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Mir-go-round mission completed
Crew videotapes damage before starting repairs
August 15, 1997
Web posted at: 12:14 p.m. EDT (1614 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- Preparing for a vital repair job, the Mir's three-man crew briefly left the station and circled it Friday to videotape the damaged exterior that was punctured during a collision in space seven weeks ago.
The 45-minute trip aboard the Soyuz space capsule -- 240 miles (384 km) above Earth -- was also necessary to move the capsule from one side of Mir to the other to make room for a cargo vessel that will dock with Mir on Sunday.
Soyuz pulled about 50 yards (meters) away from Mir, offering a bird's eye view of the damaged Spektr module.
John Holliman discusses Friday's Mir mission and talks to Norm Thagard, the first astronaut to live on Mir.
Mission Control officials said cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov had directed the Soyuz manually. U.S. astronaut Michael Foale videotaped the hull of the Spektr, and the footage should help the crew and ground controllers evaluate the damage and plan for its repair.
"I didn't see anything significant, but I hope the footage will be good," Foale told Deputy Mission Control chief Viktor Blagov at Korolyov outside Moscow.
The Spektr module was damaged in a collision with a cargo ship on June 25, the most serious accident in Mir's 11 years in orbit. Redocking the Soyuz near the Spektr means the cosmonauts will be able to make a quick escape if anything goes wrong during risky repairs to fix the damage. The repairs include sealing the Spektr.
Foale, Solovyov and cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov had to crowd into the tight quarters aboard the capsule, because no one is ever left on Mir without an emergency vehicle that can return to Earth.
Soyuz, traveling at just a few feet per second, undocked from Mir about 9:25 a.m. EDT (1325 GMT), moving halfway around the Mir and redocking on the opposite side of the sprawling space station about 10:10 a.m. EDT (1410 GMT).
Next: Spacewalks
Solovyov and Vinogradov plan at least two spacewalks in coming weeks. The first, on August 20, will be an "internal spacewalk" into the airless Spektr module to reconnect power cables to the module's solar panels.
If successful, it should give the Mir 90 percent or more of its normal power supply. The station has been running on half power since the June collision, when the power cables were intentionally disconnected in order to seal off the Spektr module.
The second spacewalk, outside the station, aims to pinpoint and patch up the holes in the Spektr.
Several more spacewalks may be needed to complete the job, depending on the location and severity of the ruptures. Space officials believe the module has one or two holes.
The crew's brief voyage around Mir on Friday came one day after Russian cosmonauts Vasily Tsibliyev and Alexander Lazutkin returned to Earth after more than six months aboard the trouble-plagued space station.
They were reported in good condition as they began a battery of post-flight tests and a review of their mission.
Correspondent John Holliman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
· MIR MAIN PAGE · RELATED SITES · HISTORY ·
· TIMELINE · GALLERY · SOYUZ · CREW · REPAIR MISSION ·
Related stories:
- Mir cosmonauts prepare to return home - August 13, 1997
- Tough spacewalks, repairs await new Mir crew - August 8, 1997
- New crew makes it to Mir - August 7, 1997
Related sites:
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- American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology
- Russian Space Science Internet
- Russian Space Research Insstitute (IKI)
- NASA Shuttle-Mir Web
- Keith's MIR Page
- ISS Phase I - Space Station Mir
- Russian Space Agency
- MIR Space Station - Maximov Online
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