These are back issues of Chris van den Berg's Mir News bulletin. Anyone with older issues archived, please send them to me and I will add them. Contents: Mir News 123, 132, 134 to 270 Subject: MIRNEWS.123 MIRNEWS.123 27 FEBRUARY 1992 YELSTIN SIGNED DECREE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE R.K.A.: R.K.A. stands for Rossiyskoe Kosmicheskoye Agentsvo, so Russian Space Agency. For a long time the Russian parliament discussed about the need to establish such an organization. Its tasks and possibilities, but also the relation to parliament and government, are almost equal to that of the American NASA. Projects for space-operations have to be submitted to that R.K.A. The R.K.A. investigates the project and evaluates the need, necessity, costs and eventual contribution from state-funds. Projects aimed to achieve political- or chauvinistic prestige will not have any chance. After analysing a project this will be send to the parliament for consent about eventual funding. The president can put his veto on it. After consent the project will be send back to R.K.A. R.K.A. asks for offers of firms, scientific institutes, enterprises, national as well as international ones, on the basis of free enterprise and free market and selects those who will get the order(-s). After that R.K.A. has to keep control on the execution of the orders. It will take some time before such an organisation is operational and in fact it is already a little bit late. RIDICULOUS AND EXAGGERATED INFORMATION ABOUT BAD HEALTH AND MOOD OF MIR CREW: For a long time, more or less caused by 'glasnost' and the bad economic situation in the CIS-states, the (ex-) Soviet press critically and even with denigration reported about their national space exploration. For For a few weeks that same press gradually seem to be inclined to change this policy a little bit due to a moderate positive attitude towards 'space' of Yeltsin. A lot of Russian journalists still entertain grievances about the fact, that not a Russian, but a Japanese journalist flew in a Russian space-station. Average reports about space-station MIR are still below zero and a lot these reports find their way to the West. Regretfully the spokesmen and public relations officers of space-organisations in the CIS are still very passive and miss the skill and willingness of their western colleagues to fight for their cause. Negative reports, for instance articles in Komsomolskaye Pravda, Izvestiya and others, are extra exaggerated while proceeding along western press-channels. The cosmonauts hear a lot from western news-agencies and from radio-amateurs around the world and sometimes do not believe their ears. On Febr. 17th Moscow-TV relayed a direct TV-session with MIR and the viewers could see how healthy and active the cosmonauts were. I myself know by day to day observations that the crew has a very good health and a high morale. Of course they meet problems, technical failures, even serious ones, but they always keep good hearth and in cooperation with experts on TsUP they resolve problems by repairing or replacing equipment or systems. Radio-amateurs, who have the possibility to communicate with the crew or to exchange information via Packet Radio, certainly will share my opinion. I will advise you all: take all press-reports about MIR, not with a pinch, but with some pounds of salt. C.M. van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 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 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 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-trackingship (Belyayev or Dobrovolskiy) will visit Rotterdam for 2 days around 10 June 1992. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.134 27 JUNE 1992 PROGRESS-M13: Launch of this freighter still on schedule for 30 June 1992. Russian spaceflight authorities now have to take in account interests and feelings of the population, about which they - under protection of the former Soviet Mil. Industrial complex- never bothered. The people living in the Novosibirsk area always feared launches from Baykonur. After launches parts of the rockets (1st stages, hatches, etc.) fall down in that area. Thusfar no accidents or damages have been reported -this in contradiction to the groundtrack areas in Kazakhstan-, but people is always aware of space-launch hazards. To cultivate more goodwill and understanding for space-flight the Baykonur launch-site authorities invited representatives of the ad- ministration, civil defence and press of the Novosibirsk region to attend the launch of Progress-M13 on the spot. EXTRA VEHICULAR ACTIVITY (SPACEWALK): This EVA will take place on 8 or 10 July 1992. The work to be done by the cosmonauts during that EVA is crucial for the operational existence of the MIR complex. 4 of the 6 gyrodynes in Module-D are out of order and so the attitude control of the complex is working unsatisfactorely. For the repair work during the next EVA equipment and tools have to be delivered to MIR by Progress-M13 on 2 July 1992. In the future more work to restore the SUD (movements control system) must be done. For a provisional solution (to keep control on the roll, X- axis, of the complex)f the next crew (Solovyov and Avdeyev) will have to install the VDU (external movements control motor) in the top of the Soforagirder. Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.135 28 JUNE 1992 PROGRESS-M12: OPERATIONS CONCLUDED. To make the docking of the freighter Progress-M13 on 2 July 1992 possible, the Pr-M12 had to disappear. Pr-M12 had been docked to the forward docking port (PKhO) on 22 April and was often used to correct the orbit of the complex. This also happened a few days ago and so only Keplerelements from day 178 or younger are useable. Radiotraffic in the night from 27 to 28 June 1992 revealed that the undocking operation was going on. Kaleri watched the undocking and autonomous flight of Pr-M12 from the airlock (S.Sh.O.) of Module-D and Viktorenko observed all what was happening from the baseblock. During the pass in orb. 36394, which began at 2129UTC, Pr-M12 separated from MIR. This was right over our heads at 2135UTC. Telemetry and doppler beacon (resp. on 166, 165 and 922.755 mc) could be heard. TsUP recei- ved TV images made by Kaleri. For a long time MIR and Pr-M12 flew in formation. During the next pass (in orb. 35395, 2306- UTC) Pr-M12 still flew autonomously still more or less ob- served by Kaleri. At 230654UTC the exact TCA could be deter- mined (922.755mc passed the BFO-dip). Almost on this moment Pr-M12's rocket worked to reduce its speed and it entered the earth's atmosphere. It decayed (burnt up) at 2321UTC on 27 June 1992, so 9 minutes after our LOS. Pr-M12 had not been equipped with a return capsule. Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.137 4 JULY 1992. PROGRESS-M13: 2D DOCKING ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL ON 4 JULY 1992 AT 1707UTC. During the first pass here in orb. 36500, 1648-1653UTC, Pr-M13 was still flying autonomously for she still transmitted on a frequency which has to be quiet during the final approach and after docking. Viktor (Savinykh or Afanasyev) on board of the former trackingship Belyayev tried to get in touch with MIR, but Kaleri asked him to keep quiet for the docking operation was about to begin. Kaleri told TsUP that they did not see Pr-M13 neither visual nor on their screens. So for abt. 1.5 hour I did not know whether Pr-M13 had been docked or not. During the pass in the next orbit 36501, 1823-1841UTC, the crew reported that the air-seal was perfect. Pr-M13 had been docked to MIR's forward port at 1707UTC. Viktorenko told TsUP that they would open the hatch to Pr-M13 as soon as TsUP ordered them to do so. TsUP did this and the cosmonauts creeped to the hatch and opened it at 1837UTC. During the following pass Kaleri reported the good state of the Pr-M13: all was clean. Crew and TsUP exchanged congratula- tions and the crew thanked the specialists on TsUP for the excellent achievement and TsUP's care for the crew. Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.145 4 SEPTEMBER 1992 1ST EXTRA VEHICULAR ACTIVITY SOLOVYOV/AVDEYEV: This EVA started on 3.09.92 at 1330UTC (opening hatch airlock Module-D) and ended at 1749UTC. This EVA is the 1st one in a series to install the VDU (External Movements Control Motor) in the Soforagirder of Kvant-1. The cosmonauts achieved the goals of this EVA. They worked on the container in which the motor was delivered by the freighter Progress-M14. The cosmonauts will continue this work on 7.09.92. It had been expected that during this EVA the cosmonauts would haul down the Soviet flag still waving in the top of the Soforagirder. They only replaced the flag, but certainly will remove it during one of the next 3 or 4 EVA's. During the EVA's OM Peter monitored the traffic from the Altair satellite. This traffic will be analysed later. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.147 25 SEPTEMBER 1992 MIR-CREW: After the installation of the VDU (Movements Control Motor) in the Soforagirder the cosmonauts got time to work on other matters. They produced semi-conductor materials in the ovens of the Kristall-module and executed a lot of geophysical observati- ons. They made photo's and spectographical images of the earthsurface in a number of CIS-republics. These images will help scientists to get more information about the ecological situation of agricultural areas and waterbasins. With the Krater-5 oven in the Kristall module they on 23.09.92 continued experiments which had been started by the French cosmonaut Tognini. Among these experiments the Superconconduc- tion. This experiments last 130 days. Under high critical temperatures crystallisation of the materials Barium and Copper. Movements control of the complex: About the functioning of the VDU (external movements control motor) the cosmonauts did not speak a lot. A spokesman of TsUP declared that this VDU was functioning normally. (This has been denied later on. It was impossible to use the VDU due to software problems.) Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.149 1 OCTOBER 1992. (I did not produce an English translation of MIRNEWS.148. This message mentioned the suspending of the operations of the trackingstation Yevpatoriya on the Crimea about which I got some extra information more or less clarifying the situation inserted hereunder). PROBLEMS with MIR-TsUP relayswork Yevpatoriya. Disagreements between Russia and the Ukraine about the Black- sea fleet, the Crimea, monetary matters and the former Soviet army on Ukraine's territory for a long time threatened the functioning of the trackingstation Yevpatoriya and other radiostations. Half a year ago Yevpatoriya almost had to cease operations due to lack of money. The French government sub- sidized the station on request of French astronomers who feared that they would lose the input of the satellite Granat, carrying French experiments under control of Yevpatoriya. During recent EVA-s now and then communications between MIR and TsUP were interrupted. As of 21.09.92 no traffic could be heard on 143.625 mc. This traffic came back on 29.09.92. Thusfar there has been no telemetry on 166 and 165 mc, so possibly the Russians now use a temporary facility on Russian territory. YEVPATORIYA PRIVATIZED: The Ukrainian government privatized the tracking station Yevpatoriya and forced the staff to be sworn in. Russian has to pay an enormous amount of money for the continuation of Yevpatoriya's services. Russia is not inclined to do so and is trying to find alternatives. As long as the Ukraine does not receive money for the station there is no money to pay the wages of the staff. On 1.10.92 the staff went on strike. Possibly TsUP is now supported by a temporary station on Russian territory for during the passes in orbits nr. 37878, 37879 and 37880 traffic was relayed during the window of Yevpatoriya. There still has been no Telemetry on the normal channels in the 166 and 165 mc bands. Some officials in Kalin- grad near Moscow uttered the suggestion to put back in opera- tion one or more trackingships to fill up the gap caused by the 'radiosilence' of Yevpatoriya. PROGRESS-M14: This freighter is still attached to the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of the complex. The undocking and decay of Pr-M14 has been planned for 22.10.92. The returncapsule will have to make a soft landing while Pr-M14 will burn up. PROGRESS-M15: Thusfar the launch of this freighter was ex- pected to take place on 5.10.92, but this is impossible due to the delayed departure and decay of its predecessor. VDU (EXTERNAL MOVEMENTS CONTROL MOTOR in Soforagirder): A spokesman of NPO-Energiya declared that this VDU is perfect in technical resprect, but that it has not been used so far. Scientist are computing calculations for the oncoming functio- ning of the VDU. Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.165 15 MARCH 1993 MIR-DAILY ROUTINE: After the docking of freighter Progress-M16 the crew continued their reparation and replacement work on the systems of the complex. They did not much experimental work apart from geo- physical observations. They needed all their working time for technical maintenance. They repaired a number of girodynes and Manakov was positive about the results of that 'high priority' work. I hope that I was right for Manakov is a great optimist. The VDU (the external movements control motor in the Sofora- girder) is still unserviceable due to software problems. Of great concern for crew and experts remain the complicated systems to maintain the climate in that what is like an 'iron lung'. In contradiction to the 'iron lungs' for medical use this one has to feed and regenerate itself. Wear of parts of that complicated complex results in mal- functioning, so the crew repeatedly gets warnings about hit- ches, but also by more noise than originally had been fore- seen. Daily thgey speak about the BKV-3, a system to restore the condition of the air. When the crew gets perimission to switch that system off (getting the command G-24), they enjoy the silence. Polishchuk did a lot of repairwork on that BKV-3. EXTRA VEHICULAR ACTIVITIES (EVA-S): Shortly we can hear the crew speak about preparations for a series of 4 EVA-s. For the 1st one the 16th of April has been mentioned. During the first 3 EVA-s the cosmonauts will have to replace the solarpanels from the Kristall module to the Kvant-1. The 4th one is for the removal of materials which for a long time had been exposed to the influences of open space. The solarpanels have to be replaced to make future operations possible. To execute the planned docking operations of Buran and Space Shuttle to that Kristall module it has to be redo- cked to the forward axial (PKhO) docking port. A second reason to replace those solarpanels is the fact that some solarpanels hinder other ones. Daily the crew has to economize the power consumption of the complex. Polishchuk is responsible for that and in Manakov's opinion he is an expert in that field. MODULES: Possibly the plans for the launch of the Modules Priroda and Spektr have been altered. The first Module to be lauchnech for a docking with MIR should be a technological one. So Priroda is 2d on schedule. This is a pity for Priroda is ready for launch. RETURNCAPSULES: Progress-M16 does not carry such a capsule and the use of such a container from Progress-M17 has not been planned. The re- turncapsules are for 100% reliable, but due to the little amount of freight to be brought back, returncapsule operations are too expensive. Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.174 19 MAY 1993 PROGRESS-M18: Launch postponed. During checks of the Soyuz-carrierrocket, which had to launch Pr-M18 for a flight to the MIR-spacestation on 19 May 1993, experts discovered a technical deficiency. They decided to postpone the launch. At the earliest the launch is possible on 22 May 1993. If so, the launch will take place at abt. 0640UTC that day. Pr-M18's cargo is essential for the execution of the planning for this and next year. In the first place it has to deliver the replacement of the lost key (or: handle) for the operations with the crane Strela. During the next planned spacewalks the crew needs that Strela for the transfer of the solarpanels from Kristall to Kvant-1. Pr-M18 also will bring new equipment and spareparts for the replacement or repairs of wornout systems, but also equipment and experiments to be used during the French expedition 'Altair' in july this year. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.177 1 JULY 1993 SOYUZ-TM17 launched from Baykonur: On 1 July 1993 at 1433UTC the transportship S-TM17 was launched for a flight of 2 days to the MIR Space station. The first crew had been chosen and so S-TM17 was manned by Tsibliyev, Serebrov and the Frenchman Haignere. The French women cosmonaut Claudie Andre-Deshays will have to wait until 1996 for her flight on board the MIR station to conduct experiments of the French program Cassiopea. 3 Hours after launch S-TM17 came in our range (orbit 3, 1734UTC) and strong signals of the 5 transmitters could be monitored (922.755, 165.873, 166.130, 166.140 and 121.750 mc). Tsibliyev reported that all was normal and that health and mood of the crew were excellent. They already had taken off their spacesuits and had just entered the 'life-compartment'. At 1656UTC they had reorientated their ship. This crew uses the call 'Ceres', so respectively Ceres-1, Ceres-2 and Ceres-3. So Haignere is 'Ceres-3'. During his return flight on 22 July 1993 he will be a member of Manakov's crew, the Vulkans, and then Haignere will use the call 'Vulkan-3'. During the pass in orbit 4, 1903UTC, Tsibliyev reported all details about the 2de orbitcorrection, which was executed during that pass. All went as scheduled. This had been also the case with the 1st orbitcorrection. Tsibliyev reported details about this correction as well for during that correction S-TM17 was out of range of trackingstations. Among the reported data were the times (in seconds) during which the S.K.D. (engines) worked, the gained speed in M/sec, the so called SIRT (fuel consumption in KG) and some pressures in tanks. During the pass in orb. 5 (2036UTC) again radiotraffic loud and clear. During the next pass the cosmonauts slept. At 221345UTC Soyuz-T17 could be seen passing the TCA as a clear star in elevation 39 degrees. On 2 July 1993 S-TM17 will be flying autonomously. She will pass at abt. 30 minutes after MIR. Towards midnight S-TM17 as well as MIR can be observed visually if weather conditions are good. Docking can be expected on 3 July 1993 between 1615 and 1620UTC, so not long after the first pass of both objects. If the Russians will stick to previous plans the freighter Progress-M17 will undock under observation of the approaching S- TM17. S-TM17 will dock to the dockingport from where Pr-M17 undocked. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.178 4 JULY 1993 Soyuz-TM17 docked to MIR space station: This ship with on board the reliefcrew and the Frenchman Haignere docked to MIR (forward docking port) on 3.07.93 at 1624UTC. The docking took place in the automatic mode (Kurs-system). Before S-TM17 began her final approach the freighter Progress-M17 had to undock. So a few minutes before the final approach Pr-M17 undocked and was brought in a safe distance from MIR. This happened before MIR, S-TM17 and Pr-M17 came in our range. During the pass in orb. 42169, 1607-1612UTC, radiotraffic could be monitored on 121.750 mc and 143.625 mc. Serebrov reported that he would obey the order to go into the landing module immediate- ly. Neither of the crews commented the final approach. There had been a long transmission via Altair, which ended a few minutes before docking. Good images of the complex (by S-TM17's cameras) and the docking port could be seen. Durin the pass in orb. 42170, 1742UTC, it was obvious that all was well: the hatches had been opened and the first meeting between the 2 crews had already taken place. MIR started to transmit to TsUP the videorecordings of the approach and the welcome of the new crew. All cosmonauts, also Tsibliyev, Serebrov and Haignere, could be heard via 143.625 mc. During this pass MIR also transmitted on 145.550 mc. Via the digital memory microphone Polishchuk could be heard with a greeting of P. and Manakov to a conference of radio-amateurs in (probably) St. Petersburg. During the next pass (orb. 42171, 1915UTC, MIR transmitted on 145.550, 143.625 and 144.475 mc. After a CQ-call in Russian and English, Haignere spoke in French with the radio-amateur Francis, FC1OKN. Altair: From 4.07 until 22.07.93 Haignere, in cooperation with his Russian colleagues, will conduct experiments in the framework of the French scientific program Altair. Spacewalks: If all goes according to previous planning the new crew (the 14th main expedition to the MIR station) will make 3 spacewalks. Progress-M17: This freighter still flew autonomously in the night from 3 to 4.07.93 and was visually observed by Mr. Wim Holwerda (Working group artificial satellites) during MIR's pass in orb. 42174, 2227UTC, at abt. 8 KM behind MIR. Wim also saw the 3d stage of the rocket which gave S-TM17 the last 'push' on 1.07.93. Pr-M17 carries a returncapsule. In a next MIR-report I hope to tell somewhat about the fate of Pr-M17 and that capsule. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.  MIRNEWS.179 15 JULY 1993 MISSION ALTAIR: This French scientific mission goes according to plan. Haignere stated that all experiments are going well. The only problem is the fact that they have a lot of work to do. On 14.07.93 due to their work a direct TV-report in which a conversation with President Mitterand had to be cancelled or did not take place due to lack of comm. channels. H. is feeling well. No spacesickness, no headache or other pains, he sleeps well and has a good appetite. H. praises the good amicable sphere among the crewmem- bers, which guarantees a good cooperation. H., call F6MIR, enjoys the possibilities of radio-amateurism: as soon as France is in range he has long conversations with French radio-amateurs. On 11.07.93 in orb. 42293, 1324UTC, he also got the opportunity to speak with his parents. He had to ask one of the amateurs to leave the frequency (144.475 mc) for he was not able to hear his mother. On this frequency also a lot of P/R traffic. H.'s presence on board MIR caused a remarkable increase of French amateur-calls on MIR's P/R. MIR-crew: Manakov is still captain of the MIR-complex and this he shows clearly. During every pass he tightly holds the microphone. Now and then Polishchuk and Serebrov can be heard; Tsybliyev, who has to take over command one of these days, rarely speaks with TsUP. Progress-M17: During the experiment 'Rodeo' on 3.07.93 this freighter undocked from the MIR station while Soyuz-TM17 was waiting for the docking port freed by Pr-M17. Pr-M17 undocked at 1553UTC. S-TM17 docked to MIR at 1624UTC. The return-capsule of Pr-M17 landed safely in Kazakhstan at 1802UTC. Soyuz-TM16: With this ship, now still attached to the Kristall- Module, Manakov, Polishchuk and Haignere will return to earth on 22.07.93. The landing is expected at about 0630UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.MIRNEWS.180 16 JULY 1993 Movements of Pr-M's and S-TM's in the near future: Progress-M18: Will undock from MIR and decay in the atmosphere on 24.07.93 (so 2 days after the departure of S-TM16). Progress-M19: Launch from Baykonur on 27.07.93. Progress-M20: Launch from Baykonur on 12.10.93. Soyuz-TM18 : Launch from Baykonur with crew Afanasyev and Usachov on 16.11.93. Progress-M21: Launch from Baykonur on 30.11.93. In May 1994 there will be a flight of a Soyuz-TM to MIR with on board Malenchenko and Strekalov. (Strekalov replaced Kaleri, because he has more experience than Kaleri.) The 3d crewmember will be a physician for a longduration flight of one and a half year. For this flight 3 physicians are selected, one of them will fly, namely Polyakov, Arzamazov and Morukov. The Russians have the intention to launch Module Spektr on 20.12.93 for a flight to MIR. This long expected extension will be welcomed by the crew of the 15th Main expedition to MIR: Afanasyev and Usachov. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.181 22 JULY 1993 0643UTC. SOYUZ-TM16: SAFE AND SOFT LANDING AT 064200UTC. S-TM16 landed safely in near the city Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan. The ballistic section of Professor Ivanov again deserves admiration for their excellent work: the landing took place 23 seconds later than calculated. During this flight the crews of MIR and S-TM16 as well had to do somewhat extra in this field for at the moment of undocking the objects were out of range of NIP (measurement points on earth). So they had to take care for the actual attidudes during undocking and thereafter. Data for this operation they got during radiotraffic with TsUP on 21.07.93. Just after the separation of the Lifecompartment (BO) and the Motorblock from the Landingmodule (SA) the SA entered the dense layers of the atmosphere at 061817UTC sur- rounded by the fire of the the plasma. At a distance of appr. 400 KM the crew on board MIR was able to observe this through porthole nr. 9. At 062655UTC the main parachute opened and the landing took place at 064200UTC. So the crew of the 13th Main expedition to MIR, Manakov and Polishchuk, and the French 'spacionaute' Haignere accomplished their flights. H. was able to execute the French scientific program Altair. The last days of his flight he felt tired due to the huge amount of work, which was necessary to get a maximum profit of such an expensive flight. H. was very satisfied about his work on board but also about his activities as a radio- amateur and he was very grateful to make a lot good QSO-s with French and other amateurs. MIR: On board MIR are now the cosmonauts Tsybliyev and Serebrov. Their official calls are not 'Ceres' as has been published earlier, but respectively Sirius-1 and 2. Their calls for radio- amateur activities are resp. R3MIR and R4MIR. Ts. en S. will work in open space 3 times in September this year to accomplish the transfer of the solarbatteries from the Kristall-module to Kvant-1. In a next MIR-report I hope to give attention to the last days of the presence of 5 cosmonauts on board MIR. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.182 26 JULY 1993 Ham-work during successfully accomplished Altair-mission: Jean-Pierre, F6MIR, was an enthousiastic and skilled amateur. In this field he did not yield to Tognini during his flight in 1992. H. made all his QSO-s in the proper way and during the last day of his flight he told in a CQ-message that he had been pleased by radio-amateurism and he expressed his gratitude to all amateurs with whom he had been in contact. He was not pleased about an Italian amateur, who, using a very strong signal, often blocked the uplink too long. He limited H's possibilities to make more QSO-s with French and other amateurs. MIR-crews: On 16.7.93 the control over the MIR-station had been transferred to the new crew: Tsibliyev took care of the attitude control and Serebrov had replaced Polishchuk as board-engineer. Manakov and Polishchuk prepared their returnflight. Their main concern was to find room in Soyuz-TM16 for all what they had to bring back to earth. Thoroughly they checked the on board systems of that schip and rehearsed the procedures for the navigation during and after the undocking from MIR on 22.07.93. A physician at TsUP regularly checked the health of M. and P. New crew: As of 22.07.93 Tsibliyev and Serebrov are working strenuously. They are busy with a lot of important repairs and replacements. Obviously they have to solve all problems with the attitude- (movements-) control of the complex. (Girodynes and the VDU motor in the Sofora-girder). They already work on the Girodynes. It is a pleasure to hear the new crew: undoubtedly excellent cosmonauts. Quite normal for S.: this is his 4th flight, but the novice T. acts as if he has a long experience in space. Progress-M18 and M19: Recently the decay of the first freighter (M18) still was on schedule for 24.07.93. This has been put back. Though still not for 100% sure the plan is to undock Pr-M18 on 8.08.93 after the launch that same day of Pr-M19. If this happens it will be a novelty: for a while 2 freighters flying autonomous- ly in space. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.MIRNEWS.183 6 AUGUST 1993 Exchange of freighters: Progress-M19: The launch date of this freighter for the MIR station has been put back for the 2d time. Now this launch from Baykonur is planned for 10.08.93 at 2216UTC (for the Russians already on 11.08.93 at 0116 TsUP time). If all goes according to the plan Pr-M19 will dock to MIR at abt. 0000UTC on 13.08.93. So a few minutes after the first pass of the MIR complex on (for us still) 12.08.93 2350-2356UTC, pass in orbit 42799. Pr-M19 will dock to the forward port (transition section - P.Kh.O.). This port is still occupied by the Pr-M18. Progress-M18: This ship will separate from MIR and decay in the atmosphere if the launch of Pr-M19 is successful. Radio-amateur traffic new crew: The new crew has not been heard with amateur traffic (packet radio or phone) on the known amateur frequencies during passes within our range. The crew asked TsUP for a computerprogram to clean the overloaded memory of their computer, which contains a lot of correspondence and documents of the previous crew. So possibly they will resume packet-radio after the deletion of all superfluous files. During a packet QSO with TsUP on 143.625 mc MIR used the call R0MIR. Spacewalks (EVA-s): The 3 EVA-s planned for September 1993 have been cancelled. The present crew (14th Main expedition) will not carry out any EVA-s. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.184 11 AUGUST 1993 Progress-M19: This freighter has been launched from Baykonur on 10.08.93 at 2223UTC (for Moscow and TsUP-time already 11.08.93) for a 2-days flight to the MIR-station. Perhaps there has been a slight delay for I expected the launch at 2216UTC. Somewhat later than expected I monitored the transmissions of Pr-M19 on 922.755 mc and in the 166 and 165 mc bands between 0256 and 0301UTC. To enable Pr-M19 to dock to the forward dockingport of MIR (trans- ition section - P.Kh.O.) the old Pr-M still docked to that port has to disappear soon. This undocking is scheduled for 11.08.93 at 1534UTC. Perseid-meteorites: These meteorites coming from the comet Swift- Tuttle are visible (clouds permitting) around 12 august every year. Thusfar clouds did not permit this for us this year, but the MIR-cosmonauts, not hindered by clouds or fog, were able to see the meteorites. Tsibliyev, the captain of the MIR-station, reported during the pass in orbit 42770, 11.08.93, 0452-0503UTC, that they saw a little bit of it. He added that he had to report some 'battle wounds'. He told TsUP that the station had been hit bij 4 particles obviously coming from that meteorite-rain. They caused minor damages to 2 solarbatteries (on the baseblock and on Kristall - Module-T) and to one of the portholes. The window of that porthole showed a cavern with a diameter of 2 a 3 mm. T. nor TsUP did not show any concern. To be realistic: thusfar we have to do with minor particles, but bigger particles can cause serious damages to space-ships and - stations, even leakages and consequently decompression. In my opinion the recent experience of the MIR-crew fully justifies NASA's decision to put back the launch of Spaceshuttle Discovery until 12.08.93 due to concern for that meteorite-storm. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.185 13 AUGUST 1993 Progress-M19 docked to MIR-spacestation: This freighter with food, water, fuel, post, spareparts, etc. docked to the forward dockingport (transitionsection -P.Kh.O.) on 13 Aug. 1993 at 0000UTC. So 4 minutes after LOS for our position. The approach in orb. 42799, 12 Aug. 2351-2356UTC, the cosmonauts visually observed the Pr-M19. At 2356UTC Pr-M19 was on a distance of 25 M and the appr. speed was 0.85M/sec. The operation passed off smoothly and already during the pass in the next orb. (42800, 0129-0133UTC) Tsibliyev reported the hermetic air-seal and the opening of the hatch to Pr-M19. In the pass during orb. 42801, 0304-0309UTC, the cosmonauts expressed their gratitude for all what Pr-M19 delivered, but in Serebrov's opinion the Pr-M19 was 'too empty'. He said that only 66% of the cargo-volume had been utilized. Nevertheless he was satisfied about the post, the new paper (or:ribbon) for the RTTY printer and the renewed instructions for evacuation in case of emergency. Perseid-meteorites: So the crew just had to work during 3 nightshifts: 2 due to the meteorite-storm and 1 for the Pr-M19. In the night from 11 to 12 Aug. they enjoyed the sight of the meteorite-rain. They spoke about 'fireballs' and stopped counting them for it really was a rain. The night before they also observed this phenomenon, which was less spectacular then. Unfortunately they again had to report collisions with small particles and damages. S. and T. expressed their relief that all was over now and that they survived the meteorite-bombardments. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.186 14 SEPTEMBER 1993 SPACE-WALKS (EVA-S): Some weeks ago TsUP announced that the 3 EVA-s, which had been planned for Sept. this year had been put back and that this crew (the 14th main expedition to MIR) would not make any EVA-s at all. Later on there happened to be a plan to execute an EVA on 10.09.93. This EVA has been put back also. Meanwhile it was obvious that 1 or more EVA-s are badly needed for the inspection of the outer surface of the whole complex. Experts even con- sidered the use of the SPK (MMU) for EVA-s. Board- engineer Serebrov knows how to fly with the SPK: he was the first cosmonaut to fly with it on 1.02.90. Radiotraffic during recent passes revealed that the crew is preparing an EVA. Whether they will use the SPK or not is not clear. CONSEQUENCES OF THE PERSEID METEORITE STREAM ON 12.08.93: After a long period of silence the Russians officially admitted that the station suffered from hits caused by miniscule particles during the Perseid-meteorite stream. One hit even caused a hole in a solarbattery with the diameter of appr. 6 cm. Meanwhile messages and questions about the damages reached the MIR crew by amateur radio. Experts are evaluating the eventual influence of the damages on the powersupply of the complex. The crew cannot see the whole outersurface of the station from inside and so EVA-s must be carried out to inspect it thoroughly. RADIO-AMATEURTRAFFIC: For some weeks again a lot of Packetradio tfc on 145.550 mc. Sometimes there are also calls by 'phone' on that frequency. On 12 and 13.09.93 the crew used 145.500 mc to contact the Irish amateur EI3SI by speech. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.187 17 SEPTEMBER 1993 First spacewalk (EVA) cosmonauts MIR: Tsibliyev and Serebrov executed their first EVA on 16.09.93. At 0435UTC they crawled in their spacesuits and at 0604UTC they opened the exithatch. After an EVA of appr. 4 hrs 16 mins they closed that hatch behind them. And again this time a change in previous plans: so not as expected, the inspection of the outersurface of the complex or the transfer of the solar- batteries from the Kristall-module to the Kvant-1. This time they prepared the installation at the base of the Sofora-mast of a truss structure, called Rapana. The Rapana uses the design for the construction of support arms, which will be used for MIR-2 or for MIR-2's integration in the international station Freedom. The Rapana has a length of several meters and a cylindric shape. For the installation of this Rapana 3 EVA's are needed, the 2d one will be executed on 20.09.93. It is still unknown when there will be an EVA for the inspection of the outersurface of the complex or whether that inspection will be done during the 2d or 3d EVA. After the installation the Rapana will serve as a platform for experimental materials to be exposed to the influence of open space. Another EVA on 16.09.93: The astronauts of the spaceshuttle Discovery also executed an EVA this day. About this EVA the Western media brought news and images, which they did not about the Russian EVA. And that is why I did! Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.MIRNEWS.188 20 SEPTEMBER 1993 2d Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-Crew: Tsibliyev and Serebrov concluded the installation of the Rapan pillar during a relatively short EVA on 20.09.93 between 0352 and 0705UTC, so 3 hrs and 13 mins. The Rapan is standing perpen- dicularly on the Kvant-1 module near the the Sofora mast. The Sofora is standing under an angle of 79 degrees and inclines towards the forward side of the complex. The crew installed materials, samples and equipment on the Rapan for an exposure to open space during half a year. After this period the samples etc. have to be returned to earth for analyses. Eventual 3d EVA: After evaluation of today's EVA and an analysis of the TV-images made by the cosmonauts, experts will decide whether there will be needed a 3d EVA. The Russians did speak nor about the inspection of MIR's outer surface and the solarbatteries neither about the transfer of solarbatteries. If a 3d EVA will be made, this might be on 24.09.93. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.189 22 SEPTEMBER 1993 3d Spacewalk (EVA) put back: Until 22.09.93 the cosmonauts made preparations for an EVA on 24.09.93. During that EVA they had to execute the program 'Panorama', which is an inspection of the outersurface of the station by camera's. On 22.09.93 TsUP announced that the EVA had been put back to 28.09.93. A reason for the delay has not been stated. Possibly the unstable political situation in Moscow has something to do with it, but technical reasons are also possible. On 22.09.93 the crew worked on a problem with a pressure-valve (KVD) of the airlock (Sh.S.O.) in Module-D. MIR-station hit by a particle from outer space: On 21.09.93 at abt. 1205UTC, while the station was near the equator, Tsibliyev heard the clap of a particle colliding with MIR's outer surface. The impact caused a little cloud of dust and released some pieces of paint of the wall. Tsibliyev heard the impact while he was flying from Kvant-1 to the Base Block. Serebrov, who was working in Module-D, did not hear it. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.190 28 SEPTEMBER 1993 3d Spacewalk (EVA) MIR crew: The crew of the 14th Main Expedition MIR made their 3d EVA on 28.09.93. Planned had been a long EVA (4 or 5 hrs). The crew opened the hatch of Module-D's airlock at 0057UTC. They had to return after 1 hr 51 mins due to a malfunction in the ther- moregulation of commander Tsiblieyev's spacesuit. So they closed the hatch behind them at 0248UTC. TsUP considered to continue the EVA by Serebrov alone, but 'safety first' prevailed and both cosmonauted concluded the operation at 0248UTC. So they could not execute the whole plan for this EVA. Main task was the experiment Panorama, an inspection of the outside elements of the station by photo- and videocamera's. They partly fulfilled this task. The second task was the collection of the American experiment TREK. Serebrov removed the unit in which samples and materials had been exposed to open space for a long time and brought this back on board. In the near future this experiment will be brought back to earth for analyses by the American scientists. Communications during this EVA took place via Altair and after the EVA at 0439UTC MIR and TsUP communicated again via VHF. The cosmonauts felt well and during the passes in the orbits 43521 until 43523 they already spoke about other matters. There might be a 4th EVA, but this has not been decided so far. Reason delay transfer solarbatteries from Kristal to Kvant-1: Several times this work has been put back. Reason for this delay at the moment is the fact that the launches of the modules Spektr and Priroda to MIR have been delayed due to financing problems. The Russians hope to get support from the west, where a lot of scientists are convinced of the scientific value of those modules. Progress-M20: The launch of this freighter is still on schedule for 12.10.93. The crew is already involved in the loading of Pr- M19 with goods they hav to get rid off and cargo for the Ballistic Return Capsule (VBK). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.191 8 OCTOBER 1993 PROGRESS-M17: This freighter undocked from MIR after the launch of Progress-M19 on 10.08.93. (So this happened not to be the Pr- M18. Pr-M18 disappeared earlier, i.e. just after the Rodeo- experiment. (Undocking of Pr-M18 under observation of the appr- oaching Soyuz-TM17 which had to dock to the docking- port freed by Pr-M18). While Pr-M19 was flying to MIR Pr-M17 undocked and remained in space. The autonomous flight of this freighter will have a duration of 1 or 1.5 year. This on request of the Americans, who plan to use modified Soyuz-M-ships as ACVR-s (assured crew rescue vehicle) for their spacestations. They wish to know the maximum lifetime of a S-TM. Most of the systems of both vehicles are equal and so Pr-M17 is now playing the role as a test-vehicle. Pr-M17 is flying a dozen kilometers lower than MIR. MIR-operations: The still attached to MIR Progress-M19 corrected the orbit of the complex. MIR was lifted from ap/per 390.7/384.8 KM to ap/per 397.4/389.2 KM. So Keplers older than day 278 are invalid. The crew still has to spend a lot of time to keep the lifesystems of the complex operational, especially the waterregenerations systems cause a lot of trouble. On 7 Oct. 1993 during their first contact with TsUP (in orb. 43660, 0535-0546UTC) they heard that the launch of the Soyuz-TM18 with the relief crew had been put back until the 2d half of December 1993 (instead of 24.11.93), which means a prolongation of their flight. The delay is caused by a complex of reasons, one of them has something to do with the carrier-rocket for S-TM18's launch. Serebrov stated that he and Tsibliyev understand this decision and that they, though reluctantly, agreed to remain longer in space. They asked TsUP to inform Yuriy Semyonov (Head of NPO Energiya) about their consent. PROGRESS-M19: The crew is preparing this freighter for her imminent departure. Main task is the loading and servicing of the VBK (ballistic return capsule) of Pr-M19. Pr-M19 will undock from MIR after the eventual successful launch of the freigher Progress-M20. PROGRESS-M20: Launch still on schedule for 11.10.93, 2133UTC (so for TsUP already on 12.10.93, 0033 Msc Winter Time) from Baykonur. Rendez-vous and docking with MIR in the late evening of 13.10.93 (UTC). 4th Spacewalk (EVA): This EVA will be carried out after the arrival of Pr-M20. The most convenient day for this EVA will probably be 28.10.93. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.192 12 OCTOBER 1993 PROGRESS-M20: The launch of this freighter took place on 11.10.93 at 2133UTC (for the Russians, using 'decree-time', already 12.10.93 0033 hrs). Pr-M20 reached the right initial orbit and the first corrections have been executed successfully. Pr-M20's trans- missions in the 166, 165 and 922 bands could be monitored in the pass in the 2d orbit on 12.10.93 between 0035 and 0037UTC. Pr-M20 has to deliver to the MIR-station spare parts, food, water, fuel and post. It contains also a package of experiments in the framework of Biokrist. These are protein-kristallisation experiments from several countries. One experiment is of Dr. Grip of the Faculty for Eye Surgery, University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). A Biokrist container, including the same Dutch experiment, has been on board of the MIR-complex in the first 3 months of 1992. During the transport, after the skilful delivery on earth by the cosmonauts Volkov and Krikalyov, something went wrong due to extreme low temperatures and the results suffered damages. The present experiment will return to earth by the crew of this expedition in december 1993. In 2 days Progress-M20 will fly to MIR and if all goes well the freighter will dock to MIR on 13.10.93 at abt. 2316UTC (so for the Russians already on 14.10.93, 0216 Msc decree-time). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.193 14 OCTOBER 1993 PROGRESS-M20 DOCKED TO MIR: This freighter docked to MIR's aft docking port (Kvant-1) on 13.10.93 at 2325UTC. The approach and docking took place in the automatic mode under observation of the crew. The docking took place a little bit later than expected after MIR's pass in orbit 43764 from 2309-2314UTC. During this pass the transmitters of Pr- M20 still could be monitored on 922.755 mc and in the 166 and 165 mc bands. MIR also worked with packetradio on 145.550 mc. During the passes in orb. 43765 (14.01 0043-0050UTC) and 43766 (0221-0227UTC) the crew and TsUP spoke about the just arrived freighter. The crew was satified: the ship was clean and they got the badly needed dairy-products, which they ordered only recen- tly. Pr-M20 has a V.B.K. (ballistic returncapsule) on board. The arrival of the Pr-M20 is good news for the Dutch University in Nijmegen for she safely delivered their experiments in the Biokrist-package. PROGRESS-M19: To enable Pr-M20 to dock with the complex the Pr-M19 had to disappear. Nowadays the Russians undock the old freighter as soon as they are sure about the right orbit and the good functioning of the new one. So Pr-M19 separated from MIR on 12.10.1993 at 1759UTC. Before burning up in the atmosphere Pr-M19 jettisoned the V.B.K. and this landed safely in the designated area on 13.10.93 at 0022UTC. The crew on board MIR did not go asleep but observed the whole operation. The were enthousiastic about this interesting event. They saw how the engines of Pr-19 worked, how the V.B.K. separated from Pr-M19 and they even could see the burning up of the rest of the freighter. They made a lot of video-films and images. During the pass in 43751, on 13.10.93 at 0135UTC they reported about these observations to TsUP. In the course of 13.10 they transmitted their films to TsUP via the geostationary satellite Altair. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.194 21 OCTOBER 1993 4th Spacewalk (EVA): This EVA has been put forward and will take place on 22.10.93. The crew will open the hatch at 1630UTC and the EVA has to last 3 or 4 hours. During this EVA the crew will conclude the experiment Panorama. This is an inspection with camera's of the outersurface of the complex. Special attention will be given to the damages caused by particles from outer space during the Perseid meteorites storm around 12.08.93 and that of the collision with something from outerspace on 21.09.93. Serebrov will execute this survey from a position in the top of the Strela crane (or: girder). The crane will be steered by Tsibliyev. Progress-M20: This freighter will undock from the complex on 21.11.93. After jettisoning the V.B.K. (returncapsule) Pr-M20 will burn up in the atmosphere. The undocking and decay of Pr-M20 has been put forward due to one of the American (Boeing) experiments. To keep this experiment in space until the return of Soyuz-TM17 to the 2d decade of January 1994 was undesirable. Reason for the delay of the launch of Soyus-TM18: This delay has been caused by the bad economical situation. Simply: there was no funding available for a launch in november 1993. Soyuz-TM18 will start on 4.01.94 with the reliefcrew (15th main expedition to MIR) on board. One of the crew of 3 persons will be a doctor (Polyakov or Arzamazov), who will remain on board MIR for 1.5 year. The present crew (14th main expedition) will return to earth with Soyuz-TM17 on 12.01.94, so their flight will last well over 1.5 months longer than foreseen in the original planning. Though reluctantly Tsibliyev and Serebrov agreed to this delay. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.195 23 OCTOBER 1993 4th Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-crew on 22.10.93: This EVA started earlier than was expected. The hatch swung open at abt. 1535UTC. During the first half hour of this EVA the cosmonauts spoke with the Russian premier-minister Chernomyrdin who visited TsUP. Regretfully this EVA ended earlier than planned due to a malfunction of a lifesystem Serebrov's spacesuit. The EVA took place between (plus/min) 1535-1615UTC and had a duration of only 38 minutes. The crew succeeded in installing on the outersurface of the complex a device for measurements of the micro-meteorite flux and the salvaging of materials which had been exposed to the influence of outerspace. Serebrov made some images in the framework of the Panaroma experiment, but for the conclusion of that experiment another EVA will be necessary. Our good friend OM Peter observed via Altair that the cosmonauts had left the airlock. After a while the transmission of images switched over to the system Orbita and only the speech could be monitored. Soon we derived from this traffic that the cosmonauts were in the airlock, that they had closed the exithatch and were equalising the pressures between the airlock (S.Sh.O.) and the instrument- and scientific compartment (P.N.O.). For that purpose they had opened the valve K.V.D. and via the downlink the sound of streaming air could be heard. During the first pass within VHF-range (in orbit 43902, 1932- 1937UTC) the cosmonauts reported that all was well. The possible date of the 5th EVA also was mentioned. This might be 29.10.93 depending on further analyses of the emerged problems. Information: The English service of Radio Moscow slightly payed attention to this EVA, but did not speak about the cause of the premature return on board of the crew. For the first time in the history of spaceflight Radio Moscow spoke about the Russian crew as 'astronauts' instead of 'cos- monauts'. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.196 30 OCTOBER 1993 5th Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-crew on 29.10.93: The crew opened the hatch at 1338UTC and closed this behind them at 1750UTC, so the duration of this EVA was 4 hrs and 12 mins. They fully accomplished their tasks: the experiment Panorama, during which Sererbrov made video-images of the outersurface of the station, they removed samples of materials which had been exposed to open space and placed new samples and on instructions from experts on earth they carried out an inspection of objects on the outside, for instance the solarpanels. They also carried out prophylactic work. Most of the radio-communications was relayed by the satellite Altair. During the first 2 passes for our position the EVA was still going on and the radio-traffic could be heard on VHF as well as on Altair. During the pass in orbit 44010, 1742-1752UTC, the cosmonauts returned to the airlock and they told TsUP that they were ready to close the hatch on TsUP's command. So they did at 1750UTC and they immediately started with the equalisation of the pressures between the airlock (S.Sh.O.) and the Instrument-Scientific compartment (P.N.O.). OM Peter monitored phone as well as TV-images and in coordi- nation with him I was able to determine that all went well during this EVA. During the first communication session via Altair after the EVA the cosmonauts transmitted images made during the EVA to TsUP. So OM Peter could see how the crew during their EVA jet- tisoned an old (probably no longer usable) EVA- or spacesuit. They succeeded in sending away this dummy in such a shape that it looked like someone who saluted like a soldier. After analyses of the monitored radio-traffic I hope to tell something about the crew's assessment of the damage, which had been caused by micro-meteorites around 12.08.93. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.197 16 NOVEMBER 1993 Progress-M20: For some time the MIR-crew is preparing the freighter Progress- M20 for its last autonomous flight. They store all what they want to throw away in the Progress-M20 herself and all experiments, films etc. in the returncapsule (VBK). The Pr-M20 has to undock from MIR on 21.11.93 at abt. 0900UTC for decay in the atmosphere. Before burning up the Pr-M20 will jettison the VBK for a safe landing in the Orenburg region, so on Russian territory. A landing in Kazakhstan means that the Russians must pay import duties to Kazakhstan! Orbitcorrection: One of these days the Pr-M20 will have to correct the orbit of the complex. After this correction old Keplers will no longer be valid. MIR-crew: The cosmonauts reported that the outside surface of the MIR-station is in a good shape. The damages caused by micro- meteorites are not that bad as previously expected. More concern they expressed about the inside systems of the station. The guaranteed lifetime is running to its end and they have to do a lot of strenuous maintenance work on the lifesys- tems. Nowadays they have problems with the provision of oxygen. Contact between MIR and Shuttle Columbia on 26.10.93: It was a great surprise for the MIR-crew to get a call in Russian from the Columbia on a radio-amateur channel. Renovation work in my shack: Due to renovation work in my shack it might be difficult to maintain my operational possibilities for a while. So there might be a period in which I will be unable to make MIR- reports. Please don't worry: when this misery is over I will be back again! Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.198 21 NOVEMBER 1993 PROGRESS-M20: Orbitcorrection: On 17.11.93 during orbit 44300 the engines of Pr-M20 corrected the orbit of the MIR-complex: Ap/per now 395.3/388.2 KM. Decay of Pr-M20 and safe landing returncapsule on 21.11.93: Undocking of Pr-M20 from MIR at 0236UTC. Pr-M20 jettisoned the VBK (returncapsule) at 0850UTC. Pr-M20 entered dense layers of the atmospher at 0851UTC and decayed. The VBK safely landed not far from Orsk at 0903UTC. Orsk is a town just north of the border with Kazakhstan. The VBK itself landed just inside Kazakhstans territory. So possibly Russia will have to pay Kazakhstan import duties for the VBK and the cargo. VBK's cargo: The cargo mainly consisted of 2 American containers with experiments: The first one is the experiment TREK, which had been installed outside MIR from 4.04.91. This experiment registrated particles of super-heavy elements in the cosmic radiation. The 2d American experiment was the grow of biological crystalls delivered by the firm Boeing. The VBK brought back to earth some Russian experiments: 2 video- cassettes with images made during the survey experiment Panorama, an experiment with Ultraviolet in the earth's atmosphere, a sample of thermo-isolationmaterial exposed to open space and a lot of negative-films. Progress-M21: It is still unknown when this freighter will be launched for a flight to MIR. This freighter is badly needed, especially for a supply of fresh oxygen. The last days the crew is complaining about problems with the airpressure and oxygen, which cause respiration problems (dry nostrils and throat). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.199 10 DECEMBER 1993 PROGRESS-M21: For a long time we expected the launch of the freighter towards the end of November 1993. Due to economic and other problems this launch has been put back. The launch is now on schedule for 26.01.1994, so long after the relief of the present crew. SOYUZ-TM18: This ship will be launched for a flight to the MIR-station on 6.01.1994. If all goes according to the original planning the relief crew will consist of 3 cosmonauts. One of them is a doctor (Polyakov or Arazamov) who must remain in space for 1.5 year. Whether the crew will consist of 2 or 3 cosmonauts is not sure for 100%. MIR-routine: In this period MIR's passes are in the nighthours. The crew is still busy in keeping the station operational. They have to pay a lot of attention to the lifesupport systems: airpressure- and aircomposition and the waterregenerationsystems Elektron and S.R.V.-U. Visit of the American vice-president to TsUP: The Russians very badly need financial support from the United States for the upgrading of the partly wornout MIR-station. So they are very pleased that vice-president Gore will visit Kaliningrad near Moscow around 14.12.93. He will also visit the flightcontrol centre TsUP. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.201 6 JANUARY 1994: Soyuz-TM18: The launch of this ship with the reliefcrew of 3 will take place from Baykonur on 8.01.94 at 1005UTC. If all goes accord- ing to schedule S-TM18 will dock to MIR on 10.01.94 at abt. 1148UTC. Soyuz-TM17: The present MIR-crew (Tsibliyev and Serebrov) is already involved in activities related to their oncoming relief and their return to earth on 14.01.94. On 5.01.94 they remained on board of this ship for a long time to check systems and to look for areas in which they can stow things, which have to be returned to earth. Progress-M17: This freighter is still flying autonomously after the separation from MIR on 11.08.93. The Russians left Pr-M17 in space to check the lifetime of the systems due to the future use by the Americans of a Soyuz-TM modification as ACVR (rescueboat) for their spacestation. During a manoeuvre before Christmas the station came in a lower perigee (235 KM) due to a failure in the attitude controlsystem. TsUP los control over the freighter and they plan to have her decayed in the end of February this year. Probably this will happen spontanuously: the present orbital elements will lead to a decay at abt 28.03.94 (+ or - 3 days). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.  Soyuz-TM18 blasted off for flight to MIR-spacestation. S-TM18 has been launched from Baykonur on 8.01.94 at 1005UTC. All went well and at 1014UTC S-TM18 had reached the right orbit. For the flight the 1st crew had been selected, so: Captain V. Afanasyev, who makes his 2d flight, boardengineer (rookie) Yu. Usachev (pronounciation Usachov ) and the physician Dr. V. Polaykov, making his 2d flight. He will try to remain 427 days in space. The call of the crew is Derbent, so resp. Derbent-1, 2 and 3. For radio-amateur traffic resp. U9MIR, R3MIR and U3MIR. S-TM18 came in range during orbit 3, 1307UTC. Strong transmis- sions on the known frequencies (121.750, 165.874 and 922.755 mc). Afanasyev reported that all went well and he added some pressure values. After abt. 30 mins MIR (orb. 45114) could be heard here. TsUP told the MIR-crew that all on board S-TM18 was normal. In the pass in the 4th orbit (1436UTC) Afanasyev reported that the S-TM18 executed 2 orbitcorrections without significant problems. During the pass in the 5th orbit (1609- UTC) Afanasyev reported the successful performance of S-TM18 during the 3d orbitcorrection. Afanasyev got the order to adjust the Globus position indicator and Dr. Polyakov stated that the condition of the crew was excellent. On 10.01.94 at 1150UTC S-TM18 has to dock to the MIR-complex. This will be abt 4 mins. after LOS of the spaceobjects in MIR's orbit nr. 45144. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.  Soyuz-TM18 docked with the MIR-spacestation. On 10.01.94 at 1050UTC S-TM18 docked to the MIR-station. Approach and docking took place in the automatic mode by the use of the system Kurs. During MIR's pass in orbit 45144 (1138-1147UTC) the approach was going on. Afanasyev watched the behaviour of S-TM18 on his monitor. He had to be alert to take over manually, but this was not necessary. S-TM18 ap- proached and docked smoothly. During the approach the trans- mitter of MIR and of the S-TM18 as well could be heard. During the pass in the next orbit (45145, 1315-1323UTC) the hatch was opened and the enthousiastic welcome and greetings of both crews could be monitored. The following pass (orb. 45146, 1448-1459UTC) Serebrov spoke a word of welcome and reported that mood and health of the newcomers were excellent. For Dr. Polyakov reason to gather bloodsamples from the cos- monauts to be able to confirm this scientifically. The 5 men will work together during the next 3 days and the old crew (MIR Main expedition nr. 14) will then hand over the station to the 15th Main expedition. On 14.01.1994 Tsibliyev and Serebrov will return to earth in the Soyuz-TM17. The 15the Main Expedition will last until 6.07.1994, so 177 days. Then Afanasyev and Usachev will be relieved by Malen- chenko, Musabayev and Strekalov. Strekalov will return with the relieved crew. Dr. Polyakov will remain on board until spring 1995 (427 days) to conduct medical experiments aimed at the longlasting flights to Mars. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  Soyuz-TM17 returned to earth: On 14.01.1994 at 0819UTC (08hrs18mins20secs) the returncapsule of the S-TM18 landed at 215 KM West of Karaganda in Kazakh- stan. The cosmonauts (Tsibliyev and Serebrov) felt well after their flight of 197 days. They will be flown to Starcity near Moscow this afternoon. Again a routine-message about a routine-operation, but yet 'it has been a near thing' and nearly I had to draft a real sho- cking message! Return operation: At 0145UTC the hatch of S-TM17 was closed behind Tsibliyev and Serebrov. At 0430UTC the S-TM17 undocked from MIR. Tsibliyev had got orders to make a short inspection flight around the MIR-complex. They had to make images of the outersurface and they had to give special attention to the APAS89 docking system on Kristall (Module-T). In a distance of 30 Meters S- TM17 deviated from the desired course and collided with the MIR-station. Immediately radiocontact with S-TM17 was lost. After 10 minutes TsUP managed to re-established radiocontact with S-TM17 and the crew reported that their ship did not suffer damages and that the air-seal was still in good order. They also did not see any damages on the MIR-complex. S-TM17 made its last 2 orbits around the earth and the descent started at abt. 0715UTC. At 0804UTC the parachute opened and the 2-tonns heavy capsule made a safe landing at 08.18.20UTC. MIR: The new crew (15th Main Expedition) immediately started obser- vations through the portholes to try to determine eventual damages. During the passes in orbits 45206 (1100UTC) and 45207 (1234UTC) they transmitted to earth video-images which they made during the departure and fly-around of S-TM17. Shortly Afanasyev and Usachov will have to make a non-schedu- led spacewalk to inspect the place, where S-TM17 hit the MIR- station. (probably near the APAS89 docking device on Kris- tall -Module-T). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 Soyuz-TM18 flown from aft to forward docking port MIR-station: This operation was on schedule for 21.01.94 but was put back to 24.01.94. Instead of a short operation (undocking, hoove- ring until the complex turned 180 degrees and docking to the other port) TsUP decided to use the operation for an inspec- tion of the whole complex to be sure that the collision of S- TM18 and the Kristall-module on 14.01.94 did not cause fatal damages. The whole crew went aboard the S-TM18 and undocked from the aft docking port at 0309UTC and flew autonomously for a long time. At 0452UTC S-TM18 docked to the forward (P.Kh.O.) dock- ing port and remained on board of the S-TM18 until 0619UTC. During the first pass of the complex within our range (orb. 45359, 0615UTC) Usachov reported via 121.750 mc that Afanasyev had opened the hatch. During the long period between docking and entering the station the crew checked systems and airseal of compartments. Damage assessment during inspection flight: Apart from some negligible scratches in the area of the col- lision (on Kristall-module) no significant or fatal damages have been discovered. In a long communication session between TsUP and MIR via Altair (0855-0946UTC) the crew extensively reported about that inspection and transmitted images to earth. Obviously it will not be necessary to insert an un- scheduled spacewalk to inspect the outersurface of Kristall. Progress-M21: This freighter will be launched from Baykonur on 28.01.94 at 0212UTC. Docking 2 days later to MIR's aft (Kvant) docking port on 30.01.94 at abt. 0300UTC. Yevpatoriya: The tracking and communication facilities near Yevpatoriya and Simferopol on the Crimea are again operational for TsUP's control of the MIR-spacestation. On 20.01.94 (orb. 45300, 1137UTC) the crew waited for communications via Yev- patoriya. Meanwhile this has been confirmed: the RKA and her Ukrainian counterpart have reached an agreement on the use of Ukrainian spacefacilities for Russian spaceflight. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  Progress-M21 launched for a flight to the MIR-spacestation. The freighter Progress-M21 was launched from Baykonur on 28.01.94 at 0213UTC. Already at 0514UTC the transmissions of Pr-M21 on 166, 165 and 922.755 mc could be heard. During the rest of Pr-M21's passes within our range the transmitters worked continuously. Pr-M21 will deliver supplies, food, water, fuel, equipment, spareparts and post to the MIR-com- plex. Pr-M21 does not carry a VBK (ballistic return capsule). This crew (the 15th Main Expedition) will receive another 2 Pr-M-s. The first one, the Pr-M22, will start on 16 (or:18) March 1994. Pr-M22 will not carry a VBK. Pr-M23 is on schedule for launch on 18 (or:20) May 1994 and will have a VBK on board. Expected docking time of Pr-M21 to MIR: On 30.01.94 at abt. 0354UTC Pr-M21 will dock to MIR's aft (Kvant-1) docking port. The approach and docking will be automatically with the system Kurs. Afanasyev will be standby with the TORU (tele-orientation and command regime) which might enable him to take over manually in case of a Kurs- system failure. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.  Progress-M21 docked to the MIR-spacestation: On 30.01.94 at 0356UTC (03hrs56mins14secs) the freighter Pr- M21 docked to the aft (Kvant) docking port of the MIR-complex. Afanasyev did not have to use the TORU for the Pr-M21 ap- proached and docked automatically with the system Kurs. During the pass in orb. 45452 (0520UTC) checks of the airseal proved that all was in good order and Afanasyev opened the hatch to the freighter at 0524UTC. During the next passes the crew reported their satisfaction about the state of the Pr-M21: all was clean and fresh and the people on earth had taken good care for the cargo. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  For a period of almost a fortnight MIR passed over here during the nighthours and this meant radiosilence on 143.625 mc. Now we again can monitor traffic during the eveninghours. 145.550 mc remained active all the time, mainly with Pack- etradio. During the first passes this week the MIR crew spoke with their colleagues Manarov (U2MIR), Volkov (U4MIR) and Artsebarskiy (U7MIR) in Russia and Tognini in France. These contacts were in the Russian language and and they used their operational callsign 'Derbenty'. The 145.550 mc was also in use on board of the spaceshuttle Discovery (STS-60) during the flight of the Russian 'astro- naut' Krikolyov, who got permission for the temporary use of his own callsign U5MIR. The contacts between Discovery and MIR took place out of our range. On 8.02.94 they communicated via TDRS-es and the first direct contact on VHF took place on 10.02.94. During the night and early morning of 10.02.94 both objects regularly passed within our range during overlaps of their footprints. Schedule for operations with Progress-M freighters: Progress-M22: Launch on 16.03.94, docking with MIR on 18.03.- 94. This freighter does not carry a VBK (ballistic return capsule). Progress-M21: Separation from MIR on 17.03.94 if Pr-M22 is in the right orbit and functioning normally. Pr-M21 has no VBK on board. Progress-M23: Launch on 18.03.94, docking to MIR at 20.04.94. This freighter carries a VBK. Progress-M22: Separation from MIR on 19.05.94 if all is going well with Progress-M23. A schedule for the freighters after Progress-23 has been published, but data might be subject to changes. The transport ship Soyuz-TM19, had to be launched on 24.06.94, but this launch has been put forward to 20.06.94, docking to MIR on 22.06.94. The first crew consisted of Malenchenko, Musaba- yev and Strekalov. Strekalov had to return with the relieved Afanasyev and Usachov after 12 days. Possibly Strekalov will fly with Soyuz-TM21 together with Dezhurov and an American kosmonaut on 01.03.95. American 'cosmonauts': 2 American astronauts had to arrive in Starcity near Moscow on one of these days to begin with their training for a flight as 'cosmonaut'. Due to technical reasons their departure has been postponed for 1 or 2 weeks. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.209 15 MARCH 1994 Launch Progress-M22 postponed: This freighter was on schedule to be launched on 16 or 18.03. Due to very bad weatherconditions (blizzards) the launch has been put back for a while. Possibly the exact date of launch will be published on 17.03.94. Fire on Baykonur: On 7.03.94 a heavy fire broke out in a MIK (Assembly and testcomplex) and spread to a Maintenance Unit Headquarters. There the fire damaged a Telemetry installation. The fire caused a damage of appr. 1.7 a 1.8 million dollars. The Russians declared that space-programs will not suffer from this event. Progress-M17: This freighter has been flying autonomously from 11.08.93 for a duration test of its systems. The Russians planned to leave the Pr-M17 in orbit for a year and a half on request by the Americans who want to use modified versions of the Soyuz-TM-ships for ACRV (assured crew return vehicle) for the spacestation Alpha. A testflight with a Pr-M was useful for a lot of systems of this freighter are the same as those of the S-TM. During an orbitmanoeuvre in December 1993 some- thing went wrong and the Pr-M17 came in a very low perigee from where it decayed naturally by burning up in the Earth's atmosphere on 3.03.94 at 0406UTC Trackingships: The trackingship Kosmonavt Pavel Belyayev is floating somewhere in the Atlantic for the support of space- flight operations which have nothing to do with the MIR-sta- tion. Nevertheless the ship now and then assists TsUP for communications with the MIR-station. This took place on 13.03- .94 at 2004UTC and on 14.03.94 at 2045UTC, so out of our range. We can expect that within due time we can hear MIR- radiotraffic relayed by the KPB or one of the other ships. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  PROGRESS-M22: This freighter will be launched from Baykonur on 22.03.94 at 0454UTC for a flight to the MIR-spacestation. This launch, originally planned for 16 or 18.03.94, has been postponed due to problems on Baykonur. Russians sources stated that meteorological conditions (blizzards) had forced them to put back the launch. On 7.03.94 a heavy fire broke out in the MIK (assembly- and testcomplex) for Progress-M-s and Soyuz-TM- s. The fire also effected a commandcentre. It was almost impossible to extinguish this fire due to the lack of water caused by one of those inclement blizzards. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  Progress-M22 launched for flight to MIR-spacestation: The freighter Pr-M22 has been launched from Baykonur on 22.03- .94 at 0454UTC. If all goes well the Pr-M22 will dock to MIR's aft (Kvant-1) docking port on 24.03.94 at abt. 0638UTC. During some of the passes within our range the transmitters of Pr-M22 could be heard. During the pass from 0929-0931UTC only in the 166 and 165 mc bands, from 1059-1105UTC also the beacon on 922.755 mc transmitted. So the transmitters did not -as usual- transmit during all passes. TsUP stated that all sys- tems worked without problems. TsUP emphasized that the delay of the launch (originally on schedule for 16 or 18.03.94) was caused by the blizzards and that the fire in MIK and a com- mandcentre on 7.03.94 had nothing to do with the delay. The blizzards burried the cosmodrome under snowdunes up to 6 meters high. Trackingships: Now and then TsUP and MIR meet problems with the communications via the geostationary satellite Altair. Probably this is caused by malfunctions of the meanwhile worn out transceiver (Antares) on board MIR The trackingship Kosmonavt Pavel Belyayev (KPB), somewhere in the Atlantic, regularly is involved in MIR-communications. On 23.03.94 from 1705-1714UTC MIR and TsUP have a communica- tion sched via KPB. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  Progress-M21 separated from the MIR-spacestation: As of 30.01.94 this freighter occupied the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of the complex. To enable the new freighter, Pr- M22, to dock to that port Pr-M21 had to disappear. On 23.03.94 at 0118UTC Pr-M21 undocked and flew its last flight as an independent satellite until 0432UTC. At 0432UTC Pr-M21's engine gave an impulse to bring her back in the atmosphere. Consequently she burnt up and decayed over the Pacific a few minutes later. Pr-M21 had no ballistic return capsule on board. Progress-M22 docked to the MIR-spacestation: Pr-M22 docked to the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of the complex on 24.03.94 at 0639UTC. The docking took place just after LOS of MIR and Pr-M22 for my position. During the pass before the docking MIR's radiotraffic on 143.625mc and Pr-M22's beacon on 922.755mc could be heard. Afanasyev reported data about the approach: the final approach, distance 59 M, approach speed 0.3M/sec, etc. Already during the next pass (orb. 46281, 0803UTC) the hatch to Pr-M22 had been opened. Inside Pr-M22 all was clean and the crew -as always- enjoyed the nice smell of apples. Pr-M22 delivered to the complex food, water, fuel, post, spare parts and equipment for the maintenance of MIR's systems and additional equipment to be used by Dr. Polyakov for his medical experiments. If the Russians stick to the original schedule Pr-M22 will have to leave the aft docking port on 19.05.94 to enable her successor Progress-M23 to dock on 20.05.94. Pr-M22 does not have a VBK on board; Pr-M23 will carry a VBK. Baykonur: As of 22.03.94 Russian and Kazakhstan politicians and experts are gathered in Moscow for negociations on a draft agreement about the right of Russia to use the cosmo- drome Baykonur. Thusfar it was impossible to reach consonance about the amount of money for the rent and the compensation for ecological damages caused by soviet space-activities over some decenniums. Russians are considering the possibility to reconstruct the base for ICBM's near Svobodnyy (East Siberiya, 51degr24min N, 128degr07min E.) into a cosmodrome to replace Baykonur. Yuriy Semyonov, Head of NPO 'Energiya', is against this idea: in his opinion Russia will loose its place as a leading space-power if Russia abandons Baykonur. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  MIR-operations: After the docking of Progress-M22 to the MIR-station the passes gradually shifted to the nighthours. Meanwhile MIR passes take place again during the dayhours, which means that regularly radiotraffic can be heard. In this stage of the MIR- mission there is not too much to report: just routine matters and the well-known experiments: measurements of the flows of elementary charged particles by the Mariya-spectrometer and x- ray and gamma radiation by spectrometers in the Kvant-1 modu- le. The crew shot a lot of video- and photo-images of the earth on request by geologists en ecologists. Polyakov con- tinues his medical experiments. On 9.05.94 the crew made films of heavy fires along the frontier of Siberia and Mongolia. During passes in which MIR is in contact with TsUP often only Afanasyev is heard. Sometimes, but not as much as Afanasyev, Polyakov and Usachov communicate with TsUP. Daily routine for the crew still remains the functioning of the waterregenera- tion systems, about the SRV-U -distillation of water from urine- they daily have discussions with TsUP. Baykonur: After long and difficult negociations Russia and Kazakhstan reached an agreement about the use by Russia of Baykonur and Leninsk. Russia has to pay a rent of 115 milj. US-dollars a year for a period of 20 years and the option for a prolongation by another 10 years. Russia can act in Baykonur and Leninsk as if it was Russian territory. Let us hope that the agreement puts an end to the uncertainties for Russian and future users of the cosmodrome and to the vexations and con- fiscations of vital materials by the Kazakhstan authorities. Soyuz-TM19: This transportship will be launched from Baykonur on 24.06.94 with the crew for the 16th Main Expedition to MIR. The first crew consists of Musabayev and Malenchenko, both rookies. Musabayev is from Kazakhstan, but the Russians stres- sed that he will fly just because he is a good cosmonaut and not to please Kazakhstan. On 4.04.94 the Statecommission decided to exclude Strekalov from that flight. He was on sche- dule for the Russians use to add an experienced cosmonaut to a crew with only rookies. So for the first time in many years a Soyuz-ship will fly with only rookies on board. The reason for the exclusion of Strekalov is economical: his seat will be used for an extra amount of cargo (85 KG). Strekalov is still in the race for he will fly during the 1995 program. He will then be 'ferried' to MIR by the spaceshuttle Atlantis. To get the training as an 'astronaut' he will arrive in the USA one of these days. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIR-operations: On 16.05.94 the engines of the Progress-M22, still docked to the MIR-spacestation, corrected the orbit of the complex. The orbit on appr. 400 KM is almost fully cir- cular now. Keplerelements earlier than 16.05.94 cannot be used any longer. Herewith the 2-line elements for day 137: 137.63180416 0.00005592 51.6463 339.1528 .0001314 282.2347 77.8458 15.56018306 47128. Progress-M23: The launch of this freighter has been put back until 22.05.94 at abt. 0425UTC. If all will go according to plan we can for the first time monitor the trans- missions of Pr-M23 that day at abt. 0725UTC on the frequ-s 922.755, 166.140, 166.130 and 165.873 mc. Pr-M23 will have a VBK (ballistic return capsule) on board. The docking of Pr-M23 to the MIR-complex is scheduled for 24.05.94 at abt. 0617UTC, so 4 minutes after LOS (Loss of signal) for our position. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.  Progress-M23: This freighter has been launched from Baykonur on 22.05.94 at 0430UTC. During the first pass for our position the transmitters of Pr-M23 dit not work pos- sibly due to the fact that Yevpatoria still does not par- ticipate in the tracking activities of TsUP. During orbit 4 the transmissions on 166, 165 and 922mc could be monitored over here. Pr-M23 carries more than 2000 KG cargo for the MIR- complex, i.e. fuel, food, water, post, equipment and experi- ments. In contradiction to her predecessor this Pr-M also carries a VBK (ballistic return capsule). Progress-M22: This freighter had to free the aft (Kvant-1) docking port for the Pr-M23. After TsUP was sure about the good functioning of all systems of Pr-M23 Pr-M22 could be separated from MIR for decay in the atmosphere. The undocking took place on 23.05.94 at 0057UTC and after some hours Pr-M22 burnt up over the Pacific. Progess-M23 docked to the MIR-station on 24.05.94 at 0619UTC. During the first pass, in which the approach of Pr-M23 to MIR was in its final stage, there was no radiotraffic on VHF (possibly again due to the absence of the Yevpatoriya- facilities). For communications TsUP used the Ku-bands of the Altair satellite. During the 2d pass (orb. 47232, 0745-0751- UTC) Polyakov reported from MIR's central post that Afanasyev and Usachov already were near the opened hatch to the Pr-M23. They had followed the safety recommandations of TsUP (for instance the use of protection glasses). The Pr-M23 was clean and already had given the whole complex a higher pressure to 717mm. The crew enjoyed the fresh air with the smell of fruits. Afanasyev reported that all was well. Launchdate Soyuz-TM19 possibly put back: There are circulating messages about a possible change of the launchdate of S-TM19, thusfar on schedule for 24.06.94. These messages are not equal: there might be a delay until 20.07.94, but the Russians did not confirm this. They admitted that there are discussions about a possible delay, but if so the launch will take place not mare than 2 weeks later. The discussions are still going on. Yevpatoriya: For a short period in the beginning of 1994 this station could be used by the Russians for TsUP- MIR communications. During the flight of the Soyuz-TM18 the station could be used due to a provisional agreement between the RKA and her Ukrainian counterpart. Regretfully this pro- bably only worked for a short period. Tough negociations between Russia and the Ukraine were going on about this matter and the present problems on the Crimea certainly will not make the negociations easier. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 Soyuz-TM19: The launch of this ship had been put back several times due to problems with the production of the fairing for the protection of S-TM19 during the first fase of the launch. Now this launch from Baykonur is on schedule for 1.07.94 at abt. 1224UTC. If all goes well S-TM19 will dock to the MIR- complex (aft, Kvant-2 docking port) 2 days later. This ship will ferry the reliefcrew, Malenchenko and Musaba- yev, to MIR. On 9.07.94 the present crew Afanasyev and Usa- chov will return to earth with the Soyuz-TM18. Dr. Polyakov will remain on board to reach a place in the Guiness Book of Records after a stay of 429 days in space. Kazakhstan insists upon the fact that Musabayev will make his spaceflight as a representative of Kazakhstan for he is a native of that country. The Russians agreed with that, but told Kazakhstan that this means that Musabayev will fly as a foreign guestcosmonaut and that Kazakhstan has to pay for that just like western countries have to pay for their cosmonauts. Kazakhstan cannot afford this. Progress-M23: Before Soyuz-TM19 can dock to the aft docking port the freighter Pr-M23 has to undock from there. If all goes well on board S-TM19 after launch Pr-M23 will separate from MIR on 2.07.94. The retuncapsule (VBK) of Pr-M23 has to make a soft landing somewhere in Kazakhstan. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202  Soyuz-TM19 launched for flight to MIR-spacestation: S-TM19 started from Baykonur on 1.07.94 at 1224UTC. S-TM19 has a crew of two: Yuriy Malenchenko and Tolgat Musaba- yev. For a long time the status of this flight was unknown: Musabayev's native country is Kazakhstan, but he was supposed to fly as an officer of the Russian airforce. Now the flight has been announced as a Russian-Kazakh expedition. Russia paid for the preparations and Kazakhstan will pay a contribu- tion for Musabayev's activities on board MIR. All went well during the launch and the first day of the flight. The cosmonauts use the callsign Agat-1 and Agat-2. The crew has no problems with micro-gravity and space sickness. During the 3d orbit at 1527UTC the ship came in our range. Malenchenko reported that all was going according to plan and the results were positive. The pressure of the atmosphere on board was 803 mm. Already during the next pass (orb. 4, 1656UTC) Malenchenko reported the first 2 orbitcorrections ac- complished as needed and without any problems. During the following pass (orb. 5, 1837UTC) Malenchenko an- nounced that the 3d orbitcorrection would take place at 18 hrs 47mins and 45 secs UTC. As usual during such flights: radiocontact with TsUP on 121.- 750 mc and telemetry and beacons on 166, 165 and 922.755 mc. Progress-M23: As soon as TsUP was sure that all went well with S-TM19 the undocking of Pr-M23 was possible and took place on 2.07.94 at 0841UTC. The landing of the VBK (ballistic return capsule) had to take place on 2.07.94 at 1500UTC at 150 KM North East of the town Orsk, within Russian territory, so no need to pay import duties. Estimated docking day and time of S-TM19 with MIR: 3.07.94 at 1404UTC, so just after LOS for us after the first pass of MIR and S-TM19 for our position. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 Soyuz-TM19 docked to MIR-spacestation: S-TM19 docked to the aft dockingport (Kvant-1) on 3.07.94 at 1355UTC, so 9 minutes earlier than planned. Approach and docking took place in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. So during the pass in orb. 47859, 1355-1402UTC, the docking just took place. By monitoring Altair OM Peter could determine the right dockingtime meanwhile confirmed by TsUP. During the 2d pass (orb. 47860, 1527UTC) the crew for the 16th Main expedition already had joined their predecessors inside MIR itself. During radiocontact with the trackingship Kos- monavt Pavel Belyayev in the 3de pass (orb. 47861, 1704UTC) Talgat Musabayev told that he was very pleased to be on board and that he did not suffer from adaptation problems at all. He also stated that he does not have any problems with the status of this flight: Russian, Russian-Kazakh, CIS or international. He considers himself to be a representative of all human beings on earth. He also emphasized that nothing can hamper the good friendship between the Russian an Kazakh people (let us hope this also applies to the politicians!). 16th Mainexpedition to MIR: This mission consists of the new crew together with Doctor Polyakov. Malenchenko and Musabayev will return to earth on 2.11.94. Together with the new enthousiastic cosmonauts S-TM19 delivered to MIR hard- and software for experiments during the Euromir 94 mission of Merbold in october this year. In september 1994 Mal. and Mus. have to make 4 EVA (space- walks) aimed at the transfer of the solarpanels from Kristall to Kvant-1, maintenance and inspections of the outersurface of the complex and the replacement of containers (among other things the American Trek-experiment) with experiments exposed to open space. Soyuz-TM18: The relieved crew (Afanasyev and Usachov) will return to earth by this ship on 9.07.94. Progress-M23: This freighter undocked from MIR on 2.07.94 at 0841UTC and decayed in the earth's atmosphere the same day. Just before decay it jettisoned the VBK (ballistic return capsule) which made a safe landing within Russian territory 150 KM N.E. of the town Orsk at 1508UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.219 9 JULY 1994 Soyuz-TM18 safely landed in Kazakhstan. The relieved cosmonauts Afanasyev and Usachov landed with the Descent Module of the S-TM18 at 100 KM NE of Arkalyk on 9.07.- 94 at 1033UTC. Radiotraffic of S-TM18 during the descent -also the ANAN aiming beacon- could be monitored via Altair until 1020UTC. Immediately after the landing the cosmonauts boarded an aircraft for a nonstop flight to Star City near Moscow. MIR: 2 days ago the command of the MIR-complex was handed over by Afanasyev to Malenchenko. From this moment on the callsign of Polyakov changed from Derbent-3 to Agat-3. Soyuz-TM19: This ship is still docked to the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of the MIR-complex. Contrary to the normal prac- tice this ship will remain there, so no redocking from the aft to the forward docking port has been planned. One of the reasons may be the future operations with modules like Module- T (Kristall), Spektr and Priroda. Progress-M24: Thusfar the launch of this freighter is still on schedule for 13.07.94. Trackingships: On 8.07.94 the trackingship Kosmonavt Pavel Belyayev moored in the port of Antwerp. A few hours later I visited the ship for a long interview with the Chief of the Expedition of KPB. I was able to follow the movements of the ship and to determine her destination by monitoring radiotraf- fic between the ship and the MIR-station. The chief answered a lot of questions regarding the fate and future of the famous fleet of trackingships. The KPB is now on her way to Sankt Peterburg. A ship to take over her task in the Atlantic did not show up but remained in Sankt Peterburg due to budget problems. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.  Progress-M24: The launch of this freighter has been put back. Originally 2 Progress-M's had to be launched in the period july/august 1994. The Russians had to give up one of the Pr-M- s for economical reasons. Now the Progress-M24 is on schedule to be launched on 24.08.94. Pr-M24 will deliver the normal cargo to the MIR-complex plus the equipment to be used by an European cosmonaut (Ulf Merbold or Pedro Duque) during the EuroMir94 mission in october 1994. Soyuz-TM19: This ship is still docked to the aft (Kvant-1) port of the MIR-station. Contrary to the normal practice S- TM19 will not be redocked to the forward (PKhO) docking port of the complex. EuroMir94: The Soyuz-TM20 with on board the reliefcrew (Vikto renko and Kondakova or the stand-in crew Gidzhenko and Avdey ev) with an ESA-cosmonaut (Ulf Merbold or Pedro Duque) is on schedule for launch on 3.10.94. The European cosmonaut will remain on board MIR for a period of 30 days. The training of the crews takes place in Starcity near Moscow as well as in the European Astronaut Centre of ESA in Cologne. In Moscow they have to study the Russian language and to get familiar with the Soyuz-TM and the MIR-spacestation and its modules and in Cologne the training is aimed at the European experi ments, which for the greater part will cover life-sciences, i.e. monitoring the human body in microgravity conditions. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.221 25 JULY 1994 Russian spaceflight trackingships. Until 1992 the fleet of trackingships consisted of ten ships. These ships formed a part of the infrastructure of controlcen tres and measurement points for sovjet spaceflight operations. In this case the word 'operations' covers a wide variety for the assistance of the manned spaceflight program was only a small part of their duties. The role of the ships, as far as manned spaceflight was concerned, sharply deteriorated after the beginning of the use of geostationary satellites for communications between the Salyut-7 and the MIR-spacestations. The TDRS system used by the Russians did not always work satisfactorely and so all experts involved in Russian spacef light expected that the 'ships' would remain operational at least until 2000. Already in 1990 there circulated rumours about the a gradual withdrawal of that fleet, but nobody dared to take the responsibility. However the economical problems in the last year of the S.U. forced the Russians to withdraw most of the ships from service and as of january 1st 1992 the ships in the Atlantic apart from some modest exceptions ceased to assist during MIR-operations. Sometimes a ship was operational in the Atlantic to assist space-operations for other objects and organisations and now and then had to be stand-by during MIR-operations (launches of Progresses, Soyuzes, dockings, returnoperations, EVA's a.s.o.), but always on a secundary basis. For the last half year the Kosmonavt Pavel Belyayev operated from a position west of Africa and even played an important role during the almost fatal flight of Soyuz-TM17 on 14.01.94. After some bumps of the S-TM17 into the MIR-station the communications via the Altair (Cosmos-2054) ceased and this caused great concern at TsUP. KPB was the first to pick up radiotraffic from the S-TM17 and thus shortened the awful uncertainty phase at TsUP by 10 minutes. In the past the ships relayed traffic between MIR and TsUP via Molniya satellites during the first part of MIR's footprint for our position. Nowadays the traffic between MIR and TsUP only begins at TCA for our position. The fate of the fleet: the sheeps belonged to the Sovjet (now Russian) Academy of Sciences. The maritime part fell under the responsibility of the Baltic- and Blacksea shipping. The ships which have homeports in the Ukraine (the Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin and the Akademik Sergey Korolyov) now belong to that country and so their role in spaceflight fully ceased. The ships made some trips for tourists, but that was not succes sful. Both ships have been used to evacuate Russian military personel and their families from Cuba to St. Petersburg. From there they returned to their Ukrainian ports. The Ukraine does not know what to do with the ships and tried to sell them to the Russians. The Russians were not interested: they still have 4 ships for the Western Hemisphere and a 5th one is under construction. Spaceflight needs over the Pacific are covered by 2 ships of the Russian Navy, the Marshal Nedelin and the Marshal Krylov. The Odessa based Kosmonavt Vladimir Komarov already before the indepence of the Ukraine was transferred to Leningrad to be refurbished for other purposes: ecological expeditions in the Baltic and the North Atlantic. Thusfar this plan did not work: the attempts to use the ship for that purposes on a commercial base did not have success due to the lack of customers. So in St Petersburg we have 4 ships: the Kosmonavt Pavel Belyayev, the Kosmonavt Vladislav Volkov, the Kosmonavt Viktor Patsayev and the Kosmonavt Georgiy Dobrovols kiy. They are waiting for an assignment. Possibly one of them will be used in the Atlantic west of Africa in october and november 1994 to assist during the launch and docking of Soyuz-TM20 (resp. 3 and 5.10.94) and the return flight of the Soyuz-TM19 on 3.11.94. A new ship, the Akademik Nikolay Pilyu gin, has already been launched and has to be fitted. Thusfar it is not known whether this new ship will influence the fate of 1 or more ships of the 4 in St Peterburg. After the last expedition the Belyayev several times had contact with the crew of the MIR-complex. From this traffic I could derive the indication that the ship planned to visit Antwerp in Belgium. This enabled me to go on board and I had a long and intere sting conversation with the chief of the expedition, Nikolay Burov and the captain Sivtsov. In spite of the enormous econo mical difficulties of their country their hospitability to wards me was 100%. (This MIR-report is derived from the reports in Dutch 221 and 222. So the next MIR-report in English will be MIRNEWS.223) Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.222 30 JULY 1994 Info for Radio-amateurs trying to make QSO's with MIR: On 30 July 1994 during pass in orbit nr. 48273 Musabayev asked TsUp to inform Sergey Samburov that the power unit of the transceiver for Radio-amateurism is out of order. The last time I monitored traffic on 145.550 Mc from MIR was on 27 July 1994 during the passes in orbits 48226 and 48227 when Polyakov (U3MIR) tried to make a QSO with Francis in France and with OE1AKB. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.223 16 AUGUST 1994 MIR-operations: These days MIR's passes for our position take place during the night-hours. During the Perseid meteorite streams no nightly radio-traffic on VHF, so obviously nothing happened. This in contradiction to the same period in 1993 when several parti cles collided with the MIR-station. In a few days we can expect radiotraffic during the evening hours again. PROGRESS-M24: This freighter will be launched from Baykonur on 25.08.94 at 1425UTC. If all goes according to the plan liste ners in Western-Europe can receive radiosignals on the known frequencies (166.140, 166.130, 165.874 and 922.755 + or - for Doppler) 3 hours later. Spacewalks (EVA-s): Instead of 4 only 2 EVA's will be made by Malenchenko and Musabayev. These EVA-s are scheduled for 8 and 12.09.94. Purpose: transfer of solarpanels from Kristall to Kvant-1. SPEKTR: The launch of this Module-O has been put back 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 either. American flights to MIR: The schedule for these flights might be changed due to the delay of the launch of Spektr. No further details yet. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.224 25 AUGUST 1994 Progress-M24: A Soyuzcarrier with the freighter Progress-M24 blasted off from Baykonur on 25.08.94 at 1425UTC. The Pr-M24 has to deliver to the MIR-spacestation food, water, fuel, post for the crew, spareparts and equipment for repairs, also for the radio-amateurinstallation, and experiments to be used during the Euromir94 expedition in October this year. The Pr-M24 does NOT carry a VBK (ballistic return capsule). The telemetry- and beacon transmitters in the 166, 165 and 922 Mc bands could be monitored here during the passes in the 2d, 3d and 4th orbit. The estimated docking time with MIR is on 27.08.94 at 1601UTC, so appr. 5 minutes after LOS of MIR's pass in orbit 48715. Pr-M24 will have to dock at the forward (PKhO) doc kingport. Recently the cosmonauts checked the system TORU (tele- orientation and guidance) obviously to be ready to guide Pr- M24 manually from MIR during the approach and docking if necessary. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.225 27 AUGUST 1994 PROGRESS-M24: During the preparations for the docking of this freighter to the MIR-complex something seemed to be wrong with some systems of that ship. TsUP decided to discontinue the approach-procedure and to maintain Pr-M24 in an autonomous status for the time being. A commission is investigating the causes of the problem and must to decide when a second docking attempt will be made. Probably this will last 3 or more days. Radiotraffic: The fact that there might be something wrong could be derived from TV-images received via Altair by our good friend Peter and from the radiotraffic thereafter. In the period in which the 'final approach' was planned the crew changed the orientation of the MIR-complex to get better visual observations of the 'naugthy' Pr-M24. The transmitters of the Pr-M24 in the 922, 166 and 165 Mc bands transmitted continuously. During the 2d pass of the MIR-station (orb. 48716, 1725-1735UTC) Pr-M24 still flew autonomously and from the radiotraffic between MIR and TsUP could be derived that the cosmonauts tried to observe Pr-M24 visually. Pr-M24 flew a few kilometers (2.7 a 1.5) ahead of MIR on the same altitude. Visual observations: In those part of the Netherlands and UK where the sky was clear MIR and Pr-M24 could be seen flying separately from each other during MIR's orb. nr. 48718, 2038- 2046UTC. The 'small' star Pr-M24 flew 6 seconds ahead of the 'huge' star MIR. TCA Pr-M24: 204051UTC, TCA MIR: 204057UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.226 31 AUGUST 1994 Progress-M24: The 2d attempt to dock this freighter to MIR also did fail. The estimated docking time was 30.08.94 at 1450UTC. The Pr-M24 softly hit the MIR-complex twice after which Pr-M24 immediately moved away. The MIR-crew felt the little shocks caused by the 2 contacts. They reported this during the pass in MIR's orbit 48762 at 1615UTC. They also tried to assess eventual damages by looking through portholes. The transmitters of Pr-M24 functioned mormally after the event. TsUP: In this flightcontrolcentre specialists did (until deadline of this report) not know the causes of both failures. More docking attempts are under consideration, but the decisi on depends on further analyses and results of meetings of specialists today. An eventual 3d attempt will not be made today (31.08). Among the possibilities is the use of the system TORU (Tele-orientation and guidance), which enables the crew to guide Pr-M24 from inside MIR. Consequenses: These can be far-reaching for Russian manned spaceflight if further attempts to dock Pr-M24 would fail. Except from the normal cargo (food, water, fuel, reparationma terial, post etc.) Pr-M24 had to deliver a part of the experi ments for the Euromir94 mission and American equipment to enhance some systems on board MIR. The spare stock now availa ble for life on board of the complex is enough for 1 month. So new supply before the end of September is urgently needed. Further failures can hamper the plans for the near future, i.e. the EVA-s in September, Euromir94 and the flights of American astronauts and MIR-Shuttle operation. (Derived from an enormous amount of information available until 31.08.94 at 1130UTC.) Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.227 2 SEPTEMBER 1994 TO BE ALLOWED TO TRY THREE TIMES RUNNING IS BUT FAIR!! The 3d attempt to dock the freighter Progress-M24 to MIR succeeded. This time they used the system TORU instead of Kurs. Malenchenko safely guided and docked Pr-M24 to the forward axial dockingport (P.Kh.O.-transition section). The docking took place on 2.09.94 at 1330UTC. During the last phase of the approach Malenchenko was fully responsible and in an admirable way he performed his task. Molodets!! Voice communication between MIR and TsUP via Altair was loud and clear and so I was able to monitor the actions and obser vations of Malenchenko. Just before docking the voice communi cation stopped while Pr-M24 was on a distance of 5 Meters with an approach speed of 26 cm/sec. M. had to correct Pr-M24's course due to a slight deviation to left. Radiotraffic via VHF after the docking: During the pass in orb. 48809 (1648UTC) M. reported that the hatch had been opened and that they already more or less had started the unloading. The ship was in good order and all was clean. The crew had to unload the container Biokrist and install it in the right place as soon as possible. (Biokrist is complex of protein crystallization experiments) During the next pass (orb. 48810, 1824UTC) the main subject again was the cargo and the special attention for the contai ner Biokrist). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.228 6 SEPTEMBER 1994 Spacewalks (EVA's): The delay in the arrival of the freighter Progress-M24 will not cause significant changes in the origi nal programme for the near future. The EVA's to be made in September have been put back by only 1 day: so to 9 and 13.09.94. The EVA on 9.09 will start at abt. 1300UTC. The schedule for 13.09 depends on the results of the 1st EVA. The main task during these EVA's will be the transfer of the solarbatteries from Module-T (Kristall) to Module-E (Kvant-1). Euromir94: Rumours suggested a substantial delay of the beginning of that mission. This has not officialle been confirmed. Offically has been stated that it might be possible that Soyuz-TM20 with the European cosmonaut on board will blast off on 4.10.94, so 1 day later. Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.229 13 SEPTEMBER 1994 2 Spacewalks (EVA-s): On 9.09.1994 Malenchenko and Musabayev worked in open space for the first time. The duration of the EVA was more than 4 hours (a reliable source even spoke about 5 hrs 2 mins.). During the pass in orb. 48915, 1200-1207UTC, so within our VHF-range, they reported the closure of the hatch at 1202UTC. During this EVA they inspected the outside of the whole com plex, installed on outside platforms experimental materials for exposure to open space and removed other experiments of that kind for storage inside the complex. They repaired the damaged thermo-isolation layer on the transitionsection (P.Kh.O.) of which a piece of 30x40 cm had been torn away during the collision with Soyuz-TM17 in January 1994. The inspection made clear that the toughes of the freighter Pro gress-M24 during its 2d approach on 30.08.94 did not cause significant damages. On 13.09.1994 they worked in open space for the 2d time. The EVA lasted 6 hrs and 1 min between 0631UTC (opening of the hatch) and 1232UTC (closure of the hatch). The cosmonauts did a lot of minor repairs, replacements of bolts, screws, etc. of platforms and equipment on the outersurface of the complex. They also spoke about an old antenna. Activities of that kind must be done now and then, but have been often neglected during EVA's due to more important matters. The cosmonauts also did some preparatory work aimed at the future transfer of the solarbatteries from Kristall to Kvant-1. This transfer has been put back again, now even to the beginning of 1995. Radiocommunications: During EVA-s the frequency of the VHF- downlink is somewhat lower: 143.622 mc, shifting by Doppler to 143.617 mc. Listeners in Western-Europe, inclusive UK, who monitor MIR-traffic during EVA's often experience heavy inter ferences caused by cross-modulation from an airtraffic control frequency. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.230 29 SEPTEMBER 1994 SOYUZ-TM20: The preparations for the launch of this ship with the reliefcrew and the Euromir94 astronaut are proceeding normally. The launch from Baykonur is scheduled for 3.10.94 at 2242UTC (so for Moscow: 4.10.94 at 0142 Msc Winter Time.) If all goes well during the 2-days flight the S-TM20 will dock to the MIR complex on 6.10.94 at 0013UTC. Radiotraffic and beaconsignals from S-TM20 can be monitored in our area for the first time on 4.10.94 at abt. 0142UTC on the known frequencies. The crews on the roll are still: Aleksandr Viktorenko (comman der), Yelena Kondakova (board-engineer) and the ESA astronaut, the German Ulf Merbold. The stand-ins: Yuriy Gidzenko (comm.), Sergey Avdeyev (B.E.), and the ESA astronaut, the Spaniard Pedro Duque. If the statecommission decides to appoint the main-crew for the flight the crew of S-TM20 will use the callsign Vityaz (so Vityaz-1, 2 and 3.) MIR: The MIR-crew is preparing the station for the extension of the crew with another 3 persons. Therefore the life-support systems get special attention. The crew also modified the ASU (waste collection equipment) for the use by a lady. The crew is also busy with the loading of the freighter Pro gress-M24 with garbage and no things which are no longer needed. The Pr-M24 will have to leave the complex to free the docking port for the S-TM20. There have been plans to execute some test-approaches by the Pr-M24 after the undocking to try to unveil the causes of the malfunction of the Kurssystem during the unsuccessful docking attempts on 26 and 30.08.94. After that operation the Pr-M24 will burn up in the atmosphere over a designated area in the Pacific ocean. Pr-M24 does not carry a VBK (ballistic return capsule). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.231 4 OCTOBER 1994 Soyuz-TM20 launched. The S-TM20 with on board the Euromir94 astronaut Merbold and the cosmonauts Viktorenko and Kondakova blasted off from Baykonur exactly on schedule on 3.10.94 at 2242UTC (Moscow time 4.10.94 at 0142UTC). During the passes in our range during the orbits 2, 3, 4 and 5 at resp. 0143, 0312, 0445 and 0625UTC the S-TM20 could be monitored on the known frequen cies. At 0320UTC Viktorenko, prompted by Kondakova, reported the successful first 2 orbitcorrections and the additional data. It was obvious that all on board was going well. Judging by the cheerful voice of Kondakova she must be in a good condition. Kondakova wants to stay in orbit for approx. 6 months. Estimated time of docking to MIR: Result of calculations estimate the dockingtime of S-TM20 to MIR on 6.10.94 at 0013UTC, ESA (still) sticks to 0030UTC. S-TM20 has to dock to the forward (P.Kh.O.) axial docking port of the MIR complex. Progress-M24: This freighter still occupies that dockingport and has to get away before the arrival of S-TM20. It might be possible that after the separation the Russians will check the system Kurs of Pr-M24 during some dummy approaches as to reveal the causes of malfunctions during recent unsuccessful docking attempts. Pr-M24 does not carry a VBK (ballistic return capsule) and will burn up in the atmosphere over an area in the Pacific. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.232 6 OCTOBER 1994 Soyuz-TM20 docked at the MIR complex on 6.10.94 at 0028UTC. Soyuz-TM20 docked at the forward axial dockingport (transition section) of the complex. At a distance of 130 M. from the MIR complex Viktorenko had to take over manually due to a malfunc tion of an on board computer. During the radiotraffic in orb. 49328, 0005UTC, V. reported the progress of the operation. The S-TM20 was in a distance of 151 M., approach speed of 3 cm/sec just before LOS at 001148UTC. From a distance of appr. 50 M Viktorenko had started the final approach and his skill amazed the observers in the ESA/EAC facility in Cologne: very quickly, with only a few corrections, he accurately moored his ship. During the next pass in orb. 49329, 0143UTC, the new crew already was in MIR's baseblock preparing a TV-session. One of the first persons to congratulate the crew, especially the Euromir94 astronaut Merbold, was the Dir. General of ESA, Luton. Everybody in Cologne was pleased with the excellent physical condition of the newcomers. During the pass in orb. 49330, 0317UTC, the cheerful meeting of both crews could be heard. Again there was a TV-session also with Kondakova. During the next window in orb. 49331, 0449UTC, Viktorenko reported that he did all what he had to do with his ship S-TM20. Progress-M24: This naughty freighter had to withdraw before the arrival of Soyuz-TM20. Pr-M24 separated from MIR on 5.10.- 94 at 1853UTC. Probably she flew some orbits autonomously before burning up in the atmosphere over an area in the Paci fic. There have been no reports about extra manoeuvres with Pr-M24. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.233 13 OCTOBER 1994 Failure powersupply on board MIR: In the night from 11 to 12.10.94 the voltage of the powersup ply sharply decreased. This failure had been caused by the insufficient charging by solarbatteries. All systems in the base block discontinued functioning. From this moment on it was impossible to control the attitude of the MIR-complex. It became impossible to aim the antenna for communications via the geostationairy satellite. During this night a lot of radiotraffic via 143.625 mc was monitored in which the pro blems were reported and discussed. Opinions of Russian specia lists are not unanimous: the VKS (Russian space forces) spoke of a very complicated situation. Deputy Flightcontroller Blagov of TsUP blaimed the age of the station, which is in orbit as of the beginning of 1986, while the PRO of TsUP sounded rather optimistic. He stated that the Euromir94 expe dition will remain on schedule. In the night from 12 to 13 oct. Viktorenko and Kondakova remained on duty to be able to act if necessary. Meanwhile a lot of electric energy had been loaded and specialists hope to be able to adjust the attitude of the complex in such a way that the solararrays will function as efficient as possible and that communications via the relaysatellite will be resto red. The cosmonauts did not panic at all: Viktorenko and Kondakova even joked about the fact that the exchange rate of the dollar on board MIR remained stable, which could not be said about the voltages of their powersupply systems. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.234 31 OCTOBER 1994 Soyuz-TM19: This ship with on board the cosmonauts Malenchenko, Musabayev and Merbold will return to earth on 4.11.94. The returnflight has been put back 1 day. The Russians had to extend the Euro mir94 mission for an extra testflight with the S-TM19. The crew of S-TM19 will close the hatch behind them on 4.11.94 at 0450UTC. The ship will undock from the MIR-complex at abt. 0700UTC and if all goes according to the so called 'cyclogram' the landing in Kazakhstan will follow at 1118UTC. The inserted testflight of S-TM19 will take place on 2.11.94. The ship will separate from at 1100UTC and execute some appro aches to check the automatic Kurssystem. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.235 2 NOVEMBER 1994 Soyuz-TM19: On 2.11.94 from 1040-1116UTC this ship made an autonomous flight to test the automatic approach systeem. The crew consisted of Malenchenko, Musabayev and Merbold. No anomalies have been reported thusfar. Euromir94: In spite of powerproblems in the beginning of this mission all medical-biological experiments during which Ulf Merbold, the ESA-astronaut, was the main guinea-pig have been successfully concluded. Merbold is sure that the samples did not suffer damages from the period in which the refrigerator was switched off. The material-processing experiments had to be cancelled due to the malfunction of an oven. The materials for these experiments remain on board MIR and after the repair of that oven the Russian crew will do the experiments. Spare parts for that oven will be delivered to the complex by the next Progress-M freighter. Estimated landingtime Soyuz-TM19: The landing has been put forward a little bit and is expected to take place on 4.11.94 at 1055UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.236 4 NOVEMBER 1994 Soyuz-TM19 returned to earth. S-TM19 with on board the cosmonauts Malenchenko, Musabayev and Merbold landed at abt. 170 KM N.E. of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan on 4.11.94 at 1118UTC. S-TM19 separated from MIR at 0729UTC. For radio- and TV-communications the trackingstations Ulan-Ude, Ussuriysk, Kolpashevo and Petropavlovsk Kamchatka were used. From 1020UTC, so 3 minutes before retrofire, S-TM-19's traffic was relayed via MIR and the geostationary Altair satellite to TsUP. Malenchenko gave information about the retrofire, the fuelconsumption and the altitudes of his ship. At 1051UTC S-TM19 jettisoned the lifecompartment and the service module. These compartments burnt up in the atmosphere. At 1054UTC the descent module entered the dense layers of the atmosphere and a short period of radiosilence began. The radiocontact had to be resumed at about 1101UTC, but obviously due to a failure the transmitters of S-TM19 remained silent. This caused anxie ty among 'observers' and the people following the events in the centres in Moscow, Toulouse, Cologne and Noordwijk (Estec). The controllers at TsUP did not get any reaction on their calls. At 1119UTC a representative of ESA, who was on board of a search- en rescue helicopter, reported that he saw the landed capsule. Gradually reports came in about the safe landing of the cosmonauts without any reference to their physical condition. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.237 9 NOVEMBER 1994 Progress-M25: The launch of this freighter from Baykonur is on schedule for 11 November 1994 at 0721UTC. If all goes according to plan Pr-M25 will dock to the MIR-complex in the morning of 13 November 1994. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165-A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.238 11 NOVEMBER 1994 Progress-M25 launched for flight to MIR. The freighter Pr-M25 blasted off from Baykonur on 11.11.94 at 0721UTC for a flight of 2 days to the MIR station. The trans mitters of Pr-M25 could be heard here during the 3d and 4th orbit at resp. 1157 and 1326UTC. If all goes according to plan Pr-M25 will arrive at MIR on 13.11.94 at abt 0902UTC. Pr-M25 has to dock to the aft (Kvant- 1) docking port of the station. The approachsysteem for this port has been checked during a short autonomous flight of Soyuz-TM19 on 3.11.94. No anomalies were found. If the system fails on 13.11 the cosmonauts are ready to guide Pr-M25 with the system TORU. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.239 13 NOVEMBER 1994 Progress-M25 docked at MIR-spacestation. The freighter P-M25 docked at MIR's aft (Kvant-1) dockingport on 13.11.94 at 0904UTC (during orb. 49926). The approach and docking took place in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. On board Soyuz-TM20 Viktorenko was standby with the system TORU, but manual interference was not necessary. The operation could be monitored via Altair between 0822 and 0904UTC. During the next pass (orb. 49927, 1027UTC) the gentlemen on board left the honour to give the first postdocking report to Yelena Kondakova. Enthousiasticly she reported the airseal, the opening of the hatch, the fact that Pr-M25 was clean and that they enjoyed the nice smell of apples and lemons. Polyakov said that the Pr-M25 was an ideal freighter. Pr-M25 delivered to the MIR-station new supplies of water, fuel, food, spareparts for repair (among which parts for the furnace to be used for the conclusion of the Euromir94 materi als processing experiments) and post. Pr-M25 has not been equipped by a VBK (Ballistic Return Capsule). Jubilea: In the early morning of 18.11.94 MIR -that is to say the first part, the baseblock, launched on 19.02.1986- will make her 50000th orbit around the Earth. From that early beginning I tried to monitor as much as possi ble all passes within range. If I was a robot and had been able to monitor all passes this number would be 12500. But not being a robot I needed holidays etc. Nevertheless at a rough estimation I must have been monitoring MIR's radiotraffic during 10000 passes. Homage to my poor ear-drums! Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.240 20 DECEMBER 1994 After Euromir94 and the docking of the freighter Progress-M25 there have been no important operations. During the last 10 days the passes for our position took place at night. Meanwhi le these passes shifted to the early evening. There has been radiotraffic during the nighthours about powersupply problems. This time the solarpanels are not to blame, but the accumula tors full of age after 8 years continuous loading and unloa ding, are no longer able to fulfil their task properly. Now and then they cannot deliver enough power to keep important systems in operation. Sometimes this even causes malfunctions of the gyrodynes. Spacewalks (EVA-s): The long awaited EVA's have been put back again. The EVA in which Viktorenko and Polyakov have to repla ce a dockingsysteem inside the transitionsection obviously is no longer on schedule. The important EVA for the transfer of the solarpanels of Kristall to Kvant-1 has been put back to May 1995. Communications: The geostationary Kosmos-2054 (Altair) on 16 degr. West is still operational but seldom in use for MIR-TsUP traffic. Sometimes the channel on 10.835 GHz is in use for other 'customers'. Possibly the Russians use another channel for MIR-TsUP communications. On 16.12.94 at abt. noon a new geostationary satellite, Luch-1 has been launched from Baykonur. This Luch-1 will be used for MIR-TsUP communications over 95 dgs East. Possibly this satel lite will be operational in January 1995. Long ago 95 dgs East was in use for Luchsatellites (Cosmos- 1700 and 1897). For the Russians it would be very useful to place a 2d Luch on 160 dgs. West. Luch-1 on 95 dgs East will help to fill up the gaps after the loss of the trackingstati ons in Tblisi and Yevpatoriya. There still is a third trac kingstation near Russia's weak underbelly: Dzhusaly not far from Baykonur, but the status of this station is vulnerable as it is located in Kazakhstan. A lot of unpleasant events during the last years proved that this country does not always appre ciate the Russian presence on its territory. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MINRNEWS.241 11 JANUARY 1995 Autonomous testflight Soyuz-TM20: On 11.01.1995 between 0900 and 0925UTC the S-TM20 flew autono mously to test the Kurs-approach and dockingsystem at the forward transitionsection (P.Kh.O.) of the MIR-complex. Pro blems during some docking operations in aug/sept 1994 (Pro gress-M24) and on 6.10.1994 (S-TM20) made this operation necessary. Long before S-TM20 separated from the complex the whole crew was on board of that ship and thoroughly tested all systems. According to the plan the S-TM20 executed the approach and docking fully automatically by use of the Kurssystem. Vikto renko, assisted by Kondakova, was ready to take over manually if something went wrong or in case of a too high fuel consump tion. S-TM20 perfectly linked to the station at 09.24.57UTC, the aberations remained far within the limits, just before docking less than 0.5 degrees. The good functioning of the Kurssystems is indispensable for the execution of the program for this year. During the operation with the S-TM20 the radiotraffic went via the geostationary Altair. During the separation S-TM20 flew within our range and the traffic could be monitored on 121.750 mc as well as via Altair. Luch-1: This geostationary satellite to be used for MIR-TsUP communi cations in the near future is standing over 95 degres East, but is not yet operational for TDRS purposes. Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.242 26 JANUARY 1995 MIR: The MIR-crew is still struggling along to keep the com plex habitable and operational. Recently they had to cope with technical problems with the heating, drinking-water, pressure control and with a leakage of water in the Kristall-module. With the help of advices from experts on earth they solved the problems. On 23.01.1995 during the pass in orbit 51032, 0719- UTC, TsUP gave Viktorenko attitude control data to adjust the attitude of the complex in such a way that the solarpanels of the Kristall module could deliver a maximum of energy. Dr. Polyakov continued his medical checks and experiments. On request by experts on earth the crew filmed and observed the areas of Kobe in Japan and Grozny. On 21.01.1995 they transmitted these images to earth. It was not always possible to do this due to clouds and bad weather in the areas of interest. Also on 21.01.1995 Dr. Polyakov gave a lecture for Russian children, members of an organisation for young people intere sted in spaceflight. During a long TV-session via Altair Polyakov explained how the systems in the baseblock worked. Extensively he explained all about the production and delivery of oxygen for the complex and the purification of the air on board. He emphasized the necessity of the permanent survey of the lifesystems and a regular maintenance. Rendezvous Discovery (STS-63) with MIR: On 2.02.1995 at 0549UTC STS-63 will be launched for a flight in which the most important operation will be a rendezvous with the MIR-complex. Somewhat earlier, on 4.02.1995 at 1221- UTC MIR and Discovery will be able to establish radiocontact. From Discovery cosmonaut Titov and the female astronauts Collins and Voss will speak with the crew of MIR. On 5.02.1995 at 1828UTC the rendezvous operation will begin and STS-63 will approach MIR in a distance of 10 meters. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.243 11 FEBRUARY 1995 Discovery-MIR: The rendezvous operation got sufficient atten tion in the media. So I refrain from repeating the extensively published facts. I monitored as much as possible radiotraffic related to the rendezvous. Here some items which might be interesting for insiders and 'real spaceflight freaks': 1. During the rendezvous TV transmissions from MIR with images of Discovery were relayed via Altair, the Russian TDRS over 17 degs. West. These transmissions reached K.S.C. and Houston and have been widely used by TV-organisations, for instance CNN. As soon as the windows for MIR-Altair traffic closed the new Luch-1 over 97 degrees East and a number of Russian tracking stations took over. 2. Cooperation and coordination between both FCC-s (Houston and Kaliningrad) went smoothly. 3. For direct radiocontac between MIR and Discovery the VHF- channels 121.750 and 130.1625MC -in fact MIR-channels- were in use. Vladimir Titov also used a handset for communications in the hamband: 145.325 and 145.625Mc. Before and after the rendezvous operation MIR and Discovery now and then used Altair and TDRS channels for contact with each other. 4. Regularly commentators emphasized the fact that the opera tion was a rehearsal for the docking operation of Atlantis in June 1995. This rehearsal was a success: Discovery remained stable on the closest approach of 10 M just in a position opposite to the dockingport of the Kristall-module to be used by Atlantis for the docking. Before that docking the Russians will have to move the Kristall from the side- to the axial forward docking port of the transitionsection. Radiotraffic during the days before the launch of Discovery and before the rendezvous: A lot of traffic was related to the preparations of the rendezvous. For the MIR-crew this meant a lot of work to install TV- and Photocamera's and training in communicationprocedures. Conversations about these subjects could be monitored during communicationsessions via Altair. Also via Altair the MIR-crew regularly spoke with cosmonaut Titov on K.S.C. where he was waiting for the launch. After the rendezvous: Unfortunately the passes of MIR and Discovery for our position occured during the nighthours and the cosmonauts sticked to their normal day- and nightroutine. This made it impossible for us to monitor direct radiotraffic between MIR and Discovery being not far from each other for a long time. During all possible windows for visual observati ons dense clouds made these observations impossible. MIR-routine now: Now the Russians are again among themselves. This will not often be the case in 1995 and 1996. (To be continued in the next MIRNEWS). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.MIRNEWS.244 12 FEBRUARY 1995 MIR-routine: MIR's passes within our range are gradually shifting to the late evening hours. So the number of VHF- sessions will increase. During the dayhours the Russians regularly, though a little bit frugally, use the Altair satel lite for MIR-communications. During a long session on 8.02.95, orb. 51281, 0824-0853UTC, Polyakov was training at the con trols of Soyuz-TM20. By the use of the testpossibilities without activation of the systems S-TM's can be used as link trainer. In fact steering of such a ship is not the task of the physician-cosmonaut, but useful if this unexpected might be necessary in emergency situations. Polyakov had a rough time during this exercise for towards the end everything went wrong. On the same day during orb. 51284, 1437-1500UTC, MIR spoke with the crew of Discovery via Altair and an American TDRS. Polyakov congratulated the Discovery crew with the successful deployment of the satellite Spartan. On 11.02.95 , orb. 51327, 0829-0913UTC, Polyakov assisted by Kondakova gave a lecture for a group of spaceflight loving children about food on board the MIR complex. Progress-M27: The launch from Baykonur of this freighter is on schedule for 15.02.1995 at 1647UTC. If all goes according to plan Pr-M27 can be monitored in our vicinity (Western Europa and UK) that day at about 1950UTC. Frequencies: 922.755, 166.130, 166.140 and 165.873 MC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.245 15 FEBRUARY 1995 Correction on MIRNEWS.244: Read Progress-M26 instead of Pro gress-M27. Progress-M26 launched: The freighter Pr-M26 has been launched from Baykonur on 15.02- .1995 at 164827UTC. During the pass between 2252 and 2259UTC the transmissions in the 166, 165 and 922 Mc band could be monitored. Pr-M26 has to deliver new supplies to the MIR station, i.e. water, fuel, oxygen, oxidisers, food, but also materials for the extension of the on board systems, repairma terial for the drinking water installation, post and a new board documentation, medical goods, underwear etc. and an amount of 132 KG hard- and software for the experiments of the American Thagard. The enormous cargo made it impossible to equip Pr-M26 with a VBK (ballistic return capsule). Progress-M25: This freighter will separate from MIR on 16.02.1995 at 1303UTC and will be deorbited at 1606UTC for decay in the atmosphere over the Pacific. In this way the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of the complex will be made available for the arrival of the Pr-M26. Estimated docking time: Pr-M26 has to dock to the MIR station on 17.02.1995 at 1821UTC. MIR: On 10.02.1995 at 183542UTC the orbit of MIR has been corrected a little bit. With an impuls of 2m/sec the period changed from 92.3 mins to 92.39 mins. New Keplers: Epoch 95043.6810782, decayrate: 0.00046585, incl 51.6467, raan 61.6530, ecc. 0.0005015, arg per 116.1404, ma 244.1203, mm 15.57626647, rev. nr. 51354. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.246 17 FEBRUARY 1995 Successful docking Progress-M26 at MIR: Freighter Pr-M26 docked at the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of the MIR-complex on 17.02.1995 at 182136UTC in orb. 51427. Approach and docking took place in the automatic mode with the system Kurs. Viktorenko was ready to take over manually (by TORU) if necessary. He reported the movements of the Pr-M26 which enabled me to monitor the operation until 'kasaniye' (touch, soft docking). For TV-transmissions and phone the Russians used the geostationary Altair. This time the docking was executed in the earth's shadow. A searchlight had been installed on the Pr-M26. During the next orbit (0912UTC) the crew reported that the airseal was good. It lasted a long time before the crew could enter the Pr-M26 due to some obstructing goods. Decay of Progress-M25: Pr-M25 left the aft docking port on 16.02.1995 at 1303UTC. After two autonomous orbits the Pr-M25 got an impuls at 1606UTC to enter the dense layers of the atmosphere. She decayed in a for that purpose designated area over the Pacific East of New-Zealand. Pr-M25 did not carry a VBK (ballistic return capsule). The Russians do not equip Progress-M ships with such a capsule if the landing has to take place in the winter. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.247 16 MARCH 1995 Flight of Soyuz-TM21: Launch from Baykonur on 14.03.1995 at 0611UTC; docking to the MIR-station on 16.03.1995 at 0745UTC. The crew consisting of the captain Dezhurov, board-engineer Strekalov and the Ameri can Norman Thagard, uses the call Uragany, so resp. Uragan-1, 2 en 3. All went well during the 2-days flight. During the 4th and 5th orbit S-TM21 had been corrected and the crew reported this on 121.750 mc during passes within our range. Telemetry- and beacon-transmitters could be monitored on the well known frequencies (166.130, 165.873 en 922.755mc.). To communicate with TsUP Soyuz-TM21 had to be within range of the groundsta tions in Russia and Kazakhstan. Communications via the geosta tionary satellites Altair and Luch-1 are only possible when an S-TM21 is within range of the MIR-station. Then MIR can act as a relaystation. This can be heard during the pass within our range just before the docking. The signals from the S-TM can be received simultanuously: directly on 121.750 mc as well as via Altair. The images used by American TV-stations reached them via MIR and Altair. The TV-report from S-TM21 from CNN ceased when MIR/S-TM21 left the window for Altair. The crew of the S-TM21 seemed to have no adaptation problems, Strekalov and Thagard have a lot of experience, but newcomer Dezhurov also performed his tasks well. MIR: The crew has been very busy with preparations for the arrival of the so called 18th Main Expedition to MIR. Lifesup portsystems and other vital equipment got special attention. As usual before the oncoming return the crew had to undergo a lot of medical checks (E.C.G.-s etc.). The crew also completed the work with the freighter Progress-M26, due to leave the aft docking port of the complex for that port must be available for the docking of the Soyuz-TM21. Progress-M26 separated from MIR on 15.03.1995 and decayed that day in a designated area East of New Zealand at abt. 0600UTC. Return to Earth of the 17th Main Expedition (Viktorenko, Kondakova and Dr. Polyakov) on 22.03.1995 with the Soyuz-TM20. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.248 22 MARCH 1995 SOYUZ-TM20 returned to Earth: The S-TM20 made a safe landing at abt 50 KM from the city Arkalyk in Kazakhstan on 22.03.1995 at 0405UTC. S-TM20 landed only 10KM from the estimated aimingpoint. The returnoperation was executed as planned: On 21.03.1995 at 2135UTC closing of the hatches, 22.03.1995 at 0040UTC separation from the MIR- station, 0315UTC starting engines to reduce speed to start descent and a safe landing at 0405UTC. In the hour before the landing (between 0306 and 0349UTC) radiotraffic of S-TM20 with TsUP via MIR and Altair could be monitored. Viktorenko and Kondakova reported the operational data, Kondakova having the lion's share. Emancipation as far as spaceflight is concerned has been successfully concluded! Separation of motorcompart ment and lifecompartment at 033955UTC. Just before reentry the ANAN-rescue beacon could be heard. From 0340UTC radiosilence caused by the plasma-heath. Records: Dr. Polyakov fulfilled 438 days in space during 1 flight, so 72 days more than Titov and Manarov (366 days at a stretch). Kondakova was 169 days in space. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.249 6 APRIL 1995 PROGRESS-M27: On 9.04.1995 at 2133UTC this freighter will be launched from Baykonur for a flight to the MIR-spacestation. If all goes according to plan the ship will dock at the for ward (P.Kh.O.) port on 11.04.1995 at abt 2058UTC. Approach and docking will be in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. The captain of MIR is ready to take over manually by the TORU system in case of problems during the automatic approach. ALTERATIONS: During the MIR's pass over here during orb. 52158, on 5.04.95 TsUP informed the crew about some alterations of the recent planning: 1. Immediately after the arrival of Pr-M27 the cosmonauts will have to work on the gyrodynes. This on request by the Ameri cans. In their opinion the complex needs 12 well functioning gyrodynes. This means that the first EVA planned for 28.04.95 will be put back to the beginning of May, possibly to 1.05.95. 2. The launch of the module Spektr on schedule for 10.05.95 has been put back to 20.05.95. One of the causes of this delay is the installation of equipment on Spektr to make the use of the system TORU by the MIR-crew possible if during the docking operation the automatic system Kurs fails. 3. Though not confirmed thusfar the delay of the launch of the Spektr might also put back the launchdate of the Atlantis for the dockingmission by appr. 10 days. GFZ-1: Progress-M27 also has to deliver to the MIR-complex the normal cargo (food, fuel, water, spareparts, experiments, etc.) a small satellite named GFZ-1. GFZ-1 is a spherical satellite with a mass of 20 KG and a diameter of appr. 20 CM. GFZ-1 has been constructed by the German firm Kayser-Threde (Munchen) and will be used by the Geoforschungszentrum Potzdam for geodetic experiments by laserreflectors. GFZ-1 makes it possible to deliver highly accurate measurements of the Earth's gravitation field. Shortly the MIR-crew will launch GFZ-1 for its autonomous flight of appr. 2 years. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.250 12 APRIL 1995 Progress-M27: This freighter started from Baykonur on 9.04.95 at 1933UTC. After a 2-days flight during which no problems emerged Pr-M27 docked to the forward (P.Kh.O. - transition section) of the MIR complex on 11.04.1995 at 2100UTC (21 hrs 00 mins 42 se conds), so on 12.04.1995 at 0100 Moscow Summer Time. Approach and docking took place in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. Dezhurov was ready to take over manually by the remote control system TORU, but this was not necessary. Pr-M27 docked during MIR's orbit 52262. During the final approach and doc king traffic was relayed by Altair. There were no TV-images. Dezhurov reported details of the approach and the soft docking (kasanye). During the next pass in orb. 52263, at 2227UTC Strekalov reported that they had opened the hatch to Pr-M27 2 minutes earlier and that everything was in good order. Pr-M27 delive red to the complex the normal cargo (water, food, fuel, post, underwear, scientific material, etc.), repairmaterials for the systems to maintain a good atmosphere and the watergeneration and the German microsatellite GFZ-1. GFZ-1: So this little satellite is now on board of the MIR- complex waiting for its 'second' launch. This has to be done by the cosmonauts in the night from 19 to 20.04.1995. This spherical object with a mass of 20 KG and a diameter of 21 CM will separate from MIR with a speed of 1.2 M/sec. During this operation the German trackingstation Oberpfaffenhofen will play an important role. (For details about GFZ-1 see MIR- NEWS.249) During the pass in which Strekalov reported the opening of the hatch, TsUP told him that the first EVA will take place on 11.05.1995. The date for the launch of Spektr (thusfar on schedule for 20.05.1995) might be changed. After the launch of the Spektr, so during one of its 7-days autonomous flight, Progress-M27 will be separated from MIR. Possible launchdate of Atlantis for the flight in which she has to dock to MIR: 22.06.1995. If so the flight of the Disco very might be put forward to 6.06.1995. This all is not sure at this moment. C.M. van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNEWS.251 20 APRIL 1995 GFZ-1 launched by MIR-crew: On 19.04.1995 at 1912UTC this spherical microsat (21 CM diame ter, mass 20 KG) has been pushed into space from an airlock of MIR's baseblock. GFZ-1 moved off with a speed of 1.2 M/sec. The traffic in which the reports of data and images of the autonomous GFZ-1 could be monitored via Altair. The same operation had taken place some days before: On 17.04.1995 at 08Hrs 19Mins 50Secs the crew launched a contain ter with garbage to be sure that the system would work well. This object is now in space under catalog number 23557. GFZ-1 has been built by the German firm Kayser-Threde. The coordination of the observations of GFZ-1 will be done by the Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam. Abt 25 observatories all over the world will execute measurements by laserreflections. Stations are among others: London, Grasse (France), Potsdam, Easterisland, Graz (Austria) and even one in Kirgizie. The stations can 'catch' GFZ-1 with a beamwidth of 200 Meters. During the first pass London and Graz did not get reflections, but during the 2d pass Graz caught GFZ-1 and was able to pick the first geodetic and ballistic measurements. During the launch the MIR-crew acted independently. Planning for the near future: Some crucial operations had to be put back by the Russians (launch module Spektr, EVA-s, a.s.o.) and this forced the Americans to put back the launch of the Atlantis to the second half of June. Therefore the flight of Discovery has been put forward and will now begin at abt 8.06.1995. Cargo Progress-M27: An antenna for radio-amateurpurposes, delivered by Pr-M27, has been damaged due an improper packing. The crew showed this antenna via Altair and discussed this problem with the well known radio-amateur Sergey Samburov. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.252 8 MAY 1995 Spacewalks (EVA-s): The data for the 1st two EVA-s are: 12 and 17.05.1995. After these 2 EVA-s there will be made another 2 of which data and other details still have to be settled. There is a possibility of 2 extra, so called 'contingency' EVA-s. The EVA on 12.05 will begin at 0500UTC (opening of the hatch), last abt 5 hours and the main task will be the transfer of a solarpanel from Kristall to Kvant-1. Possibly the cosmonauts will also retrie ve materials which have been exposed to open space. During radiocommunications in the last week could be heard how the cosmonauts checked systems, spacesuits, communicationchan nels, etc. The last 2 days these checks were focussed on the communicationchannels. The checks were very realistic and gave a good insight in the communicationsprocedures and systems. During EVA-s the 143.625 shifts to 143.617 mc, so lower than the normal Dopplershift and interference by an airtrafficchan nel are standard and during those checks the same happened. Preparations for the 1st EVA will begin in the night from 11 to 12.05.1995, the opening of the hatch, in fact the beginning of the EVA, will be at abt. 0500UTC. The Russians Dezhurov and Strekalov will do the EVA, Thagard will be on duty in the MIR- complex. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.253 12 MAY 1995 1st Spacewalk (EVA): Today the cosmonauts Dezhurov and Strekalov had their first EVA during this expedition. Strekalov made EVA's in the past; for Dezhurov it was his first. The hatch has been opened at 0420UTC and closed at 0935UTC. So the duration of this EVA was 5 hrs 15 mins. The cosmonauts executed 3 tasks: 1. To install cables and contacts on Kvant-1 for the electric power of the solarpanel to be installed there during the 2de EVA. 2. To check whether it is possible to roll up that solarpanel which still is installed on Kristall for the transfer to Kvant-1 during the 2d EVA. This was possible. 3. The retrieval of materials which have been exposed to open space for a long time (the American experiment Trek). The 2d EVA will be executed on 17.05.1995. Then the 1st solar panel definitely must be replaced from Kristall to Kvant-1. During the spacewalk Norman Thagard was on duty inside the station to look after the communications and now and then giving commands, for instance the switching off and on of the power of the solarpanel during the work on it by the cosmo- nauts. For communications between TsUP and MIR all available windows for traffic via Altair have been used. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.254 16 MAY 1995 2d Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-crew: The crew of the 18th Main Expedition, Dezhurov and Strekalov, will do their 2d EVA on 17.05.1995. This EVA will begin at 0247UTC (opening of the hatch) and will end at 0820UTC (clo sing the hatch.) The cosmonauts will fold up and transfer one of the solarpanels of Kristall (Module-T) to the outersurface of the astrophysical module Kvant-1. They will use the Strela- crane as a lever. The cosmonauts have to make complicated manoeuvres with Strela: they have to reach the Kristall module first and later on swing over to the Kvant-1 with their 'car go'. The American astronaut, Norman Thagard, will stay inside the complex and execute commands if necessary. Today he even practised the loading of date in the movementscomputer of the complex. 1st EVA (correction and completion): At the moment of the closure of the Altair/MIR window on 12.05.95 at 0937UTC I was sure that the EVA was still going on. However I believed a spokesman who stated that the hatch had been closed at 0935UTC. In fact the EVA lasted 1 hour longer until 1035UTC (1335 TsUP Time and not Moscow summerti me) so exceeding the planned EVA with 1 hour and the guaranted security period for the spacesuits with 15 minutes. The cosmonauts were very tired when they came back on board, but satisfied for the EVA was a success. Launch of Spektr: Still on schedule for 20.05.1995. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.255 17 MAY 1995 2d Spacawalk (EVA) MIR crew: The Russian crewmembers of the 18th Main Exp. to MIR, Duzhurov and Strekalov, did their 2d EVA on 17.05.1995 from 0238 until 0930UTC. This EVA also lasted longer than planned and again the 'safety guarantee period' has been exceeded. During this EVA the cosmonauts had to fold up the solarpanel on Kristall, to disconnect contacts and drivers, install the 'cargo' on the Strela crane en transport this and Strekalov to Kvant-1. Strekalov folded the panel assisted by Thagard who was inside the complex and gave commands to switch off and on servomo tors. After every 'movement' caused by these servo's Strekalov could fold the next section. Str worked on the panel, Dezhurov steered the Strela. For the 'fold-up' operation the cosmonauts used more time than was expected. They also spent a lot of time to reach the necessary spots. The cosmonauts could not fully accomplish their task due to the limited endurance of their spacesuits. They left the package behind on the outer surface of Kvant-1 and returned to the airlock. During the beginning of the operation communications were relayed via Altair, later on and within our range the 143.625 mc was active. As always during EVA's interference by cross-modulati on from an airtraffic control channel. During the first pass after the EVA the cosmonauts could be monitored waiting in the airlock for the equalization of the airpressure. 3d EVA: To accomplish their task the cosmonauts will make their 3d EVA on 24.05.1995. Orbitcorrection: On 15.05.1995 at 0630UTC MIR's orbit has been corrected. This correction was necessary to make the docking of Atlantis to MIR late June this year possible. Herwewith the most recent Keps: Epoch: 135.39591536, decay: 0.00024944, Incl: 51.6461, RA: 321.7764, Ecc.: 0.0005314, Arg. per.: 307.8737, MA: 51.1567, MM: 15.56501886, Rev. nr.: 52784. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.256 18 MAY 1995 Intercalated Spacewalk (EVA): During their 2d EVA on 17.05.1995 the cosmonauts were not able to accomplish their task due to a threatening lack of oxygen. This EVA was the 2d one in a series of 4. There was a possibi lity to use 2 so called 'contingency-EVA's'. The first of these contingency EVA's will take place on 22.05.1995. The time of the opening of the hatch and the duration are still unknown. This EVA -so now to be counted as the 3d one- will be made to complete the transfer of a solarbattery from Kristall to Kvant-1 (37KE). The cosmonauts will have to install, deploy and activate that solarpanel. To fill up the gap in the energy supply the solarpanels of the freighter Progress-M27 are now also delivering energy to the MIR-complex. Thusfar is not known when the EVA on schedule for 24.05.1995 will be made. Launch of Spektr: The Spektr technological module will be launched by a Proton carrier from Baykonur on 20.05.1995 at 0330UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.257 22 MAY 1995 3d Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-crew on 22.05.95: The EVA lasted from 0010UTC (opening of the hatch) until 0525UTC (closing of the hatch). The cosmonauts installed, connected, unfolded and activated the replaced solarpanel. A hell of a job aggravated by limited communications with TsUP. The original planning spoke about the use of almost all windows via Altair during the EVA, but this was not possible due to lack of power. After the 2d EVA there had been no traffic via Altair for the same reason. Immediately after the installation of the solarpanel on Kvant-1 traffic via Altair could be monitored. After the return of the cosmonauts on board there was a TV-session in which the installed solarpa nel, the Strela and the Soforamast with the VDU were shown. 4th EVA: This very short (40 minutes) EVA will take place on 29.05.1995. During this EVA a dockingconus will be moved from the -Y axis port to the -Z axis port. This for the docking of Spektr on 1.06.1995. After some time the Spektr will be moved 90 degrees to one of the X-axis ports to make place for the Kristall to be placed on the -Z axis port to enable the Atlan tis to dock in June. Progress-M27: This freighter remained 2 days longer at MIR to help reduce the lack of power of the MIR-complex. Possibly Pr- M27 will be undocked on 22.05.95 at 2332UTC and burn up over the Pacific West of New Zealand on 23.05.95 at about 0328UTC. SPEKTR: This huge module (20 tons) has been launched from Baykonur on 20.05.1995 at 03.33.22UTC and will dock to MIR on 1.06.1995. This to enable the MIR-crew to make their 4th EVA. On 21.05.1995 Spektr came in a higher orbit by 2 motorburns: 1st: 0211UTC (6.4 M/sec.) 2d : 0419UTC (15.0 M/sec) The following motorburns have been scheduled for 24.05.1995: 1st: 003625UTC (15M/sec). 2d : 023510UTC ( 3M/sec). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.258 23 MAY 1995 PROGRESS-M27 separated from MIR and decayed: The freighter Pr-M27 undocked from MIR on 22.05.1995 at 23.29.30UTC and decayed over the Pacific East of New Zealand on 23.05.1995 at 03.27.12UTC. Spektr: The forward axial dockingport of the P.Kh.O. (trans ition section) is now free for the reception of Spektr on 1.06.1995. 4th Spacewalk (EVA): Still on schedule for 29.05.1995. (Trans fer inside P.Kh.O. of docking device from -Y to -Z. (Duration abt. 40 minutes). 5th EVA: On 2.06.1995 the 5th EVA will be made. Purpose: adjustments inside P.Kh.O. in relation to oncoming redockings of Spektr and Kristall. (Duration: short) Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.259 26 May 1995 Schedule for operations in period from 26.05 until 3.06.1995: Redocking of Kristall module from -Y axis to -X axis: In the night from 26 to 27.05.95. Period: from 26.5 2309UTC to 27.05.95 at 0040UTC. (-X axis is forward port transition section, P.Kh.O.) 4th Spacewalk (EVA): This EVA will take place on 28.05.95 from 2240-2310UTC (in Moscow time already 29.05.1995). The cosmonauts will remain inside the vacuumed P.Kh.O. (transitionsection) for the repla cement of the dockingcone from the -X axis to the -Z axis. This for the temporary 'parking' of the Kristall. Redocking of Kristall from the -X axis to the -Z axis on 29.05.1995 from 2200-2330UTC (in Moscowtime already 30.5). The forward dockingport (-X axis) is then free for the recep tion of Spektr. Docking of Spektr is planned for 1.06.1995 at abt 0038UTC. Koppeling van de Spektr aan het MIR-station: The 5th EVA will take place on 2.06.1995, again fully within the P.Kh.O. with a duration of abt. 40 mins. Beginning time thusfar unknown. During this EVA the cosmonauts will replace the dockingcone from the -Z axes to the -Y axes. This to make redocking from Spektr to that port possible. Redocking of Spektr from the -X axes to the -Y axis will take place on 3.06.1995 (times thusfar unknown). When the Kristall will be redocked from the -Z axes to the -X axes is unknown thusfar, but Kristall has to be positioned to that port for the docking of the Atlantis. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.260 1 JUNE 1995 SPEKTR linked up with the MIR-complex: The 20-tons technological module Spektr docked automatically and without any problems at the forward dockingport (-X axis) of the transitionsection (P.Kh.O.) of MIR on 1.06.1995 at 00.56.16UTC. During the pass within our range in orb. 53043 from 0046-0052UTC the transmissions of both object could be monitored. At 0048UTC Strekalov reported the distance to Spektr: 15 meters. He also stated that the final approach was about to begin. TsUP ordered the crew to do camerawork and so it might be possible that we somewhere can see some images (media and editors permitting). During the pass in orb. 53044 from 0223-0229UTC the crew got orders to observe an operation with a solarpanel: this had to be folded or retracted to become a little bit shorter. There were no remarks about the opening of the hatches to Spektr. During the following passes the crew slept. This successful docking means that the major obstacle on the way to the docking of Atlantis in the 3d decade of June has been taken. The arrival of Spektr is very important for further MIR operations and the cooperation with the Americans not only for the module itself but also for the indispensable cargo to be delivered by Spektr. Results of the operations as of 27.05.1995: All operations have been carried out successfully in accordan ce with the schedule published in MIRNEWS.259. So the Kristall module has been redocked twice (from the -Y to the -X axis and from there to the -Z axis). The Russians are satisfied about the good functioning of the manipulator arm (the so called 'lyappa'), which has not been tried out in the 5 years after the redocking of Kristall from -X to -Y in june 1990. Plans for the next 7 days: During the night from 1 to 2.06.1995 a short spacewalk (EVA) inside the vacuumized transition section (P.Kh.O.) to replace the docking- (reception-) cone from the -Z to the -Y axis. In the night from 2 to 3.06.1995 the redocking of Spektr with its 'lyappa' from the -X axis to the -Y axis. On 7.06.1995 Kristall will be redocked to the -X axis to be ready for the reception of Atlantis in the 3de decade of June. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK-3202.MIRNEWS.261 5 JUNE 1995 5th Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-crew: On 1.06.1995 (for Moscow time already 2.06.1995) from 2204- 2229UTC the MIR-crew made a short EVA inside the vacuumized transitionsection (P.Kh.O.). During this EVA they replaced the dockingcone from the -Z to the -Y axis. Redocking Spektr (Module-O): This operation was executed quickly and successfully (so also the 'Lyappa' of Spektr is reliable) on 2.06.95 from 1952- 2150UTC (so the closing of the hatch already on 3.06.95 Moscow time). The Spektr has been moved from the -X axis (axial forward port of MIR) to the -Y axis. So the forward port is now available to receive the Kristall (Module-T). Redocking of Kristall put back: This operation was on schedule for the night from 6 to 7.06.1995 but has been postponed to the period from 15.06 - 18.06.1995. The Russians said that this was necessary due to activities with a higher priority. It might be possible that this has something to do with the airseal problems arised after the redocking of Kristall in the night from 29 to 30.05.1995. That night during the pass in orbit 53012 Dezhurov reported a dropping pressure in Kristall or the transition section (P.Kh.O.). This might be caused by a minor leakage in the joint between Kristall and the P.Kh.O. After 1 hr and 8 minutes the pressure dropped from abt 700 mm to 469 mm. Whether this problem has caused the postponement of the redoc king of Kristall has not been confirmed thusfar. That there is a problem with the airpressure has been confirmed officially. Spokesmen also stated that extra oxygen en nitrogen has to be delivered to the complex to replenish the loss of air during the recent EVA-s. Thagard injured his eye: Not all what is written in my logbook reaches my reports. Already on 19.05.1995 Thagard reported that he injured his right eye during an 'experiment with an expander'. During the days there after Thagard regularly complained about his eye and TsUP advised him which medicines he had to swallow. Meanwhile the eye seems to be recovered for when there is question about this problem Thagard and his colleagues say that all is normal. I did refrain from publis hing about this medical 'secret' due to an official request. Recently this ban has been lifted by the Head of the Russian Space Agency, Koptev, who told Itar-Tass that Thagard had been struck at his head above his right eye by a spring which got loose from an expander during physical training. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202. MIRNeWS.262 13 JUNE 1995 Redocking Kristall-module: The airsealproblems with the joint between Kristall and the transitionsection (P.Kh.O.) have been resolved ealier than had been expected and so Kristall could be redocked from the -Z to the -X axis (forward axial port) on 10.06.1995 at 1730UTC. The operation was accomplished at 1800UTC. So Kristall is now ready for the reception of the shuttle Atlantis. SPEKTR: One of the 4 solarpanels not fully deployed. One of the solarpanels of Spektr did not unfold fully. This malfunction caused powerproblems and a very scarce use of the communications via Altair. To repair the solarpanel the cosmo nauts will have to make an extra spacewalk (EVA). 6th EVA: To make the deployment of the solarpanel of the Spektr possi ble the cosmonauts will have to do an EVA on 15.06.1995 between 1400 and appr. 1900UTC. Launch Atlantis: The Americans are doing all what is possible to execute the launch of Atlantis on 22.06.1995. The Russians as well as the Americans are sure that the solarpanel of Spektr will be repaired in time. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.263 15 JUNE 1995 6th Spacewalk (EVA): During a meeting at Noordwijk Space Expo Kondakova told me that the EVA planned for 15.06 has been put back to 16.06.95. During radiotraffic via Altair on 15.06 during orb. 53268, 0835-0925UTC the cosmonauts asked for a duration of the EVA of 5.30 instead of 5 hrs. During that EVA they will have to deploy an unwilling solar array on Spektr and to inspect this to be sured that it will give no problems during the docking of Atlantis. They also will have to repair an unreliable drive of a solar array on Kvant-2 (Module-D) and check the docking port of the -Z axis due to the recent airleakage. Start Atlantis: When Atlantis will be launched is not yet sure for 100%, but if the EVA will be successful and no other problems emerge NASA intends to execute the launch on 23.06.95 at 2308UTC (launch window 7 mins). I hope to be on the spot during the launch and landing, which has been planned for 4.07 at 1637UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.264 17 JUNE 1995 Planned spacewalk (EVA) cancelled: This EVA already had been put back once from 15 to 16.06.1995, but has now been cancelled. The cosmonauts did not have the right tools voor their tasks and doing the job with the tools now at their disposal would be too risky. The Russians and NASA are sure that the present situation (powerproblems and the not fully deployed solararray on Spektr) is safe enough for the intended docking operation of Atlantis. The EVA will be made by the crew of the next mission (19th Main expediti on), Solovyov and Budarin, who will deliver the right tools to MIR and already trained in Houston for that EVA. ATLANTIS READY TO GO!! After a long period of uncertainties, of hope and despair, the date for the launch of Atlantis on her dockingmission has been set: 23.06.1995 at 2108UTC. Docking on 25.06.1995 at abt 1430UTC. The launchwindow is only 7 minutes long and if the launch not takes place in first 2 minutes the flight before docking had to last 3 instead of 2 days. NASA however sticks to the docking on 25.06.1995 and will manoeuvre Atlantis in such a way that this is possible. HOWEVER.......: The fact that the date for Atlantis's launch has been set means that I will fly to the States to be there during the major events and so I will close my station for a while to continue my work on the spot. I will produce reports of all what will happen for some media in the Netherlands and report my findings after my return in a MIRNEWS-summary and in the next issue of the Amasat UK journal Oscar News. Goodbye everybody!! Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.265 11 JULY 1995 RESUMED MY ACTIVITIES IN MY STATION: Just returned from the United States, where I was during the launch, docking, separation and landing of the STS-71, Atlan tis. Still suffering from 'jetlag' and not back in my normal work-rhythm. But nevertheless here some facts about MIR/Atlantis and the plans for MIR this month. Atlantis blasted off from KSC on 27.06.1995 at 1932UTC. Docking at the Kristall-module on 29.06.1995 at 1300UTC. 4.07.1995 at 1055UTC Soyuz-TM21 with Solovyov and Budarin separated from MIR's Kvant-1 module for a photomission of the undocking of Atlantis. 4.07.1995 at 1110UTC successful undocking of Atlantis from MIR. 4.07.1995 at 1138UTC Soyuz-TM21 redocked to Kvant-1. This took place 5 minutes earlier than was planned due to a malfunction of the Ts.V.M.-1 (main computer on board MIR). Solovyov per formed the docking manually while the deviation of MIR was already 10 degrees. 7.07.1995 at 1455UTC soft landing of Atlantis on the S.L.F. (Shuttle Landing Facility) of Kennedy Space Centre. Plans MIR-operations this month: 14.07.1995: 1ste spacewalk (EVA): Checking airseal of docking port in -Z before the redocking of Kristall and an attempt to deploy the naughty solararray of Spektr. Beginning of EVA at 0340UTC, duration somewhat more than 5 hrs. 17.07.1995: Possibly, depending on the results of the 1st EVA, the redocking of Kristall from the -X axis (forward port) to the radial port -Z axis. If so this operation will begin at abt 0200UTC. There was a 2d EVA on schedule for 18.07 (later put back to 19.07), but possibly this EVA will be cancelled. Depending on the results of the 1st EVA. Progress-M28: If all goes well during the operations mentioned above this freighter will be launched from Baykonur on 20.07. Docking has to take place on 22.07 at the forward (-X) docking port of the complex. More news about the near future: There is an EVA planned on 18.08.1995 to install on the outer surface of MIR experiments among which the Belgian MIRAS. This experiment has been brought to MIR by the Spektr module. Euromir'95: The launch of this mission with Soyuz-TM22 has been put back to 1.09.1995. (Gidzenko, Avdeyev and Reiter). Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.266 17 JULY 1995 1st Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-19 crew: Solovyov and Budarin made their 1st EVA on 14.07.1995 from 0356-0930UTC. They fully performed their tasks. They found no pollution or damages on the outside of the dockingmechanism of the -Z axis. They deployed the jammed solararray on Spektr with the exception of 1 section. The solararray has now been included in the powersupplysystem of the complex. They also worked at a solararry of Module-D and an antenna. Redocking of the Kristall-module: Kristall has been moved from the forward port (-X axis) to the side port (-Z axis) on 17.07.1995 between 0230 and 0400UTC. The redocking took place by the use of the 'lyappa'. a manipu latorarm. So Kristall is now in the right position to receive the Atlantis (STS-74) and the new dockingmodule in October 1995. On 17.07.1995 during the pass in orb. 53761 at 0554UTC Solovyov reported that the airseal of the system after the redocking was normal. 2d EVA MIR-19 crew: On 19.07.1995 between 0050 and 0620UTC the MIR-19 crew will make their 2d EVA for the installation of the Belgian spectro meter MIRAS on MIR's outersurface. Originally this operation was on schedule for 18.08.1995. Progress-M28: This freighter will be launched from Baykonur on 20.07.1995 at 0305UTC for a flight to the MIR-spacestation. If all goes well this freighter will dock to the station on 22.07.1995 at 0437UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.267 20 JULY 1995 2d Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-19 crew: Solovyov and Budarin made their 2d Spacewalk from 0039-0347UT. They did not accomplish their tasks and the EVA was shorter than planned. The thermoregulation in the spacesuit of Solovy ov was not working normally. S. got orders to remain in the hatch of the airlock and observe the acitivities of his crew mate. Budarin did some preparations for the installation of the Belgian MIRAS experiment and brought back some materials from MIR's outersurface. (possibly the American experiment TREK). PROGRESS-M28 launched for flight to MIR: The freighter Pr-M28 blasted off from Baykonur on 20.07.95 at 03.04.40UTC for a 2-days flight to the MIR-spacestation. Transmissions of this ship could be monitored a few hours after launch on the known frequencies in the 166, 165, 922 and 926 m/c bands. If Pr-M28 sticks to the timetable she will dock at MIR's forward dockingport on 22.07.1995 at 0437UTC. 3de EVA MIR-19 crew: To finish the tasks, which they were unable to accomplish during their 2d EVA Solovyov and Budarin will do this EVA on 21.07.95 from 0030-0530UTC. Radiotraffic can be expected via Altair during windows MIR-Altair and on VHF (143.625 and 130.165 mc) during the first pass of MIR for Western-Europa in orb. 53823 from abt. 0520-0529UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.268 22 JULY 1995 3d Spacewalk (EVA) MIR-19 crew: This EVA took place on 21.07.1995 from 0030-0605UTC. The main task of the crew consisted of the installation of the Belgian Spectrometer, MIRAS, on the outersurface of the Spektr-module. The EVA was a success and the last to be executed by this crew. During the EVA the geostationary satellite Altair (west) has not been used during all possible windows and if so only for voice communications. The recorded images have been trans mitted to earth after the EVA possibly via direct channels or Luch-1. Progress-M28 successfully linked up with MIR: On 22.07.1995 at 0440UTC Solovyov reported 'kasaniye' (touch). During the Altair-window in orbit 53838, so in which the approach and docking took place, only voice communications could be monitored. So no images of the approach. Approach and docking were executed in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. The crew observed the approach of Pr-M28 through portho les. Pr-M28 docked to the forward axial port (-X) of the transition section (P.Kh.O.). At 0630UTC checks of the hard docking and airseal had been completed and the hatch was opened just before 0705UTC. Pr-M28 delivered to the MIR-complex food, water, fuel and scientific equipment. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202MIRNEWS.269 26 AUGUST 1995 Euromir'95: The launch from Baykonur of Soyuz-TM22 is still on schedule for 3.09.95 at 0900UTC. S-TM22 will carry the re- liefcrew (the 20th Main expedition) to the MIR-station toge ther with the ESA astronaut, the German, Thomas Reiter. The Russian crew consists of the MIR's captain Yuriy Gidzenko, who will make his first spaceflight, and the board-engineer Sergey Avdeyev, who already made 1 spaceflight. This crew and the stand-in crew flew to Baykonur on 23.08.95 to accomplish their final training. MIR: During the past weeks the complex passed during the nighthours. Meanwhile the passes shifted to the afternoon en eveninghours. The clear skies during the evenings made good visual observations possible. The cosmonauts executed a lot of experiments and repairs. They installed new gyrodynes in Module-D and resolved airseal problems. Probably one or more gyrodyna cases showed leaks. The cosmonauts solved this pro blem using a lute named 'germetik'. They did this by putting this lute around some leaking electric sockets. Scarce information: During the past weeks it was difficult for me to maintain sufficient grip on the MIR-operations. This due to familycircumstances, the nightpasses of the complex and the capricious behaviour of the geostationary satellite Altair. (see File ALTC2054.TXT.) Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 MIRNEWS.270 4 SEPTEMBER 1995 Soyuz-TM22 launched from Baykonur. This ship with on board the crew for the 20d Main Expedition to MIR and the Euromir'95 cosmonaut Thomas Reiter started flawlessly from Baykonur on 3.09.1995 at 0900UTC (for the connoisseurs: 09.00.23.115). The Russians are the captain Yuriy Pavlovich Gidzenko, making his first spaceflight, Sergey Vasilyevich Avdeyev, making his 2d flight. The crew uses the call 'Uran', so for Gidzenko, Avdeyev and Reiter, respectively Uran-1, -2 and -3. The 1st day of the 2 days autonomous flight to MIR passed without any problems. Already during the 3d orbit at 120240UTC S-TM22 came within our range. Gidzenko reported the successful check of the manual orientation con trolsystem. All went well. During the pass at 1332UTC Gidzen ko, sounding very fit, reported that the first 2 orbitcorrec tions had been performed well. All systems worked without hitches and the health and mood of the crew were excellent. Planned linkup with MIR-station: If all continues to go according to plan the S-TM22 will dock at the forward docking port (P.Kh.O. -transitionsection), the -X axis on 5.09.95 at 1030UTC. The last fase of the approach will take place within our range during MIR-orbit 54543 from 1018-1025UTC. In this period we can expect radiotraffic on the frequencies: 121.750 Mc (S-TM22) and 143.625 Mc (MIR). It is not possible to predict whether the old Altair on 17 dgs West will be used or not for this good old 'geo' did not show up since 26.08.95 0824UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202