Subject: MIRNEWS.374
From: "C.M. van den Berg" <[email-masked]>
To: "dirk rensink" <[email-masked]>, "Dave Larsen" <[email-masked]>, "Jonathan McDowell" <[email-masked]>, "JL Green" <[email-masked]>, "Friends Partners Space" <[email-masked]>, "Mat Riescher" <[email-masked]>, "Igor Lissov" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 14:56:12 +0200

MIRNEWS.374                                    31 JULY1997

Soyuz-TM26: The launch of this ship with on board a crew of 2 for MIR's 
Main Expedition 24 is still planned for 5.08.1997 at 1535UTC and if launch
and flight go according to plan the docking will take place on 7.08.1997 at
1723UTC.  This time deviates from the normal routine to dock only a few
minutes after LOS for the first pass for our position. This time the
docking will take place almost 20 minutes later possibly to enable Solovyov
and Vinogradov to make a video and/or photosurvey of the module Spektr for
damage assessment and to see whether Spektr is not the only module that
suffered from the blow on 25.06.97. Recently there have been suggestions
that there might be more damage than  had been supposed initially.  

On 6.08.1997, so 1 day after launch of S-TM26 the freighter Progress-M35,
meanwhile fully loaded with trash , will leave the  aft (Kvant +X axis)
docking port for  a 10 days lasting autnomous flight.  On 7.08 S-TM26 has
to dock at that port, but after the departure of S-TM25 with the relieved
crew on 14.08.97,  S-TM26 with on board Solovyov, Vinogradov and Foale have
to redock at the forward (P.Kh.O. = -X axis) port as soon as possible. 
This is scheduled for 15.08.97.  They can fly around, but also wait until
the MIR complex has made a  turn  of 180 degrees around the Z-axis. 

After redocking the Russians have to accept another challenge for already
on 16.08.97 Progress-M35 has to redock at the aft (+ X  axis) port. This
time again in the automatic mode with the reliable system Kurs. 

There will be no time to recover  from the sustained strain  for the crew
will have to deal with the preparations for the IVA  on 20.08.97.  If this
IVA will be awarded by success TsUP can give green light for an EVA (so  a
real external one)  on 3.09.97 for an inspection of the outer surface of
Spektr. 

Radio-amateurtraffic:  On 145.985 mc Packet Radio could be monitored in
which Foale gave the following MIR-statusreport:

TNC frozen again, this time the PMS. Waiting for a replacement with MIR 24,
Anatoliy and Pavel, docking on the 7th. Crew is preparing for their
arrival, getting Progress loaded with trash, to be undocked before next
crew. Greenhousing, but not yet showing cotyledons. Mike. 

Chris Vandenberg, NL-9165/A-UK3202