Subject: MIRNEWS.403
From: "C.M. vd Berg" <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 17:16:17 -0500

MIRNEWS.403                                     16 January 1998

7th Spacewalk (EVA) 24th Main Expedition MIR;
 
The EVA took place between 14.01.1998   2112UTC and 15.01.1998  0104UTC.
(Duration 3 hrs 52 mins.).  These times were those of the opening and the
closure of the outer hatch (airlock Module-D Sh.S.O. to open space).  
Solovyov and Wolf had to put on their spacesuits in the P.N.O. (Instrument-
and scientific compartment) and to use this compartment for vacuuming. 
After the previous   EVA-s  the outer hatch of the airlock Sh.S.O. was 
still leaking and so S. and W. had to begin the  operation in the P.N.O. 
Two and a half hours before the planned beginning of the EVA they already
were   in that compartment. When he was in the Sh.S.O.  and ready to open
the outer hatch Solovyov met problems:   unbolting the defective lock of
that hatch lasted a longer than expected  and  at 2112UTC, so 32 minutes
behind schedule, he could open the hatch. 

The problems with the hatch made Flight Control decide to change the
working schedule for the operation. The inspection with the American
photo-reflectometer was restricted to the outersurface of Module-D
(Kvant-2) and  that of the Base Block was cancelled.  In that way  Solovyov
got extra time to  work on the defective bolting of the outer hatch.  
Outside they installed a camera for the observation of their activities.
The images were transmitted to Vinogradov who was inside the complex to
assist and observe his comrades. Vinogradov could see the images on a
screen and now and then he downlinked these images  via Altair-2.  The
performance of that camera  did not fully come up to the expectations   due
to some 'communication' problems. Not all went as wished with the
spectrometer.  The spectrometer had to be installed temporarily at
different locations and sometimes  it was difficult to do this due to a
lack of space between   handrails and the surface. Handling the instrument
and the reading of data were also very difficult.  

To be honest: the main purposes of this EVA were not the  experiments with
the spectrometer and the camera. The most important was that Wolf made this
EVA. The Americans have a great interest that their astronauts gather
EVA-routine in space station circumstances. Such routine is valuable during
the construction of the Intenational Space Station.  Besides:  the Russians
as well as the Americans indulged Wolf in his desire to make  an EVA for
he, like his predecessors,    was yearning for this adventure. 

All possible windows for communications via the geostationary Altair-2 were
utilized and my log of this traffic got the size of a little book.  The
traffic revealed that Solovyov's  task of guide and coach of  Wolf was far
from easy. Wolf had not much practice in this field and relatively modest
training.  Solovyov had to keep a sharp watch on Wolf   to protect him from
mistakes and irresponsible activities. He told Wolf  to maintain his
concentration:  Look out, Do not damage that sensor,  Keep your movements
under control, If you want to say something  - keep it short, and even: 
'Dave, keep quiet!'  He also got orders not to speak English. Solovyov also
urged him only to touch things or to take action when instructed to do so. 

But there was also joy:  Vinogradov suggested Wolf to enjoy the sight of
the Earth. Wolf told that he saw cities like Cairo, Tel Aviv, the
Mediterranean and other beaches, the emirates and Vinogradov  told  him
that they would have a good sight of Baykonur. 

A short time before 0100UTC on 15.01.98 Wolf and Solovyov  had entered the
air lock and S. closed the hatch behind him at 0104UTC.  Before doing so S.
had thoroughly  inspected the hatch and port. He found no anomalies. The
rubber packingring  was  still in a good shape. 

After closing the hatch S. continued to work on the locks of the hatch. 
This was a time-consuming activity.  When S. had done all what he could
they used the P.N.O. for  repressurizing and taking off the space suits. At
0233UTC S. closed the hatch between the S.Sh.O. and the P.N.O.  For a long
time the pressure in the Sh.S.O remained stable. (627 mm). 

In a number of conversations Wolf expressed his satisfaction about the EVA.
He stated that  'the person with the least routine'   enormously enjoyed
the EVA. It surprised him that he felt himself like a fish in the water: he
had no  orientation problems,   all the time he knew where he was and what
he was doing.  His predecessors sometimes had the impression that they were
falling into open space, but David did not have that experience.  During
these and other conversations Solovyov and Vinogradov also were very
positive about this EVA.    For Solovyov it was his 16th EVA (and possibly
his last one). It will last a long time before somebody else can beat this
record. 

Correction on MIRNEWS.402: The Endeavour (STS-89) will be launched on 23.01
at 0248UTC (so not on 22.01.98).
 
Progress-M37: Before the arrival of the Soyuz-TM27 on 31.01.1998 the
freighter Pr-M37 will have to free the aft docking port (Kvant-1,  +X 
axis). There are no plans to use Pr-M37 for stunts.  A few hours after the
separation from MIR Pr-M37 will burn up in the atmosphere. 

Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202