Mir Mission Status Reports
Mir-24 - Week of August 29, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center, Korolev, Russia
Friday, August 29, 1997
As of late Friday afternoon, Moscow time, Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut Mike Foale were continuing maintenance work on a second Elektron oxygen-generating system in the Kvant-2 module of the Mir Space Station as they prepare to activate that system to provide additional oxygen- generating capacity for the Russian complex.
The Elektron in Kvant-2 has been off since the module lost power on June 25 following the collision of a Progress resupply ship and the Mir. The Elektron system in Kvant-1 and a backup system using solid-fuel oxygen-generating candles continue to function normally. All other environmental systems on the Mir are also functioning normally.
Russian flight controllers reported today that the restoration of electrical power from the Spektr modules solar arrays has resulted in up to 47 amps of electricity for the Kvant-2 module and up to 100 amps of power for the Kristall module. Russian officials continue to explore options for the recovery of the pointing system for the Spektr arrays, which is currently not operating.
Russian space officials announced today that the external spacewalk planned for next Wednesday to examine exterior damage to the Spektr module from the June 25th collision will be delayed a few days, possibly until September 6, to give the cosmonauts more time to review procedures and proposed timelines. Foale, who is being considered by NASA officials as a possible participant in the spacewalk with Solovyev, is scheduled to conduct suited on-orbit training for the spacewalk on Tuesday, according to Chief Flight Director Vladimir Solovyev. A final date for the spacewalk, and a final decision on who will participate, will be made during a joint readiness review by U.S. and Russian managers next week. A date for that review is under discussion, but could be Thursday.
Foale has begun his 16th week aboard the Mir. He is scheduled to be replaced by U.S. astronaut David Wolf in late September, who will be launched to the Mir with the STS-86 crew aboard Atlantis. Wolf has returned to the U.S. to complete the final phase of his training for his four-month mission aboard the Russian outpost.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
Mir
Increment
_________________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of September 12, 1997
Mir-24 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
September 12, 1997On Tuesday - less than 24 hours after a component failure in the Motion Control System main computer on the Mir Space Station caused the complex to lose its automatic orientation to the sun - all systems were regained and the station was on automatic gyrodyne control for attitude. Unlike previous incidents of this nature, the Mir's batteries never lost electrical charge. The cosmonauts replaced the central processing unit of the Motion Control System main computer with a spare. After the new unit was installed, the computer was rebooted and the electrically- powered gyrodynes were reactivated, placing the Mir in its normal operating configuration.
Mir's crewmembers, Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut Mike Foale spent the week working on routine maintenance of some Mir systems; drying out the Priroda module; and reconnecting cables in order to route power to Priroda.
The crew installed a new fluid unit in the back-up Elektron oxygen generating unit in the Kvant-2 module. The old fluid unit will be returned to Earth on STS-86 in a few weeks. Additional maintenance work on the second Elektron unit will continue when a new control board is brought to the station in early October on the next Progress resupply vehicle. This Elektron has been off since the June 25th collision of another Progress with Mir. The Russians hope to use this unit in addition to the Elektron oxygen-generating unit in Kvant-1 which has been operating normally.
Other systems work included replacing the water purification and water conditioning units on the Condensate Recovery System used to produce drinkable water from condensate collected from Mir's atmosphere.
Due to power constraints after the collision, the systems in the Priroda module had been turned off, and condensate has collected in the module. Since power has been regained after the Aug. 22 internal spacewalk, systems have been reactivated, and earlier in the week the crew was able to direct air through ducts from other modules to dry out the Priroda module. Later, some cables were connected to route power from the Spektr solar arrays to the Priroda module. Crew members hope to reactivate systems in Priroda and resume some experiment operations next week. Shortly after the internal spacewalk, power was restored to the Kvant-2 and Krystall module. Once power is restored to Priroda experiments next week, all the repowering of the Mir modules will be complete.
Also, this week Foale was able to resume science experiments. On Tuesday, Foale had a teleconference with scientists working on the greenhouse experiment explaining the growth of the plants from the earth seeds and second generation space seeds, as well as answering questions. Foale also photographed samples for the Colloidal Gelation (CGEL) experiment, which studies the fundamental properties of small solid particles suspended in fluid in a microgravity environment. If systems are successfully reactivated in the Priroda module next week, Foale will test the science equipment and prepare the module for his replacement, scheduled to be U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf.
Foale is ending his seventeenth week aboard the Mir. He is scheduled to be replaced by Wolf in late September, who will be launched to the Mir with the STS-86 crew aboard Atlantis.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of September 19, 1997
Mir-24 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
September 19, 1997As of late Friday afternoon, Moscow time, the Mir Space Station was operating on automatic gyrodyne control for its orientation to the sun after a component failure in the Motion Control System main computer on the Mir complex late Sunday. Russian officials reported that 10 gyrodynes were spinning normally to maintain the proper attitude for the complex. Russian flight controllers were in the process of beginning to activate an eleventh gyrodyne late today.
All of the Mir's environmental systems are operating normally and power has been restored to the Kvant-2, Priroda and Kristall modules, whose systems were shut down in the wake of the computer glitch for about 48 hours. The computer problem was isolated to two of three faulty channels in the Mir's computer. Only two channels are necessary for the computer to work properly. Mir's crewmembers, Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut Mike Foale repaired the computer by combining components from the station's central data processing unit and the backup central processing unit to form a single working computer.
It is expected that the Space Shuttle Atlantis will carry a new computer for the Mir into orbit late next week on the STS-86 mission to deliver astronaut Dave Wolf to the station to replace Foale. A Russian Progress resupply ship scheduled for launch in early October will bring up a second new computer for the Mir as a backup.
Due to power constraints aboard the Mir after the collision of a Progress vehicle in June, the systems in the Priroda module had been turned off. Thermal control and ventilation systems in module have now been reactivated. The cosmonauts hope to restore experiments in the Priroda next week in advance of Wolf's arrival onboard.
Foale was able to continue and complete some of his science actvities this week as he prepares to become a shuttle crewmember once again. Foale planted the next generation of Brassica Rapa, a mustard plant in the Greenhouse experiment. Foale concluded the Colloidal Gelation (CGEL) experiment, which studies the fundamental properties of small solid particles suspended in fluid in a microgravity environment.
Earlier today, the cosmonauts held a conversation with Atlantis' astronauts to review aspects of their upcoming joint mission. Both sides said they were looking forward to docking and the start of six days of combined science and logistical transfer work.
The launch of Atlantis is currently scheduled for Thursday night at 9:34 p.m. CDT. Docking is planned for Saturday afternoon, September 27.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
Mir-24 - Week October 10, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
October 10, 1997As of mid-afternoon Moscow time today, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were functioning normally in support of the first full week of scientific investigations by the newest member of the Mir-24 crew, U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf.
Along with his crewmates, Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov, Wolf conducted a variety of experiments, mostly involved in biomedical studies, and watched as a new Progress resupply ship docked with the Mir on Wednesday. The Progress carried 1.7 tons of supplies for the station, including a backup Motion Control System (MCS) computer, science hardware, fresh food, 100 liters of water, and one ton of fuel. The new MCS computer will serve as a backup to the one that was brought up on the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the STS-86 mission. Another Progress resupply craft will not be needed for the Mir until after the STS-89 mission in January, the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking flight.
The crew also spent the week performing routine maintenance on various Mir systems. The cosmonauts replaced older batteries in the Core Module and the Kvant-2 module with new batteries brought up on Atlantis, and rearranged other batteries in the modules to insure that the batteries are fully charged. The crew also performed some routine work on the urine recovery system. The crew will assemble a new backup solid fuel oxygen generator in the days ahead and will also perform maintenance work on the Mir's gyrodyne systems. Solovyev and Vinogradov also began their initial preparations for a second planned internal spacewalk into the Spektr module on October 20, which is designed to try and recover additional power from Spektr's functioning solar arrays by restoring the array's gimbaling, or swiveling, capability.
Wolf's four-month science mission began with activity involving several different science facilities and experiments, including the Canadian Protein Crystallization Experiment (CAPE), the Optical Properties Monitor (OPM) facility, the Mir Structural Dynamics Experiment (MiSDE), and the Thermal Electric Freezer (TEF) facility. CAPE will analyze the crystalline structure of 32 proteins, in an effort to improve drug development and design. Wolf collected data during the undocking of the old Progress vehicle and the docking of the new Progress for the Mir Structural Dynamics Experiment (MiSDE). The MiSDE experiment measures the dynamic forces exerted on the Mir by vehicular dockings, thruster firings, and crew activity. The data from MiSDE will be used to verify force functions, dynamic models, and structural loads for the International Space Station.
Wolf is nearing the start of his third week as a Mir crewmember. He is in the midst of a four-month mission that will end in January when he is replaced by Andy Thomas who will be carried into orbit aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard the Mir since August 7, and will not return to Earth until February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
____________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of October 17, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
October 17, 1997As of mid-afternoon Moscow time today, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were functioning normally. Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov donned their space suits today for a dry-run of Monday's internal spacewalk into the Spektr module. U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf was in the Soyuz capsule during the practice session, just as he will be for the planned five and a half hour spacewalk.
On Sunday afternoon, U.S. time, Solovyev, Vinogradov and Wolf will wake up and begin preparations for their internal spacewalk. Early Monday, the crew will begin closing the hatches to the Kristall, Kvant-2 and Priroda modules. Just before 4:00 a.m. CDT Monday, with Wolf inside the Soyuz, Solovyev and Vinogradov will close the hatch from the Core Module to the transfer node, and will open the hatch to the depressurized Spektr module begin the second internal spacewalk in two months. The goal of the spacewalk is to increase power generation from the Spektr solar arrays. Due to a faulty avionics box inside Spektr, the solar arrays are unable to move, or gimbal, to correctly track the Sun as the Mir Space Station orbits the Earth. To remedy this problem, the crew will disconnect solar array cables attached to the avionics box inside Spektr and run the cables through the hermetic plate that was installed on the Spektr hatch in late August. At a later date, the crew will attach cables from the hermetic plate to an avionics box inside the Kristall module. If the operation is successful, the Spektr's three undamaged solar arrays should again be able to move to follow the Sun, thus maximizing power generation for the complex. The spacewalk should end about 9:30 a.m. CDT Monday.
The crew also spent the week performing routine maintenance on various Mir systems and unloading the Progress resupply ship, which arrived last week. The crew installed a new control unit on the Elektron oxygen generating unit in the Kvant-2 module. Earlier in the week, the Elekton in the Kvant-1 module and the Elektron in the Kvant-2 module were running simultaneously to increase the partial pressure of oxygen in the station in preparation for Monday's internal spacewalk. For normal operations, only one Elektron unit is needed. Late last week, the crew installed a new drive unit on one of the gyrodynes on the Kvant-2 module. The station is currently operating on 11 gyrodynes for automatic attitude control (8-9 gyrodynes are needed to maintain attitude control).
Wolf continued his four-month science mission with activity involving several different science facilities and experiments, including the Canadian Protein Crystallization Experiment (CAPE), Biotechnology of 3-Dimensional Tissue Engineering (BIO3D), Fundamental Biology Active Dosimetry of Charged Particles (CHAPAT), and Test of Portable Computer System (TPCS). CAPE will analyze the crystalline structure of 32 proteins in an effort to improve drug development and design. BIO3D experiment will examine basic cell-to-cell interactions and will investigate their role in the formation of functional tissue. The CHAPAT experiment will allow investigators to conduct real time radiation monitoring aboard the Mir.
Wolf is nearing the start of his second month as a Mir crewmember. His mission will end in January when he is replaced by U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, to be carried into orbit aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission as the last U.S. astronaut scheduled to occupy the Russian outpost during the Phase One program. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7, and will return to Earth onboard the Soyuz vehicle next February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
____________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of October 24, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
October 24, 1997As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems on the Mir Space Station were functioning normally, as Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov, and U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf completed their reconfiguration of station components in the wake of an internal spacewalk on Monday by Solovyev and Vinogradov.
The excursion by the two Russian cosmonauts back into the depressurized Spektr module was designed to redirect cables from the Spektr solar array avionics box to a similar avionics box in the Kristall module, enabling the arrays to once again track the Sun as the Mir orbits the Earth every 90 minutes. Due to an inoperative avionics box in Spektr because of its exposure to vacuum conditions, the undamaged arrays on the module were unable to move to follow the Sun. During the 6-hour, 38-minute procedure, the cosmonauts were able to connect two out of three of the cables to the hermaplate on Spektr's hatch, but were unable to connect the third array, the fishtail array on the Kristall side of the station, because of access and reach constraints. That array will still generate power for the Mir, but will not be able to be moved.
Yesterday, Solovyev and Vinogradov completed the cable connection to the Kristall avionics mechanism and reported that the two arrays that were hooked up through the Spektr's hermaplate had regained their ability to point toward the Sun. Russian flight controllers said that should increase power to the station by an additional 15-30%. Wolf stayed in the Soyuz capsule during the internal spacewalk, monitoring Soyuz systems and conducting Earth observation photography. The cosmonauts spent the rest of the week reactivating Mir systems and the other station modules.
Solovyev and Vinogradov are scheduled to conduct two more spacewalks in early November, this time outside the Mir, to replace an aging solar array on the Kvant-1 module with a new array currently housed in a compartment on the side of the Mir's Docking Module and to conduct preparatory work for the ultimate installation of a second carbon dioxide removal system inside the station.
Wolf spent the remainder of his week resuming a host of scientific experiments dealing with biomedical research and physiological studies. Wolf is about to begin his second month as a Mir crewmember. He is in the midst of a four-month mission that will end in January when he is replaced by U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission. Wolf will return to Earth in late January as part of the STS-89 crew. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard the Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of October 31, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
October 31, 1997As of early evening, Moscow time, all systems on the Mir Space Station were functioning normally. Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov, and U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf have completed preparations for two spacewalks planned by the Russians next week.
The week began with the partial retraction of the solar array on the Kvant-1 module. This was performed by the crew from within the Mir station. Wolf will send commands from inside the Core Module to retract the rest of the solar array panels during the five and a half hour spacewalk by Solovyev and Vinogradov, which is scheduled to begin Sunday night, U.S. time. The aging but still functional array on the Kvant-1 module will be replaced by a new array during Thursday's additional spacewalk. The new array is currently housed in a compartment on the side of the Mir's Docking Module, having been delivered to the station by the STS-74 astronauts during the second Shuttle-Mir docking mission two years ago. Yesterday, the crew performed a suited dry run of this spacewalk.
Vinogradov also plans to release a replica of the first Sputnik satellite during the spacewalk. Sputnik was launched by the former Soviet Union on October 4, 1957 to begin the space era. The activity commemorates the 40th anniversary of Sputnik.
In addition to the array work during their spacewalks, Solovyev and Vinogradov will install equipment outside the Mir that will set the stage for the implementation of a second carbon dioxide removal system inside the station. The second carbon dioxide removal system will be installed in the Core Module.
Wolf spent the week conducting a host of scientific experiments dealing with biomedical research and physiological studies. Wolf's science mission activity involved work with several different facilities and experiments, including the Canadian Protein Crystallization Experiment (CAPE), the Fundamental Biology Active Dosimetery of Charged Particles (CHAPAT) experiment, and the Biotechnology of 3-Dimensional Tissue Engineering (BIO 3D). CAPE will analyze the crystalline structure of 32 proteins, in an effort to improve drug development and design. The CHAPAT experiment monitors the radiation aboard the station.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Wolf cast the first election ballot from orbit under an electronic mail system developed between officials of the Shuttle-Mir Phase One program at the Johnson Space Center, the NASA operations team at the Russian Mission Control Center, and the County Clerk's office in Harris County, Texas, where Wolf resides.
Wolf is beginning his sixth week as a Mir crewmember. He is in the midst of a four-month mission that will end in January when he is replaced by U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission. Wolf will return to Earth in late January as part of the STS-89 crew. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard the Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of November 7, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
November 7, 1997As of early evening, Moscow time, all systems on the Mir Space Station were functioning normally at the end of a week which saw Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov complete two successful spacewalks this week.
The crew accomplished a number of tasks during the two spacewalks Monday and Thursday, including the removal and replacement of an aging solar array on the Kvant-1 module with a new solar array that was housed in a compartment on the Mir's Docking Module. That array and another previously installed on the Mir, were delivered to the Russian outpost on the second Shuttle-Mir docking mission, STS-74, two years ago. Chief Russian Flight Director Vladimir Solovyev reported that the new solar array is working well, producing an additional 103 amperes of power for the Mir station. Ground controllers expect that the panel will produce its rated power of 130 amps next week, when they will re-establish its ability to track the Sun as the Mir orbits the Earth.
With U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf helping to choreograph the spacewalks from inside the Mir's Core Module, Solovyev and Vinogradov also installed a device on the outside of the module that will enable the crew to hook up an additional Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system for the station. At the beginning of Monday's spacewalk, Vinogradov commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the launching of the first Sputnik satellite by manually deploying a replica of the Sputnik as part of a joint project between Russian and French high school students. The final task for Solovyev and Vinogradov was to retrieve a panel from an old and disconnected solar array on the side of the Core Module. The segment of the array will be returned on the shuttle Endeavour on the STS-89 mission in January and analyzed for micrometeoroid damage.
For Solovyev, this week's excursions outside the Mir were the thirteenth and fourteenth spacewalks of his five tours of duty on the Russian outpost. He has conducted five spacewalks during this current mission. Vinogradov, in his first flight in space, has now conducted four spacewalks.
A minor problem repressurizing the exterior airlock of the Kvant-2 module following Monday's spacewalk was apparently solved Thursday after the second spacewalk when Solovyev and Vinogradov tightened clamps and latches around the circumference of the hatch to hold pressure. Russian flight controllers expect to give the cosmonauts the green light to slowly repressurize the exterior airlock to its full pressure over the next few days. Solovyev and Vinogradov used an interior compartment as a backup airlock to stage Thursday's spacewalk, reporting no problems executing all of their objectives.
With the two spacewalks behind them, the cosmonauts were given the weekend off to relax before resuming scientific research and routine maintenance activities on Monday.
Wolf is beginning his seventh week as a Mir crewmember. He is in the midst of a four-month mission that will end in January when he is replaced by U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission. Wolf will return to Earth in late January as part of the STS-89 crew. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard the Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of November 14, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
November 14, 1997The crew aboard the Mir Space Station this afternoon restored power to the Core Module after an interruption at approximately 12:00 noon (CST). The power loss occurred during a test of the newly installed solar array on Kvant-1, and resulted in the shutdown of the Motion Control System computer.
Fully charged batteries from the Krystall module were transferred to the Base Block to replace its depleted batteries. The action restored power to the Motion Control System computer located in the Core Module, which controls 5 of the 11 gyrodynes that provide attitude control to Mir.
Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov will spend the night monitoring systems aboard the Mir. U.S. astronaut David Wolf will assist in the recovery of Mir systems, but his scientific research was temporarily interrupted by the brief power outage.
Following the spacewalk on Monday, November 3 (the first of last week's two spacewalks; the second took place on November 6), there was minor problem repressurizing the exterior airlock of the Kvant-2 module. A slow leak still exists in spite of efforts by Solovyev and Vinogradov during the second spacewalk to tighten clamps and latches around the circumference of the hatch to hold pressure. Flight controllers on the ground will continue to assess the situation next week. This situation poses no danger to the station, since the hatch door on the science and instrumentation compartment behind the airlock is providing an air-tight seal. Russian Mission Control reports that this will have no impact on future spacewalks planned for early December and January.
There was increased solar activity November 4-9, during that period, and subsequently, Mission Control in Moscow and NASA have been closely monitoring the radiation aboard the station. The solar particle event did not pose any hazard to the crew, nor were the crew's activities restricted due to this event.
Also this week, Solovyev and Vinogradov performed routine maintenance on the urine recycling system. The crew also replaced a pump on a technical cooling loop in the Krystall module. The loop provides cooling capability for the Optizon furnace, which is used for materials science experiments. The Spektr solar array that initially was not accepting solar tracking commands prior to the spacewalk can now be pointed toward the Sun by controllers on the ground. The solar array still does not track the Sun automatically, but now accepts solar tracking commands.
Wolf continued his four-month science mission with activity involving several different science facilities and experiments. This week Wolf completed the Canadian Protein Crystallization Experiment (CAPE), which analyzed the crystalline structure of 32 proteins in an effort to improve drug development and design. Half the samples were subjected to the micro-accelerations due to crew movement and hardware activities. The second half of the samples were placed on the Canadian Space Agency's Microgravity Isolation Mount (MIM). The MIM dampens or isolates the crystals from the micro-accelerations aboard the station. By comparing the growth of the two sets of crystals, scientists hope learn more about the effects of micro-accelerations and isolation on the growth of crystals.
Wolf is midway through his four-month mission, which will end in January when he is replaced by U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission. Wolf will return to Earth in late January as part of the STS-89 crew. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard the Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of November 21, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
November 21, 1997As of Friday afternoon, Moscow time, systems aboard the Mir Space Station were functioning in good fashion after a brief power loss in the Core Module a week ago during a test of one of the Mir's solar arrays on the Mir Space Station. The glitch occurred during a test of the U.S.-Russian Cooperative Solar array on Kvant-1, and resulted in the shutdown of the Motion Control System computer. The test involved disconnecting, measuring, and connecting multiple solar cells on the Cooperative Solar array. The Cooperative Solar Array was delivered to Mir in November 1995 by the Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-74, the second Shuttle-Mir docking mission. This array is similar to the arrays that will be used on the International Space Station, and Friday's test was performed to calculate the degradation of the solar array over the last year.
Over the weekend the crew recharged batteries, reinitialized the Motion Control Computer, and spun up the gyrodynes that provide the Station's attitude control. By Monday, the station's attitude was being controlled by eleven gyrodynes. A scheduled second test of the Cooperative Solar Array was successfully performed on Thursday evening, November 20.
The primary task for the Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov this week has been the installation of a new Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system in the Mir Core Module. This Vozdukh will be a backup to the unit currently functioning on Mir. During two previous spacewalks, on November 3 and 6, Solovyev and Vinogradov installed a cap on the outside of the Core module to allow the venting of carbon dioxide from the new Vozdukh.
Next week, the crew will also perform some maintenance on the second Elektron oxygen generating system in the Kvant-2 module. Russian ground controllers believe that a sensor may be clogged, causing the Elektron to shut off from time to time. The crew was instructed to remove and clean the sensor next week. The Elektron in Kvant-1 has been operating normally with no impact to mission operations.
U.S. Astronaut David Wolf has been helping his crewmates with systems activities aboard Mir, as well as continuing his science program. Wolf spent time with the Biotechnology 3-Dimensional (BIO3D) tissue engineering experiment and the Fundamental Biology Active Dosimetry of Charged Particles experiment (CHAPAT). The BIO3D experiment examines basic cell-to-cell interactions, investigates their role in the formation of functional tissue. The CHAPAT experiment will allow investigators to monitor real time radiation levels aboard the Mir. The Interferometer Protein Crystal Growth (IPCG) experiment had to be temporarily suspended due to a leak in a test cell which occurred last Monday. The experiment will resume once the cause of the leak is better understood and fixed. The IPCG studies the mechanisms of protein crystal growth in the microgravity environment.
Wolf is beginning the ninth week of his four-month mission which will end in January when he is replaced by U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission. Wolf will return to Earth in late January as part of the STS-89 crew. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of November 28, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
November 28, 1997As of Friday afternoon Moscow time, all systems were functioning normally aboard the Mir Space Station after an interruption in Mir's Motion Control System (MCS) computer, which caused a temporary loss of automatic attitude control on November 21. Russian flight controllers traced the problem to a failure of the three channels that supply data from the MCS computer to the Mir's electronically operated gyrodynes. While the problem was being fixed, Mir's crew powered down all nonessential systems to conserve electrical power.
Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov exchanged the faulty MCS computer with a unit that was brought up on the last Progress resupply vehicle, which was launched October 5. Since the Mir's batteries did not drain before the gyrodynes spun down following the computer glitch, the crew was able to replace and reinitialize the MCS computer and spin up the gyrodynes almost immediately. By late Saturday, the station was back on automatic gyrodyne control. Mir's attitude is currently being controlled by 11 gyrodynes. The computer that failed Friday was a refurbished model brought up by the STS-86 astronauts on the last Shuttle-Mir docking mission.
onboard Mir, U.S. astronaut David Wolf and his crewmates received holiday greetings yesterday on Thanksgiving Day from NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, who wished the Mir-24 crew a safe mission. Solovyev and Vinogradov also wished Mr. Goldin and his family a healthy holiday season.
Earlier this week, U.S. and Russian officials jointly agreed that the next two spacewalks aboard the Mir Station will be tentatively scheduled for January 5 and 9. The first spacewalk will be conducted to install a new seal to the leaking Kvant-2 exterior airlock hatch and secure the damaged solar array on the Spektr module. The second spacewalk is designed to retrieve a U.S. experiment, the Optical Properties Monitor (OPM), which was deployed during astronaut Jerry Linenger's spacewalk outside the Mir back on April 29. OPM has examined the degradation of different materials when they are exposed to the space environment. The materials are being tested for possible use on the International Space Station. OPM is scheduled to return on the next Space Shuttle mission to Mir, STS-89, scheduled in January 1998.
Wolf has been helping his crewmates with system activities aboard Mir, as well as continuing his science program. This week he began an investigation that measures bone loss during long-term spaceflight. Previous studies have shown that long-duration exposure to the microgravity environment causes a gradual loss in total bone mineral. This condition mimics osteoporosis, a medical condition characterized by brittle bones. By learning more about the process of bone mineral loss and recovery, researchers hope to be able to develop more effective treatments for those who suffer from bone disorders on Earth.
Wolf is beginning the tenth week of his four-month mission, which will end in January when he is replaced by U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-89 mission. Wolf will return to Earth in late January as part of the STS-89 crew. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of December 5, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-5 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
December 5, 1997As of Friday afternoon, Moscow time, all systems were functioning normally aboard the Mir Space Station. The station's attitude is currently being controlled by 11 gyrodynes and work continues onboard the Russian outpost in the name of scientific research.
Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov spent some time this week troubleshooting leaks in a backup cooling loop aboard the Mir. The KOB- 2 loop is redundant to the KOB-1 loop, which is used to cool major components in the Core Module, such as air conditioner equipment and the Antares satellite transmitter. Once leak detection efforts are completed, repairs will be made to the backup loop. No ethylene glycol has been released into the Mir's atmosphere and the troubleshooting work has had no impact on other activities.
U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf has been helping his crew mates with systems work aboard Mir, as well as continuing his science program. This week he concluded the Biotechnology 3-Dimensional (BIO-3D) tissue engineering experiment. The BIO-3D experiment examines basic cell-to-cell interactions, and investigates their role in the formation of functional tissue. In microgravity cells can congregate in their natural three- dimensional formation, thus providing a better research model for cellular development than cells that develop in laboratories on Earth.
Wolf's replacement, Dr. Andy Thomas, successfully completed his training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside Moscow, this week for his launch in January as the final U.S. astronaut scheduled to occupy the Mir. Thomas successfully concluded a battery of tests on all systems of the Mir Station. Today, the Russian Chief Medical Commission officially certified Thomas for his planned four- month research flight. This weekend, Thomas, and his backup, astronaut Jim Voss, will return to the United States to conclude their training for Endeavour's launch on the STS- 89 mission in mid-January. Wolf, who was launched on September 25, will return on Endeavour as a member of the STS-89 crew.
Wolf is beginning the eleventh week of his four-month research mission. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of December 12, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-6 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
December 12, 1997As of Friday afternoon, Moscow time, all systems were functioning normally aboard the Mir Space Station. The three crewmembers spent the week conducting routine maintenance work, science investigations and preparations for next week's undocking of the Progress resupply vehicle and the subsequent deployment of a joint Russian-German satellite called Inspekter.
Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov released additional oxygen into the station from the tanks aboard the Progress and loaded refuse into the vehicle for its planned jettison from the Mir next Wednesday. A new Progress resupply ship is scheduled to be launched to the Mir around the third week of December with a docking two days later. Shortly after the old Progress is undocked from the Mir next Wednesday, the Inspekter will be deployed from the Progress hatch. Inspekter is designed to perform a visual survey of the Mir as it orbits at a relatively close, but safe distance away. A television camera mounted on the Inspekter satellite will transmit images to a portable personal computer on the Mir. If this initial engineering test is successful, upgraded versions of Inspekter may be used in the future to support exterior mounted experiments and to provide external views of the station for maintenance evaluation. After it is deployed, Inspekter will initially orbit the Progress resupply vehicle, then be maneuvered to an elliptical orbit around the station for almost a full day. Inspekter will then separate from the Mir.
U.S. astronaut Dave Wolf has been helping his crewmates with systems work aboard Mir, as well as continuing his science program. This week he performed a host of biology and life sciences experiments, among them, an investigation to study and compare the human body's ability to produce antibodies to fight illness in a microgravity environment with the body's ability to produce antibodies on the Earth. Previous research has indicated that some of the human body's immune responses appear to be suppressed during long duration space flight. Understanding the effects of space flight on human body's immune system may be important in protecting the health of future space travelers on long duration flights.
Wolf is nearing the end of the third month of his four-month research mission. Wolf's flight was extended five days earlier this week with the adjustment of the launch date of Endeavour on the STS-89 docking mission to the Mir to January 20. The joint decision by U.S. and Russian officials to delay the launch by a few days will allow Wolf additional time to complete his science program on Mir and enable the Mir-24 crewmembers to complete three spacewalks planned in late December and early January. The first spacewalk on December 30 will be conducted by Solovyev and Vinogradov to repair a leak in the exterior airlock hatch on the Kvant-2 module. The second spacewalk on January 5 by the two Russians will be to secure the damaged Spektr solar array and to install handrails on the depressurized Spektr module for possible spacewalks in the future to continue Spektr's refurbishment.
The third spacewalk, scheduled for January 12, will be conducted by Solovyev and possibly Wolf to retrieve science gear left outside the Mir by U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger during his Mir spacewalk on April 29. Although Wolf has been approved for on-orbit training for the spacewalk, final approval for him to conduct the extravehicular activity is still being discussed and a final decision is not expected until the first week of January following a joint U.S.-Russian readiness review.
U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on STS-89 to replace Wolf in late January as the final American to occupy the Mir, is in final training back at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February after handing over Mir operations to a replacement crew, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin. They are scheduled to be launched at the end of January with a French cosmonaut, Leopold Eyharts, who will represent the French space agency CNES on a three-week research mission. Eyharts will return to Earth with Solovyev and Vinogradov.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of December 19, 1997
Mir-24/NASA-6 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
December 19, 1997As of Friday afternoon, Moscow time, all systems were functioning normally aboard the Mir Space Station. Much of this week's activity was centered on the deployment of the Inspector satellite, a joint Russian-German project designed to provide visual imagery of the Mir as it orbited around the station. Inspector was ejected early Wednesday from a Progress resupply vehicle about an hour and a half after Progress undocked from the Mir. Inspector was to have initially circled the Progress to test its maneuvering system and navigational capability. Then, on computer command from the Mir cosmonauts operating a laptop computer inside the station, Inspector was to have approached the Mir to place itself in an elliptical orbit around the Russian outpost. But because of a failure of the spacecraft's star tracker guidance system, Inspector's mission was terminated without completing all of its objectives. The spacecraft's software prevented it from performing any orbital maneuvers to place itself in an elliptical orbit around the Mir once the internal navigation system developed a problem. Before Russian flight controllers decided to terminate the experiment, a television camera mounted on the Inspector satellite transmitted several television images to a portable personal computer on the Mir.
With its job completed and the Inspector safely away from Mir to later reenter the Earth's atmosphere, the discarded Progress vehicle was commanded to drop out of orbit earlier today, opening up a docking port for a new Progress resupply capsule, which is scheduled to be launched tomorrow from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. The new Progress, carrying food, fuel, supplies and holiday gifts, is scheduled to link up to the Mir on Monday.
Meanwhile, U.S. Astronaut David Wolf has been continuing his science program and is helping his crewmates prepare the station for the arrival of the Progress.
This week, Wolf began the second part of an investigation that measures bone loss during long- term spaceflight. Previous studies have shown that long-duration exposure to the microgravity environment causes a gradual loss in total bone mineral. This condition mimics osteoporosis, a medical condition characterized by brittle bones. By learning more about the process of bone mineral loss and recovery, researchers hope to be able to develop more effective treatments for those who suffer from bone disorders on Earth.
Wolf is beginning his final month of his four-month research mission. Wolf will be replaced by U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on STS-89 in late January. Thomas is the final American to occupy the Mir. Thomas is in the final stages of training back at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February after handing over Mir operations to a replacement crew, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin. They are scheduled to be launched at the end of January with a French cosmonaut, Leopold Eyharts, who will represent the French space agency CNES on a three-week research mission. Eyharts will return to Earth with Solovyev and Vinogradov.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of January 2, 1998
Mir-24/NASA-6 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
January 2, 1998As of Friday afternoon, Moscow time, the Mir-24 crew was in the process of replacing a component associated with the Motion Control System (MCS) computer following that system going off-line earlier today. Russian flight controllers reported that the loss of the computer system occurred at 3:45 a.m. Moscow time today due to an unexplained failure of a data processing type device known as a central exchange unit. Because the Mir was in a good attitude at the time of the incident, no Soyuz jet firings were required to stabilize the station. The batteries are in good shape and there was no damage caused to any systems due to shut down.
Russian space officials report that a spare central exchange unit is on the Mir and the crew is currently disconnecting cables to allow the new unit to be installed. Once the new unit is in place, the computer will be reinitialized and ground controllers will uplink new navigational information to the computer. Russian flight controllers say the crew will then begin spin up of the gyrodynes and normal attitude control of the station with the gyrodynes should be achieved by sometime tomorrow.
While the recovery effort is underway, the Piroda, Kvant-2 and Kristall modules are powered off as a conservation measure. The Core and Kvant-1 modules are powered up and have good power margins. The new Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system scrubber in the Core module was shutdown briefly, but is now back on. The second Vozdukh unit located in Kvant-2 will remain off until power is reactivated to that module. Both Elektron oxygen units currently are off. Oxygen generating candles and O2 from the Progress vehicle will be used until the Elektrons are reactivated.
In the meantime, Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut David Wolf completed maintenance work on one of the Mir's cooling loops, replacing a pump unit which has lowered temperatures in the Piroda and Kvant-2 modules to comfortable levels. All other Mir environmental systems are functioning normally.
Russian officials say that today's computer shutdown should have no impact to a planned spacewalk next Friday Moscow time, during which the two cosmonauts will make repairs to the Kvant-2 hatch seal and retrieve a U.S. science experiment.
Wolf is in the final weeks of his four-month research mission. Wolf will be replaced by U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas, who will be launched aboard Endeavour on STS-89 in late January. Thomas will be the final American to occupy the Mir. Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7 and are scheduled to return to Earth in February after handing over Mir operations to a replacement crew, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin. They are scheduled to be launched at the end of January with a French cosmonaut, Leopold Eyharts, who will represent the French space agency CNES on a three-week research mission. Eyharts will return to Earth with Solovyev and Vinogradov.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of January 9, 1998
Mir-24/NASA-6 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
January 16, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Russian Space Station Mir were functioning normally as U.S.Astronaut David Wolf enters his final week as a crewmember aboard the Mir.
On Wednesday, Wolf and Mir-24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev opened the hatch of the airlock on the Kvant-2 module and conducted a 3-hour, 52-minute spacewalk to capture spectral data on the condition of the outer surfaces of the module through the use of a portable spectrometer. The data will be used by engineers evaluating the wear and tear of the space environment on orbiting space facilities.
It was the third spacewalk by an American astronaut outside the Mir wearing a Russian suit and the first for Wolf. It was the sixteenth spacewalk for Solovyev, a human spaceflight record.
At the completion of the spacewalk, Solovyev carefully latched the 10 primary latches and the 10 manual latches around the circumference of the outer airlock hatch on Kvant-2. Solovyev noticed that once again one of the primary latches did not properly engage.
The airlock hatch has not been holding full pressure since a spacewalk last November by Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov. The science compartment in Kvant-2, just behind the primary airlock, has been serving as a backup for subsequent spacewalks. Russian space officials continue to evaluate the hatch while exploring options for its eventual restoration to full operational capability. The hatch, however, poses no obstacle to future spacewalk activity by other cosmonaut crews on the Mir.
Today was Solovyev's 50th birthday. A veteran of five missions to the Mir, Solovyev received well wishes from his family and Yuri Koptev, Director-General of the Russian Space Agency, who passed on birthday greetings from Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
While Wolf packs up for his return to Earth, preparations remain on track for the launch of the shuttle Endeavour next Thursday night to carry U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas to the Mir as Wolf's replacement. The STS-89 mission is scheduled for liftoff at 8:48 p.m. CST on January 22 with a docking to the Mir on January 24. Thomas will officially become a Mir crewmember on January 25 after his custom made Soyuz seatliner is transferred from Endeavour to the Mir and he undergoes a systems check of his Soyuz spacesuit. Thomas will be the final American to occupy the Mir. Wolf is scheduled to return to Earth on January 31, completing 128 days in space.
Solovyev and Vinogradov have been aboard Mir since August 7. They are scheduled to return to Earth February 19 after handing over Mir operations to a replacement crew, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin. Musabayev and Budarin are scheduled to launch on a Soyuz TM-27 craft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan on January 29, shortly before Endeavour undocks from the Mir, along with a French cosmonaut, Leopold Eyharts, who will represent the French space agency CNES on a three-week research mission during the handover between cosmonaut crews. Eyharts will return to Earth with Solovyev and Vinogradov.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |
_______________________________________________________________
Mir-24 - Week of January 31, 1998
U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas is now an official crew member aboard Mir since replacing David Wolf earlier in the week. Thomas and Mir Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov are awaiting the arrival of a Soyuz TM-27 spacecraft carrying Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and French researcher Leopold Eyharts. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the Russian outpost at 12:13 p.m. CST Saturday. Hatch opening is scheduled for 1:43 p.m. CST. Musabayev and Budarin will replace Solovyev and Vinogradov, who will return to Earth on February19 with Eyharts. Thomas will spend the rest of his four-month research mission with Musabayev and Budarin, who will remain on Mir until August.
| 8/29/97 | 9/5/97 | 9/12/97 | 9/19/97 | 9/26/97 | 10/10/97 | 10/17/97 | 10/24/97 |
| 10/31/97 | 11/7/97 | 11/14/97 | 11/21/97 | 11/28/97 | 12/5/97 | 12/12/97 | 12/19/97 |
| 1/2/98 | 1/9/98 | 1/31/98 |