Subject: Mirnews.292 from Chris Vandenberg
From: Charles Radley <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 96 18:08:52 EST

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  Msg#: 2612                                         Date: 02-29=C496  17:05
  From: Chris Vandenberg                             Read: Yes    Replied:=
 No=20
    To: All                                          Mark:                  =
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  Subj: Mirnews.292
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MIRNEWS.292             29 FEBRUARY 1996

Soyuz-TM22 returned safely:

The descent-module of the S-TM22 with the relieved MIR ME 20 crew (Gidzenko,
Avdeyev and Euromir95 astronaut Reiter) safely landed at 105 KM North East=
 of
Arkalyk in Kazakhstan on
29.02.96 at 10hrs 42mins 8secs UTC. (Only 2KM from the planned aiming=
 point).
During the final part of the returnoperation S-TM22 communicated with earth
via MIR and Altair (Cosmos-2054). In this window (0936-1030UTC) could be=
 heard
that the engines of the ship gave the de-orbitburn (at abt. 0945UTC) and=
 that
the servicemodule and the BO (Lifecompartment) separated. Just before=
 reentry
(at abt. 1016UTC) S-TM22 switched over to
direct communication channels and only MIR could be heard via Altair until
1029UTC. Radiotraffic, as always during this
mission mainly done by Gidzenko, revealed that all went smoot-

hly. Due to the fact that the landing took place in a short distance of the
aiming point all could be done quickly: evacu ation and medical checks in a
tent. Estimated time of arrival of the crew in Moscow (airbase Chkalova)
29.02.1996 at 1630UT. First reports suggest that the condition of the
cosmonauts and astronaut is perfect.

The reliefweek: As always a week with a lot of activities:
i.e. the transfer of the station to the reliefcrew (MIR ME
21), exercises with the Chibis suit to have the bloodcircula tion more or=
 less
accustomed to  gravity conditions, checking the systems of the S-TM22  for=
 the
returnflight and the loa ding of cargo in the descentmodule. This time this
was more difficult due to the fact that now 3 men will return, so the 3d=
 seat
could not be used for extra cargo. 2 days before the return flight the 2
boardengineers had to cope with a waterle akage in the Base Block. Acting=
 upon
advice from specialist on earth they resolved this problem. Until the last
moment of the mission Gidzenko remained the 'captain'. In my opinion he is a
supercosmonaut. I had the pleasure to meet him 4 years ago in Moscow, but=
 did
not realise that I would so much  admire this man during his first flight.=
=20

Radiocommunications: A new crew means new habbits and so I
also have to get accustomed to new routines. Onufrienko and Usachov use the=
 so
called 'zip-zap' method during communicati on: they switch of the microphone
while listening so that it is impossible to hear earth in the background.
Gidenko and his crew always left the mike open. Onufrienko, who is making=
 his
first spaceflight showed no adaptation problems and presents himself as a=
 very
skilled cosmonaut.=20

-!- Maximus 2.01
 ! Origin: Scoop BBS (The Netherlands) +31-33-2996366 (2:500/202)