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Power glitch sets Mir crew back

MIR June 27, 1997
Web posted at: 4:02 p.m. EDT (2002 GMT)

(CNN) -- The Russian space station Mir may have free-floated for two full orbits overnight after undergoing what NASA officials described during a news conference as a "power glitch" early Friday morning.

One section of Mir, the Spektr module, was struck by an unmanned cargo ship on Wednesday as the crew practiced docking with the ship. The collision punctured the module, forcing Mir's three crew members to seal it off from the rest of the craft and sever Mir from its most heavily used energy source -- four solar panels attached to Spektr.



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NASA's Shuttle-Mir Program Manager Frank Culbertson said the ship's computer disconnected from the control system overnight, after some critical batteries ran low. The space agencies are still not sure what caused the glitch, but Culbertson said it was possible that a surge protector became saturated or that there was a misconfiguration in the ship's systems.

Astronaut Michael Foale talks to NASA Thursday
icon On the need for personal items ...
AIFF or WAV
(288 K / 19 sec. audio)

"On the status of equipment ..."
AIFF or WAV
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Foale

Asked whether there was a chance the glitch could happen again, Culbertson said, "I suppose the risk is always there, but I suppose they'll watch more closely now."

Colored schematic design of space station Mir

Because of the power failure, NASA describes things on Mir as "more similar than we had planned" to the situation there Thursday. Conditions on Mir are stable, with carbon dioxide levels still within normal limits. Temperatures on the craft were also within normal limits, and humidity was only about 10 percent above normal. Gyrodyne control, which keeps Mir in a consistent orbit around the Earth, should be restored within two days.

Diagram

"If there weren't a depressurized module, it would look more like a minor inconvenience than a major problem," Culbertson said.

Plans are moving ahead to restore power from the disabled module. Russian Space Agency told CNN it plans to launch a cargo craft on July 4 or 5 that will bring the two Russian cosmonauts and NASA astronaut Michael Foale the equipment they need.

Ironically, the craft that would bring the repair equipment is a Progress, the same type that rammed Mir two days ago. Controllers in Moscow say the launch date is not firm because some of the required spare parts, including special adapters for their space suits and a special airtight door device, still need to be manufactured.

MIR

Within 10 days of receiving those tools, the Russian members of the crew would take a so-called "internal spacewalk," donning space suits to enter the depressurized Spektr, and stringing electrical cable from the working solar panels back into Mir's main core. During that time, Foale would wait in Mir's Soyuz escape vessel.

"Guys, it seems you will have to make a sortie to the Spektr module," reporters at Mission Control heard deputy mission chief Sergei Krikalyov say. "And you, Mike, if this happens, will have to sit in the escape capsule."

Animation of collision (QuickTime movie)
video icon 2.7 MB/43 sec./160x120
video icon 3.5 MB/43 sec./320x240
animation by Analytical Graphics.

"It's very problematic," one of the Russians replied.

Neither space program would speculate as to how much longer the men could remain on board. An attached Soyuz capsule could bring them home at any time.

 
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