Stationed at 66.0 deg E. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 66 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 29 August 2001 located at 66.03 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 66.03E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.

On 11.01.1995 between 0900 and 0925 UTC the Soyuz-TM20 flew autonomously to test the Kurs-approach and docking system at the forward transition section (P.Kh.O.) of the Mir-complex. Problems during some docking operations in Aug/Sept 1994 (Progress-M24) and on 6.10.1994 (Soyuz-TM20) made this operation necessary. Long before Soyuz-TM20 separated from the complex the whole crew was on board of that ship and thoroughly tested all systems. According to the plan the Soyuz-TM20 executed the approach and docking fully automatically by use of the Kurs system. Viktorenko, assisted by Kondakova, was ready to take over manually if something went wrong or in case of a too high fuel consumption. Soyuz-TM20 perfectly linked to the station at 09.24.57 UTC, the aberrations remained far within the limits, just before docking less than 0.5 degrees. The good functioning of the Kurs systems is indispensable for the execution of the program for this year. During the operation with the Soyuz-TM20 the radio traffic went via the geostationary Altair. During the separation Soyuz-TM20 flew within our range and the traffic could be monitored on 121.750 mc as well as via Altair.

Luch-1:

This geostationary satellite to be used for Mir-TsUP communications in the near future is standing over 95 degrees East, but is not yet operational for TDRS purposes.

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

At first thought not to have reached orbit. Later the re-entry vehicle was discovered in Ghana having reentered and deployed its parachute on January 15. At T+103 sec, during the second stage burn, the vehicle veered off course. The payload service module entered a 110 x 250 km x 33 degree orbit, instead of the intended 270 x 380 km and re-entered on its second orbit. The re-entry capsule was found later in Ghana. A failure of the second stage attitude control system was blamed, although it was considered likely that the payload was too heavy for the vehicle, being twice the mass of earlier MU-3S payloads.

Because the Apstar failure happened a few seconds later than Optus, the consequences were catastrophic. The vehicle was destroyed, and the falling wreckage landed on a village down-range of the launch site, killing at least 20 and perhaps as many as 120 people.

The Mir-crew is still struggling along to keep the complex habitable and operational. Recently they had to cope with technical problems with the heating, drinking-water, pressure control and with a leakage of water in the Kristall-module. With the help of advice from experts on earth they solved the problems. On 23.01.1995 during the pass in orbit 51032, 0719- UTC, TsUP gave Viktorenko attitude control data to adjust the attitude of the complex in such a way that the solar panels of the Kristall module could deliver a maximum of energy. Dr. Polyakov continued his medical checks and experiments. On request by experts on earth the crew filmed and observed the areas of Kobe in Japan and Grozny. On 21.01.1995 they transmitted these images to earth. It was not always possible to do this due to clouds and bad weather in the areas of interest. Also on 21.01.1995 Dr. Polyakov gave a lecture for Russian children, members of an organisation for young people interested in spaceflight. During a long TV-session via Altair Polyakov explained how the systems in the base block worked. Extensively he explained all about the production and delivery of oxygen for the complex and the purification of the air on board. He emphasised the necessity of the permanent survey of the life systems and a regular maintenance.

Rendezvous Discovery (STS-63) with Mir: On 2.02.1995 at 0549 UTC STS-63 will be launched for a flight in which the most important operation will be a rendezvous with the Mir-complex. Somewhat earlier, on 4.02.1995 at 1221- UTC Mir and Discovery will be able to establish radio contact. From Discovery cosmonaut Titov and the female astronauts Collins and Voss will speak with the crew of Mir. On 5.02.1995 at 1828 UTC the rendezvous operation will begin and STS-63 will approach Mir in a distance of 10 meters.

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

Deployed ODERACS 2A-2E; deployed and retrieved Spartan 204. Discovery rendezvoused with Russia's space station, Mir, to a distance of 11 m and performed a fly-around, but did not dock with Mir. Payloads: SPACEHAB 03, Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN) 204, Cryo Systems Experiment (CSE)/GLO-2 Experi-ment Payload (CGP)/Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS) 2, Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC)

The rendezvous operation got sufficient attention in the media. So I refrain from repeating the extensively published facts. I monitored as much as possible radio traffic related to the rendezvous. Here some items which might be interesting for insiders and 'real spaceflight freaks': 1. During the rendezvous TV transmissions from Mir with images of Discovery were relayed via Altair, the Russian TDRS over 17 degs. West. These transmissions reached K.S.C. and Houston and have been widely used by TV-organisations, for instance CNN. As soon as the windows for Mir-Altair traffic closed the new Luch-1 over 97 degrees East and a number of Russian tracking stations took over. 2. Co-operation and co-ordination between both FCC-s (Houston and Kaliningrad) went smoothly. 3. For direct radio contact between Mir and Discovery the VHF- channels 121.750 and 130.1625MC -in fact Mir-channels- were in use. Vladimir Titov also used a handset for communications in the ham band: 145.325 and 145.625Mc. Before and after the rendezvous operation Mir and Discovery now and then used Altair and TDRS channels for contact with each other. 4. Regularly commentators emphasised the fact that the operation was a rehearsal for the docking operation of Atlantis in June 1995. This rehearsal was a success: Discovery remained stable on the closest approach of 10 M just in a position opposite to the docking port of the Kristall-module to be used by Atlantis for the docking. Before that docking the Russians will have to move the Kristall from the side- to the axial forward docking port of the transition section.

Radio traffic during the days before the launch of Discovery and before the rendezvous: A lot of traffic was related to the preparations of the rendezvous. For the Mir-crew this meant a lot of work to install TV- and Photo camera's and training in communication procedures. Conversations about these subjects could be monitored during communication sessions via Altair. Also via Altair the Mir-crew regularly spoke with cosmonaut Titov on K.S.C. where he was waiting for the launch.

After the rendezvous: Unfortunately the passes of Mir and Discovery for our position occurred during the night hours and the cosmonauts stuck to their normal day- and night routine. This made it impossible for us to monitor direct radio traffic between Mir and Discovery being not far from each other for a long time. During all possible windows for visual observations dense clouds made these observations impossible.

Mir-routine now: Now the Russians are again among themselves. This will not often be the case in 1995 and 1996. (To be continued in the next MirNEWS).

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

Freighter Progress-M26 docked at the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of the Mir-complex on 17.02.1995 at 182136 UTC in orb. 51427. Approach and docking took place in the automatic mode with the system Kurs. Viktorenko was ready to take over manually (by TORU) if necessary. He reported the movements of the Progress-M26 which enabled me to monitor the operation until 'kasaniye' (touch, soft docking). For TV-transmissions and phone the Russians used the geostationary Altair. This time the docking was executed in the earth's shadow. A searchlight had been installed on the Progress-M26. During the next orbit (0912 UTC) the crew reported that the airseal was good. It lasted a long time before the crew could enter the Progress-M26 due to some obstructing goods.

Decay of Progress-M25: Progress-M25 left the aft docking port on 16.02.1995 at 1303 UTC. After two autonomous orbits the Progress-M25 got an impulse at 1606 UTC to enter the dense layers of the atmosphere. She decayed in a for that purpose designated area over the Pacific East of New-Zealand. Progress-M25 did not carry a VBK (ballistic return capsule). The Russians do not equip Progress-M ships with such a capsule if the landing has to take place in the winter.

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

Carried Astro 2 astronomy payload with 3 UV telescopes.(attached to Endeavour).Payloads: Ultraviolet Astronomy (ASTRO) 2; Middeck Active Control Experiment (MACE); Protein Crystal Growth—Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-TES) 03; Protein Crystal Growth—Single-Locker Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-STES) 02; Commercial Materials Dispersion Apparatus Minilab/Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc. Experiments (CMIX) 03; Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II; two getaway special experiments.

Mir Expedition EO-18. Soyuz TM-21 carried the EO-18 Mir crew and American Norman Thagard. Thagard was the first American to be launched in a Soyuz. Soyuz docked with Mir at 07:45:26 GMT on March 16 . On July 4 Soyuz TM-21 undocked and backed off to a distance of 100 m from Mir. The US space shuttle Atlantis, with the EO-18 crew aboard, then undocked and began a flyaround at a distance of 210 m, while the EO-19 crew aboard Soyuz took pictures before redocking with the station. Soyuz TM-21 again undocked with the EO-19 crew on September 11 from the Kvant rear port on Mir and landed at 50 deg 41'N 68 deg 15'E, 108 km northeast of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan, at 06:52:40 GMT .

Launch from Baykonur on 14.03.1995 at 0611 UTC; docking to the Mir-station on 16.03.1995 at 0745 UTC. The crew consisting of the captain Dezhurov, board-engineer Strekalov and the American Norman Thagard, uses the call Uragany, so resp. Uragan-1, 2 en 3. All went well during the 2-days flight. During the 4th and 5th orbit Soyuz-TM21 had been corrected and the crew reported this on 121.750 mc during passes within our range. Telemetry- and beacon-transmitters could be monitored on the well known frequencies (166.130, 165.873 en 922.755mc.). To communicate with TsUP Soyuz-TM21 had to be within range of the ground stations in Russia and Kazakhstan. Communications via the geostationary satellites Altair and Luch-1 are only possible when an Soyuz-TM21 is within range of the Mir-station. Then Mir can act as a relay station. This can be heard during the pass within our range just before the docking. The signals from the Soyuz-TM can be received simultaneously: directly on 121.750 mc as well as via Altair. The images used by American TV-stations reached them via Mir and Altair. The TV-report from Soyuz-TM21 from CNN ceased when Mir/Soyuz-TM21 left the window for Altair. The crew of the Soyuz-TM21 seemed to have no adaptation problems, Strekalov and Thagard have a lot of experience, but newcomer Dezhurov also performed his tasks well. Mir: The crew has been very busy with preparations for the arrival of the so called 18th Main Expedition to Mir. Life support systems and other vital equipment got special attention. As usual before the oncoming return the crew had to undergo a lot of medical checks (E.C.G.-s etc.). The crew also completed the work with the freighter Progress-M26, due to leave the aft docking port of the complex for that port must be available for the docking of the Soyuz-TM21.

Progress-M26 separated from Mir on 15.03.1995 and decayed that day in a designated area East of New Zealand at abt. 0600 UTC.

Return to Earth of the 17th Main Expedition (Viktorenko, Kondakova and Dr. Polyakov) on 22.03.1995 with the Soyuz-TM20.

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

Geostationary Meteorological Satellite; carried search and rescue package. Stationed at 140.2 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 160 deg E in 1995; 140 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 139.99 deg E drifting at 0.028 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 45.88E drifting at 3.134W degrees per day.

Stationed at 50.1 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 50 deg W in 1995-1996; 18 deg W in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 17.97 deg W drifting at 0.006 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 50.01W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

On 9.04.1995 at 2133 UTC this freighter will be launched from Baykonur for a flight to the Mir-space station. If all goes according to plan the ship will dock at the for ward (P.Kh.O.) port on 11.04.1995 at abt 2058 UTC. Approach and docking will be in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. The captain of Mir is ready to take over manually by the TORU system in case of problems during the automatic approach.

ALTERATIONS:

During the Mir's pass over here during orb. 52158, on 5.04.95 TsUP informed the crew about some alterations of the recent planning: 1. Immediately after the arrival of Progress-M27 the cosmonauts will have to work on the gyrodynes. This on request by the Americans. In their opinion the complex needs 12 well functioning gyrodynes. This means that the first EVA planned for 28.04.95 will be put back to the beginning of May, possibly to 1.05.95. 2. The launch of the module Spektr on schedule for 10.05.95 has been put back to 20.05.95. One of the causes of this delay is the installation of equipment on Spektr to make the use of the system TORU by the Mir-crew possible if during the docking operation the automatic system Kurs fails. 3. Though not confirmed thus far the delay of the launch of the Spektr might also put back the launch date of the Atlantis for the docking mission by appr. 10 days.

GFZ-1: Progress-M27 also has to deliver to the Mir-complex the normal cargo (food, fuel, water, spare parts, experiments, etc.) a small satellite named GFZ-1. GFZ-1 is a spherical satellite with a mass of 20 KG and a diameter of appr. 20 CM. GFZ-1 has been constructed by the German firm Kayser-Threde (Munchen) and will be used by the Geoforschungszentrum Potzdam for geodetic experiments by laser reflectors. GFZ-1 makes it possible to deliver highly accurate measurements of the Earth's gravitation field. Shortly the Mir-crew will launch GFZ-1 for its autonomous flight of appr. 2 years.

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

Mobile communicaitons. Stationed at 101.1 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 101 deg W in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 101.01 deg W drifting at 0.024 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 100.99W drifting at 0.003W degrees per day.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir; carried GFZ-1 German sub-satellite to Mir. Docked with Mir on 11 Apr 1995 21:00:44 GMT. Undocked on 22 May 1995 23:42:37 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 23 May 1995 03:27:52 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.22 days. Total docked time 41.11 days.

This freighter started from Baykonur on 9.04.95 at 1933 UTC. After a 2-days flight during which no problems emerged Progress-M27 docked to the forward (P.Kh.O. - transition section) of the Mir complex on 11.04.1995 at 2100 UTC (21 hrs 00 mins 42 seconds), so on 12.04.1995 at 0100 Moscow Summer Time. Approach and docking took place in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. Dezhurov was ready to take over manually by the remote control system TORU, but this was not necessary. Progress-M27 docked during Mir's orbit 52262. During the final approach and docking traffic was relayed by Altair. There were no TV-images. Dezhurov reported details of the approach and the soft docking (kasanye). During the next pass in orb. 52263, at 2227 UTC Strekalov reported that they had opened the hatch to Progress-M27 2 minutes earlier and that everything was in good order. Progress-M27 delivered to the complex the normal cargo (water, food, fuel, post, underwear, scientific material, etc.), repair materials for the systems to maintain a good atmosphere and the water generation and the German micro-satellite GFZ-1.

GFZ-1: So this little satellite is now on board of the Mir- complex waiting for its 'second' launch. This has to be done by the cosmonauts in the night from 19 to 20.04.1995. This spherical object with a mass of 20 KG and a diameter of 21 CM will separate from Mir with a speed of 1.2 M/sec. During this operation the German tracking station Oberpfaffenhofen will play an important role. (For details about GFZ-1 see Mir-

NEWS.249)

During the pass in which Strekalov reported the opening of the hatch, TsUP told him that the first EVA will take place on 11.05.1995. The date for the launch of Spektr (thus far on schedule for 20.05.1995) might be changed. After the launch of the Spektr, so during one of its 7-days autonomous flight, Progress-M27 will be separated from Mir.

Possible launch date of Atlantis for the flight in which she has to dock to Mir: 22.06.1995. If so the flight of the Disco very might be put forward to 6.06.1995. This all is not sure at this moment.

C.M. van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

On 19.04.1995 at 1912 UTC this spherical microsat (21 CM diameter, mass 20 KG) has been pushed into space from an airlock of Mir's base block. GFZ-1 moved off with a speed of 1.2 M/sec. The traffic in which the reports of data and images of the autonomous GFZ-1 could be monitored via Altair. The same operation had taken place some days before: On 17.04.1995 at 08Hrs 19Mins 50Secs the crew launched a container with garbage to be sure that the system would work well. This object is now in space under catalogue number 23557. GFZ-1 has been built by the German firm Kayser-Threde. The co-ordination of the observations of GFZ-1 will be done by the Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam. Abt 25 observatories all over the world will execute measurements by laser reflections. Stations are among others: London, Grasse (France), Potsdam, Easterisland, Graz (Austria) and even one in Kirgizie. The stations can 'catch' GFZ-1 with a beamwidth of 200 Meters. During the first pass London and Graz did not get reflections, but during the 2d pass Graz caught GFZ-1 and was able to pick the first geodetic and ballistic measurements. During the launch the Mir-crew acted independently.

Planning for the near future:

Some crucial operations had to be put back by the Russians (launch module Spektr, EVA-s, a.s.o.) and this forced the Americans to put back the launch of the Atlantis to the second half of June. Therefore the flight of Discovery has been put forward and will now begin at abt 8.06.1995.

Cargo Progress-M27: An antenna for radio-amateur purposes, delivered by Progress-M27, has been damaged due an improper packing. The crew showed this antenna via Altair and discussed this problem with the well known radio-amateur Sergey Samburov.

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

The data for the 1st two EVA-s are: 12 and 17.05.1995. After these 2 EVA-s there will be made another 2 of which data and other details still have to be settled. There is a possibility of 2 extra, so called 'contingency' EVA-s. The EVA on 12.05 will begin at 0500 UTC (opening of the hatch), last abt 5 hours and the main task will be the transfer of a solar panel from Kristall to Kvant-1. Possibly the cosmonauts will also retrieve materials which have been exposed to open space. During radio communications in the last week could be heard how the cosmonauts checked systems, spacesuits, communication channels, etc. The last 2 days these checks were focused on the communication channels. The checks were very realistic and gave a good insight in the communications procedures and systems. During EVA-s the 143.625 shifts to 143.617 mc, so lower than the normal Doppler shift and interference by an air traffic channel are standard and during those checks the same happened. Preparations for the 1st EVA will begin in the night from 11 to 12.05.1995, the opening of the hatch, in fact the beginning of the EVA, will be at abt. 0500 UTC. The Russians Dezhurov and Strekalov will do the EVA, Thagard will be on duty in the Mir- complex.

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

During their 2d EVA on 17.05.1995 the cosmonauts were not able to accomplish their task due to a threatening lack of oxygen. This EVA was the 2d one in a series of 4. There was a possibility to use 2 so called 'contingency-EVA's'. The first of these contingency EVA's will take place on 22.05.1995. The time of the opening of the hatch and the duration are still unknown. This EVA -so now to be counted as the 3d one- will be made to complete the transfer of a solar battery from Kristall to Kvant-1 (37KE). The cosmonauts will have to install, deploy and activate that solar panel. To fill up the gap in the energy supply the solar panels of the freighter Progress-M27 are now also delivering energy to the Mir-complex. Thus far is not known when the EVA on schedule for 24.05.1995 will be made.

Launch of Spektr:

The Spektr technological module will be launched by a Proton carrier from Baykonur on 20.05.1995 at 0330 UTC.

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

Stationed at 135 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 90 deg W in 1995; 135 deg W in 1996-1998; 98-105 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 103.62 deg W drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 159.81E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.

Redocking of Kristall module from -Y axis to -X axis:

In the night from 26 to 27.05.95. Period: from 26.5 2309 UTC to 27.05.95 at 0040 UTC. (-X axis is forward port transition section, P.Kh.O.)

4th Spacewalk (EVA):

This EVA will take place on 28.05.95 from 2240-2310 UTC (in Moscow time already 29.05.1995). The cosmonauts will remain inside the vacuumed P.Kh.O. (transition section) for the replacement of the docking cone from the -X axis to the -Z axis. This for the temporary 'parking' of the Kristall.

Redocking of Kristall from the -X axis to the -Z axis on 29.05.1995 from 2200-2330 UTC (in Moscow time already 30.5). The forward docking port (-X axis) is then free for the reception of Spektr.

Docking of Spektr is planned for 1.06.1995 at abt 0038 UTC. Koppeling van de Spektr aan het Mir-station:

The 5th EVA will take place on 2.06.1995, again fully within the P.Kh.O. with a duration of abt. 40 mins. Beginning time thus far unknown. During this EVA the cosmonauts will replace the docking cone from the -Z axes to the -Y axes. This to make redocking from Spektr to that port possible.

Redocking of Spektr from the -X axes to the -Y axis will take place on 3.06.1995 (times thus far unknown).

When the Kristall will be redocked from the -Z axes to the -X axes is unknown thus far, but Kristall has to be positioned to that port for the docking of the Atlantis.

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

On 1.06.1995 (for Moscow time already 2.06.1995) from 2204- 2229 UTC the Mir-crew made a short EVA inside the vacuumized transition section (P.Kh.O.). During this EVA they replaced the docking cone from the -Z to the -Y axis.

Redocking Spektr (Module-O):

This operation was executed quickly and successfully (so also the 'Lyappa' of Spektr is reliable) on 2.06.95 from 1952- 2150 UTC (so the closing of the hatch already on 3.06.95 Moscow time). The Spektr has been moved from the -X axis (axial forward port of Mir) to the -Y axis. So the forward port is now available to receive the Kristall (Module-T). Redocking of Kristall put back:

This operation was on schedule for the night from 6 to 7.06.1995 but has been postponed to the period from 15.06 - 18.06.1995. The Russians said that this was necessary due to activities with a higher priority. It might be possible that this has something to do with the airseal problems arose after the redocking of Kristall in the night from 29 to 30.05.1995. That night during the pass in orbit 53012 Dezhurov reported a dropping pressure in Kristall or the transition section (P.Kh.O.). This might be caused by a minor leakage in the joint between Kristall and the P.Kh.O. After 1 hr and 8 minutes the pressure dropped from abt 700 mm to 469 mm. Whether this problem has caused the postponement of the redocking of Kristall has not been confirmed thus far. That there is a problem with the air pressure has been confirmed officially. Spokesmen also stated that extra oxygen en nitrogen has to be delivered to the complex to replenish the loss of air during the recent EVA-s.

Thagard injured his eye: Not all what is written in my logbook reaches my reports. Already on 19.05.1995 Thagard reported that he injured his right eye during an 'experiment with an expander'. During the days there after Thagard regularly complained about his eye and TsUP advised him which medicines he had to swallow. Meanwhile the eye seems to be recovered for when there is question about this problem Thagard and his colleagues say that all is normal. I did refrain from publishing about this medical 'secret' due to an official request. Recently this ban has been lifted by the Head of the Russian Space Agency, Koptev, who told Itar-Tass that Thagard had been struck at his head above his right eye by a spring which got loose from an expander during physical training.

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

The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. 10 pilots and 9 mission specialists, 6 civilians and 13 military officers, chosen from 2,962 applicants, of which 122 screened in June-August 1994. 4 additional international astronauts.

After that it was moved several times by the small manipulator arm on Mir to accommodate the addition of the Spektr module to the station and to allow rendezvous with the US Shuttle at Kristall's main docking port. The module was transferred to its final location at the Mir transfer compartment's starboard radial port on July 17, 1995.

The air seal problems with the joint between Kristall and the transition section (P.Kh.O.) have been resolved earlier than had been expected and so Kristall could be redocked from the -Z to the -X axis (forward axial port) on 10.06.1995 at 1730 UTC. The operation was accomplished at 1800 UTC. So Kristall is now ready for the reception of the shuttle Atlantis.

SPEKTR: One of the 4 solar panels not fully deployed.

One of the solar panels of Spektr did not unfold fully. This malfunction caused power problems and a very scarce use of the communications via Altair. To repair the solar panel the cosmonauts will have to make an extra spacewalk (EVA).

6th EVA:

To make the deployment of the solar panel of the Spektr possible the cosmonauts will have to do an EVA on 15.06.1995 between 1400 and appr. 1900 UTC.

Launch Atlantis:

The Americans are doing all what is possible to execute the launch of Atlantis on 22.06.1995. The Russians as well as the Americans are sure that the solar panel of Spektr will be repaired in time.

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

Phase III, encompassing 34 flights, evaluated the Precision Guided Airdrop Software (PGAS) system using Wedge 3 from June 14, 1995 to November 20, 1996. Researchers used Wedge 3 to develop a guidance system to be used by the Army for precision offset cargo delivery. The Wedge 3 vehicle was 4 ft long, and was dropped at weights varying from 127 to 184 lb. Unlike Wedges 1 and 2, its flight objectives were not tied to the terminal recovery of a space vehicle, and it was not called a Spacewedge. (There was also a fourth wedge, but it never flew and served only as backup hardware to Wedge 3.)

During a meeting at Noordwijk Space Expo Kondakova told me that the EVA planned for 15.06 has been put back to 16.06.95. During radio traffic via Altair on 15.06 during orb. 53268, 0835-0925 UTC the cosmonauts asked for a duration of the EVA of 5.30 instead of 5 hrs. During that EVA they will have to deploy an unwilling solar array on Spektr and to inspect this to be sure that it will give no problems during the docking of Atlantis. They also will have to repair an unreliable drive of a solar array on Kvant-2 (Module-D) and check the docking port of the -Z axis due to the recent air leakage.

Start Atlantis: When Atlantis will be launched is not yet sure for 100%, but if the EVA will be successful and no other problems emerge NASA intends to execute the launch on 23.06.95 at 2308 UTC (launch window 7 mins). I hope to be on the spot during the launch and landing, which has been planned for 4.07 at 1637 UTC. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

Mir Expedition EO-19. Transferred Budarin, Solovyov to Mir, returned Soyuz TM-21 crew to Earth. After undocking from Mir on July 4, Atlantis spent several days on orbit, carrying out medical research work with the Spacelab-Mir module in the cargo bay. Payloads: Shuttle/Mir Mission 1, Spacelab-Mir, IMAX camera, Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX).

Ron Howard's cinematic version of the Apollo 13 mission is released. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon portray the crew with Gary Sinise as the grounded Mattingly and Ed Harris as flight controller Gene Kranz. The film grosses $ 334.1 million worldwide and reawakens popular awareness and interest in the space race of the 1960's.

Caracterisation de l'Environnement Radioelectrique par un Instrument Spatiale Embarque; examined Earth RF environment. Customer: Alcatel Espace/DME. French government research payload incorporated into an advance microsatellite platform. Still operational as of 2000.

Just returned from the United States, where I was during the launch, docking, separation and landing of the STS-71, Atlantis. Still suffering from 'jetlag' and not back in my normal work-rhythm. But nevertheless here some facts about Mir/Atlantis and the plans for Mir this month.

Atlantis blasted off from KSC on 27.06.1995 at 1932 UTC. Docking at the Kristall-module on 29.06.1995 at 1300 UTC. 4.07.1995 at 1055 UTC Soyuz-TM21 with Solovyov and Budarin separated from Mir's Kvant-1 module for a photo mission of the undocking of Atlantis. 4.07.1995 at 1110 UTC successful undocking of Atlantis from Mir. 4.07.1995 at 1138 UTC Soyuz-TM21 redocked to Kvant-1. This took place 5 minutes earlier than was planned due to a malfunction of the Ts.V.M.-1 (main computer on board Mir). Solovyov per formed the docking manually while the deviation of Mir was already 10 degrees. 7.07.1995 at 1455 UTC soft landing of Atlantis on the S.L.F. (Shuttle Landing Facility) of Kennedy Space Centre.

Plans Mir-operations this month: 14.07.1995: 1st spacewalk (EVA): Checking airseal of docking port in -Z before the redocking of Kristall and an attempt to deploy the naughty solar array of Spektr. Beginning of EVA at 0340 UTC, duration somewhat more than 5 hrs. 17.07.1995: Possibly, depending on the results of the 1st EVA, the redocking of Kristall from the -X axis (forward port) to the radial port -Z axis. If so this operation will begin at abt 0200 UTC. There was a 2d EVA on schedule for 18.07 (later put back to 19.07), but possibly this EVA will be cancelled. Depending on the results of the 1st EVA. Progress-M28: If all goes well during the operations mentioned above this freighter will be launched from Baykonur on 20.07. Docking has to take place on 22.07 at the forward (-X) docking port of the complex. More news about the near future: There is an EVA planned on 18.08.1995 to install on the outer surface of Mir experiments among which the Belgian MirAS. This experiment has been brought to Mir by the Spektr module. Euromir'95: The launch of this mission with Soyuz-TM22 has been put back to 1.09.1995. (Gidzenko, Avdeyev and Reiter).

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

Deployed TDRS 7. Payloads: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) G/ Inertial Upper Stage (IUS); Bioreactor Demon-stration System (BDS) B; Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC); Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG); Hand-Held, Earth-Oriented, Real-Time, Cooperative, User-Friendly, Location-Targeting and Environmental System (HER-CULES); Microcapsules in Space (MIS) B; Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rodents (R); Radiation Monitoring Experiment (RME) III; Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II; Space Tissue Loss (STL)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cells (C); Military Applications of Ship Tracks (MAST); Visual Function Tester (VFT) 4; Window Experiment (WINDEX).

NASA communications; deployed from STS-70 on 7/13/95. Stationed at 149.8 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 150 deg W in 1995-1996; 171 deg W in 1996-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 171.48 deg W drifting at 0.017 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 150.85W drifting at 0.002E degrees per day.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Docked with Mir's front port on 22 Jul 1995 04:39:37 GMT. Undocked on 4 Sep 1995 05:09:53 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 4 Sep 1995 08:58:55 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.22 days. Total docked time 44.02 days. Two Icons of Saint Anastasia were taken into space aboard the craft and transferred to the Mir station where they remained for about seven months. They were returned to earth, apparently aboard Soyuz TM-22, and later shown in diffent shrines around the world.

This EVA took place on 21.07.1995 from 0030-0605 UTC. The main task of the crew consisted of the installation of the Belgian Spectrometer, MirAS, on the outer surface of the Spektr-module. The EVA was a success and the last to be executed by this crew. During the EVA the geostationary satellite Altair (west) has not been used during all possible windows and if so only for voice communications. The recorded images have been transmitted to earth after the EVA possibly via direct channels or Luch-1. Progress-M28 successfully linked up with Mir:

On 22.07.1995 at 0440 UTC Solovyov reported 'kasaniye' (touch). During the Altair-window in orbit 53838, so in which the approach and docking took place, only voice communications could be monitored. So no images of the approach. Approach and docking were executed in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. The crew observed the approach of Progress-M28 through portholes.

Progress-M28 docked to the forward axial port (-X) of the transition section (P.Kh.O.). At 0630 UTC checks of the hard docking and airseal had been completed and the hatch was opened just before 0705 UTC. Progress-M28 delivered to the Mir-complex food, water, fuel and scientific equipment.

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

16 C-Band, 24 Ku-Band transponders; 320 radio + 120 DirecTV channels. Stationed at 68.5 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 68 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 72.03 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 72.00E drifting at 0.003W degrees per day.

15 Ku-band transponders; boosted into geosynch orbit by satellite thrusters following Delta failure that left satellite in LEO; unplanned use of satellite propellant cut usable satellite lifetime by approx. 50 percent. Stationed at 116.0 deg E. Stage 1 SRM failure Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 116 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 47.22 deg E drifting at 0.022 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 152.88E drifting at 2.155W degrees per day.

The launch from Baykonur of Soyuz-TM22 is still on schedule for 3.09.95 at 0900 UTC. Soyuz-TM22 will carry the relief crew (the 20th Main expedition) to the Mir-station together with the ESA astronaut, the German, Thomas Reiter. The Russian crew consists of the Mir's captain Yuriy Gidzenko, who will make his first spaceflight, and the board-engineer Sergey Avdeyev, who already made 1 spaceflight. This crew and the stand-in crew flew to Baykonur on 23.08.95 to accomplish their final training.

Mir: During the past weeks the complex passed during the night hours. Meanwhile the passes shifted to the afternoon en evening hours. The clear skies during the evenings made good visual observations possible. The cosmonauts executed a lot of experiments and repairs. They installed new gyrodynes in Module-D and resolved airseal problems. Probably one or more gyrodyne cases showed leaks. The cosmonauts solved this problem using a lute named 'germetik'. They did this by putting this lute around some leaking electric sockets.

Scarce information: During the past weeks it was difficult for me to maintain sufficient grip on the Mir-operations. This due to family circumstances, the night passes of the complex and the capricious behaviour of the geostationary satellite Altair. (see File ALTC2054.TXT.)

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

8 transponders for digital TV. Stationed at 128.1 deg E. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 128 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 128.05 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg E per day. As of 2007 Feb 20 located at 126.99E drifting at 0.144W degrees per day.

Stationed at 80 deg E. Relaying of telegraph and telephone information. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 80 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 31 August 2001 located at 16.12 deg W drifting at 0.037 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 5 located at 17.95W drifting at 0.052W degrees per day.

By 1996 Kistler had completed the K-1 vehicle development and ground facilities work packages and signed preliminary contracts with several major systems and sub-systems contractors; completed a series of critical design reviews with K-1 contractors; signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Nevada to establish a United States launch site; received 46 Russian NK-33 and NK-43 engines from Aerojet. Thereafter the program ran out of funding and momentum in the wake of the Iridium bankruptcy and collapse of the MEO satellite market.

Mir Expedition EO-20. Crew commander was Yuriy Pavlovich Gidzenko of the Russian Air Force. Flight engineer was Sergey Vasilyevich Avdeev of RKK Energiya, and cosmonaut-researcher was Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency. Soyuz TM-22 docked with Mir's front (-X) port at 10:29:54 GMT on September 5 and the hatch was opened at 11:01:23.

This ship with on board the crew for the 20d Main Expedition to Mir and the Euromir'95 cosmonaut Thomas Reiter started flawlessly from Baykonur on 3.09.1995 at 0900 UTC (for the connoisseurs: 09.00.23.115). The Russians are the captain Yuriy Pavlovich Gidzenko, making his first spaceflight, Sergey Vasilyevich Avdeyev, making his 2d flight. The crew uses the call 'Uran', so for Gidzenko, Avdeyev and Reiter, respectively Uran-1, -2 and -3. The 1st day of the 2 days autonomous flight to Mir passed without any problems. Already during the 3d orbit at 120240 UTC Soyuz-TM22 came within our range. Gidzenko reported the successful check of the manual orientation control system. All went well. During the pass at 1332 UTC Gidzenko, sounding very fit, reported that the first 2 orbit corrections had been performed well. All systems worked without hitches and the health and mood of the crew were excellent.

Planned linkup with Mir-station:

If all continues to go according to plan the Soyuz-TM22 will dock at the forward docking port (P.Kh.O. -transition section), the -X axis on 5.09.95 at 1030 UTC. The last phase of the approach will take place within our range during Mir-orbit 54543 from 1018-1025 UTC. In this period we can expect radio traffic on the frequencies: 121.750 Mc (Soyuz-TM22) and 143.625 Mc (Mir). It is not possible to predict whether the old Altair on 17 dgs West will be used or not for this good old 'geo' did not show up since 26.08.95 0824 UTC.

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

Deployed and retrieved Spartan 201, WSF 2. Payloads: Wake Shield Facility (WSF) 2; Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for As-tronomy (SPARTAN) 201; International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH)1; Inter-Mars Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (ITEPC); Extravehicular Activity Development Flight Test (EDFT) 2; Capillary Pumped Loop (CAPL) 2/ getaway special (GAS) bridge assembly with five GAS payloads; Auroral Photography Experiment (APE) B; Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC); Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), Configuration A; Electrolysis Perfor-mance Improvement Concept Study (EPICS); Space Tissue Loss (STL)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cells (C); Commercial Middeck Instrumentation Technology Associates Experiment (CMIX).

Russian engineer cosmonaut 1965-1988. Graduated from Kiev AF Academy of Engineering, 1962. Cosmonaut training November 1965 - December 1967. Worked as research scientist at the Gagarin Center. Involved in the Buran program from 1986-1988. Died of a heart attack.

Direct TV for continental US. Stationed at 89.0 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 89 deg W in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 88.96 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. The Telstar 4 (former Telstar 402R) satellite suffered a power failure on September 19 2003 and was a total loss. It was part of AT&T's satellite fleet, later sold to Loral Skynet by 2003 in the process of being sold to Intelsat. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 116.15W drifting at 0.086W degrees per day.

During this overhaul 96 Master Change Requests are made, including installation of the Orbiter Docking System for space station operations, installation of the EDO cargo pallet, and repair and update of the thermal protection system. Discovery is returned to service in July 1996.

Science operations and daily telemetry ceased when the RTG power level was insufficient to operate any experiments. As of the end of 1995 the spacecraft was located at 44.7 AU from the Sun at a nearly asymptotic latitude of 17.4 degrees above the solar equatorial plane and was heading outward at 2.5 AU/year. Routine tracking and project data processing operations were terminated on March 31, 1997 for budget reasons.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Launched into an initial 194 x 242 km x 51.7 deg orbit. Docked with Mir's rear of the Kvant module port on 10 Oct 1995 20:32:40 GMT (Soyuz TM-22 was docked to the front port). Undocked on 19 Dec 1995 09:15:05 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 19 Dec 1995 16:15:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.36 days. Total docked time 69.53 days.

Stationed at 77 deg E. Relaying of telegraph and telephone information. Improved Altair/SR geosynchronous satellite for communication with Mir space station and other orbital spacecraft. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 77 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 2 September 2001 located at 75.63 deg E drifting at 0.029 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 77.39E drifting at 0.002E degrees per day.

Western Europe digital TV; 18 Ku-band transponders. Stationed at 19.2 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 19 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 19.16 deg E drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 19.18E drifting at 0.019W degrees per day.

At T+44.4 seconds the vehicle started a turn to the south and pitched down. The ISDS destruct system commanded the destruct packages at T+46.202 seconds. The ISDS failed to operate on two Castor 4 stage 1 motors but operated on the other four. At T+47.67 sec the ISDS destroyed a non-burning Castor 4B motor. The third stage Castor 4B and fourth stage Star 48 were not destroyed and impacted in the ocean. Cause of the failure was identified as the flight control system attempting to respond to noise being received on a data line, resulting in early depletion of hydraulic control steering fluid on stage 1 motor 6.

Rendezvoused and docked with Mir space station on November 15. Delivered the Russian-built 316GK Shuttle-Mir docking module to Mir.Payloads: Shuttle-Mir Mission 2; docking module with two attached solar arrays; IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC); Glow Experiment (GLO-4)/ Photogrammetric Appendage Structural Dynamics Experiment (PASDE) Payload (GPP); Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II.

Three transponders for direct broadcast television. Stationed at 70 deg E. Used SPT-100 plasma engine. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 71 deg E in 1995-1996; 36 deg E in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 36.88 deg E drifting at 0.031 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 62.06E drifting at 1.427W degrees per day.

TV; 24 C-band and 9 Ku-band transponders. Stationed at 100.5 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 100 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 100.49 deg E drifting at 0.015 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 100.49E drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.

Stationed at 95 deg W; 24 C-band, 24 Ku-band transponders; TV for Caribbean and Central America. Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 95 deg W in 1996-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 95.05 deg W drifting at 0.008 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 132.80W drifting at 0.084W degrees per day.

16 Ku-band transponders. Stationed at 119 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 119 deg W in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 147.96 deg W drifting at 0.007 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 148.10W drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.