sunrise (about 04:00 GMT)  so that sunlight will be present for the
entire cross-Russia orbital pass. This leads to a specific "EVA
season" for a week or two every 60-day orbital precession period. 

But this time the beginning of the EVA should be about midday Moscow
time (about 09:00 GMT), with the end of each cross-Russia pass after
orbital sunset. This is not a problem, it is merely slightly inconvenient. 
 
If repairs are found to be necessary, a second EVA will be made on
September 13, according to Veronika Romanenkova of ITAR-TASS.
Colonel-General Vladimir Ivanov announced these plans on September 5. 
 
News of the actual contact on Aug 30 has been confused. A Moscow TV
report of the following day described how after impact the Progress
"veered sideways" but somehow missed the solar panels. It slowly
drifted away and was 150 meters off at sunset. By sunrise it was
reportedly 3600 meters off, but it's not clear how this was measured. 
 
Romanenkova's report on Sep 5 stated that the Progress hit the back
end (Kvant) of Mir twice. Other viewers of the televised docking
report seeing four bumps. The crew later discussed hearing at least
one bump while they were buttoned up in the Soyuz. But the damage to
the Progress (if any) couldn't have been very great since its Kurs
antenna functioned properly on Sep 2 for the successful
remote-controlled linkup. 
 
A day after the linkup, on the evening of Sep 3 (Saturday) local
time, an observer in the American mid-west noticed an object about 60
seconds ahead of Mir. One theory was that this could be a piece of
debris from the Aug 30 collision. But inquiries to the US SPACE
COMMAND received a negative response: 

No new Mir-associated objects have been catalogued since Aug 30, based
on radar observations.  Presumably this means that nothing broke off
the Mir during the Aug 30 "bumps". 
 
Some confusion is becoming clear, but other issues remain obscure.
Stay tuned! 
 

From:	US3RMC::"DHILL@pao.hq.nasa.gov" "HILL, DIANNE" 12-SEP-1994 19:12:00.13
CC:	
Subj:	94-151 SHUTTLE/MIR DOCKING HARDWARE ARRIVES FROM RUSSIA

Mark Hess/Ed Campion
September 12, 1994
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/358-1778)

Janet Dean
Rockwell International, Downey, Calif.
(Phone:  310/922-5227)

RELEASE:  94-151

SHUTTLE/MIR DOCKING HARDWARE ARRIVES FROM RUSSIA

     NASA's prime contractor for Space Shuttle orbiters, Rockwell
Aerospace, took delivery Sunday of the Russian built spacecraft
docking mechanism that will enable Space Shuttle Atlantis to join up
with the orbiting Russian Mir Space Station next June.

     Rockwell procured the docking hardware a year ago from NPO
Energia for approximately $18 million, along with spare parts and
technical services to support NASA's first Shuttle mission to Mir. The
docking mechanism, called the Androgynous Peripheral Docking Assembly
(APDA) was shipped September 8 from the Energia Production Facility in
Kaliningrad, near Moscow.

     Work will begin immediately at Rockwell's Space Systems
Division (SSD) to assemble the APDA with the Rockwell-built docking
system hardware. The APDA will be mated onto a docking base that
attaches to a new external airlock designed to fit in the front of the
orbiter payload bay supported by a truss structure. The external
airlock connects with the existing airlock inside the crew cabin and
with a Spacelab module.

     In December, following integrated checkout at Rockwell, the
Shuttle/Mir docking system will be delivered to Kennedy Space Center,
Fla. There it will be installed aboard the Atlantis, which earlier
this year completed a series of modifications that will allow it to
accommodate the new docking system.

     For the STS-71 mission to the Russian Space Station, scheduled
for May 1995, Atlantis will carry a crew of five American astronauts
and two Russian cosmonauts, along with approximately 1,100 pounds of
equipment for use on Mir.

     Two days into its flight, Atlantis will dock with Mir, whose
crew of two cosmonauts and NASA astronaut Norm Thagard will have been
aboard for 90 days following an earlier launch in a Russian Soyuz-TM
capsule.  The Atlantis and Mir crews will conduct five days of joint
medical research on the physiological effects of extended space
flight.  The original Mir crew, including Thagard, will then join the
Atlantis' astronauts for the trip back to Earth, while the two new
cosmonauts will remain aboard for a long duration stay.

     The STS-71 mission is the first of seven to ten Space Shuttle
missions to Mir that are planned under a cooperative agreement between
NASA and the Russian Space Agency (RSA). A $400 million contract
recently signed by the agencies provides funding to Russia for
activities under the protocol to the Human Space Flight Agreement
which was signed in December 1993.  The contract
provides for Russian hardware, services and data in support of a joint
program involving the U.S. Space Shuttle and the Russia's Mir Space
Station and selected requirements for the International Space Station.

     Rockwell SSD is prime contractor to NASA for Space Shuttle
orbiters. The company also is under contract to NASA for support to
the Shuttle/Mir missions. NPO Energia is an advanced technology
organization responsible for the design and manufacture of the Energia
launch vehicle and manned systems including the Soyuz-TM and
Progress-M spacecraft, the Mir Space Station and the Buran Space
Shuttle. Energia originally developed the APDA for Buran/Mir missions.
Rockwell and Energia provided docking hardware for the Apollo/Soyuz
Test Project in July 1975.

 - end -

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: "HILL, DIANNE" <DHILL@pao.hq.nasa.gov>
% Subject: 94-151 SHUTTLE/MIR DOCKING HARDWARE ARRIVES FROM RUSSIA
% Date: Mon, 12 Sep 94 15:18:00 PDT
% Sender: press-release-Owner@hq.nasa.gov

From:	US1RMC::"magliaco@pilot.njin.net" "John Magliacane" 16-SEP-1994 
To:	usenet-space-news@arc.nasa.gov
CC:	
Subj:	* SpaceNews 19-Sep-94 *

SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0919
* SpaceNews 19-Sep-94 *
 
BID: $SPC0919
 
                               =========
                               SpaceNews
                               =========
 
                        MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 1994
 
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
 
* MIR EVA COVERAGE *
====================
John, G7MIZ, in England reports watching live pictures of the latest 
extravehicular activity outside the Russian space station Mir on the 
morning of 13-Sep-94 at 0630 UTC on the COSMOS 2054 satellite, 10,820 MHz, 
loacted at 15 degrees west longitude.  Other noted frequencies were 
10,925 MHz, and 11,385 MHz.  Peak signal times were 0600 and 1800 UTC.
 
[Info via John, G7MIZ @ GB7OAR.GBR.EU]
 
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
 
FAX       : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET    : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET  : kd2bd@ka2qhd.de.com -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19
 
MAIL      : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
            Department of Engineering and Technology
            Advanced Technology Center
            Brookdale Community College
            Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
            U.S.A.
 
       <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> 
 
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD   * /\/\ * Voice   : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center  |/\/\/\| Packet  : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: magliaco@pilot.njin.net
Lincroft, NJ  07738         * \/\/ * Morse   : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..

From: MAILRP@ESA.bitnet
Subject: EUROMIR 94 heralds new era of cooperation in space [ESA Release 28-94] (Forwarded)
Date: 2 Nov 1994 01:10:18 -0800
Organization: European Space Agency
 
Press Release Nr. 28-94
Paris, 28 September 1994
 
EUROMIR 94 heralds new era of cooperation in space
 
A new era of international cooperation in space begins next week when an ESA 
astronaut blasts off on EUROMIR 94, a month-long mission to the Russian Mir 
space station.
 
ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold from Germany, a veteran of two US Space Shuttle 
missions, and Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Viktorenko and Elena Kondakova, are 
scheduled for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the night of 3 and 4 
October 1994 aboard the Soyuz TM-20 spacecraft. Two days later they will dock 
with the 130-ton Mir complex, orbiting some 400 km above the planet.
 
ESA and its Russian counterparts are learning to work together before joining 
forces later in the decade to build the International Space Station. "This 
flight will start paving the way to the International Space Station, when 
European astronauts will live and work in space alongside with Americans, 
Canadians, Japanese and Russians", said Jean-Marie Luton, ESA's Director 
General.
 
The 30-day EUROMIR 94 mission will be the longest space flight by a western 
European astronaut. Experiments will mostly concentrate on the effects of 
space on the human body. The findings will benefit future space travellers and 
may lead to breakthroughs in medicine on Earth, particularly in the treatment 
of heart diseases and neurological, muscular, circulatory and bone disorders.
 
After 30 days, Merbold will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz TM-19 spacecraft, 
with the current Mir crew members Yuri Malenchencko and Talgat Musabayev. 
Merbold, along with the other ESA astronaut in stand-by for this flight, the 
Spanish Pedro Duque, has been training for EUROMIR 94 since August 1993 at 
Star City, near Moscow. Merbold was a payload specialist on Space Shuttle 
mission STS-9 (Spacelab) in November-December 1982 and STS-42 in January 1992. 
He will be the first West European to fly on both US and Russian spacecraft.
 
Two other ESA astronauts are currently in training at Star City: Christer 
Fuglesang from Sweden and Thomas Reiter from Germany are preparing for EUROMIR 
95, a 135-day mission that includes a spacewalk.
 
Facts and figures:
Launch date:            Night of  Monday 3 to Tuesday 4
                        October 1994.
Launch Time:            03:42 hrs Baikonur time, 01:42 hrs
                        Moscow time on 4 October; 23:42 hrs
                        CET (Central European Time) on  3
                        October.
Docking:                Thursday 6 October 1994.
Docking time:           03:30 hrs Moscow time, 01:30 hrs CET.
Landing:                3 November 1994,  15:13 hrs Baikonur
                        time; 13:13 hrs Moscow time, 11:13 hrs
                        CET.
 
Opportunities for the media:
A press information center will be established during the
EUROMIR 94 mission at ESA's  European Astronaut Centre
(EAC) in Cologne. This press center will provide information
on the mission, its progress and status. It is linked to the
Russian Control Center TsUP in Kaliningrad, near Moscow
and ESA's payload support Centre SCOPE in the CNES
facilities in Toulouse via a satellite video link where there will
be opportunities to see live transmission from the space station
Mir.
 
The press center will be open Monday through Friday from 4
October to 3 November from 10:00 until 18:00 hrs.
 
Status line:     + 49 2203 600127 (English)
                 + 49 2203 600131 (German)
Telephone:       + 49 2203 60010
Fax.:            + 49 2203 600118
 
______________________________________________________________________
 
During the mission the following highlights can be followed
at the ESA/EAC:
-          06 October:  Docking of the Soyuz TM-20 capsule to
                        the Mir station.
-                       10 October:  Live video link between German
                        Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Ulf
                        Merbold.
Media representatives interested in following these events,
should directly contact :
ESA/EAC Public Relations Office,  Martine Caparros
 
 
 
Tel. + 49 2203 60 01 41
Fax. + 49 2203 60 01 66
 
Moscow-based media  representatives can also follow docking
on 6 October at the TsUP Mission Control Center. For
accreditation please contact:
TsUP Public Relations Office, V. Latyshev
tel.  + 7 095 187 06 66
______________________________________________________________________
Other events to be followed during the mission:
-          19 October:  "Space class", school children from
                        ESA Member States will be in  contact
                        with  Ulf Merbold teaching space
                        directly from space station Mir. This
                        event will take place at ESA/ESTEC in
                        Noordwijk, Holland.
 
-          24 October:  "Press conference" at the SCOPE in
                        CNES-Toulouse. Ulf Merbold from
                        space and Pedro Duque from the TsUP
                        Mission Control center will  talk live to
                        the press about their experience.
 
For further information on these events, please contact :
ESA Public Relations Office
tel. + 33 1 42 73 7155
______________________________________________________________________Opportunit
 
Highlights from the mission (launch, docking, mission reports,
landing) will be available for TVs at different times.  For
detailed information please contact:
 
REUTERS London:               Steve Garvey, tel. + 44 71 510
                              7534
                              Katie Ward, tel. + 44 71 510
                              7518
ESA Public Relations:         Philip Saunders, tel + 33 1
                              4273 7590
 
 
 
 

From: MAILRP@ESA.bitnet
Subject: EUROMIR 94 poised for launch
Date: 2 Nov 1994 01:40:38 -0800
Organization: European Space Agency
 
EUROMIR STATUS REPORT No.1
Paris, 3 October 1994
 
EUROMIR 94 POISED FOR LAUNCH
 
The countdown is in its final hours for the launch of Euromir 94, the first 
flight of a European Space Agency Astronaut on a Russian spacecraft. Ulf 
Merbold, an experienced astronaut from Germany who has made two US Space 
Shuttle missions, is scheduled to blast off Monday night at 23.42 CET from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
 
On Sunday, the rocket that will carry Merbold and Russian Cosmonauts Aleksandr 
Viktorinko and Yelana Kondakova, rolled out to the launch pad used 33 years 
ago for the ground-breaking flight of Yuri Gagarin. It took members of the
Russian space forces just 15 minutes to transport the Soyuz rocket along rail 
tracks from the  assembly building to the launch pad. Within 2 hours, the 51 
metre-high vehicle was raised to a vertical position for the launch.
 
The State commission, whose members include Yuri Semenov, President of RKK 
Energia, Piotr Klimuk, Head of Cosmonaut Training Centre (TsPK) and Walter 
Peeters of ESA's European Astronaut Centre, last night confirmed the crew and
rocket are ready for flight.
 
"I have enjoyed the chance to work here in Russia because it is a unique 
opportunity to learn how manned spaceflights are performed here," Merbold told 
a news conference Sunday. The Soyuz TM-20 spacecraft is scheduled to dock with
Russia's orbiting Mir space station in the early hours of Thursday 6 October. 
Merbold will spend a month on-board performing experiments to determine the 
effects of spaceflight on the human body and several material science and
technology experiments. It will be the longest space mission by a European 
astronaut. The return to Earth is scheduled for 3 November.
 
Next year, a second Euromir mission is planned that will last 135 days and 
will include the first space walk by an ESA astronaut.

From: MAILRP@ESA.bitnet
Subject: Russian blast-off for ESA astronaut
Date: 2 Nov 1994 01:41:41 -0800
Organization: European Space Agency
 
EUROMIR STATUS REPORT No.2
Paris, 4 October 1994
 
Russian blast-off for ESA astronaut
 
The EUROMIR 94 mission got off to a spectacular start last night with a 
dramatic blast-off that shook the steppes of Kazakhstan and lit up the 
countryside for miles around.
 
The Soyuz rocket, carrying ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold and two Russian cosmonauts, 
roared away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on time at 23h42 CET. The booster, 
trailing a long, flickering tongue of flame, was visible for about five
minutes before it disappeared in a dark, starry sky.
 
"This mission is just the start of a new partnership between ESA and the 
Russian space authorities" said ESA Director General, Jean-Marie Luton, who 
watched the launch from a viewing site less than one kilometre away. "The 
EUROMIR programme will put us in a strong position for the development of ESA's 
own manned spacecraft and our contribution to the international space station".
 
Soyuz TM-20 was placed in the correct orbit, inclined 51.6 degrees to the 
equator, and is heading for a docking with the Mir space station in the early 
hours of Thursday, 6 October. The launch was conducted by the Russian Space 
Forces, with industrial support from RKK Energia. Following separation of
the spacecraft from the launcher, control of the mission was handed over from 
the Space Forces in Baikonur to the Flight Control Centre (TsUP) at Kaliningrad, 
near Moscow. The TsUP is operated by the Central Institute for Machine
Building (TsNIIMash) and Energia.
 
Within hours of reaching orbit, Merbold began his programme of scientific 
research by taking saliva and urine samples as part of an experiment to study 
the effects of "weightlessness' on the human body.
 
Merbold, with two US shuttle missions to his name, will spend a month aboard 
the orbiting complex. It will be the longest mission so far by a European 
astronaut. In addition to medical research, a number of materials science and
technology experiments are planned.
 
The experimenters will monitor the mission's progress from several remote 
centres in Europe, linked to the Flight Control Centre by satellite.

From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Subject: Coming Mir Events
Date: 2 Nov 1994 01:50:58 -0800
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
 
 
I've heard that the next Progress launch (Progress M-25, probably with a
return capsule) is Thursday, November 10th, with a Mir docking on
Saturday, November 12th. Based on orbital planar windows, I compute a
liftoff time of about 07:45 GMT and docking on the 12th at about 09:55
GMT.
 
This launch date is ten days earlier than plans announced a few months
ago. I wonder what the life support consumables margin will be? ESA
provided the food for ALL the current crewmembers for the entire 30-day
Euromir mission, so they would get controlled metabolic data and so the
others wouldn't kill Merbold for his quiche and bratwurst.
 
But the NEXT Progress isn't scheduled until Feb 15, at which point the
crew will be down to a 30-day consumables margin. After Soyuz TM-21
launches Mar 14, and TM-20 lands Mar 26, the following Progress goes up on
April 05, by which time the consumables margin will have fallen to 10
days. Playing it close!
 
By my records, Soyuz TM-20 is now at the aft (Kvant-1) end. Earlier plans
called for it to stay there, but the latest 1995 schedule shows it is to
be moved the front after TM-19 leaves and before the Progress launch. So
they should perform a back-to-front redocking (Polyakov's 4th) on Nov 5 or
6. They might spend some time checking out the performance of the aft
guidance antennas following two auto failures in a row.
 
Jonathan McDowell reports he's heard they will actually undock Nov 3, and
try a re-rendezvous the next day to test the suspect hardware. A next-day
re-rendezvous during end-of-mission was also performed on Soyuz T-13 in
1985, recall.
 
Watch the skies!

From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Subject: Mir Events (one more try)
Date: 2 Nov 1994 01:54:35 -0800
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
 
AP Moscow says there will be an undocking/redocking of Soyuz TM-19
tomorrow, to photograph the docking port for damage. My records quoted
earlier in this series were WRONG -- TM-20 is at the forward, 'transfer
compartment' port, where Progress M-24 had been (merci beaucoup to
Jonathan McDowell for slapping me sharply on the ear and making me check
the data -- he was right all along). TM-19 is on the Kvant-1 (service
module) end, and TM-20 needs to transfer forward prior to next Progress
launch in a few days.
 
Landing is set for Friday, Nov 4, about 2:18 PM Moscow time (1118 GMT).
 
I feel slightly less confused, with a lot of help from my friends.
Everybody with us now?

From: MAILRP@ESA.bitnet
Subject: Successful landing of ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold [ESA Release 39-94]
Date: 25 Nov 1994 19:41:54 -0800
Organization: European Space Agency
 
Press Release No.39-94
Paris, 4 November 1994
 
Successful landing of ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold
 
The longest mission in European space history, EUROMIR 94,
came to an end today with the successful landing of ESA
astronaut Ulf Merbold aboard the Soyuz TM-19 spacecraft.
The capsule touched down in Kazakhstan at 12h18 CET. Also
onboard were Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and
Kazakh Talgat Musabyev.
 
Merbold was launched into space aboard Soyuz TM-20 on 3
October and arrived at the space station two days later. During
the month-long mission he has taken numerous biological
samples which will give European scientists a new insight into
the affects of the space environment on the human body. He
also conducted technological experiments that will help ESA
develop new equipment for space missions and took hundreds
of photographs of the Earth's surface.
 
Merbold, Malenchenko and Musabyev bid farewell to their
colleagues aboard the space station and undocked earlier
today. The hour-long descent through the atmosphere began
with a firing of the Soyuz engine to slow the spacecraft. The
craft endured extreme temperatures as it entered the
atmosphere before landing under parachutes. Merbold and the
cosmonauts are reported to be well after their mission.
 
Scientists in Europe are eagerly waiting to study the biological
samples returned aboard the capsule.
 
EUROMIR 94 was the first of two ESA manned missions
with the Russians. The next, scheduled for August 1995, will
be even more ambitious, lasting 135 days and including the
first spacewalk by an ESA astronaut. Christer Fuglesang and
Thomas Reiter are currently training for that flight.
 
 
 

The Russians launched the latest crewed Soyuz mission to Mir last night.  This
mission is particularly noteworthy in that one of the people aboard is US
astronaut Norman Thagard, who will be staying aboard MIR until he is picked up
in June by the orbiter Atlantis on the STS-71 mission.

Interesting question:  Will Thagard's stay on Mir be longer or shorter than the
stay of Skylab 4?  The two must be quite close...

Interesting question 2:  I believe that Thagard's companions in the latest
launch will also be returning with Atlantis.  I wonder what the Russians are
doing with the "extra" Soyuz that this leaves hanging about?  Splitting a crew
and returning them in two separate Soyuzes?

Burns

    I think the sequence will be
    
    - current crew will return oin their Soyuz
    - Thagard will return on Atlantis
    - Atlantis bring more crew members to Mir?
    
    I think the other Mir-18 crew members remain after Thagard leaves.
    
    NASA Select coverage was a little disapointing (although I haven't
    watched all of it). At least it didn't have Microsoft ads like the
    press conference a few weeks ago.
    
    gary

I was quite sure I heard that some Russians were coming back on Atlantis. 
However, either I or the news reports may well be wrong.

Thanks,

Burns

------------------

Aha...I found it:

	For launch:
	STS 71	- Atlantis (14) May 24 - June 3 1995 
		- SPACELAB M (MIR); MIR-1
		- Commander: Robert Gibson (5)
		- Pilot: Charles Precourt (2)
		- MS1: Ellen Baker (3)
		- FE/MS2: Gregory Harbaugh (3)
		- MS3: Bonnie Dunbar (4)
		- PS1: Anatoli Soloviyov (4) (RSA) 
			[backup Yuri Gidzenko (RSA)]  
		- PS2: Nikolai Budarin (RSA) 
			[backup Aleksandr Kaleri (2) (RSA)] 

	For landing:
	STS 71	- Atlantis (14) May 24 - June 3 1995 
		- SPACELAB M (MIR); MIR-1
		- Commander: Robert Gibson (5)
		- Pilot: Charles Precourt (2)
		- MS1: Ellen Baker (3)
		- FE/MS2: Gregory Harbaugh (3)
		- MS3: Bonnie Dunbar (4)
		- MS4: Norm Thagard (5) 
		- PS1: Vladimir Dezhurov (RSA)
		- PS2: Gennadi Strekalov (6) (RSA)



So it looks like -71 is taking Soloviyov and Budarin up and bringing Thagard,
Dezhurov and Strekalov back.

Burns

    >>NASA Select coverage was a little disapointing......
    
    I had taped it last night (while I slept like a log), and watched
    the replay of launch to insertion this morning before leaving the 
    house. A couple of observations.
    
    - The video links wern't exactly crisp & clear.
    - The launch site is in a very barren section of Russia, and
      is also very cold (based on how most of the observers were 
      dressed).
    - There was some live video before launch and during ascent of
      the Soyuz cockpit.
    - One could detect the point when the external boosters cut-off,
      cause the cockpit video was being shown when the boosters
      shut down. You could see the Cosmonaut's arms appear to lift
      a little from the relief of g-force when the boosters cut off.
    
    Will watch the whole taped sequence tonight to see if I pick up
    on any other little things, like a roll maneuver, over-roll, etc.
    The "clam-shell" like structure that opens up and away from the
    rocket prior to launch is something I don't recall seeing on any
    other footage I may have ever seen on TV.
    
    Bob

    Yeah, I watched the beginning, mostly to make sure that they actually
    had the video feed. I noticed it wasn't too sharp and pretty static.
    
    The coverage of the Soyuz a couple of years back that carried the
    Japanese journalist was much better for both quality and content. I was
    hoping for something along those lines.
    
    gary

    I saw this in the Astronaut-Candidates mailing list, and thought that it
    could be of interest for some of you space buffs out there. It is a
    reply entered by Astronaut Janice Voss to a question asked by a member
    of the list. Hope you like it. 
    
    Eladio Cortes
     
    
From:	US1RMC::"JEVOSS@ca1.jsc.nasa.gov" "Voss, Janice E."  9-MAR-1995 16:11:28.68
To:	"'ascc'" <astronaut-candidates@sauron.msfc.nasa.gov>
CC:	
Subj:	Mir


Claudio Egalon asked:  I suspect that this question may not be appropriate 
for this group but is
 somewhat related.  I have just read in Space News that the Soyuz
 spacecraft that will take Norman Thagard to the Mir station will take
 two days to reach the station. I am surprised that it takes that much long
 to get there. Can anybody tell me why is that much long? Is there any way
 to cut down the time to reach Mir?

I don't know if the question is appropriate, but I thought it was an 
interesting question.  Assuming others on the net did too, I asked Sergei, 
the backup cosmonaut on STS-63, what was the reason for the delay.  Basic 
orbital mechanics:  To rendezvous with a target, you have to:  (1) launch 
into the target's orbital plane so you don't have to spend propellant 
steering out-of-plane; (2) adjust your position around the path in the 
orbital plane (phasing) so that you and the target are in the same part of 
the orbit.  Obviously, you could adjust the Mir orbit by carefully picking 
Mir reboost times so that on launch day, the Mir was in the right spot in 
the orbital path for a quick rendezvous.  Sergei said that in the past 
rendezvous was done on the first day, but after looking at propellant usage, 
the engineers decided that day 2 was more efficient so that's how they do it 
now.  It gives them more time to accurately determine the orbit.  I would 
guess that this means you can do a much more efficient job of adjusting for 
launch dispersions if you launch into a phasing orbit i.e. an orbit which is 
a different altitude and/or shape (eccentricity) than the target orbit.

This is actually very similar to how we do rendezvous.  On STS-71, the 
docking is currently scheduled for 1 day, 18 1/2 hours after lift-off.  Keep 
in mind that for flights carrying people, there is also a crew rest issue. 
 Shuttle crews get up about 6 hours before launch.  By the time you got to 
orbit, did all the post-insertion work of opening the payload bay doors, 
deployed the communications antenna, got out of the launch suits, etc. (this 
takes about 2 1/2 hours), then did the final rendezvous stages (another 2-3 
hours), you're at early evening body time after an exhausting day -- not the 
best time to be bumping up against another spacecraft.  The STS-71 docking 
is planned for about noon body time on the 3rd day in orbit.

There are also replan issues.  If the target had been in the right place for 
a quick rendezvous on your planned launch day, if you have a 1 day (2 days, 
a week) delay in launch, all of a sudden you have to spend a lot of 
propellant keeping Mir in the right place, or you launch into a phasing 
orbit and completely redo the flight plan.  It's much easier (and less prone 
to mistake) if you do every rendezvous with the same basic pattern.

Clear as mud?  About ten times as much info as you really wanted?

Janice Voss


% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Received: from crl.dec.com by us1rmc.bb.dec.com (5.65/rmc-22feb94) id AA12853; Thu, 9 Mar 95 16:11:42 -050
% Received: by crl.dec.com; id AA11099; Thu, 9 Mar 95 13:16:23 -0500
% Received: (from daemon@localhost) by sauron.msfc.nasa.gov (8.6.9/8.6.9) id MAA06836 for astronaut-candidates-outgoing; Thu, 9 Mar 1995 12:00:31 -0600
% From: "Voss, Janice E." <JEVOSS@ca1.jsc.nasa.gov>
% To: "'ascc'" <astronaut-candidates@sauron.msfc.nasa.gov>
% Subject: Mir
% Date: Thu, 09 Mar 95 12:00:00 cst
% Message-Id: <2F5F42BC@msmtp-out.jsc.nasa.gov>
% Encoding: 48 TEXT
% X-Mailer: Microsoft Mail V3.0
% Sender: owner-astronaut-candidates@sauron.msfc.nasa.gov
% Precedence: bulk

David Steitz
Headquarters, Washington, DC                April 4, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1730)

Rob Navias
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone:  713/483-5111)


NOTE TO EDITORS:  N95-18

WEEKLY REPORTS ON MIR MISSION TO AIR ON NASA TV

     NASA's "Mission Update" program will provide weekly 
reports beginning April 7 on the flight of U.S. astronaut 
Norm Thagard aboard the Russian Mir space station.

     "Mission Update" will provide a comprehensive recap of 
the week's events on orbit involving Thagard and his 
crewmates, Commander Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer 
Gennadiy Strekalov, as well as a preview of the next week's 
activities of the Mir 18 mission.

    The Mir 18 editions of "Mission Update" will air each 
Friday at 11:30 a.m. EDT, just prior to the Video News File 
program, which originates from NASA Headquarters.  "Mission 
Update" will continue each week throughout the duration of 
the scheduled three-month stay by Thagard and his colleagues 
aboard Mir.

     NASA Television is carried on GTE Spacenet 2, 
Transponder 5, Channel 9 at 69 degrees West longitude, 
frequency 3880.0 Megahertz, audio 6.8 Megahertz.

-end-

 
Mir 18 
Mission Status Report #6
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, March 24, 1995, 8 a.m. CST
 
Following the departure of their predecessors, the three-person crew onboard 
the Russian Space Station Mir is establishing the daily routine it will follow 
for its three-month mission in space.
 
Mir 18 Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennadiy Strekalov, and 
U.S. Astronaut and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard, said good-bye to the 
Mir 17 crew Wednesday morning.  After the successful undocking and landing 
operations, Mir 17 Commander Alexander Viktorenko, Flight Engineer Elena 
Kondakova, and Physician Valery Polyakov, returned to the Moscow area and are 
reported to be feeling well.
 
With the transition from one crew to the next complete, the cosmonauts have 
shifted to the work schedule they will be on for the next 90 days.  The routine 
on Mir closely resembles the workday in Moscow.  The crew's day begins at 8 a.m. 
Moscow time.  The first two hours, which resemble the traditional post-sleep 
period in the Shuttle program, are set aside for the cosmonauts to have time 
to wash up, eat breakfast, and prepare for the day's work.
 
The workday runs from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., with breaks for lunch and exercise for 
each crew member.  After dinner, the crew prepares its reports on the day's 
activities and reviews the plan for the next work day.  From 10 p.m. - 11 p.m., 
the crew members have personal time, followed by the start of their 9-hour 
sleep period.
 
This schedule will be altered for events such as the arrival of the Progress 
and Spektr modules and the scheduled spacewalks in May.
 
The crew's work schedule has been fairly light this week to allow Thagard, 
Dezhurov, and Strekalov time to acquaint themselves with their surroundings 
and to adjust to the microgravity environment of space.  Crew members, however, 
have been tracking their food, fluid, and drug intake to maximize the 
efficiency of the investigations looking at the microgravity-induced changes 
to the body's metabolism.  The metabolic activities will pick up momentum next 
week when crew members begin collecting blood, urine, and body fluid samples.
 
The metabolic studies are part of an overall investigation to understand and 
characterize the changes the human body undergoes in space.
 
One of the most remarkable changes is the redistribution of body fluids that 
occurs almost immediately upon arrival in microgravity.  On Earth, body fluids 
pool in the lower part of the body.  In space, however, the fluids collect in 
the head and upper body resulting in a reduction in the amount of blood plasma 
and body fluids.
 
The metabolic investigations look at a wide range of physiological responses 
and regulatory systems related to the fluid distribution.  Effects on red 
blood cell production and metabolism, bone density, muscle mass and the immune 
system, will be studies using the samples collected by the Mir 18 crew in orbit.
 
Other investigations will look at the cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary systems, 
the neuromuscular/neurosensory systems, behavior and performance, fundamental 
biology, and hygiene, sanitation, and radiation.  Some activities for these 
investigations will begin next week.
 
The next Mir 18 Status Report will be filed on Tuesday, March 28, 1995.

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #7
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, March 28, 1995, 8 a.m. CST
 
Cosmonauts on board the Russian Space Station Mir this week collected the first 
blood, urine and saliva samples for the mission's metabolic experiments, while 
flight controllers in the United States and Russia practiced the June mission 
that will conclude the three-month flight.
 
Monday, Mir 18 Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov 
and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard took tracers that will help investigators 
monitor how the body's regulatory system adapts to space.  Blood, urine and 
saliva samples were then collected at timed intervals from each crewman and 
processed for storage on board the station.  The samples will be returned to 
Earth for analysis at the end of the Mir 18 mission.   
 
The tracers used in the protocol are bromide, traceable water and glycine.  
Bromide is used to monitor changes in the amount of extracellular fluid or 
fluid outside the body's cells.  The traceable water tracks changes in the 
total body water, and glycine is used to monitor muscle turnover.  The tracer 
protocol will be repeated twice more during the crew's stay on orbit.
 
Seven experiments focusing on the metabolic/regulatory system will be performed 
during the Mir 18 mission.  The experiments look at the nature and extent of 
the fluid shift that occurs in orbit, calcium absorption as it relates to the 
loss of bone mass, factors which may influence the formation of kidney stones; 
the effects of exercise on metabolism, changes in red blood cells composition 
and production; and changes in the reaction to standard pharmaceuticals used 
in long-duration spaceflight.  The sample collection done on Mir will be 
supplemented by samples to be collected during STS-71.
 
Thagard also collected air and water samples for the Hygiene, Sanitation and 
Radiation studies.  The four Hygiene, Sanitation and Radiation experiments will 
help investigators characterize the environment on Mir and determine the role 
environmental factors may have on the health, safety and efficiency of the 
cosmonauts.
 
Also this week, flight control teams in Houston and in Kaliningrad have been 
participating in a joint simulation for the June Shuttle-Mir docking mission.  
The latest in a series of joint simulations, the exercise is designed to refine 
to coordination between the two control centers and rehearse portions of the 
mission's timeline.  The simulation is scheduled to end later today.
 
Wednesday, crew members will begin a three-day maintenance procedure to change 
out a condenser in the stations' air conditioning system.  The installation of 
the hardware is part of the Russian Space Program's larger maintenance plan to 
prolong the life of the station.  The work will be done by Dezhurov and 
Strekalov.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Friday, March 31, 1995.
 
 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #8
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, March 31, 1995, 8 a.m. CST
 
The heart's adaptation to space was the focus of several activities on board 
the Russian Space Station Mir this week as U.S. Astronaut Norm Thagard 
surpassed the Space Shuttle duration record set a few weeks ago by the STS-67 
crew.
 
Thagard was launched on his historic mission on Mir on March 14, and since then 
has spent more than 18 days in space.  By the end of his three-month mission, 
Thagard will hold the all-time United States record for time spent in space, 
eclipsing the current record of 84 days set by the third Skylab crew in 1974.
 
Thagard's time on Mir has been filled starting a number of scientific 
investigations designed to study the human body's adaptation to long-term 
space flight and to characterize the environment on the space station.
 
Wednesday, Thagard donned a Holter Monitor to gather data on his blood pressure 
and heart rate.  This information will help investigators establish baseline 
condition of the crew members' cardiovascular system.
 
The following day, Thagard spent about 30 minutes in the Russian Chibis suite.  
The Chibis suit is similar to the Lower Body Negative Pressure Unit used in the 
Space Shuttle Program.  While the two devices do not resemble each other 
physically, the protocols used on Mir will be similar to the protocols used in 
the Shuttle program to allow investigators to compare results from the two 
devices.
 
Upon entry into space, body fluids migrate from the lower extremities to the 
upper torso and hear.  The extra fluid around the heart causes the body to 
employ natural processes to eliminate what it perceives to be excess water.  
The cardiovascular system subsequently can become deconditiioned during an 
extended stay in space.
 
Space scientists have discovered, however, that by drawing fluid back down to 
the lower extremities and exercising the heart, the cardovascular system stays 
better conditioned.  Applying negative pressure to the lower body achieves this 
effect.
 
For the procedure, the subject puts on a device -- in this case the Chibis suit 
-- that seals at the waist.  A partial vacuum which is incrementally induced, 
draws the fluid to the lower extremities.  The short protocol, which Thagard 
performed Thursday, lasts about 30 minutes and is used to measure the responses 
of the cardiovascular system.  All three crew members will serve as Chibis 
suit subjects three times during the Mir 18 mission.
 
Mir 18 crew members this week also continued to log their fluid, food and drug 
intake, and to collect air and water samples to help investigators characterize 
the environment on the Russian station.  In addition to the science activities, 
the cosmonauts installed a condenser in the station's air conditioning system.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Tuesday, April 4, 1995.

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #9
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, April 4, 1995, 8 a.m. CDT
 
The Mir 18 crew, Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov 
and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard have completed their third week in space 
as they continue their series of scientific experiments designed to study the 
human body's adaptation to a weightless environment.  Meanwhile flight 
technicians on the ground are finishing preparations for launch of a cargo 
vehicle that will deliver additional supplies and equipment to the orbiting 
station.
 
Thagard's efforts yesterday were directed towards preparation of the PILOT 
experiment which is designed to evaluate a person's visual perception and motor 
dexterity control.  The PILOT system uses computer equipment and displays to 
allow the operator to fly simulated approach and dockings to the Mir station.  
The system is similar to the one used by Shuttle pilots during long missions to 
maintain their approach and landing skills.
 
Today's activities saw Thagard as the test subject for PILOT making several 
runs on the docking simulator with Strekalov monitoring the experiment 
operation.  Thagard noted a great deal of difference between the PILOT system 
used on the ground for training and the one used in flight.  The onboard system 
seemed to have more sensitivity in fine course correction inputs however the 
visual display seemed to be of lesser quality.  Additional runs of the PILOT 
system will happen later in the flight.  
 
Thagard also spent part of the day today downloading data from the Tissue 
Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC), a radiation dosimeter which will run 
continuously during the flight measuring the environment of the station.  Data 
is downlinked every two weeks to optical disks which will be returned during 
the STS-71 mission.
 
Strekalov today donned a Holter Monitor he will wear for 24 hours.  The monitor 
is designed to gather data on his blood pressure and heart rate.  This is part 
of the continuing effort to help investigators establish baseline condition of 
the crew members cardiovascular system.
 
The rest of the week's activities will involve more work with the Chibis suit, 
the Russian version of the Lower Body Negative Pressure Unit used in the Space 
Shuttle Program.  The suit, which seals at the waist, uses a partial vacuum in 
the lower half to draw body fluids back into the lower extremities.  Drawing 
fluids back into the lower part of the body periodically during long space 
flights along with regular exercise helps the cardiovascular system stay in 
better condition.
 
The crew will also be taking body mass measurements which are done on a regular 
basis during the flight and conducting more blood draws as a follow up on 
studies of calcium metabolism.
 
Back on Earth, the next cargo supply ship for the Mir station, Progress 227, is 
scheduled to be launched on Sunday, April 9 at 22:30 Mir time (3:30 p.m. EDT)  
Docking to the Mir station is planned to take place on April 11 just before 
midnight Mir time (5 p.m. EDT).  The Progress-M series of supply spacecraft 
have the ability of independent flight time of up to 30 days, are equipped with 
the same rendezvous and docking equipment as the Soyuz-TM and have about 100 kg 
greater payload capacity than earlier Progress type vehicles.
 
Progress 227 will deliver a variety of research to the orbiting station.  The 
hardware onboard will aid the cosmonauts in their investigations of fundamental 
biology, environmental monitoring and metabolic investigations.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Friday, April 7, 1995.

 
Mir 18
Mission Control Center - Kaliningrad
Status Report #10
 
Friday, April 7, 1995
8 a.m. Central
 
The investigations into how the human body changes and adapts to a weightless 
environment continued this week as Mir 18 Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight 
Engineer Gennady Strekalov, and U.S. Astronaut and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm 
Thagard completed their third week aboard the Mir Space Station.
 
Yesterday, Dezhurov spent 24 hours wearing the Holter Monitor which gathered 
data on his blood pressure and heart rate as part of the continuing effort to 
establish a baseline condition of the crew members' cardiovascular system.  
The Mir 18 commander and his two crewmates also were involved in body mass 
measurements which are done periodically during the flight.  They also had 
blood draws taken in support of the metabolic research activities.
 
Earlier today, the crew had more work time with the Chibis suit, the Russian 
version of the Lower Body Negative Pressure Unit used on the Space Shuttle.  
For this session, Dezhurov was the test subject, with Thagard supporting the 
experiment.  Chibis suit activities are always coordinated to take place 
during a communication pass so flight controllers on the ground can monitor 
biomedical telemetry during the experiment.
 
Later this morning, Thagard will conduct a television broadcast from Mir where 
he will be describing activities and accomplishments that have happened aboard 
the station recently.  Following his status report, he will be interviewed by 
WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.  Both the status report and the interview will be 
carried on NASA TV.
 
Everything remains on schedule for the next cargo supply ship for the Mir 
station.  Progress 227 is set to be launched Sunday from the Baikonur 
Cosmodrome on a Soyuz rocket at 22:30 Mir Time (3:30 p.m. EDT).  Docking to 
the Mir station is projected to take place on April 11 just before midnight 
Mir time (5:00 p.m. EDT).  The docking to Mir will be carried live on NASA TV.
 
Progress 227 will deliver a variety of research materials to the orbiting 
station.  The equipment aboard includes various kits, logbooks, observation 
materials, glovebags, greenhouse fixative, and harvesting materials.  All of 
those items are part of the fundamental biology work being done on Mir.  
Progress will also bring to the station a Mir Grab Sample Container which will 
take air samples in support of the environmental monitoring effort, and blood 
and urine collection kits for the metabolic research effort.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Tuesday, April 11.
 

re .549
    
>Interesting question:  Will Thagard's stay on Mir be longer or shorter than the
>stay of Skylab 4?  The two must be quite close...
    
    .556 answers this question viz. Thagard will (d.v.) set the US space
    endurance record, exceeding the previous record of 84 days set in the
    Skylab days.
    
>Interesting question 2:  I believe that Thagard's companions in the latest
>launch will also be returning with Atlantis.  I wonder what the Russians are
>doing with the "extra" Soyuz that this leaves hanging about?
    
    My understanding is that there is no "extra" Soyuz. (It might be though
    that a subsequent Mir crew returns in a Soyuz that they didn't come up
    in, assuming that normally they do this.)

    The "extra" Soyuz that brought Thagard & fellow Cosmonauts to 
    MIR was used to exchange crew members, who returned to earth. 
    That was my understanding.
    
    Bob

What I did not understand when I wrote .549 is that the shuttle is bringing up
some Russians too.  I was assuming that they have a Soyuz now.  They have to
bring up another Soyuz to get more cosmonauts, but rather than Thaggard's crew
taking down the oldest Soyuz, they instead come down in the shuttle.  Thus, two
Soyuz.  In fact, the shuttle brings up the replacement crew and takes down
Thaggard et all.  Thus, no surplus.

Burns

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #11
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, April 11, 1995, 10 a.m. CDT
 
Preparations continue on schedule for the arrival of the Progress 227 supply 
ship to the Mir Space Station this evening as Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, 
Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and U.S. Astronaut and Cosmonaut Researcher 
Norm Thagard begin their 5th week in space.
 
Progress 227 was launched Sunday evening from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.  The 
final part of the rendezvous sequence and docking to the Mir station remains 
targeted for approximately midnight Mir time this evening (5 p.m. EDT).  The 
docking to Mir will be carried live on NASA Television.  
 
The crew's activities for the first part of this week are focusing on the 
environment on the Mir station.  On Sunday, the Solid Sorbent Air Sampler 
(SSAS) was activated.  SSAS operates for a 24-hour period gathers data on what 
chemical elements the crew are exposed to on a long term basis.
 
On Monday, the crew used a grab sample container to take an additional air 
sample of the station.  The sample container is a device which has a small 
container in a vacuum condition.  The crew member opens the device and draws 
in an air sample.  The grab sample is used to get a measurement of air quality 
in a specific area of the station at a specific time.  Also on Monday, Thagard 
wore a Formaldehyde Monitor, a small dosimeter badge which is used to check 
for the presence of formaldehyde in the station which may have been generated 
from plastics or other material.
 
Also on Monday, Thagard was involved with the Fatigue and Sports Protocol 
activities.  The fatigue portion involves the test subject using bungy cords.  
The test can involve the number of repetitions a crew member can perform or how 
long the crew member can hold the cords in one position.  The Sports Protocol 
portion involves running on a treadmill at various speeds for aerobic 
conditioning.
 
Today's activities aboard the station have been fairly light.  The crew spent 
part of the day getting ready for future work with an incubator experiment and 
general preparations for the arrival of the Progress module.
 
Tomorrow will be a very special day for the crew and the Russian people with 
the observance of Cosmonauts Day.  The annual occasion marks the anniversary 
of Yuri Gagarin's flight.  Gagarin was the first human to travel into space 
and was launched on April 12, 1961 in a Vostok capsule atop a booster rocket 
that was slightly smaller than the one used to launch the Mir 18 crew.  There 
are many special events which will be held throughout Russia and the Mir 18 
crew will be given the day off from most of their normal experiment activities.
 
The crew will spend part of the day tomorrow participating in two in-flight 
press conferences.  The first will be from the Mission Control Center-Moscow 
with Russian news media.  The second will be with U.S. media who will be at 
the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  
The U.S. press conference is scheduled to take place 1612-1632 Mir Time 
(9:12 a.m. - 9:32 a.m. EDT) and will be carried live on NASA Television.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Friday, April 14, 1995.

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #12
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, April 14, 1995, 8:30 a.m. CDT
 
Following a day off in observance of Cosmonauts Day on Wednesday, Commander 
Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and U.S. Astronaut and 
Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard began unloading experiments and supplies from
the Progress M27 (designation used after a Progress is launched) capsule while
continuing their work with various life science experiments.
 
On Thursday, in addition to unloading items from Progress M27, the crew set up
and checked out an incubator system that will support a Japanese Quail egg
experiment.  The 48 Quail eggs, which were part of the Progress M27 payload,
were fertilized shortly before launch.  Late yesterday, the eggs were
transferred from Progress to the incubator.  Each of the eggs will be fixed at
various points in the flight to allow researchers to examine how the
developmental process is affected in a weightlessness condition.  None of the
eggs for the Mir 18 experiments will be developed to full term and all the
samples will return aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis during the STS-71 mission.
 
Yesterday and today, Dezhurov and Strekalov were involved in the same Fatigue
and Sports Protocol activities that Thagard was involved with earlier this week.
The fatigue portion involves the test subject using bungee cords to test the
number of repetitions a crew member can perform or how long the crew member can
hold the cords in one position before becoming tired.  The Sports Protocol
portion involves running on a treadmill at various speeds for aerobic
conditioning.
 
Thagard and Dezhurov are involved in pharmacokinetics experiments today.  These
investigations are designed to evaluate how quickly medicine ingested by the
crew is absorbed into the blood stream.  For today's experiment, they will take
acetaminophen (generic Tylenol) and Lactulose (a large sugar molecule that is
not metabolized) and then at prescribed times take breath and saliva samples to
see how soon before traces of these substances appear in the sample.
Understanding the speed with which medicine is absorbed by the body in space is
important because researchers suspect that the ability of the body to use
medications that are taken is altered by the physiological changes that occur
in space flight.
 
Later today, the crew will participate in two educational events.  The crew will
speak to students associated with the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to
Benefit the Environment) project.  GLOBE is an international partnership program
that involves students and schools from different countries conducting
scientific investigations and monitoring the Earth's environment.  The students
talking to the Mir 18 crew will be at the Mission Control Center-Moscow and at
NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.  The two events, which are scheduled for
9:30-9:40 a.m. and 10:30-11:00 a.m. EDT, will be carried on NASA Television.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Tuesday, April 18, 1995.


 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #13
 
 
Mission Control Center,Kaliningrad,Tuesday,April 18, 1995,8 a.m. CDT
 
Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov, and U.S.
Astronaut and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard have now been aboard the Mir 
Space Station for over a month and are continuing with their investigations 
into how the human body adapts to a weightless environment.
 
For the last two days, Thagard and Dezhurov have been involved in more 
pharmacokinetics activities designed to evaluate how quickly medicine ingested
by the crew is absorbed into the blood stream.  This week's experiment has 
involved Hepatic Protocol (liver studies).  On Monday, Thagard and Dezhurov 
took a dose of Antipurine, a metabolic tacer, and are collecting saliva and 
urine samples over a 48-hour period.  The data gathered from this experiment 
will help researchers understand how the physiological changes that occur in 
space flight affect the speed with which medicine is absorbed by the body.  
The Hepatic Protocol work will be completed tomorrow.
 
Today, Thagard will perform another download of data from the Tissue 
Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC), a radiation dosimeter which runs 
continuously during the flight measuring the environment of the Mir Space 
Station.  The data from TEPC is downloaded every two weeks to optical disks 
which will be returned during the STS-71 mission.
 
More work may be done tomorrow with the PILOT experiment designed to evaluate 
a person's visual perception and motor dexterity control.  The PILOT system 
uses computer equipment and displays to allow the operator to fly a simulated 
approach and docking to the Mir Space Station.  The system is similar to the 
one used by the Shuttle pilots during long missions to maintain their approach 
and landing skills.
 
Also tomorrow, Thagard will give a televised status report of the Mir 18 
crew's efforts to date and discuss upcoming activities in preparation for the 
arrival of the Spektr science module.  The status report is scheduled for 1755 
- 1810 Mir Time (9:55 a.m.-10:10 a.m. CDT) and will be carried on NASA TV.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Friday, April 21, 1995.
 

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #14
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, April 21, 1995, 2 p.m. CDT
 
Experiments on embryo development along with work to prepare the Mir station 
for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Atlantis were a part of Commander 
Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and Cosmonaut Researcher 
Norm Thagard's activities this week as the Mir 18 crew began its sixth week 
aboard the orbiting station.  Since arriving on March 16th, the three men have 
been involved in a series of life sciences experiments which are designed to 
characterize the effects of a weightless environment.
 
This week, the crew worked with the Japanese Quail egg experiment.  The 48 
eggs involved in the investigation are being kept in an incubator aboard the 
station.  For the first time Thursday, the crew chemically fixed eight of the 
eggs.  All of the eggs will be fixed at various points in the flight to allow 
researchers to examine how the developmental process is affected in a 
weightless condition.  None of the samples for the Mir 18 experiments will be 
developed to full term and all the eggs will return aboard Space Shuttle 
Atlantis during the STS-71 mission.
 
The crew also removed the shower/sauna unit on the station located in the 
Kvant-2 module and are now in the process of installing a new gyrodyne unit in 
that location.  Along with other units, the gyrodyne will provide the attitude 
control which is needed to support the Atlantis docking this summer.  A new 
shower/sauna unit will be brought up in several pieces aboard a Progress 
vehicle later this year.  In the meantime, the crew will use "wet wipes" 
similar to what Space Shuttle crews used to maintain hygiene during their time
in space.
 
The crew also recorded body mass measurements.  The measurements are done on a 
regular basis during the flight to evaluate the crew's health status and to 
provide background information for other life sciences investigations.

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #15
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, April 25, 1995, 8:30 a.m. CDT
 
As Mir-18 crew members Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady 
Strekalov and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard near completion of their sixth 
week aboard the orbiting station, they continue working on life sciences 
experiments and preparing Mir for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Atlantis 
this summer.
 
On Friday, the crew finished installing a new gyrodyne unit.  Gyrodynes 
provide attitude control to the Mir space station.  This new unit is needed to 
supplement the station's existing gyrodynes to support Atlantis' docking with 
Mir.
 
Over the weekend, the crew chemically fixed eight more quail eggs.  Forty-eight 
eggs, stored in an incubator, will be fixed at various stages of development.  
The goal of this experiment is to determine if a microgravity environment 
causes any abnormalities during embryonic development of higher animals.
 
Today, the crew is measuring their body mass.  This measurement is part of 
experiments to investigate the effects of prolonged exposure to microgravity 
on the fluid and electrolyte balance within the body.
 
Tomorrow, Thagard will conduct a television broadcast in which he will give a 
status report of his activities on Mir.  Following this report, he will be 
interviewed by KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTVK-TV in Phoenix and KARE-TV in 
Minneapolis.  The status report and interviews will be carried on NASA TV.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Friday, April 28, 1995.
 


Mir 18
Mission Status Report #16
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, April 28, 1995, 8:30 a.m. CDT
 
As Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and 
Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard began their 7th week aboard the orbiting 
space station Mir, controllers at Mission Control Center-Moscow gave them the 
go-ahead to start preparing for the first spacewalk of the Mir-18 mission.
 
The spacewalk, tentatively scheduled for Friday, May 12, is the first in a 
series of spacewalks to prepare Mir for the arrival of the Spektr research 
module and this summer, the Space Shuttle Atlantis.  As part of the 
preparations, Dezhurov and Strekalov will check out their space suits, 
umbilicals and tools and begin special exercises to condition their arms and 
hands.
 
Yesterday, Thagard chemically fixed eight quail eggs and placed them in the 
incubator.  Tomorrow, the remaining 24 eggs will be fixed and placed in the 
incubator ending the crew's active participation in this experiment.  From 
this point on, they will monitor the experiment, checking the incubator's 
temperature and water.  The incubator, with its 48 eggs, will be returned on 
the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
 
Also tomorrow, Thagard will use the solid sorbent air sampler to take samples 
of the air on Mir for postflight analysis.  This is part of an experiment to 
study the characteristics and dynamics of the atmosphere and the chemica 
composition of the drinking water on Mir.  The air samples will verify the 
effectiveness of Mir's air purifying system to remove trace chemicals, giving 
scientists and engineers additional information necessary to develop improved 
units for long duration space flights.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Tuesday, May 2, 1995.

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #17
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, May 2, 1995, 8:30 a.m. CDT
 
Although today is a national holiday in Russia, the Mir-18 crew of Commander 
Valdimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and Cosmonaut Norm 
Thagard conducted a full schedule of life science experiments as they spent 
their 50th day aboard the orbiting space station.
 
This weekend, Thagard chemically fixed the remaining 24 quail eggs and placed 
them in the incubator.  The crew now will only monitor the experiment until it 
is transferred to the Space Shuttle Atlantis for return to Earth this summer.
 
Yesterday, Dezhurov spent approximately an hour in the Chibis suit, the 
Russian version of the Lower Body Negative Pressure device used on the Space 
Shuttle, in a test of cardiovascular changes occurring with extended exposure 
to weightlessness.  The two devices have a similar purpose, to draw body 
fluids back down to the lower extremities.  Body fluids of crew members 
exposed to microgravity migrate from the lower extremities to the upper body 
and head.  This condition can cause the cardiovascular system to provide an 
inadequate blood flow to the brain when the crew member attempts to stand 
after returning from space.  Thagard will spend an hour in the Chibis suit 
today.
 
Both Dezhurov and Thagard wore a Holter monitor for 24 hours prior to donning 
the Chibis suit.  This monitor gathers data on blood pressure and heart rate.  
The data collected by the instrument will give investigators a baseline 
reading of the crew member's cardiovascular system before wearing the Chibis 
suit.
 
Tomorrow, the crew will spend most of the day familiarizing themselves with 
plans for their first spacewalk, tentatively planned for May 12.  Dezhurov and 
Strekalov will conduct a series of spacewalks to prepare Mir for the arrival 
of the Spektr research module later this month.  Thagard will support the 
spacewalks from inside Mir.
 
Also on Wednesday, Thagard will broadcast a televised status report of the 
past week's activities on Mir.  The status report will be carried live on NASA 
Television.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Thursday, May 4, 1995.

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #18
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, May 5, 1995, 8:30 a.m. CDT
 
As the Mir-18 crew of Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady 
Strekalov and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard start their 8th week aboard 
the orbiting space station, they are continuing preparations for the first 
spacewalk of the mission.
 
With the spacewalk tentatively planned for May 12, the crew has a variety of 
tasks to perform to prepare Mir for the arrival of the Spektr research module 
later this month.  Yesterday, the crew laid power cables through the space 
station, from the batteries to the future location of the solar arrays.  This 
activity is very important for the second spacewalk when one solar array will 
be moved from the Kristall module and reinstalled on Kvant-2 module.
 
Today, Dezhurov and Strekalov were preparing for their first spacewalk which 
involves making ready their work site outside the space station.  As part of 
these preparations, they will check their equipment, update the spacewalk 
schedule and review a spacewalk training video.
 
While preparations for the spacewalks occupies much of their work day, the crew 
continues important life sciences research.  Yesterday, Thagard used the Mir 
treadmill for the Sport-Fatigue experiment which evaluates the effects of 
microgravity on a crew member's cardiovascular system.  During the sports 
portion of the experiment, Thagard ran on the treadmill at four different 
speeds.  For the fatigue portion, he performed isometric exercises until he 
reached the point of maximum fatigue.
 
Thagard today performed the Medical Control Protocol number five, or MK-5, 
experiment.  In this experiment, Thagard used Mir's bicycle ergometer while 
his heart rate and blood pressure were monitored by scientists on the ground.  
This experiment, which lasted approximately 20 minutes, attempts to maintain 
the health of the crew by reducing the effects of microgravity.
 
Thagard also downloaded data from the automatic blood pressure monitors to an 
onboard NASA portable computer.  Downloading this data clears the monitor's 
memory permitting the collection of more information on the effects of 
microgravity on the crew's cardiovascular systems.  For future missions, this 
data is planned to be downlinked directly to the experiment's investigators.
 
This weekend, Thagard will wear a Holter monitor and automatic blood pressure 
cuff for 24 hours in preparation for a Sunday session in the Chibis suit which 
is part of the Lower Body Negative Pressure experiment.  Strekalov also will 
wear the monitors but in support of ongoing periodic medical testing to 
document his fitness.
 
Also this weekend, Dezhurov and Strekalov are scheduled to prepare their 
spacesuits for the first spacewalk.
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Tuesday, May 9, 1995.


Mir 18
Mission Status Report #19
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, May 9, 1995, 8 a.m. CDT
 
Nearing the end of their eighth week aboard the Mir space station, crew
members Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov,
and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard, continue life science experiments
and preparations for Friday's space walk. 
 
Yesterday, Thagard and Dezhurov participated in an experiment designed to
determine microgravity-related changes in how the body handles medications
during long-duration space missions.  On space flights, astronauts have
access to emergency and preventative medications.  However, researchers
believe that the microgravity environment affects the body's ability to
absorb and use drugs effectively. 
 
For the experiment, Thagard and Dezhurov ingested acetaminophen, a generic
pain reliever.  They then collected saliva, urine, and breath samples over
a 24-hour period. The data will be compared to the pre- and post-flight
results.  They will also keep a log to monitor fluid, nutrient, and
medication intakes, as well as exercise throughout the experiment. 
Experiment findings will be useful in developing drug treatments and
delivery techniques that are more effective than the current methods. 
 
Also yesterday, Dezhurov and Strekalov checked the seals on their space
suits and placed unnecessary equipment in the Progress module which will
be jettisoned later this month. 
 
Today is a day of rest for the crew in preparation for their space walk. 
Wednesday, a simulation is tentatively planned with Dezhurov and Strekalov
in their space suits inside Mir's transfer node.  This training session
includes familiarization with the tools they will use during Friday's
space walk. 
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Friday, May 12, 1995. 
 

Mir 18 
Mission Status Report #21 
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, May 16, 1995, 10:30 a.m. CDT 
 
The Mir-18 crew spent much of the last several days preparing for the second 
planned spacewalk of the mission scheduled to begin at about 9:45 in the 
evening central time Wednesday. 
 
The primary focus of tomorrow's planned five and a half hour spacewalk by 
Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov will be to fully stow a 
solar array on the Kristall module that was partially stowed as a test during 
the first spacewalk Friday.  Cosmonaut Researcher Dr. Norman Thagard will send 
"start" and "stop" commands to the solar array from inside the station while 
his fellow crewmates assist by guiding each panel into its canister throughout 
the process. 
 
Once stowed, the electrical power generating array will be removed and 
relocated to the Kvant-1 module at the opposite end of the Mir station.  As 
with all of the spacewalks, Thagard's role is to relay instructions from the
ground to his fellow cosmonauts and to provide them with instructions from 
reference manuals when the space station is out of radio contact with the 
ground. 
 
Following the spacewalk, the crew will send down approximately 30 minutes of 
video.  The views of Dezhurov and Strekalov working on the solar array 
retraction will be shown on NASA Television from 5:45 a.m. central to 
6:21 a.m. 
 
In preparation for the spacewalk, most of the communications between the 
Mission Control Center in Kaliningrad, and the Mir-18 crew has focused on 
procedures and timelines for the extravehicular excursion to ready the station 
for the arrival of its newest science module -- Spektr, scheduled for launch 
at 10:30 p.m. central on Friday, May 19.  Following a six-day phasing toward 
the space station, Spektr is scheduled to dock with Mir at 10:20 p.m. central 
on Thursday, May 25. 
 
The preparations included the checkout of the four spacesuits on board, two of 
which will be used for the spacewalk.  Earlier today, the crew used a high 
fidelity model of the Mir station to practice the techniques and plans for 
tomorrow's spacewalk and also conducted several medical experiments. 
 
During one communications session today, Thagard was provided information on  
the next scheduled Shuttle mission, STS-70.  The flight is set for a June 8 
launch, making it the one hundredth human spaceflight in U.S. history. 
 
Thagard will take time from his schedule on Friday to provide a status of 
activities this week, including the spacewalks and preparations for the 
arrival of Spektr.  His status will air live on NASA Television from 9:05 a.m. 
central to 9:20 a.m. 
 
One side note, last Saturday, May 13, Thagard surpassed the cumulative time in 
space record for an American as he began his eighty-fifth day in space.  His 
time on the Mir-18 mission, combined with his four previous Space Shuttle 
flights -- STS-7, STS 51-B, STS-30 and STS-42 -- passed the 84 days spent 
aboard Skylab by Astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue from 
November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974. 
 
The next Mir 18 status report will be filed on Friday, May 19, 1995. 

Mir 18 
Mission Status Report #22
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, May 19, 1995, 8 a.m. CDT
 
The two cosmonauts and one astronaut that make up the Mir-18 crew are 
preparing for a spacewalk beginning Sunday evening to continue readying the 
Mir space station for the arrival of its newest science module called Spektr.   
This previously unscheduled spacewalk is designed to complete work not 
finished on two earlier spacewalks May 12 and May 17.
 
The spacewalk is set to begin at 7:10 p.m. Central Sunday and last six hours 
and fifteen minutes ending at 1:25 a.m. Central Monday.  It was inserted into 
the crew's timeline after Commander Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer 
Gennady Strekalov had some difficulty in removing a solar array from the 
Kristall module delaying its transfer to the Kvant module at the opposite end 
of the orbital laboratory.
 
The second spacewalk lasted six hours thirty minutes and concluded after 
Dezhurov and Strekalov safely tied the solar array near its new location on 
the Kvant module.  Prior to its removal from Kristall, the array folded 
inside its protective canister one panel at a time following a series of 
computer commands sent from inside the Mir station by Astronaut Dr. Norman 
Thagard.  As each section retracted, the two cosmonauts guided it into the
canister and then placed a protective cover over the array.
 
The first task of the third spacewalk has the crew completing installation 
and re-deployment of the array at its new location on Kvant and stowing 
permanently the remaining array on Kristall.  The removal of the solar arrays 
from Kristall will allow the necessary clearance for Space Shuttle Atlantis 
when it docks with Mir in late June.
 
As with all of the spacewalks, Thagard's role is to relay instructions from 
the ground to his fellow cosmonauts and to provide them with instructions 
from reference books when the space station is out of radio contact with the 
ground.
 
Much of the communications between the Mission Control Center in Kaliningrad, 
and the Mir-18 crew since Wednesday's spacewalk has focused on procedures and 
timelines for the third spacewalk.  Two additional spacewalks are scheduled 
during the next two weeks to prepare for the arrival of the new science 
module -- Spektr.
 
The module is scheduled for launch later tonight at 10:32 p.m. central from 
the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan.  While the launch remains on schedule, 
flight controllers are considering delaying its arrival and docking to the 
space station to allow the crew to rest fully between spacewalks and complete 
interior cable preparations for the module's arrival.  The docking to Mir is 
tentatively set for 8:04 p.m. central June 1.  NASA TV plans to carry the 
Spektr docking live.
 
A status report by Thagard, previously scheduled for this morning, was 
postponed so that all communications sessions between the crew and the Mission 
Control Center could be devoted to preparations for the upcoming spacewalk.
 
The Mir-18 crew is scheduled to hold a press conference on June 6 -- the day 
Thagard breaks the U.S. single mission duration record of 84 days currently 
held by the Skylab 4 crew of Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue 
from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974.
 
The next Mir-18 status report will be filed Tuesday, May 23, 1995.
 
* * *
 
SPEKTR ASCENT/ORBITAL EVENTS SUMMARY
 
Date           DMT           CDT              Event
                                              
May 20      06:32:22    10:32:22 (5/19)      Launch
                                              Apogee: 340 kilometers
                                              Perigee: 220 kilometers
                                              Period:  89.8 minutes
                                              Inclination:    51.64 degrees
 
May 21                                        Orbit correction burn and
                                              test of automatic rendezvous,
                                              docking and control system
 
            05:11:12    21:11:12 (5/20) 1st engine ignition (orbit 16)
                                        Delta V 6.4 m/sec
                                        Duration 28.8 second
            07:19:08    23:19:08 (5/20) 2nd engine ignition (orbit 17)
                                        Delta V 15 m/sec
                                        Duration 67.4 seconds
                                        Apogee: 365 kilometers
                                        Perigee:  267 kilometers
                                        Period:  90.5 minutes
                                        Inclination:  51.64 degrees
 
24 May                                  1st double pulse maneuver
            03:36:25    19:36:25 (5/23) 1st engine ignition (orbit 62)
                                        Delta V 15.3 m/sec
                                        Duration 68.8 seconds
            05:35:10    21:35:10 (5/23) 2nd engine ignition (orbit 64)
                                        Delta V 3.3 m/sec
                                        Duration 14.9 seconds
                                        Apogee: 385 kilometers
                                        Perigee: 308 kilometers
                                        Period:  91.2 minutes
                                        Inclination:  51.67 degrees
 
27 May      02:35:36    18:35:36 (5/26) 2nd single pulse man. (orbit 109)
                                        Delta V 7.6 m/sec
                                        Duration  33.7 seconds
                                        Apogee  389 kilometers
                                        Perigee 328 kilometers
                                        Period  91.4 minutes
                                        inclination  51.67 degrees
 
June 1                                  Third double pulse maneuver
            01:02:25    17:02:25 (5/31) 1st engine ignition (orbit 187)
                                        Delta V 7.0 m/sec
                                        Duration 34.0 seconds
            01:48:18    17:48:18 (5/31) 2nd engine igntion (orbit 187)
                                        Delta V 7.4 m/sec
                                        Duration 34.3 seconds
                                                        
            04:04:00    20:04:00 (5/31) Spektr docking with Mir
 
SPEKTR MODULE FEATURES/WEIGHT
 
     SPEKTR SCIENCE MODULE is the newest module built for the Mir space 
station complex.  It is designed to study the Earth's natural resources as 
well as to investigate the upper layers of the atmosphere and the immediate 
surroundings of the Mir station.  It will be used for biomedical 
experimentation throughout the Mir/Shuttle program and beyond.  Spektr also 
will provide additional electrical power to the station with four solar 
panels.  In addition, the new module will deliver fuels and consummables to 
the Mir station.
 
Spektr Total Weight                   19.5 metric tons (2,200 pounds per ton)
 
Additional equipment for station       3.24 metric tons
 
Structures for payload deployment      3.85 metric tons
 
Scientific equipment                   2.15 metric tons
 
U.S. scientific equipment               .70 metric tons
 
Cargo delivered                        1.26 metric tons
includes:
linens and personal hygiene           38.57 kilograms
documentation                          8.02 kilograms
Atmospheric monitoring equipment      12.72 kilograms

Mir 18
Mission Status Report #23
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, May 23, 1995, 9 a.m. Central
 
Three spacewalks are completed and two remain to ready the Russian Space
Station Mir for the arrival of its newest science module launched Saturday, and
the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis.
 
Working more efficiently than on the two previous excursions outside the
orbital laboratory, cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov
completed reinstallation of one solar array and partially retracted another in
a 5 hour, 15 minute spacewalk with assistance from their fellow crew member
astronaut Norman Thagard working inside the station.
 
The spacewalk began on schedule at 7:10 Sunday evening central time and ended
shortly after midnight Monday, at 12:25.  The unscheduled spacewalk --
inserted in the crew's timeline to complete work not finished on two previous
spacewalks -- had been scheduled to last 6 hours 15 minutes.  The first and
second spacewalks laseted 6 hours, 8 minutes, and 6 hours, 30 minutes,
respectively.
 
Throughout all spacewalks, Thagard's role is to relay information from the
ground to his fellow crewmates and to provide them with instructions from
manuals while out of radio contact with the ground.
 
The first task for the crew was to install a solar array on the Kvant module
that had been moved from the Kristall module during last Wednesday's spacewalk.
With time running short, the crew secured the array near its new location and
waited until the third spacewalk to install it, attach the proper cables and
await Thagard's computer commands to deploy the electricity-generating solar
panel at its new location.  Once deployment was initiated, Dezhurov and
Strekalov moved back to the Kristall module to assist with the partial
retraction of its other solar array.
 
The partial retraction will allow additional power generation while ensuring
proper clearances during the next week when, using a small mechanical arm, the
Kristall module is moved to its new location to await the arrival of the Spektr
science module.  A Progress resupply vessel was undocked and discarded Monday
evening to make room for the movement of Krystall.
 
Spektr was launched last Friday evening on time at 10:32 central from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.  Two orbital correction burns occurred as
scheduled Saturday evening to fine tune the module's orbit as it spends 10 days
slowing phasing toward the Mir complex.  Spektr is scheduled to dock at its new
home May 31 at 8:04 p.m.  NASA TV plans to carry the docking live. 
 
The next two orbit adjust burns by Spektr are scheduled for this evening.  The
maneuvers will continue to raise the orbit of the module to more closely match
that of Mir.
 
Spektr is the newest science module built for the Mir complex.  Weighing 19.5
metric tons, it is designed to study the Earth's natural resources as well as
to investigate the upper layers of the atmosphere and the immediate
surroundings of the Mir station.
 
It will be used for biomedical experimentation throughout the Mir/Shuttle
program and beyond.  Spektr also will provide additional electrical power to
the station with four solar panels.  In addition, the new module will deliver
fuels and consummables to the Mir station.
 
As has been the case for the last 7 to 10 days, communications between the
Mission Control Center in Kaliningrad and the Mir-18 crew have focused on
procedure and timelines for the spacewalks.  The remaining two spacewalks are
timelined to last less than an hour each to move a passive docking target for
the various module movements prior to and just after Spektr arrival.  Three of
the modules -- Kristall, Kvant-2 and Spektr -- will be temporarily shutdown so
so the docking module located on that end of the space station can be used as
an airlock for the two spacewalkers.
 
The crew will spend the next few days disconnecting cables extending from the
core module into the docking chamber to allow the hatch to be closed for the
fourth and fifth spacewalks.  The remaining spacewalks will be short in
duration to move a passive docking device used as a guidance tool for module
movements.
 
The Mir-18 crew is scheduled to hold a press conference on June 6 -- the day
Thagard breaks the U.S. single mission duration record of 84 days currently
held by the Skylab 4 crew of Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue from
November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974.
 
The three crew members will return home in early July aboard Atlantis at the
conclusion of the STS-71 mission -- the first Shuttle to dock with the Mir
station.  Two cosmonauts replace the current crew will accompany the Atlantis
astronauts on their trip to Mir.
 
The next Mir-18 status report will be filed Friday, May 26, 1995.

Mir 18
Mission Status Report #24
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, May 26, 1995, 8:30 a.m. Central
 
A second spot of light adorns the large tracking map in the Russian Mission 
Control Center as flight controllers monitor the progress of the newest 
science module heading toward a Wednesday arrival at the orbiting complex.
 
Several orbit adjust burns have been completed aboard the Spektr module and 
several remain to fine tune its orbit to closely match that of Mir leading 
toward a planned docking at 7:38 p.m. central Wednesday.  The next rendezvous 
burn is scheduled for this evening.  NASA TV plans to carry the docking live.
 
In preparation for the arrival of Spektr, the Mir-18 crew is disconnecting all 
cables and removing unnecessary equipment from the airlock on the end of the 
station where Spektr will dock.  This will allow the docking module to be 
closed off and used as an airlock for the fourth and fifth spacewalks by 
Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov on Sunday and Thursday.  The third 
crew member, Dr. Norman Thagard, is assisting with cleanup activities and will 
provide assistance during the spacewalks.
 
The two scheduled spacewalks follow three already completed.  The two 
cosmonauts have spent 17 hours, 53 minutes outside the Mir complex thus far.  
The fourth and fifth spacewalks will be short in duration -- about 40 minutes 
each -- to move a passive docking target used as a guidance tool for module 
movements prior to, and just after, Spektr's arrival.
 
The first module movement will be to reposition the Kristall module beginning 
about 6 p.m. central tonight.  A small mechanical arm on the module attaches 
to a grapple fixture on the docking module and repositions the laboratory to a 
different docking port.  The movement is budgeted to take about an hour and a 
half.  Each time a module is moved, it is preceded by a short spacewalk to 
reposition the docking target.  Modules can be moved only 90 degrees at a 
time.
 
The fourth spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 5:40 p.m. Sunday followed at 
5 p.m. Monday by another movement of the Kristall module.  These two module 
swaps clear the way for Spektr's arrival Wednesday.
 
Discussions are underway among Mir managers to complete the retraction of the 
remaining Kristall solar array that was partially retracted at the end of the 
third spacewalk.  During one communications session with the crew, Strekalov 
radioed that the array could be folded up without a spacewalk since he could 
monitor its progress from a window on the station.  The partial retraction was 
done during the third spacewalk to allow additional power generation prior to 
Spektr's arrival.
 
The 45-foot-long Spektr is the newest science module built for the Mir 
complex, and is designed to study the Earth's natural resources, atmosphere 
and the area surrounding the Mir station.  It also will be used for biomedical 
experimentation while providing additional electrical power to the station via 
four solar panels.
 
After Spektr arrives, a fifth spacewalk identical to the fourth will be 
conducted on June 1 to reposition the docking target to allow Spektr to be 
moved to another port.  After the module is moved, its second pair of solar 
array panels will be deployed.  The main solar panels were deployed shortly 
after the module was launched a week ago.  The Kristall module will be moved 
once again on June 3 to serve as the docking location for Space Shuttle 
Atlantis near the end of June during the STS-71 mission.
 
The Mir-18 crew is scheduled to hold a press conference on June 6 -- the day 
Thagard breaks the U.S. single mission duration record of 84 days currently 
held by the Skylab 4 crew of Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue from 
November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974.
 
The three crew members will return home in early July aboard Atlantis which 
will launch with two cosmonauts to replace the Mir-18 crew. 
 
The next status report on the progress of the Mir-18 mission will be filed 
Tuesday, May 30.

Mir 18
Mission Status Report #25
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, May 30, 1995, 8 a.m. Central
 
Activity aboard Mir in the last few days has centered around preparations for 
the arrival of the Spektr module, now set for Wednesday, May 31.
 
The Kristall module was successfully repositioned twice--once on Friday and 
again on Monday--as planned.  Its current location clears the docking port for 
the arrival of Spektr.  Friday's move of the Kristall marked the first module 
movement onboard Mir in 5 years.  Kristall arrived at Mir in June 1990 and was 
repositioned the next day.
 
A small mechanical arm on the module attaches to a grapple fixture on the 
docking module and repositions the laboratory to a different docking port.  
Commands for the module movements are made from the ground.  Moving modules is 
a process that takes about an hour and a half.
 
Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov completed the fourth spacewalk on 
Sunday to realign the docking target for the second repositioning of the 
Kristall module.  The spacewalk began at 5:22 p.m. and ended at 5:43 p.m. 
Central on Sunday.  Throughout these activities, Dr. Norman Thagard has 
provided assistance during the spacewalks from inside the station and with 
cleanup activities.  The two cosmonauts have spent 18 hours, 13 minutes 
outside the Mir complex thus far.
 
Discussions continue among Mir managers about the possibility of completely 
retracting the remaining Kristall solar array that was partially retracted at 
the end of the third spacewalk.  During one communications session with the 
crew, Strekalov radioed that the array could be folded up without a spacewalk 
since he could monitor its progress from a window on the station.  The partial 
retraction was done during the third spacewalk to allow additional power 
generation prior to Spektr's arrival.
 
The 45 foot-long Spektr is the newest science module built for the Mir 
complex, and is designed to study the Earth's natural resources, atmosphere, 
and the area surrounding the Mir station.  It will also be used for biomedical 
experimentation while providing additional electrical power to the station via 
four solar panels.
 
At about 7 p.m. Central, May 31, the Spektr module is scheduled to begin its 
final approach to Mir.  Spektr is currently expected to dock between 7:40 p.m. 
and 8 p.m. Central on May 31.  A little more than an hour has been allotted 
for the docking operation.  There are two additional opportunities to attempt 
the docking in case of a problem.  NASA TV plans to carry the docking 
operation live.
 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #26
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, June 2, 1995, 8 a.m.Central
 
The newest addition to the Mir space station, the 45-foot-long Spektr module,
arrived as scheduled Wednesday, delivering about 1,550 pounds of biomedical
equipment to the orbit.
 
Spektr did not encounter any problems docking to Mir at about 7:58 p.m. Central
on May 31, and is scheduled to be repositioned to the -Y axis, its permanent
location at about 3 p.m. Central time today.
 
The module is designed to study the Earth's natural resources, atmosphere and
the area surrounding the Mir station.  It also will be used for biomedical
experimentation while providing additional electrical power to the station via
four solar panels.  The equipment includes a cycle ergometer to provide
resistance exercise, instruments to measure metabolic gas analysis and human
metabolism, a freezer to preserve specimens, and a greenhouse to explore the
the fundamentals of plant and animal growth.  Biomedical investigations will be
carried out  by Thagard, the Mir 19 crew and U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid
during her stay aboard Mir next year.
 
A fifth spacewalk was successfully conducted by cosmonauts Gennady Strekalov
and Vladimir Dezhurov at 5 p.m. June 1 Central, to relocate a docking target
for Spektr.  The total time of the spacewalk was 23 1/2 minutes. The two
cosmonauts have spent 18 hours, 36 1/2 minutes outside the Mir complex thus far.
 
On June 7, the Kristall module will be repositioned for the third of four times.
This movement, from the minus-Z axis to the minus-X axis, clears the way for
the arrival of the Space Shuttle Atlantis later this month. For the operation,
a small mechanical arm on the module attaches to a grapple fixture on the
docking module and repositions the laboratory to a different docking port.
Moving modules is a process of  about an hour and a half.
 
On Tuesday, June 6, Norm Thagard will breaks the U.S. single mission duration
record of 84 days currently held by the Skylab 4 crew of Gerald Carr, Edward
Gibson and William Pogue from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974.  The Mir-18
crew is scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday in observance of the
 accomplishment.
 
The next status report on the progress of the Mir-18 mission will be filed
Tuesday, June 6.


Mir 18
Mission Status Report #27
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, June 6, 1995, 8 a.m. Central
 
Astronaut Norm Thagard today broke the U.S. single flight duration record on
board the Russian Space Station Mir as preparations continue for the cooperative
Shuttle/Mir docking mission later this month.
 
Thagard, along with crewmates Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov, was 
launched to the Russian Mir Space Station on a Soyuz rocket on March 14, and
arrived at Mir two days later.  As of June 6, he will have spent 85 days in
space.  Depending on the actual launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, he will
spend more than 110 days in space.
 
The previous record was 84 days set by Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William 
Pogue on the Skylab 4 mission from November 16, 1973, to February 8, 1974.
 
In recognition of the achievement, Thagard will take a break from his mission
activities to participate in a press conference this morning.
 
Also on Mir, the Spektr module was docked in its final position at the minus-Y
axis at approximately 3 p.m. Central time June 2.  Spektr arrived at the Mir 
space station as scheduled on May 31 at approximately 7:58 p.m. Central without
any problems.  However, during work last night, only one of Spektr's two
auxillary soalr array panels were unfurled.  The Mir 18 crew subsequently sent a
video recording of the deploy which showed one of the arrays not fully extended.
Solar array specialists were on hand at the Kaliningrad Mission Control Center
to view the tape, analyze the situation, and make recommendations.
 
The Mir 18 crew has also been busy making connections between the Mir and the 
Spektr and conducting tests of the ventilation system and leak checks of the
module.  In addition, they have been unloading the Spektr module and configuring
it for gathering science.
 
To allow enough time for unloading and setting up the Spektr module,
repositioning of the Kristall module is now tentatively set for June 15.  This
movement, form the minus-Z axis to the minus-X axis, clears the way for the 
arrival of the Space Shuttle Atlantis later this month.
 
The three crew members will return home in early July aboard Atlantis, which
will launch with two cosmonauts to replace the Mir 18 crew.
 
The next status report on the progress of the Mir 18 mission will be filed on
Friday, June 9.

 
Mir 18 
Mission Status Report #28 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, June 9, 1995, 3 p.m. Central 
 
Redocking of  the Kristall module from the minus Z-axis to the minus-X axis was 
postponed for 24 hours this afternoon due to low power on Kristall.  Overnight,
the crew aboard Mir will install two fresh batteries on the Kristall module to
allow ample power for the redocking tomorrow at 1:20 p.m. Central time.  This
move will prepare the station for the arrival of the Shuttle Atlantis later this
month.  A built-in arm called a Lyappa, meaning paw, is used to move the module
to another location. 
 
In the last few days,  mission controllers in Kaliningrad have been analyzing
one of the solar arrays on the Spektr module that did not extend. Yesterday, the
Mir 18 crew tried unsuccessfully to extend the panel by sending pulses of power
to the motor and by firing Mir's thrusters.  Solar array designers are on hand
at the Kaliningrad Mission Control Center to analyze the situation and simulate
possible fixes on the ground using models of the panels.  One of the repair
scenarios could involve a spacewalk on June 15.  The Spektr module arrived at 
the Mir station a week ago. 
 
Science operations aboard Mir in the last few weeks have continued in spite of
the heightened activity of module movements and spacewalks.  Data collection of
the environment aboard Mir has been constant throughout the entire mission.
Ground controllers will use this data in planning future missions.  Radiation
detectors are collecting data about  exposure levels to the crew and to various
areas of Mir.  To learn about the microbiology environment of Mir, Thagard is
collecting samples of the air, water and swabs of various surfaces the last 10
days prior to the docking of Atlantis. Researchers will examine the living
organisms after samples are returned to Earth. 
 
Each crew member is taking turns wearing an automatic blood pressure monitor to
measure heart rate and blood pressure. This is followed by a lower body negative
pressure protocol in which the cosmonauts wear a Russian "Chibis" suit to
subject themselves  to various levels of negative pressure, allowing blood to
pool in the lower extremities.  Integrated metabolic investigations of the
human body include measurements of the fluid and electrolyte in the body as well
as bone and muscle metabolism.  Tests are being conducted at various intervals
to give a complete comparison of the results: pre-flight, early mission, late
mission and post-flight. 
 
Tomorrow, Thagard is scheduled to activate the USA components inside the Spektr 
module including  the thermal electric holding facility and the thermoelectric
freezer.  Both are freezers to hold biological samples collected during the
metabolic sessions.  The centrifuge and the power distribution hardware also
will be activated in preparation for the upcoming metabolic sessions.  Over the
next few weeks, he will activate the remaining hardware on Spektr and ensure 
it is functioning properly, catalog data and prepare the samples for the
prepare the samples for the return trip home. 
 
The next status report on the progress of the Mir-18 mission will be filed on
Tuesday, June 13. 

 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #29
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, June 13, 1995, 2 p.m. Central
 
Russian cosmonauts and flight controllers successfully relocated the Mir Space
Station's Kristall module into its final position over the weekend, completing
the module movements required for the STS-71 mission.
 
Kristall was moved from the minus-Z axis to the minus-X axis Saturday.  The 
relocation went smoothly without any problems in redocking the module.  The
station is now in the configuration it will be in when the Space Shuttle
Atlantis docks to it later this month.
 
Crew members and flight controllers then turned their attention to drawing up
plans for another spacewalk by Mir 18 Commander, Vladimir Dezhurov, and Flight
Engineer, Gennady Strekalov.  The extravehicular activity will be the sixth for
the team in the past two months.
 
During the five-hour spacewalk, currently set for Friday, Dezhurov and Strekalov
will take a look at a solar array on the Kvant-2 module that is not tracking the
sun properly and inspect the Z-axis seal in preparation to moving the Kristall
back to that port after STS-71.
 
The flight control team has decided not to ask the crew members to attempt to
unjam a solar array on the Spektr science module during the spacewalk to give
engineers more time to develop the tools and techniques for the job.  The array
did not deploy as expected, and controllers believe the mechanism used to
release the array from the casing that covered it during launch did not work as
 expected.
 
The array status is not expected to impact plans for the launch of STS-71 and
the Atlantis docking later this month.
 
Over the weekend, which was the Independence Day holiday weekend in Russia, all 
three crew members were able to talk to their family members.  Astronaut Norm 
Thagard also continued working in the Spektr module, activating systems to
ensaure all the hardware is functioning as expected.  Thus far, all systems
are functioning normally.
 
The next status report on the progress of the Mir 18 mission will be filed on
Friday, June 16.

 
Mir 18 
Mission Status Report #30 
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, June 16, 1995, 10 a.m. Central 
 
Though science activities onboard the Russian Mir station are continuing
at a steady pace, crew members are beginning to prepare for the arrival of
the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-71 crew later this month. 
 
This morning, Russian and American officials agreed to a June 23rd launch
date for the STS-71 mission.  The launch window would open at 4:08 p.m.
Central time, which would be 1:08 a.m., June 24, in Moscow.  With launch on
June 23, Atlantis would dock to Mir on June 26.  A launch on June 24 would
also result in docking on June 26. 
 
The primary objective of the mission is to dock Atlantis to Mir to bring
Norm Thagard, Vladimir Dezhurov, and Gennady Strekalov home, while leaving
the next Mir crew of Anatoly Solovyev and Nickoli Budarin at the station. 
 
This week, the Mir 18 crew members started to sort through and pack up the
equip- ment they have used during their three months in orbit.  Thagard
spent several communication passes with ground controllers at
MCC-Kaliningrad inventorying the contents of the lab. 
 
Dezhurov and Strekalov spent some time this week preparing for a spacewalk
tentatively scheduled for today.  However, Thursday afternoon Russian space
officials decided to postpone the extravehicular activity to give
engineers more time to refine their plans.  Among the activities in the
preliminary plan for the EVA, the cosmonauts were to have examined a solar
array on the Spektr module that did not deploy properly. 
 
Today, flight controllers in Russia and the United States are consulting
as to whether the Spektr array will require engineers to make any
adjustments to the cooperative plans for Atlantis' docking and operations
while the two spacecraft are joined. 
 
On Mir today, crew members are packing away their spacesuits for the final
time, and organizing the items, such as experiment samples, that will be
return to Earth on Atlantis.  Over the weekend, the Mir 18 crew will have
the opportunity to talk to the STS-71 crew before their historic mission. 
 
The next status report on the progress of the Mir 18 mission will be filed
on Tuesday, June 20. 

 
[Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
 
Mir 18
Mission Status Report #31
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Tuesday, June 20, 1995, 8 a.m. Central
 
A small team of NASA flight controllers and mission managers have begun to 
converge on the Russian Mission Control Center outside of Moscow for the 
historic Shuttle-Mir docking mission, while cosmonauts on Mir continue 
preparing the station for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and her 
crew.
 
For the STS-71 mission, a team of  Houston flight controllers will be working 
out of three rooms adjacent to the Russian main flight control room, serving 
as consultants on Shuttle orbiter systems for Russian flight controllers and 
as liaisons for the NASA control team in Texas.  The team, lead by veteran 
Flight Director Bill Reeves, includes a flight planning expert, environmental 
systems experts and safety experts.  A similar team of Russian flight 
controllers will be located in Houston for the mission as well.  The flight 
control team augments the science operations team that has been in Russia 
since the beginning of the Mir 18 flight.  
 
On Mir, crew members Vladimir Dezhurov, Gennady Strekalov and Norm Thagard 
are performing several end-of-mission countermeasures to prepare their bodies 
for the return to Earth's gravity.  In space, the human body undergoes a 
variety of physiological changes as it readapts to the microgravity 
environment of space.  The cardiovascular system, as well as the body's 
muscles and bones, subsequently becomes somewhat deconditioned as compared to 
its pre-flight state.  The three Mir crewmen are exercising twice a day and 
are spending additional time in the Chibis suit (the Russian Lower Body 
Negative Pressure device) to prepare their cardiovascular systems for the 
trip home. 
 
Thagard also is conducting a number of experiments to help investigators 
characterize the microbial environment on Mir.  For the experiment, Thagard is 
collecting air, water and surface samples and preparing them for return to 
Earth.  These experiments were scheduled late in the Mir 18 mission so that 
the samples would remain viable until they are returned to Houston.
 
For the next several days, until the Space Shuttle Atlantis arrives to take 
the Mir 18 crew home, Thagard will continue checking out equipment in the 
Spektr module for experiments that will be conducted on Mir during future 
missions.
 
Atlantis is currently scheduled to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center on
June 23 at 4:08 p.m. Central. The orbiter will dock with the Russian space 
station on June 26.
 
The next status report on the progress of the Mir 18 mission will be filed 
Friday, June 23.  During the STS-71 mission, status reports from the Control 
Center in Kaliningrad will be filed daily through the end of the docked 
operations. 

 
[Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
 
Mir  18 
Mission Status Report #32
 
 
Mission Control Center, Kaliningrad, Friday, June 23, 1995
 
 
As inclement weather in Florida delayed the launch of Atlantis for 24 hours,
the three cosmonauts onboard Mir continued readying the space station for the
arrival of the STS-71 and Mir 19 crews. 
 
Mir 18 crew members, Vladimir Dezhurov, Gennady Strekalov, and Norm Thagard
learned of the launch delay during a communications pass earlier today.
 
The cosmonauts then resumed their work configuring power systems onboard Mir and
preparing experiment samples for the return trip to Earth.  Also, the Mir 18
crew members have been conditioning their bodies for the return to Earth's one-
gravity environment through a combination of exercise and use of a lower body
negative pressure unit. 
 
Thursday, ground controllers successfully positioned the solar arrays on the
Kvant II module for the docking operations with Atlantis.  The arrays were
turned so that any plumes from Atlantis' steering jets would hit the thin edge
of the array rather than its face.
 
Status reports from Mission Control Kaliningrad will be filed daily throughout
the end of Shuttle/Mir docked operations.