As of 1.01.1997 the Mir-complex will remain in a so called solar-orbit for 1 week. This means that the Mir remains in the sunlight and has no shadow periods. While large areas on the Northern Hemisphere experience very low temperatures these are high on board the space-station. The cosmonauts and the astronaut have to wear airy clothing. Periods like this are very good for the execution of space-walks (EVA-s), but regretfully there are no more EVA-s planned for this expedition.

Communications: Now and then the (almost) geostationary satellite Cosmos-2054 (Altair-1) is used for the TsUP-Mir communications. This satellite is standing over 16 dgs West. Sometimes the satellite is used for phone only, but more often to exchange TV-transmissions. On 27.12.1996 during orbit 62024 Korzun explained the experiment Volna and the behaviour of liquids in this instrument could be seen. They use the Altair-1 satellite also for interviews, press-conferences and Packet radio for reception and transmission of radiograms. In the near future the DLR-ground facility in Oberpfaffenhofen will use this satellite for direct contacts with European astronauts.

Radio-amateurism: On 1.01.1997 the crew changed the frequencies for radio-amateur traffic in the 145 Mc band. They now also use duplex (split) for Packet radio traffic. They changed the frequencies as follows: Uplink (transmissions to Mir) for Phone and P/R 145.200 Mc; downlink (from Mir to Earth, for Phone as well as for P/R 145.800 Mc. Changes like this can always be expected: the change which is suitable for 1 region might be unfavourable for other regions. This change is very good for the amateur-satellite band between 145.800-146 Mc as strong ground stations no longer hamper weak Oscar downlink signals around 145.800 Mc.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

After a night launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis, the Shuttle docked with Mir at 03:55 GMT on January 14. STS-81 transferred 2,715 kg of equipment to and from the Mir, the largest transfer of items to that date. During the docked phase, 640 kg of water, 515 kg of U.S. science equipment, 1,000 kg of Russian logistics, and 120 kg of miscellaneous material were transferred to Mir. Returned to Earth aboard Atlantis were 570 kg of U.S. science material, 405 kg of Russian logistics and 98 kg of miscellaneous material. At 02:16 GMT January 19, Atlantis separated from Mir after picking up John Blaha, who had arrived aboard STS-79 on September 19, 1996, and dropping off Jerry Linenger, who was to stay aboard Mir for over four months. The Shuttle backed off along the -RBAR (i.e. toward the Earth) to a distance of 140 m before beginning a flyaround at 02:31 GMT. Most of the flyaround was at a distance from Mir of 170 m. The first 'orbit' around Mir was complete at 03:15, and the second was completed at 04:02 GMT. Then the Orbiter fired its jets to drift away from the orbit of Mir. NASA's first Shuttle mission of 1997 came to a close with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 14:22 GMT on January 22 (after the first opportunity was waved off due to cloud cover at the Cape).

Atlantis (mission STS-81) has been launched on 12.01.1997 at 09.27.33 UTC for her 5th docking mission. At 0950 UTC Atlantis was within our range and commander Baker could be heard on 259.700 Mc AM/W in a short contact with Houston via Zaragossa in Spain. The rendezvous operations will begin on 14.01.1997 at 2212 UTC. Atlantis arrives near Mir on 15.01 at 0247 UTC and will dock 15.01 at 0353 UTC. Let us hope that the docking will take place a few minutes earlier for the window during the first pass of both enormous objects within our range will close at 0352 UTC. Hard mate will take place on 15.01 at 0427 UTC and the hatches will be opened on 15.01 at 0537 UTC. John Blaha will conclude his experimental activities on board Mir with some experiments related to the docking and immediately thereafter he will be relieved by Jerry Linenger. Blaha will remain in space for a while as payload specialist on board Atlantis and Linenger will continue his flight as 2d Board Engineer/researcher in Mir.

Radio traffic: If they stick to the same frequencies as in the past we can expect radio traffic on 121.750, 130.165 and 143.625 Mc. Extensive use of the American TDRS-s after the docking van be expected. Possibly the Russians will now and then use their (almost) geostationary satellites Altair-1 and 2. During the 4th docking mission (STS-79 in Sept. 1996, most communications took place via the American TDRS-s.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

During the period in which Atlantis and Mir were linked together the American TDRS-facilities were in use for the bulk of radio communications, thus anticipating the communication procedures of the future International Space Station Alpha. The Russians used their facilities only to discuss matters regarding the Mir-complex itself. With a few exceptions the Atlantis also took care for the movements (attitude) control of the huge space combination.

Atlantis separated from the Mir:

Atlantis undocked from the Mir on 20.01.1997 at 02.15.44 UTC. At 0357 UTC the engines of the Atlantis gave the separation burn for the ride home. After the undocking Atlantis remained in the free drift until the distance permitted firing of steering rockets. During the 2 flights of Atlantis around the Mir-complex no images have been transmitted from Mir. These had been recorded and transmitted to Earth later that day via Altair-1. Among them good images, for instance Atlantis flying away from under a Mir solar panel and several views of Atlantis moving away with a sight of the Earth in the background.

Soyuz-TM25: The next important operation will be the launch of Soyuz-TM25 from Baykonur on 10.02.1997 at 1409 UTC. Soyuz-TM25 will bring the 23d Main Expedition (Tsibliyev and Lazutkin) and the German astronaut Ewald to the Mir. (Stand-in crew: Musabayev, Budarin and Schlegel)

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

This ship with the crew for the 23d Main Expedition (M.E.) to Mir, Tsibliyev and Lazutkin, and German's Mir'97 astronaut Reinhold Ewald is on schedule for launch from Baykonur on 10.02.1997 at 1408 UTC. The call signs of this crew are Sirius-1, 2 and 3. If all goes according to plan Soyuz-TM25 will dock at Mir on 12.02.1997 at abt 1553 UTC. Ewald will stay on board for 18 days and return to Earth with the relieved crew of the 22d M.E., Korzun and Kaleri. During the Mir'97 mission DLR's GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen will be able to communicate directly with Mir via VHF-channels, but possibly also via the quasi-stationary Cosmos-2054 (Altair-1) over 16 degrees W.L. On 4 and 5.12.1996 GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen tested communications via Altair-1 and meanwhile the intention to use this possibility during Mir'97 and future Euromir missions has been officially confirmed.

Mir-routine: The American astronaut Linenger started with his experimental programs. He is very pleased to be on board Mir and had less problems as his countrymen during previous flights in finding things for his work. Of course he did not found all he needs, but obviously the experience of his predecessors led to improvements in that field. He emphasised

Hij legt by zijn experimenten erg de nadruk op lichamelijke oefeningen, waarbij hij zich behoorlijk inspant. De samenwerking met zijn Russische collega's is uitstekend. Linenger is ook goed ingewerkt door zijn voorganger Blaha. Voor wat betreft zijn werkplanning en de manier, waarop de resultaten van zijn experimenten de geleerden op aarde moeten bereiken, heeft hij aan de Amerikaanse consultatieve groep op het TsUP by Moskou een aantal voorstellen gedaan.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Israel provided US intelligence agencies with a copy of a $7 million contract between NPO Trud and Iran for equipment related to the R-12 IRBM. Other Russian contributions included wind tunnel, software, and mathematical modelling services from TsAGI, Polyus for laser gyro systems, and development of a solid-fuel capability.

After a spectacular night launch, the Shuttle completed its rendezvous with Hubble Space Telescope on February 13. Over the next four days five spacewalks were undertaken to renovate Hubble.

The Hubble Space Telescope was released back into orbit at 06:41 GMT on February 19. Discovery landed on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center at 08:32 GMT on February 21.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 150.0E Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 150 deg E in 1997-1998; 124 deg E in 1998-1999; 127 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 127.02 deg E drifting at 0.015 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 7 located at 150.01E drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.

Radio traffic during VHF windows for our position in the morning of 24.02.1997 revealed that something serious had happened on board Mir. Somewhat earlier there was already an indication: a direct TV-link from Mir with Oberpfaffenhofen via Altair-1 for this morning did not take place. During the 3d pass for our position (orb. 62943, 1341-1348 UTC) the cloven hoof came out: in a conversation with his consultants on earth Ewald reported about a fire on board. This fire broke out last night. An oxygen cartridge caught fire and a grey smoke spread out in all parts of the complex. Korzun and Kaleri fought against the fire with extinguishers and the others tried to push back the smoke. All crew members had to wear gas-masks. This lasted two and a half hours the maximum endurance of those masks. The extinction water caused a high humidity and the temperature of the atmosphere was higher than normal. Ewald did not get smoke or just a little bit in his longs and to remain on the safe side he swallowed coal- and vitamin tablets and milk products. He was very tired but he did not think that this had been caused by something like pollution, but by the lack of sleep. He went asleep at 6 o'clock in the morning and woke up 4 hours later. Jerry Linenger was very busy collecting air samples for pollution tests. He also tried to determine the amount of formaldehyde. The crew of six was in the Base Block when the fire began in an adjacent room. Russian toxicologists are analysing telemetric data about Mir's on board atmosphere. The crew already collected urine- and saliva samples and later on they got instructions to collect blood samples and to do additional medical tests. In the course of the day a TV press conference was on schedule and a lot of journalist were waiting in Oberpfaffenhofen. Ewald told that the events had caused such a mess in the station that it was not convenient to have that TV session today. As a palliative Ewald answered some questions about the nightly occurrences and his statements almost fully confirmed the information gathered by me for this report.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 64.2E. The Intelsat 8 and 8A vehicles are the latest in the Intelsat satellite series. Spacecraft: 3-axis stabilised. Two large solar panels with 1-axis articulation. Payload: 38 C-Band and 6 Ku-Band transponders.22,000 telephone calls and 3 colour TV broadcasts simultaneously. Or up to 112,500 telephone circuits using digital circuit multiplication equipment (DCME). Two independently steerable Ku-band spot beams. Interconnected operation between C- and Ku-bands.
Financial/Operational:
Lockheed/General Electric contract October 16 1992 $ 165 million for 2 units- potential 5 units. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 47 deg E in 1997; 62 deg E in 1997; 64 deg E in 1997-1998; 31 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 31.47 deg W drifting at 0.013 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 5 located at 31.46W drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

On 2.03.1997 at 0644 UTC the return capsule of the Soyuz-TM24 made a safe landing in Kazakhstan not far from Arkalyk (47degr49min North; 69degr24min East). At abt 4 mins later the first helicopter of the search- and rescue team reached that position. The return operation and landing took place without problems. During the return operation Soyuz-TM24 communicated via the Eastern tracking stations in Russia and probably Altair-2 over 96 dgs East. Obviously Altair-1 was (or: is?) not operational.

Last week of Mir'97 and Main Expedition Mir 22:

The fire in the night from 22 to 23.02 put its stamp on this last week due to the pollution of the Mir's atmosphere during the first days and the extra attention the crew had to give to the damaged oxygen-generator and cables. For a long time there was the smell caused by the fire. One of the cosmonauts spoke about the smell of 'roasted turkey'. Some crew members suffered from some irritation of the bronchia, a dry throat and sleeping problems. Nobody was hurt with the exception of Korzun who had a very small burn on his hand. Ewald had already executed the majority of the Mir'97 experiments and the events did not significantly influence that program. German project managers were satisfied about the successful results and conclusion of the mission. During this week there has been a lot of radio traffic on 2 frequencies simultaneously: the Russians used 143.625 mc and Ewald and Linenger 130.165 mc. For some planned TV sessions, i.e. for the RTL children's programme Captain Bluebear and about a contest for drawings by children with the wife of the German President Herzog they did not use the geostationary satellites but direct TV transceivers on lower frequencies. For phone during these sessions Ewald used the UKW-2 130.165 mc.

Siriusses: The new crew, Tsibliyev and Lazutkin, the 23d M.E. to Mir, and Jerry Linenger will have to do a lot of work in the near future. In fact there are still a lot of experiments in the framework of Mir'97 to be done: this had been planned and this work got the designation Mir'97E, the letter 'E' standing for 'Extension'.

Progress-M33: This old freighter is still flying autonomously until her 2d docking at Mir. That will take place on 4.03.97. Tsibliyev got orders to control the approach and docking manually with the remote-control system TORU. There has also been an instruction to leave Progress-M33's hatch closed after docking. Kaleri asked TsUP to consider the possibility to open the hatch and to use the still available room in the spherical part of Progress-M33 to stow stuff no longer needed: especially the considerable amount of human waste. During the long period with a crew of 6 the quantity of this increased enormously.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

After the loss of one Solid Fuel Oxygen Generator in the night from 23 to 24.02 the crew has been struggling along to keep the mini-atmosphere on board of the space station suitable for the needs of human beings. On 5.03 one of the Elektrons (possibly the 2d Elektron is out of order and has to be repaired with spare parts to be delivered by the next supply ship) showed a malfunction and so the crew had to use a part of the oxygen reserved for spacewalks to bridge the period until the repair of that Electron. They managed to get this Elektron operational again in the afternoon. The crew is very busy to secure the working of the life systems and this fact can be derived from radio traffic during every possible pass. Among the additional measures to maintain a liveable situation on board a lot of air hoses have been deployed to enhance the air circulation through the whole complex.

Communications: As it is not possible to communicate via the geostationary satellites every possible VHF-pass via tracking stations in Russia and the United States is fully utilised. In this way I can obtain a lot of information, but in fact this is rather poor in comparison to that what can be derived during the long sessions via Altair-1. For TV-sessions the Russians now use the direct links on lower frequencies via tracking stations. These sessions are shorter and have a rather poor quality, mostly black/white and often the accompanying speech goes via the normal VHF-downlink.

Progress-M33: It has been decided not to try a second attempt to redock Progress-M33 at Mir. The Progress-M33 will be put on a destruction course on 11 or 12.03.1997 and burn up in the atmosphere over a designated area in the Pacific East of New-Zealand.

Progress-M34: The Russians are still waiting for the disposal of a rocket for this launch. This certainly will not be earlier than 25.03.1997. They hope to launch the Progress-M34 on 6.04.1997. Among a lot of other supplies this Progress has to deliver a replacement for the Antares transceiver (uplink to Luches) and spare parts and materials for the repairs of the defective life support systems.

Spacewalk (EVA): The Russians still hope that Tsibliyev and Linenger will be able to do an EVA. For the time being 17.04.1997 is on schedule.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 118.7W Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 119 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 118.82 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 42.64E drifting at 4.479W degrees per day.

Gradually the passes of Mir for our area shifted to the night hours, but nevertheless a lot of radio traffic could be monitored since the last Mir-report. This traffic revealed that the only system for the production of oxygen is the solid fuel oxygen generator. The crew co-ordinates the use of the so called 'shashki' (disks) with TsUP and daily abt 3 of those 'cartridges' are 'burnt'. In the beginning they still tried to activate the only operational Elektron to generate oxygen from 'technical' water, but possibly the gas-analysers reported that the quality of the production did not reach the desired standards and they had to stop these attempts. They seem to have enough 'shashki' until the arrival of new supplies but they cannot use all available cartridges. They got orders to refrain from the use of those produced in the years after the decay of the Soviet Union.

Progress-M34: The launch of this badly needed freighter is on schedule for 6.04.1997. It is not sure whether or not spare parts (filters a.s.o.) are ready before that launch. The Progress-M34 will also have to deliver a new Antares transmitter for communications via the now only available Altair (nr. 2) satellite.

Communications: The present position of Altair-2 is over 94 degrees East. For docking operations of Soyuz-TM ships and shuttles, but also for the communications during EVA-s and the morale of the crew a position more to West, for instance in the slot of Altair-1 (Cosmos-2054) would be more suitable.

Movements control: On 19.03.1997 during the pass in orbit 63298, Tsibliyev reported a malfunction of an Omega angular rate sensor. At 0448 UTC the SUD (movements control system) showed a failure and the complex came in an inexplicable rotation. Apart from one the gyrodynes were still working, but obviously unable to correct the stations attitude. During the next pass (in orb. 63300, 0856-0906 UTC) the crew got orders to shut down the gyrodynes. The station came in a so called free drift and from there the attitude had to be corrected by steering jets. These events caused a decrease of electrical power due to bad orientation of the solar batteries towards the sun. So for some hours the crew had to restrain power consumption. Next day's radio traffic revealed that the situation was almost under control. The crew worked hard to make another Omega sensor operational and doing so they met a lot of problems with the deployment of cables.

Jerry Linnenger: In contradiction to the beginning of his mission contacts of Jerry with the American consultative group at TsUP Moscow could not be monitored for some weeks.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

The launch of this freighter from Baykonur is on schedule for 6.04.1997 at 1904 UTC. If this start will take place and the flight to the Mir complex will be successful docking can be expected on 8.04.1997 at abt. 1730 UTC. Progress-M34 has to deliver new supplies of fuel, oxygen, water, food and repair materials. Progress-M34 will also bring 2 spacesuits for spacewalks (EVA's) of a new type. Originally the Russians planned to have a new Antares transmitter (for communications via the geostationary satellite) ready for the flight with Progress-M34, but possibly they cannot make that and that means that this transmitter will be delivered at Mir by the shuttle Atlantis in May.

Mir-routine: Mir's passes for our position take place during the night hours and in this period all communications are handled by the tracking stations in the USA Dryden and Wallops and the OKIK's in the East of Siberia. For the oxygen production the crew is fully dependent on the so called 'shashki', the lithium perchlorate cartridges. Daily they 'consume' 2 or 3 cartridges. The 2 Elektron systems could not be repaired and so the crew has to wait for new Elektrons to be delivered by Atlantis.

Altair-2 (23426 - 94082A): This geostationary satellite recently still over a sub-satellite point over 95 degrees East has been brought in a somewhat higher orbit. Now the period is more than 1436 minutes. This means that the sub-satellite point is slowly moving to the West. if all goes according to plan Altair-2 will reach a position over 16 degrees West in the 26 week of May.

1st Spacewalk (EVA) Tsibliyev and Linenger: This EVA is on schedule for 29.04.1997.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

The launch of STS-83, the first Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) mission, was postponed for a day to replace some insulation around a water coolant line in Columbia's payload bay. Liftoff was further delayed 20 minutes due to anomalous oxygen readings in the orbiter's payload bay. STS-83 was cut short due to a problem with one of the three fuel cells that provide electricity and water to Columbia (flight rules required that all three must be operating). At 14:30 GMT on April 6 the crew were ordered to begin a Minimum Duration Flight (MDF). On April 8 the OMS engines ignited at 17:30 GMT for the deorbit burn, and Columbia landed on Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center at 18:33 GMT.

With delays in International Space Station construction leaving ample room in the shuttle schedule, NASA made the unique decision to leave the equipment installed in Columbia and refly this mission with the same crew later in 1997 as STS-94.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. It carried supplies for the Mir station and repair equipment for Mir's oxygen generators, replacement oxygen-generating 'candles' and a pair of new spacesuits. Docked with Mir at the rear Kvant module port on 8 Apr 1997 17:30:03 GMT. The Mir complex raised its orbit by 5 km on 15 Apr 1997 at 12:00 GMT, using Progress M-34's engine. Undocked on 24 Jun 1997 10:22:50 GMT. It was then used to perform a redocking test using newly developed remote-control procedures which were to replace the automatic system that Russia could no longer afford to buy from Ukraine. At 25 Jun 1997 09:18 GMT Mir commander Tsibliev was remotely commanding the approach of Progress to the Kvant module. This involved guiding the Progress via a television monitor. The Progress was difficult to see against the cloudy earth background at the time of the attempted docking. It went off course and collided with a solar array on the Spektr module and then the module itself. A large hole was made in a solar panel, one of the radiators was buckled, a hole was punched into Spektr's hull, and the module began to depressurize. This was not a slow leak - the crew heard a hissing sound and felt their ears pop. They disconnected the power cables leading from Mir to the main station and closed the hatch on the core module transfer section that led to Spektr. The Spektr module became fully depressurized, remaining docked to Mir with its docking hatch open. The loss of electrical connection between Spektr's solar panels and the main station cut the available power supply to the station, crippling its operations until later repairs reconnected the electrical lines. Tsibliev was also the pilot on a previous orbital collision, when he banged Soyuz TM-17 into Mir in Jan 1994. After the return of the crew to earth he was found to be to blame for the incident, although the fines assessed were later dismissed. The Progress M-34 cargo ship was backed to a safe distance from the station and was destroyed in reentry on 2 Jul 1997 06:31:50 GMT. Total free-flight time 9.90 days. Total docked time 76.70 days.

Immediately after the opening of the hatches to Progress-M34 the crew began to unload the most important stuff for direct use. They used a part of the new arrived pure oxygen supply and new lithium perchlorate 'disks' for oxygen production. Radio traffic revealed that the cosmonauts without delay had started the repair of the Elektron system in Module-D (Kvant- 2). On 11.04 this Elektron was activated, but after a few minutes during which oxygen was produced it switched itself off. On the days to follow the crew regularly worked on this system and to undo the last failure they even used a part of the unserviceable Elektron in Module-E (Kvant-1).

The urgent work on the Elektron caused a considerable work overload of the crew. These days the astronaut Linenger is often deployed to assist in this repair work for which he has to refrain from a part of his American experiments. A few times the work on the Elektron had to be suspended for the execution of repair work with a higher priority. This had to do with a lot of leakage in the heating- and cooling circuits in the Base Block and Kvant-1.

The leaks in the cooling loops in Kvant-1 caused the outflow of cooling liquid (ethylene glycol) and the decrease of the pressure within that circuit. A sufficient cooling is also needed for the functioning of the carbon dioxide (CO2) absorber Vozdukh. For the neutralisation of CO2 in Mir's atmosphere there is another alternative. Progress-M34 delivered for that purpose canisters lithium hydroxide. Meanwhile the Elektron in Module-D and the Vozdukh CO2 scrubber are functioning. The problems with the life support systems on board caused a high humidity and consequently a lot of condensation. Twice a day Tsibliyev can be heard reporting pulse rates, blood pressures, skin temperatures and blood oxygen saturation of all crew members.

Orbit correction: Using the engines of the Pr-M34 the orbit of the Mir-station had been corrected on 15.04.19997 at 12.46.01 UTC. Apogee and Perigee changed from 397.16/381.63 KM to 402.54/389.51 KM.

Solar orbit: Within a few days Mir will enter a so called solar orbit. During this period Mir will continuously remain in sunlight. Then it will be more difficult to control the on board temperatures. Tsibliyev said that physically the crew is able to sustain this inconvenience, but that he has some concerns about the equipment of the complex.

1st Spacewalk (EVA) Mir Main Expedition 23/ NASA 4: This EVA is (or possibly meanwhile: was) on schedule for 29.04.1997. The EVA will be executed if the repair work can be accomplished before a determined deadline.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Repeated rumours appeared that a Chinese military satellite was launched or suffered a failure on this date. The story was first carried by Reuters in May 1997. In December 2000 it was again reported in a Chinese professional magazine that China launched its last recoverable satellite on April 20, 1997. The last official launch of the series was in October 1996.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 105.7W Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg W in 1997-1998; 135 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 6 September 2001 located at 135.09 deg W drifting at 0.037 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 59.64W drifting at 0.009W degrees per day.

The telecommunications satellite, the most sophisticated and complex satellite ever built in China, was equipped with 24 transponders used for television, digital transmission and other telecommunications services. It had a design life eight years. After over one year of tests the satellite was delivered to the end user, China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corporation (Chinasat) on August 12 1998. A long term operation contract for the redesignated Chinasat-6 was signed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), Chinasat and the Xian Satellite Control Center. Chinasat-6 operated in geosynchronous orbit at 125 deg E in 1997-1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 124.99 deg E drifting at 0.011 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 6 located at 123.93E drifting at 0.104W degrees per day.

Atlantis blasted off on a night launch to Mir, docking with the station on May 17 at 02:33 GMT. Jerry Linenger, who had begun his stay on Mir in mid-January aboard STS-81, would return aboard STS-84. Michael Foale would be left at the station for his stint as the American crew member of Mir. The crew transfered to Mir 466 kg of water, 383 kg of U.S. science equipment, 1,251 kg of Russian equipment and supplies, and 178 kg of miscellaneous material. Returned to Earth aboard Atlantis were 406 kg of U.S. science material, 531 kg of Russian logistics material, 14 kg of ESA material and 171 kg of miscellaneous material. Atlantis undocked from Mir at 01:04 GMT on May 22. After passing up its first landing opportunity due to clouds over the landing site, the Shuttle fired its OMS engines on the deorbit burn at 12:33 GMT on May 24. Atlantis landed at 13:27 GMT at Kennedy Space Center's runway 33.

Long duration film return military reconnaissance satellite. After returning multiple film capsules, the spacecraft was deorbited. This satellite provided Russia with the photo reconnaisance capability after a break of 7 1/2 months. This launch came on the 40th anniversary of the first successful launch of the R-7 rocket, from which the Soyuz-U was derived. It was the 250th launch of the Soyuz-U from Baikonur, the 350th launch from Launch Complex 31, and the 666th launch of a Soyuz-U.

Just before the beginning of Atlantis mission STS-84 I left my 'station' for a badly needed vacation. For those who use my 'MirNEWS-series' as a chronicle I decided to draft a short summary of that mission. The information therein I derived from different sources.

Atlantis STS-84 mission largely accomplished successfully: Launch Atlantis on 15.05.97; flawless docking with Mir on 17.05.97. Michael Foale relieved his colleague Jerry Linenger. Mir's mission will be named : Mir 23 / NASA 5. Both crews succeeded in transferring mutually all what had to be transferred within the 5-day period. Adding a 6th 'docking day' was not needed.

Mir was plentifully provided with an extra supply of water and oxygen en the replacement equipment and spare parts to postpone for a very long time the definitive termination of the ageing space station. The most important equipment for that purpose was the new oxygen machine Elektron, which had to be installed in the Module-D (Kvant-2). The old Elektron which had been repaired some weeks ago and has been operational in Module-D has been reinstalled in the former spot in Kvant-1 to be used as a reserve. The delivered supply of oxygen enables the crew to refrain for a long period from the use of the Elektrons. Defective equipment, for instance the old Elektron, which could not be repaired, has been brought back to earth for analysis.

Originally there has been a plan to deliver a new Antares transmitter for communications via the geostationary Altair-2 (now in position over 16 degrees West). Information about this plan is still unclear and even sometimes contradictory. Communications: During the combined flight the communications also to and from Mir had been handled to a large extent via the American TDRS-facilities. Mir communicated directly with tracking stations on Russian territory using VHF frequencies.

After the launch of Atlantis on 15.05 Eileen Collins could be heard on 259.7 mc between 0826 and 0829 UTC when she via a tracking station in Spain reported the 'power down of the APU'. Shortly after the stabilisation of Altair-2 over 16 degrees West there has been word that the satellite had a transmitter failure and that the Russians would do all what was possible to reactivate this transmitter. Due to my absence I was not able to monitor 10.830 Ghz.

During my stay in Budapest I met a 'colleague' and he told me that he received somewhat like a 'wide band' signal on that frequency, probably a test signal by the VKS (Russian space forces). This was on 19.05. Later on and until the afternoon of 21.05 the transponder transmitted a continuous carrier without modulation. Another colleague in Western Europe monitored the wideband signal and recorded this. Meanwhile there came some information about the Antares transmitter on board Mir.

The installation of a new Antares has been put back until the arrival of a needed part which has to be delivered by Progress-M35 (launch 22.06, docking 24.06). Conclusion: Altair-2 is operational. The problem is still on board Mir. Mir-routine: The 3 crew members on board Mir again have to do the job alone. Just before the arrival of Atlantis they repaired the defective water regeneration systems (SRV-K condensation and SRV-U urine) .

Before a profound analysis on Earth of the quality of the water regenerated by the SRV-K they are not allowed to drink this water. They are satisfied about the new supply of oxygen and the relative high pressure of the atmosphere on board: 780 mm. One of the first priorities is the search and elimination of a leakage in the cooling loop VGK.

The passes of the Mir-station for our position take place during the night hours. So for a short period there will be not much radio traffic via VHF unless something special happens during these night hours. I will remain on the alert!

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Geosynchronous weather satellite; also known as FY-2B. Operated in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg E in 1997-2000; 85 deg E in 2000.. The FY-2A stopped transmission in April 1998 but was put back into partial operation in December 1998. Its imager then failed completely on 30 September 1998 and it was retired in April 2000. As of 4 September 2001 located at 83.55 deg E drifting at 0.074 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 58.96E drifting at 0.025W degrees per day.

This freighter is on schedule for late this month. If launch and flight will go as planned Progress-M34 will have to leave the aft docking port (+X-axis) the day before the arrival of Progress-M35. Apart from the normal cargo a badly needed component for the Antares-transmitter on board Mir has to be delivered by Progress-M35. Until the restoration of Mir's satellite relay system audio and video downlinks will be limited to ground station passes.

Progress-M34: It might be possible that before the departure for decay in the Earth's atmosphere the Russians will execute an autonomous flight with the old freighter to test the TORU system. Thus far no confirmation about this operation. Radio-amateurism: The fact that the Mir-crew is active again on the radio-amateur-frequencies confirms that the situation on board though not fully back to normal, improved to such a degree that they got more time to relax.

During almost every pass within our range the amateur station in the 145 mc band is active, mostly in Packet Radio, but also in Phone. Mike Foale (call KB5UAC) or the Russians (R0Mir) can be heard on Mir's downlink 145.800 mc. (uplink 145.200 mc). The crew transmitted a P/R message in which they said that they planned to increase P/R traffic. In another P/R message they reported that the Safex-2 transponder in the Priroda Module is operational again. Downlink is 437.950 mc, uplink 435.750 mc. To open the transponder a CTCSS tone of 141.3 hertz is needed. During docking operations with Soyuz-TM- and Progress-M ships and Shuttles Safex-2 will be OFF to avoid interference on crucial systems.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

If all goes according to plan this freighter will be launched on 27.06.1997 at 0630 UTC. If launch and flight will be successful Progress-M35 will dock at Mir's aft docking port (X-axis) on 29.06.1997 at abt 0748 UTC.

Progress-M34:

There are no plans for an autonomous flight with Progress-M34. If during the first day of the flight of Progress-M35 all goes well Progress-M34 will separate from Mir on 28.06.1997 and brought on a destruction course for decay over a designated area in the Pacific East of New Zealand.

Radio-amateur traffic:

As requested by radio-amateurs in the USA the 'downlink frequency' of the VHF station in Mir's base block has been changed from 145.800 to 145.985 mc. This change took place on 15.06.97. Almost during every pass within our range traffic, mainly Packet Radio, can be monitored. During the last days Foale could be heard in Phone. Foale is a skilled radio-amateur with a very good memory. During a QSO with the Belgian amateur ON6GP he remarked that during mission STS-45 ON6GP spoke with Foale's crew mate the Belgian astronaut Frimaut.

Communications:

Tsibliyev and Lazutkin during every pass discuss their reparation activities. They meet a lot of problems with cables and contacts which they cannot find or do not fit. Undoubtedly the present mission, teased by a lot of problems and set-backs, is leaving its traces on the psychological stamina of Tsibliyev and Lazutkin. Especially for Tsibliyev it is not always easy to maintain his normal flexibility.

In a long conversation with his father Foale told that he just flew over England. The British isles were fully overcast and the cloud layer had the same shape as the country itself. He also told that Tsibliyev and Lazutkin badly hope that the relief crew will be launched at abt. 8.08.97. The Russians will be relieved by Solovyov and Vinogradov. After the departure of the present crew Foale will remain on board Mir. So he will be a member of Mir's Main Expedition nr. 24 (Solovyov and Vinogradov) for a period of appr. 7 weeks. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

RSLP (MSLS) IFT-1A. The target cluster consisted of 10 objects: one mock warhead, one bus (the stage of the missile which releases the warhead and decoys), and eight decoys. Three decoys were conical in shape, like the warhead, and five were spherical balloons. One balloon was large – 2.2 meters in diameter – and had a brighter IR signature than the mock warhead. The two medium-sized balloons were about as bright as the mock warhead; they did not deploy as expected and were not reliable parts of the testing program. The two small balloons were released via a canister and were much dimmer than the mock warhead.

Non-intercept fly-by to assess the performance of the Boeing-built EKV seeker, collect target phenomenological data, and evaluate (post-test) target-modeling and discrimination algorithms. Boeing was not chosen as the NMD EKV contractor, partly as a result of its system's performance on this test.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 174.1E Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 174 deg E in 1997-2000; 177 deg E in 2000. As of 1 September 2001 located at 174.00 deg E drifting at 0.001 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 32.91E drifting at 0.000W degrees per day.

Co redistributed by Chris v.d.Berg under MirNEWS.363 and MirNWS.363 (no Dutch translation available yet due to lack of time)

Subject: Emergency on Mir

Novosti Kosmonavtiki June 25, 1997 -- Moscow, Russia -- Progress M-34 cargo vehicle collided With the Spektr module of Mir space station earlier today but the crew survived. The collision occurred before 09:18 UTC during Progress' fly around in remote control mode before scheduled re-docking. The crew haven't had communications with Russian ground stations at the time. The cargo spacecraft sheared a half of Spektr solar panel and made damage to the module itself. Depressurization of the station had begun but the crew succeeded in fast closing the hatch to Spektr. The rest of the station is being re-pressurised. Also, thermal control radiators on Spektr were damaged. There is no immediate danger to the crew but emergency landing is a possible decision. This report is not copyrighted. If you plan to use or publish the report please keep reference to VideoCosmos Co. of Moscow, Russia, and Novosti Kosmonavtiki Magazine.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

On 25.06.1997 during the first pass of the daily sequence (orb. 64831, 1049-1054 UTC) it was obvious that something went terribly wrong. If the redocking would have been a success this should have been obvious during this traffic. No word about the Progress-M34. The only subjects about which the crew spoke with TsUP were the systems on board Mir. In the first place they had problems with the SUD (attitude control) and something had happened with a module. TsUP transmitted a long series of 4-digit groups and the crew got orders to record and to collate them ('kvitantsiya').

In the next pass (orb. 64832, 1223-1232 UTC) reports about serious problems indicating that the complex had suffered from a heavy blow. An emergency signal warned that the power supply was too low (tension too low), that storage accumulators could not be charged and that the attitude of the complex had been changed and flew on its side. One or more of the 5 still available solar arrays could not be adjusted for a good angle towards the sun.. Tsibliyev reported that they were unable to change this and that the complex had a movement along the X-axis.

The crew got orders to activate the direct TV-link (commands Anna-72 and Anna-86) and to send images. Mike Foale made this images with a camera. (These images could be seen all over the world during the rest of the day). Very alarming was that what the crew reported during the 3d pass (orbit 64833, 1359-1409 UTC). Those solar panels which were still available could not be adjusted via computer commands, but this had to be done manually by the cosmonauts.

The gyrodynes did not work any more , the electrical tension was too low and the Ts.V.M.-1 (the main computer) ceased to function. The SUD failed and this was also the case with such a system in Module-D. After reporting all these calamities Tsibliyev stated that the situation was very bad. A number of ventilators did not work and the crew was grateful about the fact that the ventilators in Module-D functioned normally.

The fact that the gyrodynes stopped and did not consume power anymore decreased the burden on the power supply. After a long discussion about the power problems the crew got permission to adjust the solar panels of Module-D manually for a better angle towards the sun. In the background the voice of the veteran cosmonaut Vladimir Solovyov, Head of Flight Control, could be heard. As much as necessary the crew could use the Soyuz-TM25 and in case of a failure of the communications from the Base block they could use the transceiver of that ship.

The traffic during the 4th pass (orb. 68434, 1535-1546 UTC) began with the cheerful voice of Foale asking Tsibliyev how he felt himself. Tsibliyev said that he was very tired and suffered from strain caused by the event. Before LOS TsUP gave the windows for communications via the ground facilities of Oberpfaffenhofen, Dryden en Wallops in the coming night.

There was also good news: Foale reported that the amount of CO2 in the air was so low that the CO2 scrubber Vozdukh was not needed. An inconvenience was the fact that the alarm light : 'Depressurization of the complex' was burning continuously and that reset was impossible while the mano-vacuummeters indicated that the pressure remained stable (692 mm). During a following pass Tsibliyev said that he understood that the launch of the Progress-M35 had been put back. TsUP confirmed this. (to be continued)

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

STS-94 was the reflight, with the same equipment and crew, of the curtailed STS-83 mission. Cargo Bay Payloads:

• MSL-1: The Microgravity Science Laboratory included the first test of the International Space Station's EXPRESS Rack. MSL-1 also contained numerous other experiment payloads to test materials and combustion processes in zero gravity.
• CRYOFD: The Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) heat pipe was a Hitchhiker payload.
• OARE: The Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment was a self-calibrating instrument that monitored extremely small accelerations and vibrations experienced during orbit of the Shuttle.

The mission this time went for its full two week duration and the crew completed the full list of experiments. The deorbit burn was on July 17, 1997 at 09:44 GMT and Columbia landed on KSC's Runway 33 at 10:46:34 GMT.

This naughty boy (or is it girl?) ceased its existence on 2.07.97 at 06.32.00 UTC. Progress-M34 burnt up over a designated area in the Pacific East of New Zeeland. During the autonomous flight until decay specialists used Progress-M34 for tests in the framework of the investigations in the cause of the fatal event on 25.06.1997.

Progress-M35:

The launch of this new freighter with a partly replaced cargo is on schedule for 5.07.1997 at 04.11.54 UTC. If all goes according to plan the Progress-M35 has to link up with Mir's aft (+X) docking port on 7.07.1997 at 05.58.15 UTC.

Cargo of Progress-M35:

The original cargo has been partly replaced by equipment needed for the activities in relation to the Module Spektr during an internal spacewalk . With Progress-M35 an Antares transceiver for communications between Mir and TsUP via the geostationary satellite Altair-2 over 16 dgs West will be brought to Mir.

The mysterious white flakes:

After MirNEWS.366 went to the 'press' there was still a pass of Mir in orb. 64927 in which Lazutkin reported that they did not see those flakes after their first observation.

Morale on board Mir:

The morale is excellent. Tsibliyev regained his old flexibility and he is very busy with the very complicated preparations for the internal EVA (so in fact an IVA) which possibly will be executed in the night from 11 to 12.07.1997.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Docked with Mir on 7 Jul 1997 05:59:24 GMT. Undocked on 6 Aug 1997 11:46:45 GMT. Redocked with Mir on 18 Aug 1997 12:52:48 GMT. Final undocking on 7 Oct 1997 12:03:49 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 7 Oct 1997 17:23:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.30 days. Total docked time 80.21 days.

The start of this cargo ship from Baykonur took place on 5.07.97 at 04.11.54 UTC. During the pass in orb. 2, 0847-850 UTC, the Telemetry transmissions in the 166 and 165 mc could be heard and during the pass in the next orbit these transmissions, but also those of the beacon in the 922.755mc could be monitored. On 6.07.1997 during the passes in the orbits 18, 19 and 20 good signals on all frequencies and with the doppler shift on 922.755 mc 2 times TCA's could be determined: 071751 and 085100 UTC.

Progress-M35, approach and docking: Again all went of old: a stable and reliable execution of this operation by the automatic system Kurs. The docking took place on 7.07.1997 at 05.59.24 UTC. During Mir's orbit 65015 from 0549-0554 UTC the approach was going on. At AOS the Progress-M35 was in a distance of 147 M. Tsibliyev reported very little deviations in the course and attitude of Progress-M35. There was a stable GSO (gyrostabilised orientation) and all went so successful that Tsibliyev could load some date, given him by TsUP, in a computer. Just before LOS the distance was still 120 M and the approach was continued with a speed of 30 cm\sec.

During the next passes they did not speak about the opening of the hatches to Progress-M35. The main subject was the good functioning of the gyrodynes, the good attitude of the complex and the fact that the solar arrays had been turned to a good angle in relation to the sun. The accumulators could be fully charged. The crew has to remove temporarily the spacesuits from the P.Kh.O. (transition section) to get more room for the transfer of goods from Progress-M35 to the rest of the complex.

The Russians deserve a heartfelt 'Molodtsy' (well done fine fellows). But please let those responsible for Russian manned spaceflight as soon as possible make a deal with the Ukrainian factory Khartron for the restoration of the delivery of the system Kurs. In that way docking-operations can be executed with a 99.99% reliability!! Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

In contrast with the normal practice after dockings this time the crew had to wait with the opening of the hatches until the next day to conserve power and to enable the crew to have a good night's rest. The subjects discussed during radio communications in the passes in the first 3 orbits after the docking had nothing to do with the arrival of the Progress-M. They spoke about the replacement of water tanks, the switching on and off of the Elektron for oxygen production and the work on the accumulators.

They had problems with the BKV-3 (air conditioning) and something was wrong with the Vozdukh, the CO2 scrubber. The next day the crew got permission to open the hatches and to start the unloading and loading of the freighter. They immediately began to pump water into the tanks of the complex. Foale had seen his 'goodies' for which he had been anxiously waiting, but due to the congestion of goods he could not yet reach them.

This week radio traffic revealed circumstances which did not get much attention in the press and status reports. Everybody is aware of the fact that the module Spektr is as dead as a doornail, but the power shortage also paralysed another 2 huge modules, i.e. Kristall and Priroda.

Greatest anxieties causes the module Kristall. Near the docking device for the Space shuttle (the SO, docking compartment is attached at the Kristall) the high humidity causes a lot of condensation and there but also in other places Foale and Lazutkin try to absorb this water as much as possible using towels. Foale reported that the temperature in Kristall is abt 4 a 5 degrees Celsius. Tsibliyev told TsUP that he blew air into Kristall for warming up.

The most important subject remained the preparations for the coming spacewalk (IVA). The lion's share of this work is in the hands of Tsibliyev. When this report went to press there was not yet a complete scenario for the IVA. This meant that Tsibliyev regularly has been confronted with changes. This also in relation to the equipment and tools which they must have at hand during the IVA. Tsibliyev asked for a definitive list of all what has to be put in the IVA bag. Thus far he several times had to replace things. He also urged TsUP to avoid unnecessary delays.

Now and then TsUP and the crew discuss the collision. Foale and Tsibliyev repeat much what they have told earlier. TsUP is still trying to trace the spot where Spektr's hull has been perforated. TsUP asked Lazutkin to give his opinion based on that what he heard during the collision. He told where he heard the hissing (or: sizzling, Russian word 'shipeniye'). When you should enter the module this must be in the wall on the left hand side. At first the blow was at the radiator, which is installed between the 2d and 3d plane. In the nearest (seen from the place where Lazutkin was) 'quarter'. If that is the place of the fixation at the suspension obviously the puncture must be there.

Radio-amateurism:

The Packet Radio 'circular saw rattles' can be heard again on 145.985 mc. Now and then Foale (KB5UAC) publishes by P/R small status reports. For instance: On docking day: 'Progress docked normally this morning. We are waiting 3 orbits before we start to unload it, checking the integrity of the hatch seals. (In fact they had to put this back until the next morning) The station attitude controls system is working well, using the gyrodynes, and the power STH (?) the base block and module Kvant 2 powered (airlock and toilet) with modules Kristall and Priroda unpowered. Greenhouse experiment is continuing, using power from the base block, to dry the seed pods that have formed quite nicely.' After collision day: Our packet pwr supply failed, and we had to rewire the equipment to a newer one. All previous msgs here were lost. TNC Paccomm no longer holds its parameters, if pwr is turned off, since the Progress collision. Mike, KB5UAC.'

And today:

'The crew is now extremely busy, trying to crawl through all the bags unloaded from Progress, which are now stored in dark, wet modules, which have no power. We are trying to inventory and assemble the 30 or so cables and adapt, required to install the hatch umbilical. A training run will be done on the 15th and the real EVA sometime after that. I will get some refresher training on preparing the Soyuz for evacuation, and will be in a spacesuit, b, in the Soyuz during the EVA itself.'

Foale:

During the period just after the collision Foale had his quarters in the P.Kh.O. (transition section). This P.Kh.O. will serve as airlock during the IVA and so Foale had to remove. He is now living in the module Kvant-2 (Module-D), which certainly will be more comfortable than the P.Kh.O.

Attitude control:

During this week the gyrodynes did not function continuously: sometimes all of them of just 1 were spun down for power conservation and in these periods for attitude control the small thruster jets of Mir and (now) the Progress-M35 are used. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

The preparations for the internal EVA were still going on successfully (as far as this can be ascertained by monitoring) when Tsibliyev reported that he had hearth rhythm problems. Initially he discussed this with a doctor, first name Irina, who was not able to diagnose the case and so she did not prescribe medicine. Later on Tsibliyev asked for permission to swallow a pill and for an answer on his question whether he would be able to do the difficult IVA or not. The problem emerged yesterday and now it is known that higher 'doctors' are trying to find a solution. During radio conversations in the passes of orb. 65141 and 65142 it was obvious that the complaints of Tsibliyev will effect further plans.

The exercise which was on schedule for today (using Kvant-2 to imitate the IVA into Spektr) had been put back and that this was also the case with the IVA itself. Today Tsibliyev declared that if he could have a week to recover and nothing special would occur he wished to do the IVA himself. From the beginning, for instance during the collision , he was so involved in this all that he considers this as his duty. TsUP obviously had other ideas and asked Foale to take the microphone. Foale stated that he had no objections and that he would be very pleased to accomplish this task. He was sure that Tsibliyev would give him the right instructions. Tsibliyev possibly agreed with the possibility that Foale would replace him.

Foale added that he already knows how to handle the spacesuit Orlan-DMA. Tsibliyev said that the spacesuits were ready for the operation. A few orbits later Mir communicated with TsUP via Altair-2 in phone, but they also exchanged images. For a long time the cosmonauts were in the P.Kh.O (transition section) involved in technical preparations for the IVA. Tsibliyev was the most active crew member during these preparations and did not show signs that he had health- or stress problems. Probably he wants to recapture his place as spacewalker nr. 1. Whether Tsibliyev or Foale will do the IVA is not yet known. The IVA has been put back abt 10 days. Foale did not participate in the discussions from the P.Kh.O. Now and then, but not often, Lazutkin could be heard.

Altair-2:

The crew succeeded in restoring the communications from and to Mir via this geostationary satellite. Initially they had problems with their phone during the transmission of TV-images. On Sunday (13.07) they showed little papers with that what they wanted to tell their relatives and friends. On 14.07 they adjusted the installation in which Foale substantially participated. Today, 15.07, the so called Ku-band was fully in use during some passes. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

By accident one member of the Mir crew disconnected a cable connection between a rate-sensor in Module Kristall and the SUD (attitude control computer), which caused a troublesome chain reaction of system failures. Among the systems which did not work anymore were also transmitters in the base block, the UKW-1 transceiver and Telemetry transceivers. So for communications, but also for an alternative attitude control the crew had to use the systems of the fully autonomous Soyuz-TM25.

During the night hours I use to record transmissions using a time switch. In the morning I did not find anything on my tape and during the pass in orbit 65171, 0548-0559 UTC, the 143.625, 145.985 and the 166/165 mc telemetry transmitters did not show any sign of life. I checked whether they used Altair-2 or not: again negative. A few minutes after the pass Geoff Perry told me that he had heard them on 121.750 mc.

During the next pass they still used the 121.750 mc during which Geoff Perry heard them laughing in reaction on that what TsUP had said. The first pass in which the 143.625 mc was in use again was during orbit 65173 at 0900 UTC. Tsibliyev reported that there has been some recharging of the accumulators again and consequently they had switched on some systems, i.e. the UKW-1 transmitter and Telemetry transceivers.

In the early morning of 18.07 I was on duty during the nightly passes. During 2 of them (in orb. 65184 and 65185) all service frequencies remained silent, but I had a hope that conditions had improved for on 145.985 mc there were Packet Radio bursts again. During the pass in orb. 65186 Tsibliyev kept watch in the Base Block and he confirmed that the situation was better than the day before. His 2 colleagues still slept which they badly needed because of the fact, as Tsibliyev stated, they had to endure so much during the last days. During the passes still to follow he also slept and the only sign of life was the continuous rattle of Packet Radio. My oscilloscope did not give any indication that Altair-2's downlink was active.

VHF:

The first windows in which VHF-traffic could be monitored here before the early morning hours of 19.07 and as my body was longing for a good night's rest I adjusted my time switch so that during all windows a recorder was active. And of course this time not only for the 143.625 , but also for the 121.750 mc. After a night in which I slept like a log I found a recording of the transmissions on 143.625 mc during the first pass in orb. 65199 (0045 UTC). Lazutkin had the middle watch in the Base Block and he reported good results of the recharging of accumulators and the fact that there was GSO-1 (gyro stabilised orientation), a very slow rotation and the complex flew on one side. Later on Lazutkin was in his couch and only the Packet Radio and Telemetry transmitters were active.

Altair-2:

During orbit 65203 Altair-2 showed up again. A signal on 10.825 GHz and on the monitor images of floating cosmonauts, the interior of the Base Block and now and then a glimpse of the damaged Spektr. Also phone in which Foale told that he has to use a list with things he needs for the IVA and components for the Orlan-DMA suit. This list in Russian and he asks for an English translation to make it easier for him in contacts with American experts during training for the IVA and the IVA itself. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

The present crew has been relieved from the task to do the IVA. The announcement was published on 21.07, but contacts between Mir and Earth, for instance in a conversation between Foale and Frank Culbertson made this clear. Another indication was the fact that the preparations for the IVA had been suspended. Foale said that he was a little disappointed for he personally was hoping to do that work, but he thinks it is the right decision politically but also for this crew. Solovyov and Vinogradov will be launched on 5.08 and dock on 7.8.97. Then the present crew has just a week for the transfer of the station. They will return on 14.08.97 in their Soyuz-TM25. At first Foale did not know what to do with himself when he heard of the postponement, but they have been so very busy in the last 2 months that it is good to have some rest and the possibility to get back to the routines.

Science:

Foale's opinion is that his role is changed, for he is there no longer for science, but to help them and to learn and whatever. He values the recent experience. Without the power on the modules you cannot say you are doing active science. If you under these circumstances are saying you are doing the science you would not be telling the truth. He will do all what is possible, for instance with the greenhouse and he will be very busy with towels to absorb condensation water from the walls in the modules.

Eyharts:

This French spacionaute will not join the crew of M.E. 24. It would have been senseless, but also irresponsible. He will get the opportunity to fly with a later expedition.

IVA:

This operation will take place not before 20.08. Before the IVA Solovyov, Vinogradov and Foale will make an autonomous flight with the Soyuz-TM26 to redock this ship from the aft port (+X-axis) to the P.Kh.O. port (-X-axis). During the IVA Foale will be in the Descent Module of Soyuz-TM26 to activate the BO (life compartment) of that ship as an airlock if Solovyov and Vinogradov cannot get airseal in the P.Kh.O. for instance if the new hatch to Spektr is not airtight.

Altair-2:

After the restoration of the power situation of the day before the accident with a computer contact. Altair-2 has been used for TV-contacts, phone, data transmissions and the exchange of service radiograms with Packet Radio.

Radio-amateur activities:

Foale has now time to speak with radio-amateurs via 145.985 mc. He made also contacts with some European amateurs. Via Packet Radio he issued the following status report: Subject: Status: I am having frequent power problems with tnc, and loosing all msgs. Sorry. No supply store is near at hand. I would do anything for a 9 pin serial adapter. Getting ready for next crew, August 7th Mike, KB5UAC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 144.0E Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 144 deg E in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 144.00 deg E drifting at 0.014 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 143.94E drifting at 0.009W degrees per day.

The launch of this ship with on board a crew of 2 for Mir's Main Expedition 24 is still planned for 5.08.1997 at 1535 UTC and if launch and flight go according to plan the docking will take place on 7.08.1997 at 1723 UTC. This time deviates from the normal routine to dock only a few minutes after LOS for the first pass for our position. This time the docking will take place almost 20 minutes later possibly to enable Solovyov and Vinogradov to make a video and/or photo survey of the module Spektr for damage assessment and to see whether Spektr is not the only module that suffered from the blow on 25.06.97. Recently there have been suggestions that there might be more damage than had been supposed initially.

On 6.08.1997, so 1 day after launch of Soyuz-TM26 the freighter Progress-M35, meanwhile fully loaded with trash , will leave the aft (Kvant +X axis) docking port for a 10 days lasting autonomous flight. On 7.08 Soyuz-TM26 has to dock at that port, but after the departure of Soyuz-TM25 with the relieved crew on 14.08.97, Soyuz-TM26 with on board Solovyov, Vinogradov and Foale have to redock at the forward (P.Kh.O. = -X axis) port as soon as possible. This is scheduled for 15.08.97. They can fly around, but also wait until the Mir complex has made a turn of 180 degrees around the Z-axis.

After redocking the Russians have to accept another challenge for already on 16.08.97 Progress-M35 has to redock at the aft (+ X axis) port. This time again in the automatic mode with the reliable system Kurs. There will be no time to recover from the sustained strain for the crew will have to deal with the preparations for the IVA on 20.08.97. If this IVA will be awarded by success TsUP can give green light for an EVA (so a real external one) on 3.09.97 for an inspection of the outer surface of Spektr.

Radio-amateur traffic:

On 145.985 mc Packet Radio could be monitored in which Foale gave the following Mir-status report: TNC frozen again, this time the PMS. Waiting for a replacement with Mir 24, Anatoliy and Pavel, docking on the 7th. Crew is preparing for their arrival, getting Progress loaded with trash, to be undocked before next crew. Greenhousing, but not yet showing cotyledons. Mike. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

The perfect launch took place on 5.08.1997 at 15.35.59 UTC. On board the crew for the 24th Main Exp. to Mir, Anatoliy Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov . Call sign: Rodniki, so Rodnik-1 and Rodnik-2. During the first pass in orb. 2 (1838-1841 UTC) very weak signals on beacon- and telephony frequencies. During the pass in orb. 3 (2007-2011 UTC) very good reception on all frequencies. Solovyov could be heard in a conversation with TsUP. He reported a technical anomaly in the BO (life compartment): a hose (or: tube) was not connected to an air purification unit, which caused an increased amount of CO2 in the mini-atmosphere on board. He told TsUP that he had connected that hose immediately and that the system was functioning normally. Again good signals in the window in orb. 4 (2138-2147 UTC) during which Solovyev repeated his report about that hose.

Mir:

During the passes in the evening of 4.08.1997 the crew reported that they were working on the malfunctioning Elektron oxygen generator in Kvant-1. (The Elektron in Kvant-2 is not operational due to power shortages). During a long communication session via Altair-2 in the morning of 5.08.1997 the crew was still co-ordinating the repair work on the Elektron. After the departure of Progress-M35 for a 10 day lasting autonomous flight lithium perchlorate cartridges have to be used for the production of oxygen. This will be not very convenient during the period in which 5 men are on board (7-14.08.97).

An eventual delay of the Soyuz-TM26 launch due to the problems with the Elektrons has not been taken into consideration.

In MirNEWS.374 I gave an estimated time for the docking of Soyuz-TM26 on 7.08.97 as 1723 UTC. In that report I remarked that this time considerably deviated from the normal routine: dockings a few minutes after LOS of the first pass of both objects for our position. Inquiries in the Ballistic Section of the Keldysh institute of the R.A.N. learned that there had been a misprint in a Russian message about the estimated docking time. The estimated docking time is: 07.08.97 at 1703 UTC, so in accordance with the normal routine.

The supply ship Progress-M35 has to free the docking port (+X-axis) for the arrival of the Soyuz-TM26 and will do this on 6.08.97 at 1144 UTC. The autonomous flight of Progress-M35 will last until 16.08.97. On that day Progress-M35 will dock (in the automatic regime with the system Kurs) at the same docking port after the redocking of Soyuz-TM26 to the forward (-X-axis) the day before. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Deployed and retrieved the CRISTA-SPAS-2 (the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2) designed to study Earth's middle atmosphere. The CRISTA-SPAS-2 was making its second flight on the Space Shuttle and represented the fourth mission in a cooperative venture between the German Space Agency (DARA) and NASA.

CRISTA-SPAS was deployed by the RMS arm at 22:27 GMT on August 7 and was recaptured by Discovery's RMS arm at 15:14 GMT on August 16. Because of unfavorable weather conditions at the primary shuttle landing site at the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery was waved off for its scheduled August 18 landing. STS-85 landed the next day, at Kennedy Space Center at 11:08 GMT.

Technology Applications and Science experiment, mounted in space shuttle bay, from NASA-Goddard's Hitchhiker-M program. TAS-01 used a number of GAS cans with science experiments, including the second flight of the Shuttle Laser Altimeter and an instrument to measure the absolute bolometric flux of the Sun.

Geosynchronous ballistic missile early warning satellite. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 23 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 142.44 deg E drifting at 0.028 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 66.03W drifting at 0.329E degrees per day.

Following a mission that seemed to consist of an endless series of collisions, breakdowns, fires, and other emergencies, the EO-23 crew handed over the station to EO-24 and on August 14 entered Soyuz TM-25 landed in Kazakstan at 12:17 UTC, 170 km SE of Dzezkazgan. The Soyuz landing rockets failed to fire on touchdown, giving one of the roughest landings experienced by a returning Mir crew.

"Mighty Iron Arm Atom" or"Atom Boy" Theme song to Japanese cartoon. There was no Japanese crewmember on this mission, but one of the experiments was a Japanese robot arm, a prototype for the ISS's Japanese Experiment Module, hence this very appropriate music. CAPCOM: Marc Garneau

The redocking of this 'old' supply ship at the Mir complex did not take place on 17.08. During the first 3 passes of both objects it was obvious that Progress-M35 was continuing her autonomous flight. During the second pass the deputy head of mission control, Viktor Blagov, told the crew about changes in the work schedule for the next 2 days. The IVA would remain on schedule for 20.08.97.

Reason postponement: The data for the approach of Progress-M35 today transmitted by TsUP to the Progress-M35 turned out to be wrong and Progress-M35's OBC shut itself off. At deadline for this report the docking of Progress-M35 at Mir was (still) planned for 18.08 at 1257 UTC.

Soyuz-TM26: The redocking of this transport ship from the aft to the forward docking port took place on 15.08.97 between 13.29.20 and 14.13.04 UTC. At 1327 UTC, so just before separation, radio traffic from Soyuz-TM26 via Altair-2 could be heard. The safety clamps of the docking mechanism had been loosened and the program was proceeding according to plan. At 13.29.20 UTC Solovyov reported the separation and the fact that Soyuz-TM26 was slowly moving away from Mir. S. steered Soyuz-TM26 in the manual mode to be able to adjust the attitude of the ship in such a way that Vinogradov and Foale could make good images of the 'damage areas'.

At 13.29.51 UTC Altair-2 transmitted an image of the whole complex seen by a camera of the ship. At 13.35.59 UTC S. reported the proceedings of the flight. He asked Foale whether he already was doing his photo- and video work and asked him for instructions to adjust the ship's attitude for the best images. Communications via Altair-2 ceased at 13.42.58 UTC, but a few minutes later S. could be heard via 121.750 mc (1401-1409 UTC). 4 minutes later S. accomplished a perfect docking at the forward (P.Kh.O. - transition section) port of the complex.

Back on board Mir S. told TsUP that the images they had made were very good and certainly useful for analyses. In a conversation with Earth Foale told that they intended to transmit these images to TsUP on 18.08 and he was sure that TV stations all over the world would retransmit these. (The TV shots which already had been shown by TV stations came from short direct links with Russian tracking stations.)

Elektron: Already on the day of the return of the relieved crew Vinogradov succeeded in restoring the Elektron oxygen generator in Kvant-1. It was very difficult to reach the spot where he had to clean Elektron. A white-brown jelly-like substance had stopped up a pipe inside Elektron and had to be cleaned. After purging this pipe he was able to restart Elektron and after 1 orbit Solovyov reported that Elektron was working normally. As far as could be derived from radio traffic Elektron still does thus far.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 58.0W. Used HS-601 XIPS ion engine for station keeping. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 58 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 156.02 deg W drifting at 1.125 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 26.11E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.

FORTE - 'Fast On-orbit Recording of Transient Events' - was a US Los Alamos National Laboratory satellite designed to study natural and artificial radio emissions from the ionosphere. This data was needed to develop technology for monitoring nuclear test ban treaties. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 10.2W Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 10 deg W in 1997-1998; deg E in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 0.68 deg E drifting at 0.036 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 57.39E drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

Vinogradov worked hard on the deployment of cables from the Spektr hatch to other modules and gradually he succeeded in restoring a part of the power supply for the modules Kvant-2 and Kristall. The 3 undamaged solar panels of Spektr delivered power, but rotation to achieve maximum solar illumination is not yet possible. Solovyov struggled along to keep Elektron in Kvant-1 operational and he also used power for the restoration of the Elektron in Kvant-2. On 25.08 Elektron in Kvant-1 shut itself off and the TGK (the solid fuel oxygen generator) did not work due to a defective firing pin. Before the outbreak of the usual press panic the cosmonauts had already repaired the TGK and Elektron in Kvant-1. The power supply is partly restored in Kvant-2 and Kristall: the lights are burning, the heating functions again and the drying process is going on.

EVA preparations:

Solovyov and Foale were convinced that they would get green light for the EVA on 6.09 and they started the preparations. Several times they donned their Orlan-M suits, checked all systems and took a stock of all the equipment needed for the EVA. Foale saw a film of his EVA training with Budarin in TsPK. He and S. also reviewed the so called 'cyclogram' of the EVA. The training of Foale during which Solovyov was instructor served also as a test to determine whether Foale will be able to do the EVA or not.

Communications:

The Altair-2 is regularly in use for communications between Mir and TsUP. They use this satellite for phone as well as for TV. On 1, 2 and 3.09 they showed images of their training, also with their space suits on, but also now and then video films of the interior and the outer surface of the complex. If on 4.09.1997 a positive decision will be taken the EVA will be made on 6.09.97. Opening of the hatch: 0055 UTC; planned duration 5 hrs 40 mins. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 87.1W Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 87 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 87.12 deg W drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 86.99W drifting at 0.010W degrees per day.

On 22.09 at 0123 UTC the crew was waked up by the alarm signal: Check the SUD (attitude control). When they did they saw that the Ts.V.M.-1, the main computer had switched itself off. Solovyov reported this to TsUP during the pass over here in orbit 66214, 0130-0140 UTC. The first system to be switched was again the oxygen generator Elektron.

During the pass in orb. 66215, 0305-0316 UTC, S. reported that initially the attitude of the complex was not so good. The complex is flying the so called free drift. The supply from the solar panels decreased to a level of 200 Amperes.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Geosynchronous, 52 C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders. Stationed over 21 deg W in 1997-2001. Later assigned to Intelsat subsidiary New Skies, redesignated NSS 5, and moved to 183 deg E to connect North America with all major destinations in the Pacific Rim. As of 2007 Mar 7 located at 177.05W drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

Atlantis was launched on a mission to the Russian Mir space station. The TI rendevous terminal initiation burn was carried out at 17:32 GMT on September 27, and Atlantis docked with the SO (Docking Module) on the Mir complex at 19:58 GMT. The crew exchange was completed on September 28, with David Wolf replacing Michael Foale on the Mir crew. On October 1 cosmonaut Titov and astronaut Parazynski conducted a spacewalk from the Shuttle payload bay while Atlantis was docked to Mir. They retrieved four MEEP (Mir Environmental Effects Payload ) exposure packages from Mir's SO module and installed the Spektr solar array cap. The MEEP experiments had been attached to the Docking Module by astronauts Linda Godwin and Rich Clifford during Shuttle mission STS-76 in March 1996. In addition to retrieving the MEEP, Parazynski and Titov were to continue an evaluation of the Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER), a small jet-backpack designed for use as a type of life jacket during station assembly.

Atlantis undocked from Mir at 17:28 GMT on October 3 and conducted a flyaround focused on the damaged Spektr Module to determine the location of the puncture in its hull. The Mir crew pumped air into the Spektr Module using a pressure regulator valve, and the Shuttle crew observed evidence that, as expected, the leak seemed to be located at the base of the damaged solar panel. Final separation of Atlantis from Mir took place around 20:28 GMT. After two landing attempts were waved off on October 5 due to heavy cloud cover, the crew fired the engines to deorbit at 20:47 GMT on October 6 and landed at Kennedy Space Center at 21:55.

Geosynchronous. Stationed over 61.4W Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 61 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 61.53 deg W drifting at 0.017 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 61.50W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

The communications to and from the Mir during the link-up period of Atlantis and Mir demonstrated what we can expect when of the International Space station the Russian and American segments will be operational. For matters regarding the whole complex the American side will take care for the communications and traffic between the Russian segment and TsUP-M will only concern Russian matters (experiments, maintenance, advice, etc.) The lion's share of the communications went via Atlantis. During windows in which the Mir was able to communicate via Russian tracking facilities they only handled Russian matters. The communications between Mir and Atlantis took place via an intercom system. Sometimes Atlantis also took care of the Packet Radio traffic for Mir. During the link-up Mir seldom used the Altair-2 facility. Images of the approach of Atlantis and the EVA of Parazynski and Titov made from inside Mir were directly transmitted to earth via Russian tracking stations on UHF frequencies. Sometimes the comments on those images went via the VHF channel. On 28.09 Altair-2 was in use for the relay of video-recordings.

Progress-M36:

This freighter blasted off from Baykonur on 5.10.1997 at 15.08.57 UTC. All went well. The Progress-M36 will deliver the normal cargo: water, food, fuel, experiments and a spare computer. Among the repair material is a special glue ('germetik') to be used during the repair of the Spektr. Progress-M36 is expected to dock at Mir's aft docking port (Kvant-1 +X axis) on 7.10 at 1642 UTC.

Transmissions Progress-M36:

On 5.10 during the 3d orbit (1944-1946 UTC) Telemetry was heard in the 165 and 166 mc bands. During the 4th orbit (2114-2119 UTC) the signals in the 165 and 166 mc were very strong. The transmitter on 922.755mc was active during that pass. TCA was at 21.15.54 UTC

Progress-M35:

This old freighter is no longer needed and will separate from Mir on 6.10 at 1124 UTC for a short autonomous flight and decay in the atmosphere over a designated area in the Pacific East of New Zealand at 1424 UTC.

Mini-sputnik:

A small copy of Sputnik-1 will also be delivered by Progress-M36. During the next EVA of Solovyov and Vinogradov on 16.10.1997 this Sputnik will be 'launched' manually. This satellite will send 'bleeps' on a frequency in the 2 Meter amateur band to recall the launch of the first artificial earth satellite on 4.10.1957.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

The undocking of this freighter failed on 6.10 at 1124 UTC. Cause was a human error: the crew had forgotten to remove a clamp from the docking mechanism (the Russian word is 'styazhka', a clamp or spanner to tighten the docking). The Russians decided to postpone the undocking until 7.10. On 7.10.1997 at 12.03.47 UTC Progress-M35 separated from Mir and after a short period in which Progress-M35 hovered at a distance of 10 Meters Progress-M35 moved away for a short autonomous flight. The decay in the atmosphere over a designated area in the Pacific East of New Zealand will take place at 1734 UTC.

Progress-M36:

The docking of this freighter at Mir has been put back until 8.10.1997 at 1713 UTC.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

On 24.10.97 the cables from the vacuum plate to the solar panel interface in the Kristall module had been deployed and after some tests 2 of the 3 still living panels on the Spektr could be turned to the most effective angle towards the sun. Already on 25.10 Solovyov got the first series of instructions for the next 2 spacewalks, EVA's this time, on 3 and 6.11.97. From this day on practically all activities were related to those operations.

On 26.10 Solovyov reported enormous forest fires in the area of Barnaul (Siberia). The crew had discovered the fire already the day before, but now these fires had considerably increased. Along a front of 100 KM the fire moved to the North-West. Solovyov wondered why the media did not give any information about these fires. As of Monday, 27.10, the preparations for the 1st EVA on 3.11.97 began. The crew got comprehensive instructions, i.e. a video-simulation of the operation and a huge amount of documentation.

During the following days they collected and took stock off the equipment needed for the spacewalk and they replaced goods from the airlock and the scientific- and instrument compartment of the Kvant-2 module to other locations in the complex. The crew checked the 2 Orlan M suits and the communication systems during the EVA. On Friday, 31.10, these preparations were concluded during a long communications session via Altair-2 in which TsUP transmitted video images of the areas in which the cosmonauts have to work during the EVA. These areas cannot be fully seen via the portholes of the complex.

During this video session the cosmonauts asked a lot of questions and got additional instructions. The crew also downlinked images of one of the solar panels which did not regularly turn. It sometimes stopped and went on stuttering (Thus far I do not know which panel.)

During radio traffic in orb. 66833 (0918-0926 UTC) the crew spoke with Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, grandson of the famous rocket pioneer Tsiolkovskiy, about the minisputnik PS-2 (also named Sputnik 40 and RS-17), which will be launched by Vinogradov during the EVA on 3.11. The cosmonauts had already checked the transmitters and heard the Blieb Blieb signals. Samburov, the radio-amateur mentor of all cosmonauts, urged them not to forget to switch on the transmitters before deploying the satellite. They have to do that after donning of the spacesuits.

The EVA's:

On 3.11.97, from 0130 UTC (opening hatch) until appr. 0700 UTC. On 6.11.97, from 0030 UTC until appr. 0600 UTC. Don't forget to monitor 145.820 and 145.840 mc for the Sputnik ' Bliebs' during Mir's passes in the morning of 3.11.97.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.