Manned five crew. Deployed TDRSS 6. Payloads: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)-F/Inertial Upper Stage (IUS); Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS); Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX); Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA) A; Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE) 02; Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE).

NASA communications; deployed from STS-54 1/13/93. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 150 deg W in 1993; 138 deg W in 1993; 46 deg W in 1994-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 46.99 deg W drifting at 0.017 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 8 located at 173.51W drifting at 0.006E degrees per day.

Manned two crew. Mir Expedition EO-13. Transported to the Mir manned orbital station a crew of the thirteenth main expedition comprising the cosmonauts G M Manakov and A F Poleschuk.The Soyuz carried the APAS androgynous docking system instead of the usual probe system.

Aleksandr Solovyov and Sergey Avdeyev undocked from the Mir complex aboard Soyuz TM-15 on February 1 and landed the same day in Kazakhstan after six months in space at 03:47 GMT. Soyuz TM-15's flight was an in-orbit record for a Soyuz spaceship - 188 days 21 h 39 m.

Glonass navigation spacecraft. Work on the Glonass global space navigation system being set up to determine the position of civil aircraft and vessels of the merchant marine and fishing fleet. Constellation 1. Put into service on 14 March 1993 and taken out of service on 23 August 1997.

Glonass navigation spacecraft. Work on the Glonass global space navigation system being set up to determine the position of civil aircraft and vessels of the merchant marine and fishing fleet. Constellation 1. Put into service on 25 August 1993 and taken out of service on 4 August 1997.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Docked with Mir on 23 Feb 1993 20:17:57 GMT. Undocked on 26 Mar 1993 06:50:00 GMT. Redocked with Mir on 1993-03-26 07:06:03 GMT. Final undocking on 1993-03-27 04:21:00 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 27 Mar 1993 10:25:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.33 days. Total docked time 31.32 days.

After the docking of freighter Progress-M16 the crew continued their reparation and replacement work on the systems of the complex. They did not much experimental work apart from geophysical observations. They needed all their working time for technical maintenance. They repaired a number of gyrodynes and Manakov was positive about the results of that 'high priority' work. I hope that I was right for Manakov is a great optimist. The VDU (the external movements control motor in the Sofora- girder) is still unserviceable due to software problems. Of great concern for crew and experts remain the complicated systems to maintain the climate in that what is like an 'iron lung'. In contradiction to the 'iron lungs' for medical use this one has to feed and regenerate itself. Wear of parts of that complicated complex results in malfunctioning, so the crew repeatedly gets warnings about hitches, but also by more noise than originally had been foreseen. Daily they speak about the BKV-3, a system to restore the condition of the air. When the crew gets permission to switch that system off (getting the command G-24), they enjoy the silence. Polishchuk did a lot of repair work on that BKV-3.

EXTRA VEHICULAR ACTIVITIES (EVA-S):

Shortly we can hear the crew speak about preparations for a series of 4 EVA-s. For the 1st one the 16th of April has been mentioned. During the first 3 EVA-s the cosmonauts will have to replace the solar panels from the Kristall module to the Kvant-1. The 4th one is for the removal of materials which for a long time had been exposed to the influences of open space. The solar panels have to be replaced to make future operations possible. To execute the planned docking operations of Buran and Space Shuttle to that Kristall module it has to be redocked to the forward axial (PKhO) docking port. A second reason to replace those solar panels is the fact that some solar panels hinder other ones. Daily the crew has to economise the power consumption of the complex. Polishchuk is responsible for that and in Manakov's opinion he is an expert in that field.

MODULES:

Possibly the plans for the launch of the Modules Priroda and Spektr have been altered. The first Module to be launched for a docking with Mir should be a technological one. So Priroda is 2d on schedule. This is a pity for Priroda is ready for launch.

RETURN CAPSULES: Progress-M16 does not carry such a capsule and the use of such a container from Progress-M17 has not been planned. The return capsules are for 100% reliable, but due to the little amount of freight to be brought back, return capsule operations are too expensive.

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

American test pilot 1958 - 1966. Selected as X-15 pilot in 1958, he made the most X-15 flights and obtained astronaut wings on X-15 Flight 87. Flew 187 combat missions in Vietnam. 1 suborbital spaceflight on the X-15, 0.2 hours in space. Died of natural causes, Camarillo, California.

The countdown for Columbia's launch was halted by on-board computers at T-3 seconds following a problem with purge pressure readings in the oxidizer preburner on main engine #2 Columbia's three main engines were replaced on the launch pad, and the flight was rescheduled behind Discovery's launch on STS-56. Columbia finally launched on April 26, 1993.

Telephone and telegraph communications and transmission of television programmes. Raduga 29 joined Raduga 22. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 12 deg E in 1993-1999. As of 3 September 2001 located at 11.13 deg E drifting at 0.020 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 2 located at 61.26E drifting at 0.381E degrees per day.

US Navy communications; Ultra High Frequency Follow On; unusable orbit. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle was to have put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. As of 28 August 2001 located at 45.55 deg W drifting at 3.676 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 95.89E drifting at 3.687W degrees per day.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Conducted docked and undocked longevity spacecraft longevity tests. Docked with Mir on 1 Apr 1993 05:16:18 GMT. Undocked on 11 Aug 1993 15:36:42 GMT. Destroyed in reentry over the South Atlantic on 3 Mar 1994 03:28:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 204.56 days. Total docked time 132.43 days.

Manned five crew. Carried Atlas-2; deployed and retrieved Spartan 201. Payloads: Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) 2, Shuttle Solar Backscat-ter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) A, Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN) 201 (Solar Wind Generation Experi-ment), Solar Ultraviolet Experiment (SUVE), Commercial Material Dispersion Apparatus (CMIX), Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE), Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting, and Environmental System (HER-CULES), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II, Space Tissue Loss (STL), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM), Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME) III.

Spartan Flight Support Structure was an MPESS class cross-bay truss structure on which Spartan 204 was mounted. The Spartan satellites were small free flyers deployed by the RMS robot arm for a couple of days and then retrieved. SPTN-204 carried NRL's FUVIS Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph which was used to study the Shuttle environment and make astronomical observations. This was the first Spartan mission to be sponsored by the USAF Space Test Program rather than NASA.

In discussions regarding docking the US Shuttle with the Mir space station, NASA expressed concern about the clearances between the Shuttle and Mir's solar panels when using the docking port designed for Buran on the Kristall module. The Russians thought NASA overly cautious, but NPO Energia offered a solution - a modified version of the Buran SO, to be delivered by the Shuttle. The specialised SO docking module was originally designed for docking the Buran space shuttle with the Mir-2 space station. In the 1992 concept the module would be delivered by a Progress-M tug to Mir-2 and included a lateral EVA hatch.

Stationed at 1.2 deg E. TV distribution services to Western Europe and the Canary Islands under franchise from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Contracted and controlled by the private company formed in 1985 called Société Europíenne des Satellites (SES). This is the third in a series of 4 medium power satellites, and will act primarily as Astra 1A's backup. Spacecraft: HS-601 platform.3-axis unified ARC 22 N and one Marquardt 490 N bipropellant thrusters, Sun and Barnes Earth sensors and two 61 Nms 2-axis gimballed momentum bias wheels.1658 kg nitrogen tetroxide & MMH in four spheres. Spin-stabilised in transfer orbit. Twin solar wings of three 2.16 x 2.54 m panels carrying large area silicon cells on Kevlar substrate to satisfy 3.3 kW requirement. Eclipse protection provided by Nickel hydrogen batteries. Payload: 18 eclipse protected transponders, plus six spares with 63W TWTA 10.95-11.200 Ghz down Ku-band European beams in 250 Mhz band adjacent (below) to Astra 1A, 26 Mhz bandwidth, eirp 50 dBW min, orthogonal polarisation, operating in the FSS range Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 19 deg E in 1993-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 19.21 deg E drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 4.54E drifting at 0.051E degrees per day.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Last launch using Soyuz-U2 launch vehicle. Docked with Mir's front port on 24 May 1993 08:24:44 GMT. In addition to other supplies, carried repair equipment for a spacewalk device damaged a month before. Undocked on 3 Jul 1993 15:58:16 GMT, with Soyuz TM-17 docking at the same port only minutes later at 17:45 GMT. Meanwhile, Progress M-17 remained docked to the Kvant rear port on a longevity test. Progress M-18 was destroyed in reentry on 4 Jul 1993 17:13:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 3.12 days. Total docked time 40.31 days.

American test pilot astronaut 1959-1982. 1 spaceflight, 9.1 days in space. Flew to orbit on ASTP (1975). Slated to fly third Mercury mission, grounded due to a medical issue and became astronaut commander, assigning crews for lunar landings. Died in League City, Texas due to complications from a brain tumour.

Manned six crew. Carried Spacehab 1; retrieved Eureca-1 spacecraft. Payloads: Spacehab 01, retrieval of European Retriev-able Carrier (EURECA) Satellite, Superfluid Helium On-Orbit Transfer (SHOOT), Consortium for Materials Development in Space Complex Autonomous Payload (CONCAP)-IV, Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Experiment (FARE), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II, Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), GAS bridge assembly with 12 getaway special payloads.

Geostationary at 99 deg W. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 99 deg W in 1993-1998 As of 6 September 2001 located at 76.26 deg E drifting at 0.041 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 77.40E drifting at 0.010E degrees per day.

"I'll Be Home For Christmas" The mission was extended twice to wait for acceptable landing weather in Florida. On July 1st if the weather was acceptable it would land in Florida, otherwise it would be sent to California. So it wasn't a question of whether they would land that day but where. Of course after that many delays the crew may have wondered when they would finally make it home... Capcom Susan Helms played"I'll Be Home For Christmas". Given that it was July 1st they presumably did make it home in time.

Mir Expedition EO-14. Carried Vasili Tsibliyev, Alexander Serebrov, Jean-Pierre Haignere to Mir; returned Serebrov, Tsibliyev to Earth. Progress M-18 undocked from Mir's front port at around 17:25 GMT on July 3, and Soyuz TM-17 docked at the same port only 20 minutes later at 17:45 GMT.

This ship with on board the relief crew and the Frenchman Haignere docked to Mir (forward docking port) on 3.07.93 at 1624 UTC. The docking took place in the automatic mode (Kurs-system). Before Soyuz-TM17 began her final approach the freighter Progress-M17 had to undock. So a few minutes before the final approach Progress-M17 undocked and was brought in a safe distance from Mir. This happened before Mir, Soyuz-TM17 and Progress-M17 came in our range. During the pass in orb. 42169, 1607-1612 UTC, radio traffic could be monitored on 121.750 mc and 143.625 mc. Serebrov reported that he would obey the order to go into the landing module immediately. Neither of the crews commented the final approach. There had been a long transmission via Altair, which ended a few minutes before docking. Good images of the complex (by Soyuz-TM17's cameras) and the docking port could be seen. During the pass in orb. 42170, 1742 UTC, it was obvious that all was well: the hatches had been opened and the first meeting between the 2 crews had already taken place. Mir started to transmit to TsUP the video recordings of the approach and the welcome of the new crew. All cosmonauts, also Tsibliyev, Serebrov and Haignere, could be heard via 143.625 mc. During this pass Mir also transmitted on 145.550 mc. Via the digital memory microphone Polishchuk could be heard with a greeting of P. and Manakov to a conference of radio-amateurs in (probably) St. Petersburg. During the next pass (orb. 42171, 1915 UTC, Mir transmitted on 145.550, 143.625 and 144.475 mc. After a CQ-call in Russian and English, Haignere spoke in French with the radio-amateur Francis, FC1OKN.

Altair: From 4.07 until 22.07.93 Haignere, in co-operation with his Russian colleagues, will conduct experiments in the framework of the French scientific program Altair.

Spacewalks: If all goes according to previous planning the new crew (the 14th main expedition to the Mir station) will make 3 spacewalks.

Progress-M17: This freighter still flew autonomously in the night from 3 to 4.07.93 and was visually observed by Mr. Wim Holwerda (Working group artificial satellites) during Mir's pass in orb. 42174, 2227 UTC, at abt. 8 KM behind Mir. Wim also saw the 3d stage of the rocket which gave Soyuz-TM17 the last 'push' on 1.07.93. Progress-M17 carries a return capsule. In a next Mir-report I hope to tell somewhat about the fate of Progress-M17 and that capsule.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

This French scientific mission goes according to plan. Haignere stated that all experiments are going well. The only problem is the fact that they have a lot of work to do. On 14.07.93 due to their work a direct TV-report in which a conversation with President Mitterand had to be cancelled or did not take place due to lack of comm. channels. H. is feeling well. No space sickness, no headache or other pains, he sleeps well and has a good appetite. H. praises the good amicable sphere among the crew members, which guarantees a good co-operation. H., call F6Mir, enjoys the possibilities of radio-amateurism: as soon as France is in range he has long conversations with French radio-amateurs. On 11.07.93 in orb. 42293, 1324 UTC, he also got the opportunity to speak with his parents. He had to ask one of the amateurs to leave the frequency (144.475 mc) for he was not able to hear his mother. On this frequency also a lot of P/R traffic. H.'s presence on board Mir caused a remarkable increase of French amateur-calls on Mir's P/R.

Mir-crew: Manakov is still captain of the Mir-complex and this he shows clearly. During every pass he tightly holds the microphone. Now and then Polishchuk and Serebrov can be heard; Tsybliyev, who has to take over command one of these days, rarely speaks with TsUP.

Progress-M17: During the experiment 'Rodeo' on 3.07.93 this freighter undocked from the Mir station while Soyuz-TM17 was waiting for the docking port freed by Progress-M17. Progress-M17 undocked at 1553 UTC. Soyuz-TM17 docked to Mir at 1624 UTC. The return-capsule of Progress-M17 landed safely in Kazakhstan at 1802 UTC.

Soyuz-TM16: With this ship, now still attached to the Kristall- Module, Manakov, Polishchuk and Haignere will return to earth on 22.07.93. The landing is expected at about 0630 UTC.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Movements of Progress-M's and Soyuz-TM's in the near future:

Progress-M18: Will undock from Mir and decay in the atmosphere on 24.07.93 (so 2 days after the departure of Soyuz-TM16).

Progress-M19: Launch from Baykonur on 27.07.93.

Progress-M20: Launch from Baykonur on 12.10.93.

Soyuz-TM18 : Launch from Baykonur with crew Afanasyev and Usachov on 16.11.93.

Progress-M21: Launch from Baykonur on 30.11.93.

In May 1994 there will be a flight of a Soyuz-TM to Mir with on board Malenchenko and Strekalov. (Strekalov replaced Kaleri, because he has more experience than Kaleri.) The 3d crew member will be a physician for a long duration flight of one and a half year. For this flight 3 physicians are selected, one of them will fly, namely Polyakov, Arzamazov and Morukov.

The Russians have the intention to launch Module Spektr on 20.12.93 for a flight to Mir. This long expected extension will be welcomed by the crew of the 15th Main expedition to Mir: Afanasyev and Usachov.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 175 deg E in 1995-1997.

Military cartographic satellite; returned film capsule. Also photography of the earth's surface for the purpose of the natural resource mapping and area monitoring on behalf of various branches of the Russian economy and in the interests of international cooperation. Alternate name: Resurs-T.

Stationed at 93.5 deg E; also acted as communications platform; carried search and rescue package. INSAT-2B is a multi-purpose satellite, and it will provide the following services: Domestic long range communications, meteorological Earth observation and data collection service, Direct satellite TV broadcasting to community TV recievers in rural and re mote areas, Radio and TV programme distribution, satellite aided search and rescue services. Inclination will be reduced to 0.1 deg and maintained. Geostationary longitude 93.5 +/- 0.1 deg E. Launch on Arianespace flight 58. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 93 deg E in 1993-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 93.47 deg E drifting at 0.015 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 63.82W drifting at 1.099W degrees per day.

Jean-Pierre, F6Mir, was an enthusiastic and skilled amateur. In this field he did not yield to Tognini during his flight in 1992. H. made all his QSO-s in the proper way and during the last day of his flight he told in a CQ-message that he had been pleased by radio-amateurism and he expressed his gratitude to all amateurs with whom he had been in contact. He was not pleased about an Italian amateur, who, using a very strong signal, often blocked the uplink too long. He limited H's possibilities to make more QSO-s with French and other amateurs.

Mir-crews: On 16.7.93 the control over the Mir-station had been transferred to the new crew: Tsibliyev took care of the attitude control and Serebrov had replaced Polishchuk as board-engineer. Manakov and Polishchuk prepared their return flight. Their main concern was to find room in Soyuz-TM16 for all what they had to bring back to earth. Thoroughly they checked the on board systems of that ship and rehearsed the procedures for the navigation during and after the undocking from Mir on 22.07.93. A physician at TsUP regularly checked the health of M. and P.

New crew: As of 22.07.93 Tsibliyev and Serebrov are working strenuously. They are busy with a lot of important repairs and replacements. Obviously they have to solve all problems with the attitude(movements-) control of the complex. (Gyrodynes and the VDU motor in the Sofora-girder). They already work on the Gyrodynes. It is a pleasure to hear the new crew: undoubtedly excellent cosmonauts. Quite normal for S.: this is his 4th flight, but the novice T. acts as if he has a long experience in space.

Progress-M18 and M19: Recently the decay of the first freighter (M18) still was on schedule for 24.07.93. This has been put back. Though still not for 100% sure the plan is to undock Progress-M18 on 8.08.93 after the launch that same day of Progress-M19. If this happens it will be a novelty: for a while 2 freighters flying autonomously in space.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Austrian-American engineer and rocket technician in World War II; later worked in France in the engine group at LRBA from 1947 to 1955. He returned briefly to Graz, Austria, and then went to work with von Braun's team at Huntsville, Alabama. During his tenure at NASA, he was US representative to the Paris Air Show for a number of years and lectured at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. He was on the faculty of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

This freighter has been launched from Baykonur on 10.08.93 at 2223 UTC (for Moscow and TsUP-time already 11.08.93) for a 2-days flight to the Mir-station. Perhaps there has been a slight delay for I expected the launch at 2216 UTC. Somewhat later than expected I monitored the transmissions of Progress-M19 on 922.755 mc and in the 166 and 165 mc bands between 0256 and 0301 UTC. To enable Progress-M19 to dock to the forward docking port of Mir (transition section P.Kh.O.) the old Progress-M still docked to that port has to disappear soon. This undocking is scheduled for 11.08.93 at 1534 UTC.

Perseid-meteorites: These meteorites coming from the comet Swift- Tuttle are visible (clouds permitting) around 12 august every year. Thus far clouds did not permit this for us this year, but the Mir-cosmonauts, not hindered by clouds or fog, were able to see the meteorites. Tsibliyev, the captain of the Mir-station, reported during the pass in orbit 42770, 11.08.93, 0452-0503 UTC, that they saw a little bit of it. He added that he had to report some 'battle wounds'. He told TsUP that the station had been hit by 4 particles obviously coming from that meteorite-rain. They caused minor damages to 2 solar batteries (on the base block and on Kristall - Module-T) and to one of the portholes. The window of that porthole showed a cavern with a diameter of 2 a 3 mm. T. nor TsUP did not show any concern. To be realistic: thus far we have to do with minor particles, but bigger particles can cause serious damages to space-ships and stations, even leakage and consequently decompression. In my opinion the recent experience of the Mir-crew fully justifies NASA's decision to put back the launch of Space shuttle Discovery until 12.08.93 due to concern for that meteorite-storm.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

The countdown for Discovery's third launch attempt ended at the T-3 second mark when on-board computers detected the failure of one of four sensors in main engine #2 which monitor the flow of hydrogen fuel to the engine. All of Discovery's main engines were ordered replaced on the launch pad, delaying the Shuttle's fourth launch attempt until September 12, 1993.

This freighter with food, water, fuel, post, spare parts, etc. docked to the forward docking port transition section -P.Kh.O.) on 13 Aug. 1993 at 0000 UTC. So 4 minutes after LOS for our position. The approach in orb. 42799, 12 Aug. 2351-2356 UTC, the cosmonauts visually observed the Progress-M19. At 2356 UTC Progress-M19 was on a distance of 25 M and the appr. speed was 0.85M/sec. The operation passed off smoothly and already during the pass in the next orb. (42800, 0129-0133 UTC) Tsibliyev reported the hermetic air-seal and the opening of the hatch to Progress-M19. In the pass during orb. 42801, 0304-0309 UTC, the cosmonauts expressed their gratitude for all what Progress-M19 delivered, but in Serebrov's opinion the Progress-M19 was 'too empty'. He said that only 66% of the cargo-volume had been utilised. Nevertheless he was satisfied about the post, the new paper (or: ribbon) for the RTTY printer and the renewed instructions for evacuation in case of emergency.

Perseid-meteorites: So the crew just had to work during 3 night shifts: 2 due to the meteorite-storm and 1 for the Progress-M19. In the night from 11 to 12 Aug. they enjoyed the sight of the meteorite-rain. They spoke about 'fireballs' and stopped counting them for it really was a rain. The night before they also observed this phenomenon, which was less spectacular then. Unfortunately they again had to report collisions with small particles and damages. S. and T. expressed their relief that all was over now and that they survived the meteorite-bombardments.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Communications was lost with the spacecraft on August 22, 1993 as it was preparing to go into orbit around Mars, and no significant scientific data was returned. Later investigation indicated this was due to a propulsion system explosion caused by propellants leaking past faulty valves.

Obtaining meteorological data and information on the radiation status of geovicinal outer space. The satellite included the Temisat German small space facility, which was separated from Meteor-2 on the seventh transit of the flight. Western interceptions of Meteor 2-21's transmissions indicated that the spacecraft did not perform as well as earlier vehicles in the series, particularly with regard to image quality and stable signal strength. The spacecraft operated through the end of 1994 on 137.400 MHz and 137.850 MHz, switching when required to avoid interference with other Russian Earth observation spacecraft.

The Temisat micro-satellite was a piggyback payload designed to collect and re-transmit environmental data from terrestrial sensors and was separated from Meteor-2-21 on the seventh transit of the flight. Temisat was registered by the Telespazio Italian partner in agreement with the Kaiser-Threde Company (Munich). Environmental measurements were acquired through ground sensors, collected, temporarily stored on the ground, and logged by an autonomous terminal until upload request is received from TEMISAT.Characteristics: (a) Mass 42 kg (b) Dimension 35 x 35 x 35 cm, (c) Electric power 62 W Max, (d) Attitude control : 2 magnetic coil, 1 Am**2, (e) On-board memories - 2 of 8.5 Mbytes each, (f) Lifetime 5 years. Drift of the ascending node of orbital plane: 0.8 deg/d westwards. Copassenger of METEOR 2 satellite.

US Navy communications. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 72 deg E in 1993-1999.

Deployed and retrieved Orfeus-SPAS. During the EVA conducted tests in support of the Hubble Space Telescope first servicing mission and future EVAs, including Space Station assembly and maintenance. First night landing at KSC. Payloads: Advanced Communication Technology Sat-ellite (ACTS)/Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS), Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer—Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS-SPAS) with Remote IMAX Camera System (RICS), Limited Duration Space Environ-ment Candidate Materials Exposure (LDCE) (Beam Configuration C), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG Block II), Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX), High Resolution Shuttle Glow Spectroscopy-A (HRSGS-A), Auroral Photography Experiment-B (APE-B), Investigation into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP), Radiation Monitoring Equip-ment (RME-III), Air Force Maui Optical Site Cal-ibration Test (AMOS), IMAX In-Cabin Camera.

NASA experimental communications; Advanced Communications Technology Satellite; deployed from STS-51 9/12/93; 100 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 100 deg W in 1993-1999 105 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 105.36 deg W drifting at 0.007 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 105.14W drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.

"Please Release Me" by Elvis Presley. In preparation for deployment of ORFEUS-SPAS payload. The singer was actually well known Elvis impersonator Carl Walz on his maiden spaceflight. He had the unusual distinction of hearing his own voice singing for his first wakeup in space.

Some weeks ago TsUP announced that the 3 EVA-s, which had been planned for Sept. this year had been put back and that this crew (the 14th main expedition to Mir) would not make any EVA-s at all. Later on there happened to be a plan to execute an EVA on 10.09.93. This EVA has been put back also. Meanwhile it was obvious that 1 or more EVA-s are badly needed for the inspection of the outer surface of the whole complex. Experts even considered the use of the SPK (MMU) for EVA-s. Board- engineer Serebrov knows how to fly with the SPK: he was the first cosmonaut to fly with it on 1.02.90. Radio traffic during recent passes revealed that the crew is preparing an EVA. Whether they will use the SPK or not is not clear.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE PERSEID METEORITE STREAM ON 12.08.93:

After a long period of silence the Russians officially admitted that the station suffered from hits caused by minuscule particles during the Perseid-meteorite stream. One hit even caused a hole in a solar battery with the diameter of appr. 6 cm. Meanwhile messages and questions about the damages reached the Mir crew by amateur radio. Experts are evaluating the eventual influence of the damages on the power supply of the complex. The crew cannot see the whole outer surface of the station from inside and so EVA-s must be carried out to inspect it thoroughly.

RADIO-AMATEUR TRAFFIC:

For some weeks again a lot of Packet radio tfc on 145.550 mc. Sometimes there are also calls by 'phone' on that frequency. On 12 and 13.09.93 the crew used 145.500 mc to contact the Irish amateur EI3SI by speech.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Until 22.09.93 the cosmonauts made preparations for an EVA on 24.09.93. During that EVA they had to execute the program 'Panorama', which is an inspection of the outer surface of the station by camera's. On 22.09.93 TsUP announced that the EVA had been put back to 28.09.93. A reason for the delay has not been stated. Possibly the unstable political situation in Moscow has something to do with it, but technical reasons are also possible. On 22.09.93 the crew worked on a problem with a pressure-valve (KVD) of the airlock (Sh.S.O.) in Module-D.

Mir-station hit by a particle from outer space:

On 21.09.93 at abt. 1205 UTC, while the station was near the equator, Tsibliyev heard the clap of a particle colliding with Mir's outer surface. The impact caused a little cloud of dust and released some pieces of paint of the wall. Tsibliyev heard the impact while he was flying from Kvant-1 to the Base Block. Serebrov, who was working in Module-D, did not hear it.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Experimental Interferometric Microsatellite built by Interferometrics Inc, of Chantilly, Virginia. The satellite was also equipped with amateur radio equipment, constructed by AMRAD, a non-profit organization of radio amateurs, to conduct digital satellite communications experiments. The Amrad-Oscar-27 payload was an 'FM Repeater', consisting of a crystal controlled FM receiver operation at 145.850 MHz and a crystal controlled FM transmitter operating at approximately 436.795 MHz. Output power of the transmitter was normally 0.5 watts. Because of the satellite's limited power budget the amateur transmitter was on for only part of the daylight portion of each orbit. As of September 1998, the satellite passed its five year design goal.

Customer: SateLife. Store and forward communications satellite operating in the SatelLife 'HealthNet' LEO satellite communications network for remote regions. Still operational as of 2000.

Healthsat - II joined UoSAT-3/HealthSat-I as the second microsatellite in the HealthNet global communications system of SatelLife, a U.S. not-for-profit organisation. HealthNet, which was licensed in eighteen countries in Africa and Latin America, was providing desperately needed low cost 'last mile' communication links between medical institutions and health programmes in the developing world.

The HealthSat-II mission was completed, from concept to launch, within one year. SSTL were responsible for all the programmatic aspects of the mission including procuring the launch slot on the Ariane ASAP and arranging suitable insurance for the launch and early commissioning phase - all within a total contract price of £1M. Additional Details: here....

KITSAT-OSCAR 25 was a South Korean experimental microsatellite based on the SSTL UoSAT bus built by the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). KO-25 was operated from The Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC) in South Korea. KO-25's mission was to take CCD pictures, process numerical information, measure radiation, and receive and forward messages. The Infrared Sensor Experiment (IREX) was designed to acquire I/V characteristics of IR sensors. A passive cooling structure was devised for this experiment. KO-25 was eventually operated purely as a packet store-and-forward satellite.

Stationed at 83 deg E, replacing Raduga-26. Operation of telephone and telegraph radio communications and transmission of television programmes. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 85 deg E in 1993-1999 As of 6 September 2001 located at 86.23 deg E drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. Raduga 30 followed on 30 September 1993 and was transferred to 85 degrees E. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 74.18E drifting at 0.046E degrees per day.

The only FSW-1 mission conducted during 1993-1994 was launched into an orbit of 209 km by 300 km at an inclination of 57.0 deg. In addition to an Earth observation Payload, FSW-1 5 carried microgravity research equipment and a diamond-studded medallion commemorating the 100th anniversary of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung's birth. The spacecraft operated normally until 16 October when an attempt to recover the satellite failed. An attitude control system failure aligned the spacecraft 90 deg from its desired position, causing the re-entry capsule to be pushed into a higher elliptical orbit (179 km by 3031 km) instead of returning to Earth. Natural decay did not bring the capsule back until March 12, 1996.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir, carried a Raduga reentry capsule for return of experimental materials to earth. Docked with Mir on 13 Oct 1993 23:24:46 GMT. Undocked on 21 Nov 1993 02:38:43 GMT. Capsule landed in Kazakhstan on 21 Nov 1993 09:06:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.35 days. Total docked time 38.13 days.

The launch of this freighter took place on 11.10.93 at 2133 UTC (for the Russians, using 'decree-time', already 12.10.93 0033 hrs). Progress-M20 reached the right initial orbit and the first corrections have been executed successfully. Progress-M20's transmissions in the 166, 165 and 922 bands could be monitored in the pass in the 2d orbit on 12.10.93 between 0035 and 0037 UTC. Progress-M20 has to deliver to the Mir-station spare parts, food, water, fuel and post. It contains also a package of experiments in the framework of Biokrist. These are protein-crystallisation experiments from several countries. One experiment is of Dr. Grip of the Faculty for Eye Surgery, University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). A Biokrist container, including the same Dutch experiment, has been on board of the Mir-complex in the first 3 months of 1992. During the transport, after the skilful delivery on earth by the cosmonauts Volkov and Krikalyov, something went wrong due to extreme low temperatures and the results suffered damages. The present experiment will return to earth by the crew of this expedition in December 1993. In 2 days Progress-M20 will fly to Mir and if all goes well the freighter will dock to Mir on 13.10.93 at abt. 2316 UTC (so for the Russians already on 14.10.93, 0216 Msc decree-time).

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

This freighter docked to Mir's aft docking port (Kvant-1) on 13.10.93 at 2325 UTC. The approach and docking took place in the automatic mode under observation of the crew. The docking took place a little bit later than expected after Mir's pass in orbit 43764 from 2309-2314 UTC. During this pass the transmitters of Progress-M20 still could be monitored on 922.755 mc and in the 166 and 165 mc bands. Mir also worked with packet radio on 145.550 mc. During the passes in orb. 43765 (14.01 0043-0050 UTC) and 43766 (0221-0227 UTC) the crew and TsUP spoke about the just arrived freighter. The crew was satisfied: the ship was clean and they got the badly needed dairy-products, which they ordered only recently. Progress-M20 has a V.B.K. (ballistic return capsule) on board. The arrival of the Progress-M20 is good news for the Dutch University in Nijmegen for she safely delivered their experiments in the Biokrist-package.

PROGRESS-M19:

To enable Progress-M20 to dock with the complex the Progress-M19 had to disappear. Nowadays the Russians undock the old freighter as soon as they are sure about the right orbit and the good functioning of the new one. So Progress-M19 separated from Mir on 12.10.1993 at 1759 UTC. Before burning up in the atmosphere Progress-M19 jettisoned the V.B.K. and this landed safely in the designated area on 13.10.93 at 0022 UTC. The crew on board Mir did not go asleep but observed the whole operation. The were enthusiastic about this interesting event. They saw how the engines of Pr-19 worked, how the V.B.K. separated from Progress-M19 and they even could see the burning up of the rest of the freighter. They made a lot of video-films and images. During the pass in 43751, on 13.10.93 at 0135 UTC they reported about these observations to TsUP. In the course of 13.10 they transmitted their films to TsUP via the geostationary satellite Altair.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

International communications. The Intelsat 7 and 7A series were nearly identical except for an increase in the number of Ku-band transponders in the 7A series. Spacecraft: 3-axis stabilised. Hydrazine propulsion system. Two large solar panels with 1-axis articulation provide 3900W BOL. Payload: 7: 26 C-Band and 10 Ku-Band transponders.18,000 telephone calls and 3 colour TV broadcasts simultaneously. Or up to 90,000 telephone circuits using digital circuit multiplication equipment (DCME).7A: 26 C-Band and 14 Ku-Band transponders.22,500 telephone calls and 3 colour TV broadcasts simultaneously. Or up to 112,500 telephone circuits using DCME. Three independently steerable, high-powered, Ku-band spot beams. Independently steerable C-band spot beam coverage. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 121 deg E in 1993; 174 deg E in 1994-1997; 180 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 6 September 2001 located at 179.91 deg W drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 179.97W drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

This EVA started earlier than was expected. The hatch swung open at abt. 1535 UTC. During the first half hour of this EVA the cosmonauts spoke with the Russian premier-minister Chernomyrdin who visited TsUP. Regretfully this EVA ended earlier than planned due to a malfunction of a life system Serebrov's spacesuit. The EVA took place between (plus/min) 1535-1615 UTC and had a duration of only 38 minutes. The crew succeeded in installing on the outer surface of the complex a device for measurements of the micro-meteorite flux and the salvaging of materials which had been exposed to the influence of outer space. Serebrov made some images in the framework of the Panorama experiment, but for the conclusion of that experiment another EVA will be necessary. Our good friend OM Peter observed via Altair that the cosmonauts had left the airlock. After a while the transmission of images switched over to the system Orbita and only the speech could be monitored. Soon we derived from this traffic that the cosmonauts were in the airlock, that they had closed the exit hatch and were equalising the pressures between the airlock (S.Sh.O.) and the instrument- and scientific compartment (P.N.O.). For that purpose they had opened the valve K.V.D. and via the downlink the sound of streaming air could be heard. During the first pass within VHF-range (in orbit 43902, 1932- 1937 UTC) the cosmonauts reported that all was well. The possible date of the 5th EVA also was mentioned. This might be 29.10.93 depending on further analyses of the emerged problems.

Information: The English service of Radio Moscow slightly paid attention to this EVA, but did not speak about the cause of the premature return on board of the crew. For the first time in the history of spaceflight Radio Moscow spoke about the Russian crew as 'astronauts' instead of 'cosmonauts'.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Gorizont 28 replaced Gorizont 21 at 90 degrees E. This allowed Gorizont 21 to be repositioned from mid-November to late-December for the inauguration of a new station at 145 degrees E. As of 6 September 2001 located at 96.68 deg E drifting at 0.011 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 116.96E drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

The crew opened the hatch at 1338 UTC and closed this behind them at 1750 UTC, so the duration of this EVA was 4 hrs and 12 mins. They fully accomplished their tasks: the experiment Panorama, during which Sererbrov made video-images of the outer surface of the station, they removed samples of materials which had been exposed to open space and placed new samples and on instructions from experts on earth they carried out an inspection of objects on the outside, for instance the solar panels. They also carried out prophylactic work. Most of the radio-communications was relayed by the satellite Altair. During the first 2 passes for our position the EVA was still going on and the radio-traffic could be heard on VHF as well as on Altair. During the pass in orbit 44010, 1742-1752 UTC, the cosmonauts returned to the airlock and they told TsUP that they were ready to close the hatch on TsUP's command. So they did at 1750 UTC and they immediately started with the equalisation of the pressures between the airlock (S.Sh.O.) and the Instrument-Scientific compartment (P.N.O.). OM Peter monitored phone as well as TV-images and in co-ordination with him I was able to determine that all went well during this EVA. During the first communication session via Altair after the EVA the cosmonauts transmitted images made during the EVA to TsUP. So OM Peter could see how the crew during their EVA jettisoned an old (probably no longer usable)EVA or spacesuit. They succeeded in sending away this dummy in such a shape that it looked like someone who saluted like a soldier. After analyses of the monitored radio-traffic I hope to tell something about the crew's assessment of the damage, which had been caused by micro-meteorites around 12.08.93.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Cost escalation of the US Space Station Freedom, and financial difficulties in Russia, led to a summer 1993 briefing of NASA by NPO Energia on Mir-2. In November 1993 Freedom, Mir-2, and the European and Japanese modules were incorporated into a single International Space Station.

For some time the Mir-crew is preparing the freighter Progress- M20 for its last autonomous flight. They store all what they want to throw away in the Progress-M20 herself and all experiments, films etc. in the return capsule (VBK). The Progress-M20 has to undock from Mir on 21.11.93 at abt. 0900 UTC for decay in the atmosphere. Before burning up the Progress-M20 will jettison the VBK for a safe landing in the Orenburg region, so on Russian territory. A landing in Kazakhstan means that the Russians must pay import duties to Kazakhstan!

Orbit correction: One of these days the Progress-M20 will have to correct the orbit of the complex. After this correction old Keplers will no longer be valid.

Mir-crew: The cosmonauts reported that the outside surface of the Mir-station is in a good shape. The damages caused by micro- meteorites are not that bad as previously expected. More concern they expressed about the inside systems of the station. The guaranteed lifetime is running to its end and they have to do a lot of strenuous maintenance work on the life systems. Nowadays they have problems with the provision of oxygen.

Contact between Mir and Shuttle Columbia on 26.10.93:

It was a great surprise for the Mir-crew to get a call in Russian from the Columbia on a radio-amateur channel.

Renovation work in my shack:

Due to renovation work in my shack it might be difficult to maintain my operational possibilities for a while. So there might be a period in which I will be unable to make Mir- reports. Please don't worry: when this misery is over I will be back again!

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

Gorizont 29 (18 November 1993) and 30 (20 May 1994) were launched for Rimsat, Ltd., to provide communications services in the Pacific region under an agreement signed in 1992 between Rimsat and the Applied Mechanics NPO. Gorizont 29 was located at 130 degrees E in accordance with a lease arrangement with Rimsat Corporation (using slots allocated to Tonga by the International Telecommunications Union). Intended for use under commercial conditions. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 130 deg E in 1993-1997; 161 deg E in 1997-1998; 130 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 130.39 deg E drifting at 0.011 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 8 located at 168.05E drifting at 0.374W degrees per day.

Stationed at 0 deg. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 10 deg W in 1994-1997; deg W in 1997-1998; 9 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 9.14 deg W drifting at 0.012 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 36.89E drifting at 0.610E degrees per day.

Orbit correction: On 17.11.93 during orbit 44300 the engines of Progress-M20 corrected the orbit of the Mir-complex: Ap/per now 395.3/388.2 KM.

Decay of Progress-M20 and safe landing return capsule on 21.11.93:

Undocking of Progress-M20 from Mir at 0236 UTC. Progress-M20 jettisoned the VBK (return capsule) at 0850 UTC. Progress-M20 entered dense layers of the atmosphere at 0851 UTC and decayed. The VBK safely landed not far from Orsk at 0903 UTC. Orsk is a town just north of the border with Kazakhstan. The VBK itself landed just inside Kazakhstans territory. So possibly Russia will have to pay Kazakhstan import duties for the VBK and the cargo.

VBK's cargo:

The cargo mainly consisted of 2 American containers with experiments: The first one is the experiment TREK, which had been installed outside Mir from 4.04.91. This experiment registered particles of super-heavy elements in the cosmic radiation. The 2d American experiment was the grow of biological crystals delivered by the firm Boeing. The VBK brought back to earth some Russian experiments: 2 videocassettes with images made during the survey experiment Panorama, an experiment with Ultraviolet in the earth's atmosphere, a sample of thermo-insulation material exposed to open space and a lot of negative-films.

Progress-M21: It is still unknown when this freighter will be launched for a flight to Mir. This freighter is badly needed, especially for a supply of fresh oxygen. The last days the crew is complaining about problems with the air pressure and oxygen, which cause respiration problems (dry nostrils and throat).

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Russian engineer cosmonaut 1965-1980. Graduated from Moscow Aviation Institute Soviet Air Force, liaising with aircraft industrial enterprises. Cosmonaut training November 1965 - December 1967. Worked at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Killed in an auto crash.

Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 52 deg W in 1995; 60 deg E in 1997. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).

Manned seven crew. Hubble repair mission. Conducted the most EVAs (5) on a Space Shuttle Flight to that date. Payloads: Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Servicing Mission (SM) 1, IMAX Camera, IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS).

NATO encrypted communications relay. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 6 deg E in 1994-1998; 20 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 2 September 2001 located at 20.16 deg W drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 35.47E drifting at 0.007E degrees per day.

For a long time we expected the launch of the freighter towards the end of November 1993. Due to economic and other problems this launch has been put back. The launch is now on schedule for 26.01.1994, so long after the relief of the present crew.

SOYUZ-TM18:

This ship will be launched for a flight to the Mir-station on 6.01.1994. If all goes according to the original planning the relief crew will consist of 3 cosmonauts. One of them is a doctor (Polyakov or Arazamov) who must remain in space for 1.5 year. Whether the crew will consist of 2 or 3 cosmonauts is not sure for 100%.

Mir-routine:

In this period Mir's passes are in the night hours. The crew is still busy in keeping the station operational. They have to pay a lot of attention to the life-support systems: air pressure- and air composition and the water regeneration systems Elektron and S.R.V.-U.

Visit of the American vice-president to TsUP:

The Russians very badly need financial support from the United States for the upgrading of the partly worn-out Mir-station. So they are very pleased that vice-president Gore will visit Kaliningrad near Moscow around 14.12.93. He will also visit the flight control centre TsUP.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

Stationed at 97 deg W. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with IFR trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 97 deg W in 1994-1997 As of 5 September 2001 located at 100.42 deg W drifting at 0.039 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 97.36W drifting at 0.024W degrees per day.

Stationed at 101.2 deg W. DirecTV, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hughes Communications and offers commercial satellite television service to the US. The orbital part of the system consists of 3 Hughes-built geosynchronous satellites. Broadcast services began in mid-1994. Competitors include the similar Primestar and USSB services, as well as older C-band satellite services and cable TV companies. Spacecraft: DirecTV uses the Hughes HS-601 spacecraft design.3-Axis stabilised, zero momentum biased control system. Two solar arrays (4 panels each side) span 31 meters and generate 4.3 kW power. Payload: The 2.5 m diameter graphite transmit reflector performs beam shaping.16 x 120 watt Ka-Band (12.2 - 12.7 GHz) transponders with 48-53 dBw EIRP and 24 MHz bandwidth. Power is higher in areas with heavy rain. The high power combined with Reed Solomon error correction coding allow the use of small 18 inch antennas by customers.
Financial/Operational:
FCC approved Direct Broadcast Satellites in 1986. By 1997 DirecTV had 2.6 million of 5.0 million US direct broadcast television subscribers. Direct Broadcast Satellites cost $ 175 million each and have 150 video channels. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 101 deg W in 1994-1999; 110 deg W in 1999-2000 As of 6 September 2001 located at 109.78 deg W drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 72.51W drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.