Subject: MIRNEWS.353
From: "C.M. van den Berg" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Cc: <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 16:32:42 +0200

MIRNEWS.353                                                7 APRIL 1997

Launch Progress-M34:  The Pr-M34 was launched from Baykonur on 6.04.97 at
16.04.05UTC.  This was according to plan. Until now (morning of 7.04.97
UTC) the flight 
of Pr-M34 is proceeding well.  During the 4th and 5th orbit the necessary
orbitcorrections have been executed. If all will go as planned the Pr-M34
will dock to the aft (Kvant-1) dockingport (+X axis) on 8.04.1997 at abt.
1729UTC. 

Radiotraffic Pr-M34: In the evening of 6.04.1997 the transmitters of Pr-M34
could be monitored in the 166, 165 and 922 mc bands between 2039-2042UTC
and 2209-2213UTC. Radiotraffic MIR: During the last nights there has been a
lot of radiotraffic. The windows during hours in which the crew normally is
sleeping  were needed badly to coordinate with TsUP matters regarding a lot
of technical problems. 

Significance of the freighter Pr-M34: These days the MIR-spacestation goes
through a very critical phase.  A lot of failures harass the MIR-complex
during the last weeks and in particular the problems regarding the
maintenance of an acceptable atmosphere on board  in fact passed admissable
limits.  The only way to produce oxygen is the use of the lithium
perchlorate cartridges.  The crew cannot use the whole available supply of
these so called 'shashki'  2 or 3 of which they consume daily.  The series
of cartridges to which the 'naughty' one belonged and that caused a fire
some weeks ago  cannot be used.  That means that there  is only a supply
for a few days. Pr-M34 has to deliver the necessary cartridges to ensure
the oxygen supply until the docking of Atlantis in her mission STS-84 in
May.  Atlantis can also bring to MIR a replacement for the Elektron system.
 By electrolysis the Elektron can generate oxygen from waste water, for
instance water distilled from urine.  Possibly the Atlantis will also
deliver a new Vozdukh, the system to absorb  carbonic acid (CO2) from the
air on board.  This Vozdukh broke down in the night from 3 to 4 Aprill 1997
and could not be repaired.  The failure of that Vozdukh was the last one in
a long sequence of set-backs.  Fate of the MIR-station as a manned complex
is hanging by a thread.  If the docking of Progress-M34 to the complex
fails the crew will have to return to Earth by Soyuz-TM25 within a few
days. 

Dockingprocedure:  This time there is still the possibility to execute the
approach and docking in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. If the first
attempt to dock in this way fails Tsibliyev has to take over and dock
Pr-M34 manually by the system TORU.  In 1994 the cosmonaut Malenchenko
secured the continuation of the manned flights on MIR with the TORU-docking
of Progress-M24.  Perhaps Tsibliyev will have to take the same
responsibility tomorrow.  Radiotraffic in the evening of 6.04 revealed that
among the activities for 7.04 there would be the checking and training with
TORU.                                                        
   
Altair-2 (23426 - 94082A):  During the 'snail-paced' move of this
geostationary satellite from East to West  she is not operational  and will
not be used for MIR-TsUP communications.  It might be possible that
Altair-2 equal to her predecessor Altair-1 has a service beacon on 11.380
GHz.  If so we might be able to catch up a sign of life of this satellite
before she reaches the position over 16 dgs West. . 

C.M. v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202