Crucial Mir repairs delayed

July 4, 1997
Web posted at: 8:50 a.m. EDT (1250 GMT)

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Crucial repairs on the damaged Mir space station have been put off until July 17 or 18, a week later than originally planned, Russian space officials said Friday.

The delay is needed to give the three-man crew additional time to practice with repair equipment that is being sent to Mir on a cargo ship, according to Vera Medvedkova, spokeswoman at Russia's Mission Control.

The cargo ship is to be launched Saturday from the former Soviet republic of Kazakstan and is to dock with Mir on Monday.

The ship will contain the cables and other supplies the crew needs for the repairs when they go into the Spektr module, which was punctured on June 25 when a cargo ship rammed into the aging space station.

The cables are to be reattached to Spektr's now-idle solar batteries to provide additional power to Mir.

The space station has been running on reduced power since the collision, and raising the energy level is the top priority of Russian and U.S. space officials.

A L S O : How Mir's gyrodynes work

Medvedkova said the delay did not reflect any new problems with the Mir. But flight controllers decided it would take longer than originally expected for the crew to become familiar with the equipment.

Meanwhile, the crew on the Mir worked Friday to fix a problem with the gyroscopes that orient the spacecraft toward the sun. The system was shut down Thursday for the second time since last week's collision.

The crew has located the problem, but it will still take a while to bring the system back up, Russian space officials said.

The 11 gyroscopes, called gyrodynes, orient Mir so its solar panels can soak up the sun's energy. Without them, Mir has to fire its thrusters periodically to reorient itself.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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• Debate brews: Should Mir project continue? - June 26, 1997
• Mir -- repair it or abandon it? - June 26, 1997
• Crippled Mir turns to sun for needed solar energy - June 26, 1997
• Mir has 3-man 'lifeboat' ready - June 25, 1997
• Mir's woes raise doubts about U.S.-Russian cooperation - June 25, 1997
• Mir at half power after collision - June 25, 1997
• No plans to abandon Mir - June 25, 1997
• Russian supply ship collides with space station Mir - June 25, 1997

Related sites:

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• NASA Shuttle-Mir Web
  information about the Mir Space station is provided by NASA
  • Spektr - section of the space station that was hit
• MIR Space Station - Radio Transmit Info
  includes information about how to transmit and receive communications with MIR through amateur radio
• ISS Phase I - Space Station Mir
  contains graphics and specifications of the diferent areas of MIR
• Russian Space Agency
  homepage of the Russian Space Agency through the NASA site
  • Pictures and Movies
    contains pictures of MIR and MIR missions as released by the Russian Space Agency

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