In the period after the last MirNEWS the situation on board Mir was far from easy. After the freon leak the A.C. (BKV-3) remained switched off and the dehumidification of Mir's atmosphere was not sufficient. To gather at least 2.5 litres of the normal 4 litres of condensation the condensation regenerator in the Life Compartment of Soyuz-TM26 was activated.

In cold areas of the complex there is an enormous condensation. This condensation is almost reaching dangerous levels. To obtain sufficient water from condensation the Life Compartment of Soyuz-TM26 had to be cooled down. In this period the Elektrons did not work due to repair work and so Lithium Perchlorate cartridges had to be burnt for oxygen production. The cosmonauts accomplished the repair of the Vozdukh (CO2 scrubber) in the Base Block and as of 2.1.98 this system works and helps a little bit to remove water-vapour to open space.

There is also a lot of condensation in the cold Progress-M37 and the crew deployed an air-hose to blow cool air from there into the Base Block. In the period between 27 and 30.12.97 Mir remained continuously in full sunlight and the temperatures in the Base Block reached values above 30 dgs C. The cosmonauts did not complain about these inconvenience and David Wolf even stated that he likes high temperatures which give him more energy.

Failing Main Computer and Movements control system:

In the night from 1 to 2.01.1998 the SUD (movements control) gave an alarm and the Ts.V.M.-1 switched itself off. The cause was still unclear at deadline of this report. TsUP even thought that a virus played a part in that. After a virus scan TsUP said there had not been a virus. The cosmonauts recently had checked the Ts.V.M.-1 with an anti-virus program of Nov. 97 and they did not find anything. During passes in the morning of 2.1.98 TsUP asked the cosmonauts to suspend all activities and wait for further instructions. TsUP tried to use Telemetry for analysis, but they only got incomprehensible data. The solar batteries do not get the full sunshine and the cosmonauts had to switch the lights out and use electric torches. For today the repair work on the Elektrons has been cancelled.

Spacewalks (EVA-s):

The first EVA (Solovyov and Vinogradov) is scheduled for 8.01.98 from 2320 UTC (opening hatch between Scientific and instrument compartment and Airlock of Module-D). This EVA will last appr. 5 hrs 30 mins. If Solovyov and Vinogradov during that EVA accomplished the repair of the hatch of the air-lock the second EVA (Solovyov and Wolf) might take place on 14.01.98 from 2040 UTC (opening hatch of air-lock of module-D.) Duration appr. 2 hrs.

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

The Lunar Prospector was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition and possible polar ice deposits, measurements of magnetic and gravity fields, and study of lunar outgassing events. Data from the 1 to 3 year mission will allow construction of a detailed map of the surface composition of the Moon, and will improve understanding of the origin, evolution, current state, and resources of the Moon. After launch, the Lunar Prospector had a 105 hour cruise to the Moon, followed by insertion into a near-circular 100 km altitude lunar polar orbit with a period of 118 minutes. The nominal mission duration was one year.

Non-intercept fly-by to assess the performance of the Raytheon-built EKV seeker, collect target phenomenological data, and evaluate (post-test) target-modeling and discrimination algorithms. Raytheon was chosen as the NMD EKV contractor, partly as a result of its system's performance on this test.

Penultimate Shuttle mission to Mir. Andy Thomas replaced David Wolf as the resident NASA astronaut. Endeavour docked with the SO module on Mir at 20:14 GMT on January 24, 1998.

Payloads included:

• Orbiter middeck: CEBAS (German/US biological module with fish and snails); dinosaur skull (part of a museum educational program)
• Bay 1: Tunnel Adapter
• Bay 3: Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock
• Bay 4-7: Transfer Tunnel
• Bay 8-12: Spacehab Double Module (payloads included supplies for Mir, X-ray crystallography detector planned for the International Space Station)
• Bay 13P: Getaway Special GABA carrier with G-141, G-145 (German materials processing experiments)
• Bay 13S: Getaway Special GABA carrier with G-093 (University of Michigan fluid dynamics experiment), G-432 (Chinese materials processing experiment)

Despite fits problems with his Sokol emergency spacesuit, Andy Thomas replaced David Wolf as a Mir crew member on January 25. Endeavour undocked from Mir on January 29 at 16:57 GMT and made one flyaround of the station before departing and landing at Kennedy Space Center's runway 15 at 22:35 GMT on January 31.

Soyuz TM-27 carried the Mir EO-25 crew and French astronaut Leopold Eyharts. NASA and the Russian Space Agency had hoped Soyuz TM-27 could dock with Mir while Endeavour was still there, resulting in an on-board crew of 13, a record which would have stood for years or decades. But the French vetoed this, saying the commotion and time wasted would ruin Eyharts Pegase experimental programme. Soyuz TM-27 docked at the Kvant module port at 17:54 GMT on January 31, 1998, less than five hours before Endeavour landed in Florida.

Solovyov handed over command of Mir to EO-25 commander Musabayev, and the Mir EO-24 crew and Eyharts undocked from the forward port of Mir at 05:52 GMT on February 19 aboard the Soyuz TM-26 for their return home. On February 20, the EO-25 crew and Andy Thomas of the NASA-7 mission boarded Soyuz TM-27 and undocked from the Kvant port at 08:48 GMT. They redocked with the forward port on Mir at 09:32 GMT. This freed up the Kvant port for a test redocking of the Progress M-37 cargo ship, parked in a following orbit with Mir during the crew transfer.

Classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. It was likely that it was a technology test satellite combining equipment for several future projects, including a prototype COBRA BRASS infrared early warning satellite sensor. The project seemed to have been several years behind schedule (based on the launch vehicle serial number.

On 4.02.1998 during Mir's pass in orbit 68334, 1848-1856 UTC, Solovyov reported that at 1831 UTC he had got the warning: Check the SUD and that the complex was now in the so called 'Indikatornyy Rezhim' meaning that Mir was flying in the 'free drift'. Due to the fact that time was running out he asked for advice from TsUP. TsUP asked for 'format' and 'regime'. S. gave Format 1, Indicated regime, operation rotation. The gyrodynes were still spinning and the Ts.V.M.-1 (Main computer) remained operational.

They shifted to the regime of 'reduced power consumption' and among the systems which had to be switched off were both Elektron oxygen generators. During the radio traffic about this SUD failure Solovyov also mentioned the VDU. The VDU is the external thruster in the Sofora boom. Possibly the failure had been caused by a wrong command in which the VDU was involved. For the last time the VDU was used to control attitude during the beginning of the combined flight of Mir and Endeavour. The VDU almost ran out of fuel and will be replaced in the near future.

Due to the fact that the Ts.V.M.-1 remained operational and the gyrodynes did not stop spinning the problem with the SUD could be solved already in the evening of 4.02.98 and did not have a negative effect on the present mission. On 5.02.1998 Altair-2 could be used for communications. Normally a serious attitude problem makes the use of that facility impossible. Leopold Eyharts gave a long TV-interview in which he reported with enthusiasm about his mission. Also the following days Altair-2 was regularly in use for communications and TV-sessions, for instance with the press, family and friends.

In one of the sessions Vinogradov showed a lot of systems and explained their functions. The mood among the 4 cosmonauts, 1 astronaut and 1 spationaute is excellent. There is a lot of joy and they do not complain about their modest housing. A good example of international co-operation. Thus far Solovyov is still in command and he and Vinogradov are responsible for a number of repairs and for a good functioning of the life support systems. Now and then Andy Thomas can be heard when he is in contact with his lead at TsUP in English. I did not yet hear him speaking Russian.

Soyuz-TM26:

The return of this ship with the crew of the 24th Main Expedition (Solovyov and Vinogradov) and the CNES spationaute is scheduled for 19.02.1998. That day the hatch between the departing men will be closed between 0240 and 0252 UTC. Soyuz-TM26 will separate from Mir between 0553 and 0604 UTC. The landing is planned for 0917 UTC. Data and times of the operations with Soyuz-TM27 (redocking) and the Progress-M37 (return to the complex after the autonomous flight and docking at the aft port) still have to be determined.

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

Solovyov and Vinogradov together with French astronaut Eyharts (launched aboard Soyuz TM-27) undocked from the forward port on Mir at 05:52 GMT on February 19, 1998, fired their deorbit engines at 08:16 GMT and landed in Kazakstan at 50 deg 11 N, 67 deg 31 E at 09:10 GMT.

Kakehashi, meaning 'Bridge', was called Communuications and Broadcasting Experimental Test Satellite (COMETS) before launch. It contained Ka-band communications and inter-satellite data relay payloads. Premature shutdown 44 seconds into the H-II second stage second burn put the satellite into a much lower than planned orbit. The on-board Unified Propulsion System was used to raise it to a more useful orbit.

The docking took place on 23.02.1998 at 09.42.27 UTC (in my Progress-M37 message I wrote 09.43.27, sorry, slip of the finger!). Approach and docking were executed in the automatic mode with the system Kurs. During the final phase of the operation Musabayev was ready to take over the control manually with the system TORU. The window for traffic via Altair-2 was in use from 0857 UTC until the docking. Musabayev reported about what they did in relation to the approach operation. At 0858 UTC Musabayev reported that he could see the lights of the Progress-M37. Later on he reported what he could see via monitors of the Kurs and TORU systems. At 0859 UTC M. started a test of TORU. The system worked well and reacted faultlessly on all commands. When he switched off TORU at 0905 UTC he reported that the test results were positive. Hereafter he continued to follow the movements of Progress-M37 and he reported the distances and approach speeds.

At 0910 UTC audio communications via Altair-2 stopped and from that moment Altair-2 transmitted images of the Mir-complex seen via a camera in the Progress. At that moment the distance was 220 meters and the approach speed 0.8 M/sec. At 0930 UTC, Mir still could be seen via Altair-2, communications continued via VHF. Also the transmitters of Progress-M37 on 922.755 and in the 166 and 165 mc bands could be heard. TCA for my position was 09.30.40 UTC. During this VHF-window the crew got permission for the docking and at LOS at 0937 UTC the distance between Mir and Progress-M37 was 162 meters with an approach speed of 0.94 M/sec. Fortunately it was reported that the docking had been successful.

During the next window of Altair-2 the transponders were switched on at 1023 UTC and Musabayev tried to get in touch with TsUP. He repeatedly called TsUP, but did not get any reaction. Just before Altair-2 switched off there was a short link at 1047 UTC.

Smell: After the opening of the hatch of Progress-M37 some orbits later a strong terrible smell came out the freighter. Possibly a bag or container with garbage had gone open. The crew decided to set the hatch to the Progress ajar.

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

SNOE, the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer. Small satellite built by the University of Colorado to measure the Nitric Oxide density as a function of altitude. First satellite in the STEDI (Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative) program. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ.

Initially positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 40 deg W in 1998-2001. 36 C-band and 6 Ku-band transponders. Later assigned to Intelsat spin-off New Skies, redesignated NSS-806, and moved to 319.5º East, giving it an optimum view of Latin American markets while also reaching the Iberian peninsula, the Canary Islands, Western Europe and much of Eastern Europe. Its tailored, high-powered hemispheric beam provided simultaneous coverage of both Europe and the Americas, with virtually complete coverage of North, Central and South America, therefore ensuring the maximum reach throughout Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets. Expected end of life July 2016. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 40.47W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

Progress M-38 was specially modified to carry the second VDU (Vynosnaya Dvigatel'naya Ustanovka, External Engine Unit) propulsion unit. The VDU was mounted externally on a special structure between the cargo module and the service module, replacing the OKD fuel section present on normal Progress vehicles. The crew spacewalks to extract the VDU from Progress and place it on the end of the Sofora boom extending from the Kvant module. The VDU was used to provide attitude control capability for the station. By 03:20 GMT on March 15 1998 Progress M-38 had successfully completed its first two orbital manoeuvres. It replaced Progress M-37 at the docking port on the Kvant module, with a successful docking on March 16 1998 at 22:45 GMT. Undocked May 15 at 1844 UTC, freeing up the docking port on the Kvant module for Progress M-39. Deorbited over Pacific May 15, 1998.

The launch of this freighter from Baykonur took place on 14.03.1998 at 22.45.55 UTC (for Moscow already 15.03.1998 01.45.55 DMV -Moscow Decree Time). During the pass in the 3rd orbit I monitored the Telemetry transmitters of this ship between 0321-0324 UTC. During the pass in the 4th orbit the Telemetry transmitters (166 and 165 mc) and the beacon on 922.755mc could be heard between 0450 and 0458 UTC. TCA for me was at 0453 UTC.

The most important cargo is the VDU. This is the external thruster which has to be installed in the Sofora mast on Kvant-1 during one of the EVA's in the future. The new VDU will replace the old one which almost run out of fuel. Under the cargo is a new lock for the EVA hatch of Module-D, the necessary tools for the repair of that hatch and of course the normal cargo: food, post and some other convenient items for the crew. Progress-M38 has to dock at the Kvant-1 aft docking port (+X-axis) on 17.03.1998 at about 0027 UTC. In principle approach and docking will be executed in the automatic mode with the system Kurs.

Progress-M37:

Today (15.03) Progress-M37 will separate from Mir to be put on a destruction course for burning up in the atmosphere over a designated area East of New-Zealand.

Mir-routine:

Last week the cosmonauts worked on the installation of the new BKV-3, the a.c. From 10.03 the BKV-3 is regularly operational and this resulted in decreasing of the almost unbearable high temperatures in the Base Block. The temperature of approx. 35 dgs C. decreased to 28 dgs C. The good functioning of the a.c. makes it possible to use this installation for the filtering of the surplus of condensation secreted by the Vozdukh CO2 scrubber. Thus this condensation can be used for water regeneration purposes and has no longer to be blown into open space.

To make this possible the Vozdukh in the Base Block had to be modified by a so called 'dehumidifier'. This device is now installed in the neighbourhood of the Vozdukh but it was difficult to find a place for it. Meanwhile something went wrong with he thermal control in the module Priroda, which had a negative effect on some experiments of Andy. After the repair or replacement of a pump the temperatures in Priroda could be controlled again.

The work was far from easy and they could not always find the necessary parts and equipment for the mounting. This often debauched into discussions with experts on earth. Musabayev normally being in a good mood now and then got upset. He stated that already from the first week the burden of work was too high. There was a great difference between planning and the reality of time schedules for their work in space. On 4.03.1998 he stated that this was the first day they got enough sleep. He emphasised that if you force the crew too much there will be a risk of fatal mistakes. (And indeed during this mission a number of mistakes have been reported. )

Not only the Russians, but also Andy Thomas complained about matters he did not appreciate. He had no problems with his direct 'leads', but with some organisations. Regularly Andy repeated his complaint that he did not receive his personal E-mails. Last week this resulted in the despatch of a stream E-mails, reaching him by uplink Packet Radio transmissions, also via Altair-2.

Andy reported problems with the American experiment COCULT. The flow of liquids to feed cells of this experiment was full of air-bubbles. He tried to solve this problem but did not succeed. In conversations with his consultative group he emphasised that he does all what is possible to fulfil the American experimental program, but that he attaches great value to the execution of his physical exercises.

The forthcoming launch of Progress-M38 and the departure on 15.03.1998 of the old Progress-M37 were mentioned now and then. The crew tried to load as much as possible waste and equipment which was no longer needed in the Progress-M37. Musabayev reported that it was not possible to load the old BKV-3 in that freighter. He gave a higher priority to the dismissal of waste containers, lots of old rags, biological- and domestic garbage.

More or less the lot of work on the life support systems superseded the attention for the forthcoming departure of the Progress-M38. Only yesterday (14.03) they spoke about the TORU (remote controlled steering of Progress-M from inside Mir), which has to be operational in case the automatic system Kurs should fail.

On 9.03.1998 a planned communication session of Mir with TsUP via Altair-2 did not take place. Something went wrong with the uplink from Russia to Altair-2. Musabayev who was calling continuously was almost desperate. He needed an urgent advice about immunisation. For me it was interesting to hear how a cosmonaut feels when he thinks that he has been abandoned by earth. During the first communication session via VHF he said that they almost 'suffered an infarct'.

.

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

UHF Follow-On F8 was the first Block III UHF Follow-On satellite, replacing the old FLTSATCOM satellites. It carried UHF, EHF and Ka-band transponders, including a video broadcast payload. This was the last Atlas II launch; future Atlas launches would use the Atlas IIA, IIAS and III models. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 172 deg E in 1998-1999.

Successful docking at Mir; The docking took place on 17.03.1998 at 00.31.17 UTC. The last 20 Meters and the docking itself were manually executed by Musabayev with the system TORU. From 0000 UTC the operation could be monitored via Altair-2. Musabayev observed the manoeuvres of the Progress-M38. All went according to calculations. The system Kurs was in use, but Musabayev and Budarin were at the control panel of the TORU system ready to take over if necessary. The crew followed the operation via several systems: the monitor of the TORU, the LIV-camera, via a camera on board of the Progress-M38 and also visually.

Andy Thomas made images with a video-camera. Musabayev reported all distances, approach speeds, deviations along the 3-axes and also that there were no 'emergency instructions' so Kurs was STILL functioning well. At 0015 UTC the link via Altair-2 ceased and a few minutes later the VHF window opened. At 0024 UTC just before LOS for my position the distance to Mir was still 150 Meters with an approach speed of 4 CM/sec. All went well until the distance of 40 Meters. Then Kurs showed fluctuations which might be an indication that the Kurs system was no longer reliable.

Musabayev decided to switch over to the manual guidance by TORU and from 20 Meters he steered Progress-M38 to the aft docking port (+X-axis) and accomplished a perfect docking. During the pass in the next orbit the air seal checks were still going on. Via VHF-2 (130.165 mc) Andy Thomas spoke with his leads and he said that there had been no surprises. When Progress-M38 was docking he had felt a slight bump. At 0206 UTC the crew was opening the hatch.

Progress-M37:

This old freighter separated from Mir on 15.03.1998 at 19.16.01 UTC and burned up in the atmosphere east of New-Zealand at 23.03.46 UTC. 1st Spacewalk (EVA) crew 25th Main Expedition. For the time being on schedule for 1.04.1998. A final decision will be made soon.

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

Chinese papers at the meeting sketched details of future planned missions. China was likely to begin its manned flights with a single orbit around Earth, and later launch its lunar 'quest'. Existing Chinese launchers had the capability to send scientific devices, but not humans, to the moon -- it could take up to eight years to design a lunar spacecraft. Feasibility studies on trips to the moon and Mars had begun. Participants called for greater international cooperation in space and the lifting of an apparent freeze on China's participation in major joint projects. They resented China's exclusion from the International Space Station.

"China will actively participate in deep space exploration during the 21st century," said Mr Yuan Jiajun, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Space Technology. China also planned to launch two astrophysical satellites into low earth orbit, one in equatorial orbit and another in polar orbit.

Developed by Matra Marconi Space/Toulouse for CNES, the satellite provided 10-m resolution images with a wide field of view. SPOT 4 also carried a wide field 'vegetation' imager and a laser communications experiment. Launch was by an Arianespace Ariane 40 rocket, the base Ariane 4 model with no strap-on boosters. The liquid hydrogen fuelled third stage of the Ariane 40 entered an 800 km sun-synchronous orbit together with SPOT 4.

A mysterious signal hit one of the transmitters aboard the Apstar-1 telecommunications satellite on March 14, disrupting more than 400 securities companies' communications, cutting off service to more than 10 million pager users in China, and affecting China's earthquake monitoring systems. Technicians ruled out a problem with the satellite and tests showed the interference was earth-based. Service was restored to most users of the satellite by switching them to other channels. Apstar-1, the first comsat of Hong Kong based APT Satellite Holdings, was launched in 1994 by a Long March 3.

Progress-M38 has been regularly used to support the attitude control of the Mir-complex. The crew had to cope with problems with the a.c. (BKV-3) and a cooling loop. The Elektron oxygen generator in the Kvant-1 module could not be used continuously due to a power supply problem. The crew accomplished the repair of the BMP (trace contaminants removal unit).

The crew asked TsUP to reduce the number of communication sessions via VHF channels, for instance those via the tracking stations in the USA. They regularly had to interrupt their activities in other modules and had to go to the Central Post. They preferred to have not more than 1 session every 3 hours. The head of TsUP, Solovyov, who was about to go on leave, had another opinion. Possibly there is a compromise: the facilities in the USA (Wallops, White Sands and Dryden) might mainly be used by Andy Thomas.

During a lot of long TV-sessions via Altair-2 much attention was dedicated to the 2nd anniversary of the permanent presence of an American astronaut on board Mir. There also was a session with Spain in which the crew congratulated BMW. Musabayev said that he would be very pleased to take a seat behind the steering wheel of one of their new models.

There have been a lot of extensive medical checks, for instance E.C.G.-s during physical exercises. Musabayev told TsUP where he and Budarin use to sleep: Budarin near the porthole at the end of module Priroda, which also was the sleeping place of Vinogradov. M. himself sleeps in his cabin in the Base Block, but when it is too hot over there he moves to the SO (docking compartment) of module Kristall.

Musabayev now and then presses TsUP to review the work planning. In a conversation with TsUP Budarin said the complex is used below its value. This is irritating for the crew: things have not been completed in time.

Forthcoming spacewalks (EVA's):

The first EVA will take place on 1.04.1998 between 1320 and 1910 UTC. To be sure that the hatch can be opened without problems Musabayev and Budarin will have to accomplish repair works on the locks of the hatch. If all went according to plan they did this today (Friday, 27.03.1998). The 2nd and 3rd EVA are provisionally planned for 6 and 11.04.1998.

Some remarks:

1. The present bad health of my wife might have a negative effect on my monitoring and reporting of Mir-operations in the near future.

2. A number of my E-mail relations still use my old E-mail address. Thus far E-mails with the old address seem to reach me, but this will not last for ever. So please, if you still use that old address correct this in: cmvdberg@wxs.nl

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

NASA's third Small Explorer, the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), was successfully launched by an Orbital Pegasus XL. The L-1011 carrier aircraft took off from Vandenberg and dropped the Pegasus over the Pacific Ocean. TRACE, a project led by Lockheed's solar physics group, carried a 30-cm extreme ultraviolet imaging telescope which will study the Sun. The telescope mirrors were made by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. TRACE had an 8.5 arcmin field of view and 1 arcsecond resolution. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ.

Based on the success of the film Apollo 13, Tom Hanks was able to raise $ 68 million to film a television mini-series covering the entire Apollo program. The Apollo 13 episode marked the third fictionalised telling of the tale, this time concentrating on the media handling of the flight and the changing nature of television news. Additional Details: here....

The crew succeeded in completing repair of the damaged Spektr solar panel. However the EVA was cut short when Mission Control in error commanded the Mir to drift. This was then misdiagnosed as a depletion of fuel of the VDU orientation engine, and the crew was ordered back into the station.

The Proton launch vehicle placed the Iridium cluster and the Block DM2 stage into low parking orbit. The DM2 fired twice to enter the deployment orbit and dispensed the seven satellites, which used their own propulsion units to reach operational altitude. The DM2 stage then fired again to deorbit itself, to avoid creating space debris. SV068 placed in Plane 1. Ascending node 167.8 degrees.

Several US Congressional committees investigated the Clinton administration's policy of exporting space satellite technology to China, asserting it had helped China and other countries to develop and use nuclear missiles. Two US companies were being investegated by the Justice Department as well. Beijing denied that it had gotten any sensitive technology from US.

Columbia rolled out to pad 39B on March 23. Payloads:

• Spacelab transfer tunnel
• Spacelab Long Module, with Neurolab experiments for the following life science studies:
  • Chronic Recording of Otolith Nerves in Microgravity
  • Development of the Aortic Baroreflex under Conditions of Microgravity
  • Neural-Thyroid Interaction on Skeletal Isomyosin Expression in OG
  • Spatial Orientation of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex and Velocity Storage
  • Autonomic Neuroplasticity in Weightlessness

• Extended Duration Orbiter pallet
• Two Get Away Special beams with canisters G-197, G-467, G-772 (Colorado's COLLIDE experiment, which collided small particles into each other to simulate the formation of planets and rings).

The Neurolab mission was managed by NASA-Johnson at Houston, unlike earlier Spacelab flights which were NASA-Marshall/Huntsville's responsibility. Landed at Kennedy Space Center May 3 1998.

Two special wind tunnels in southwest China's Sichuan Province were nearing completion. The new tunnels would be used for testing China's future space shuttle, launch vehicles, and strategic missiles. A high-frequency plasma wind tunnel and a supersonic flow wind tunnel were being built by China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center and would be the most advanced in Asia.

Preparations for the first test launch of China's first manned spacecraft were underway at the launch site, a Shanghai newspaper reported. It said the first flight would be launched in late 1999. The space cabin, telemetry system and power system had been developed in Shanghai.

Egypt's first satellite. Geostationary at 7.0 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 7 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 6.95 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 7.00W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

Geostationary at 148.0 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 128 deg W in 1998; 148 deg W in 1998-1999; 110 deg W in 1999; 119 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 118.91 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 77.02W drifting at 0.001W degrees per day.

NOAA K carried a new microwave sensor in addition to the standard optical/near-infrared radiometers and imagers and the SARSAT search and rescue package. It was the first NOAA launch to use the Titan 23G launch vehicle, a refurbished ICBM. Titan 23G-12 placed NOAA K into a suborbital trajectory 6 minutes after launch. A Star 37XFP solid motor on the satellite fired at apogee to put NOAA K in orbit.

Also known as Chinastar 1; comsat to serve China, India, Korea and Southeast Asia with 18 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders. Operated by the China Orient Telecommunications Satellite Company, part of the Chinese telecommunications ministry. Zhongwei 1 and the CZ-3B's final liquid hydrogen upper stage were placed in an initial supersynchronous 216 x 85,035 km x 24.4 deg transfer orbit. Geostationary at 87.6 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 87 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 6 September 2001 located at 87.49 deg E drifting at 0.013 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 87.64E drifting at 0.010W degrees per day.

Phase I construction was completed of the new, large-scale Beijing Space Technology Research and Test Center, located in Tangjialing, northwest of Beijing. The center occupied 100 hectares and construction was begun in October 1994. The largest space center in China included spacecraft integration hangars, space environment and vibration test facilities, and a series of laboratories.

The final shuttle-Mir mission, STS-91 recovered NASA astronaut Andy Thomas from the Mir station and took Russian space chief and ex-cosmonaut Valeri Ryumin to Mir for an inspection tour of the ageing station. This was the first test of the super lightweight Aluminium-Lithium alloy external tank, designed to increase shuttle payload to the Mir / International Space Station orbit by 4,000 kg. At 22:15 GMT Discovery entered an initial 74 x 324 km x 51.6 deg orbit, with the OMS-2 burn three quarters of an hour later circulising the chase orbit. Discovery docked with the SO module on Mir at 17:00 GMT on June 4. NASA equipment was retrieved from the station, and Discovery undocked at 16:01 GMT on June 8, and landed on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center at 18:00 GMT on June 12.

P>Communications during the final stage of the approach and the docking itself went via Altair-2. The traffic started at 1628 UTC with phone between Mir and TsUP. The TV-transmissions started at 1633 UTC. Discovery could be seen through a camera on board Mir, but it was difficult to determine the progress of the approach. The image of the shuttle was partly covered by one of Mir's solar panels. The 2 portholes of Discovery's flight deck could be seen. The Ku-band antenna of Discovery was still out of order, so CNN could only give us the images which came from Mir. The VHF window was open between 1649 and 1657 UTC. The transmitters were switched on, but not in use for phone.

During the pass in the next orbit (70211, 1823-1835 UTC) the airseal checks had been done. Communications went via 143.625 as well as 130.165 mc. Musabayev was sitting near the hatch to Discovery and he and Budarin tried to establish a TV-link with TsUP. Altair-2 was not active and from the commands (for instance Anna-86) could be derived that the TV-link went via a UHF-channel and a tracking station in Russia. It lasted a long time before the TV-link was ready and TsUP received images. At 1828 UTC the hatches were open and Musabayev and Precourt could meet each other. Andy Thomas tried to meet his Discovery colleagues as soon as possible and Musabayev warned him to be careful. Just before LOS a lot of enthusiasm and laughter could be heard. During the pass in orb. 70212/213, 1959-2010 UTC, there was only Telemetry and Packet. Phone and images could be monitored via Altair-2 during the next pass (70214, 2113 UTC). Both crews were having diner together. Musabayev had said that he and his crew did not eat for 15 hours. The Discovery crew did not have a meal for 12 hours.

Radio-amateur traffic:

R0Mir transmitted the following CQ Packet Radio message:

QUOTE

I AM ABUT TO END MY TIME ON Mir AND I WANT TO THANK ALL THE HAM OPERATORS AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE SENT MESSAGES. I HOPE IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT THE VOLUME OF TRAFFIC HAS MADE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES IMPOSSIBLE BUT WE REALLY ENJOY YOUR MAIL. VOICE HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT PARTICULARLY OVER THE US AND EUROPE. TOO MANY TALKING AT ONCE. IN THE SHORT TIME I HAVE LEFT I WILL TRY TO DO VOICE, BUT ASK THAT REPEAT CALLERS STAY OFF THE AIR SO THAT I CAN GIVE NEW CALLERS A CHANCE FOR A CONTACT.

BEST WISHES TO ALL OF YOU. ANDY THOMAS

UNQUOTE

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

The crew of Discovery was not able to restore the transmissions of TV images via the Ku-band. Nevertheless the Russians did not increase the use of their geostationary satellite. An American press release characterised the Russian Altair-2 system as a Spartan system. Unfortunately the Russians did not seize the opportunity to show the possibilities of that Spartan system by putting this system at the disposal of the STS-91 mission for public relation purposes, i.e. TV-live events, also from the Shuttle itself. Possibly there also have been problems with that system for on 6.06.1998 something was wrong with a TV-link between TsUP and a tracking station. During a press-conference only voice communications were possible.

The TV-reports from Mir of which only a few reached us via CNN were relayed by tracking stations inside Russia via UHF-channels. This could be derived from the use of the command code Anna-86 during VHF communications. These video links lasted shorter than those via Altair-2 and the quality was not so good and sometimes only black and white images were possible. From the Russian segment of the combination Discovery-Mir the Russians communicated with TsUP via their own VHF-channels. Discovery used for voice communications with Houston the S-band channel via the TDRS-es. During one of the communication windows on 5.06.98 Musabayev tried to get in contact with TsUP for a long time. He asked Charlie Precourt to warn TsUP Moscow via one of the American channels and this helped. The last months the Mir-crew regularly called TsUP in vain for long periods, even via Altair-2. Deteriorated motivation of the Capcoms at TsUP?

Andy Thomas:

On 5.06.98, so 1 day after the docking of Discovery, Andy settled himself into the Shuttle and became a member of STS-91's crew. He regularly showed up inside the contours of the Mir-complex, but did no longer communicate from there with TsUP Moscow. Valeriy Viktorovich Ryumin: This leading designer of RKK Energiya and former Salyut-6 cosmonaut needed only a few days extra to bring his spaceflight record up to 365 days, so a full year. On 5.06.1998 he passed this limit and both crews celebrated this jubilee on board Mir. Musabayev offered for this opportunity guitar music. All styles were possible: Beatles, Russian- or Kazakh folk songs, even that of Vysotskiy. For Ryumin as a high-ranking official of RKK Energiya it was an excellent opportunity to execute an extensive inspection of Mir's systems.

Musabayev and Budarin were very pleased that this earthling could see by his own eyes the situation about which cosmonauts so often complained. He was displeased about the enormous mess within the station. In his opinion the abundance of useful, but also of superfluous and useless things, makes the work for cosmonauts, in particular new ones, extremely difficult. Behind a panel he found a lot of rubbish and he asked TsUP permission to get rid of that. Among this rubbish were some cables and TsUP did not give him this permission. He grumbled a little bit, but did not press the matter for he himself had ordered that cosmonauts always have to stick to decisions from flight control. During conversations with TsUP about technical matters Musabayev sometimes referred to Ryumin. For instance about the problems they had with the installation of camera's to document the departure of the Discovery. The brackets near certain portholes to fix these camera's did not fit. Ryumin said that the man at TsUP had to write this down in his report in red capital letters.

I have been listening to the voices of cosmonauts for some decades and it was a real sensation to hear this old stager again via my headphones. It felt as if a time machine had put me back 20 years.

Module Spektr:

Almost for a year the experts are struggling along with the 1000 dollar question how to locate the leakage in the hull of the Spektr module. Previous attempts to find these leakage by pumping fluorescent gasses through Spektr were unsuccessful. Mission STS-91 gave the last opportunity to try this again. The first test was executed on 6.06.1998 during the VHF-pass in orbit 70242, between 1756 and 1807 UTC. Budarin opened the valve of Spektr's hatch and inflated the fluorescent gasses into the module. Musabayev gave a count down so that everybody on board of Discovery could be alert with camera's and at portholes. During the test Budarin reported the pressures inside Spektr. These values were relatively low, not more than 55 MM mercury. Precourt reported that nothing could be seen with the naked eye. The test was repeated after the undocking of Discovery on 8.06.98. At 1124 UTC Discovery was station keeping right in front of the Mir-station while Musabayev and Budarin repeated the procedure and again Precourt reported that they did not see anything.

Let us hope that analyses on earth of the video recordings and photographs will help.

Departure of Discovery:

During the undocking communications went via VHF-channels. This took place during the pass in orbit 70272 (1554-1602 UTC). After some camera problems the images were transmitted via tracking stations in Russia. Altair-2 was not active. During the following orbit (70273) Altair-2 was active and images could be seen of the autonomously flying Discovery. The crew also transmitted video recordings of the farewell party just before the closing of the hatches to Discovery. Altair-2 stopped transmitting at 17.23.40 UTC, so just before the separation burn of Discovery, which took place at 1724 UTC. From 1732 UTC Mir communicated via the VHF channels in the 143 and 130 mc bands.

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

The spacecraft was delivered to its final orbit in a complex series of five engine burns by three rocket stages. The Delta's second stage demonstrated its restart capability in 4 burns: Burn 1 placed the rocket and payload into a low circular orbit; Burn 2 raised the apogee to 1400 km; Burn 3 circularised the orbit at 1400 km. The second stage then separated, and Burn 4 lowered the spent stage's perigee to a low altitude to ensure the stage would decay quickly and not add to the space junk already on orbit. Stage 3 burned once to place the payload and its kick motor into a high 1400 km perigee geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Stage 4 Star 30 apogee kick motor circularised the spacecraft's orbit at geostationary altitude. Geostationary at 0.8 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 1 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 0.83 deg W drifting at 0.000 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 0.85W drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.

Satellite had 28 C-band and 3 Ku-band transponders, and initially served the Atlantic Ocean region for INTELSAT. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Geostationary at 55.5 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 55 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 55.52 deg W drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 55.54W drifting at 0.012W degrees per day.

For the time being the fate of Mir is uncertain. The cosmonauts on board Mir hoped to get information about the results of meetings on earth about the exploitation of Mir for the very near future. A meeting about this subject planned for last week has been put back until 2.07.1998. At this meeting a commission or group of experts will discuss the serious problems due to the lack of money for the present Mir exploitation and future operations. RKK Energiya did not receive the promised money badly needed this year and if this allotment will not be transferred soon, there are no means for the launch of Soyuz-TM28 with the relief crew for the present expedition. Possibly the meeting on 2.07.1998 will draft an ultimatum to the Kremlin: if the Kremlin fails to transfer the needed amount, another meeting will take place in mid July to discuss the termination of Mir's exploitation and to plan the operation to bring the station back into the atmosphere for decay later this year.

The present uncertainty phase is unpleasant for the cosmonauts. On 19.06.98 Musabayev spoke with Baturin, who is still training for his flight to Mir with Soyuz-TM28, together with the crew for the next (26th) Mir Main Expedition. Musabayev wished Baturin a good flight and said that he hoped to meet him soon on board Mir. Baturin, a former spaceflight constructor and an advisor of Yeltsin, was selected for a flight to Mir for political reasons, but regretfully Yeltsin sacked him due to measures of economy.

Apart from asking questions about the developments the cosmonauts do not say much about the present situation, but it is clear that their mood is far below the desired level. This could repeatedly be derived from conversations between the crew and TsUP. Especially Musabayev, a man with a stable character and in fact a humorist who likes to laugh a lot, regularly looses his temper.

Mir-routine:

Nevertheless Musabayev and Budarin continue to run the station as good as possible. They performed a number of repairs and were busy with a series of experiments. Last week they spent a lot of time to mend the defective Elektron oxygen generator in Kvant-1 for which they used parts of the Elektron in Module-D. A few times they did not succeed, but on 25.06 the Elektron worked well for 6 hours. On 26.06 the crew replaced a part of the Antares transmitter (for communications via Altair-2) and obviously they succeeded, for on 28.06 the transmitter was in use for a televised family meeting. Later on Musabayev reported that he had replaced the transmitter.

Experiments:

In co-ordination with American experts the cosmonauts continued the use of the Optizon furnace for melting processes. The Gallar furnace was also used. There were a lot of medical experiments, especially aimed at the cardio-vascular systems, Regularly they reported about experiments like Cardio, Holter and (the Dutch) Portapress.

They also worked on astrophysical experiments. The crew reactivated the spectrometer Mariya in Kvant-1 to study electromagnetic processes in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere. They also carried out radiation measurements outside the complex along Mir's trajectory. Experiments located in the Priroda module were also discussed, i.e. MOMS, Ozon and Alisa.

Planning:

The last report about the launch of the Soyuz-TM28 with the relief crew Padalka and Avdeyev, and the politician Baturin, was about putting back this mission with 1 day for ballistic reasons. The launch is now scheduled for 3.08.1998 and the rendezvous with Mir for 5.08.98. To free the aft (+X axis) docking port of Mir the Progress-M39 has to undock from there on 4.08 for an autonomous flight. After the departure of Soyuz-TM27 the new transport ship Soyuz-TM28 has to be redocked to the forward (-X-axis) port. From that moment on the aft docking port is free for the redocking of the Progress-M38. This cargo ship has to remain docked to Mir, for the next one, Progress-M40, will not arrive before September 1998.

This all with due reserve, for important decisions regarding Mir's immediate fate have to be made. If Padalka, Avdeyev and Baturin will fly, their call will be Altair.

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

Originally known as Planet-B; renamed Nozomi ('Hope') after launch. The third stage and payload entered a 146 x 417 km x 31.1 deg parking orbit. The KM-V1 kick (fourth) stage then fired to place the spacecraft into a circumlunar 359 x 401491 km x 28.6 deg orbit. Nozomi made multiple lunar and Earth gravity assist passes to increase its energy for solar orbit insertion and the cruise to Mars.. The spacecraft used a lunar swingby on 24 September and another on 18 December 1998 to increase the apogee of its orbit. It swung by Earth on 20 December at a perigee of about 1000 km. The gravitational assist from the swingby coupled with a 7 minute burn of the bipropellant engine put Nozomi into an escape trajectory towards Mars. It was scheduled to arrive at Mars on 11 October 1999 at 7:45:14 GMT, but the Earth swingby left the spacecraft with insufficient acceleration and two course correction burns on 21 December used more propellant than planned, leaving the spacecraft short of fuel. The new plan is for Nozomi to remain in heliocentric orbit for an additional four years and encounter Mars at a slower relative velocity in December 2003.

The first satellite launch from a submarine. The Shtil-1 launch vehicle was a converted R-29RM (RSM-54) three stage liquid propellant submarine launched ballistic missile made by the Makeyev design bureau. The satellite payload is placed in the standard R-29RM reentry vehicle. The launch plaform was the K-407 Novomoskovsk, a 667BDRM Delfin class submarine of the Russian Northern Fleet's 3rd Flotilla. Launch was from the Barents Sea at 69.3 degrees N x 35.3 degrees E. The Shtil contained an Israeli instrument package.

The first satellite launch from a submarine. The Shtil-1 launch vehicle was a converted Makeyev R-29RM SLBM. The satellite payload was placed in the standard re-entry vehicle. The launch platform was the K-407 Novomoskovsk, a 667BDRM Delfin class submarine of the Russian Northern Fleet 3rd Flotilla. The launch was made from a firing range in the Barents Sea off the coast of the Kolskiy Peninsula, at 35.3 deg E 69.3 deg N. The payloads were the Tubsat-N and Tubsat-N1 `nanosatellites'. Tubsat-N entered a 400 x 776 km x 78.9 deg orbit. Both carried small store-forward communications payloads used to keep track of transmitters placed on vehicles, migrating animals, and marine buoys. They are owned, operated and built by the Technische Universitat Berlin (TUB). Tubsat-N was the larger of the pair, with dimensions of 32x32x10.4 cm and a mass of 8.5 kg.

The dual Tubsat-N/Tubsat-N1 repersented the Technical University of Berlin's first Nanosatellite project. Tubsat-N1 measured 32x32x3.4cm and had a mass of 3 kg. The technology demonstrator satellite provided store and forward communications and conducted attitude control experiments.

In addition to its remote sensing equipment, the satellite carried the Belgian LLMS (Little LEO Messaging System) communications payload for the IRIS system. The launch was critical in restoring confidence in the Zenit vehicle prior to planned commercial launches of Globalstar satellites from Baikonur and the first Sea Launch flights using a three-stage Zenit from a California-based floating launch platform. Expected life 3 to 5 years.

Customer: Thailand (Thai Microsatellite Company and MUT). Thailand's first microsatellite built through a technology transfer programme with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Carried store and forward and Earth observation payloads. Still operational as of 2000. Additional Details: here....

Formerly known as WPLTN-1, this geodesy satellite was a copy of Potsdam's GFZ-1 satellite, a sphere covered with laser retroreflectors, with a different `Fizeau' corner cube design. It serves as a target for the Western Pacific Laser Tracking Network (WPLTN) and is a joint project of Electro Optic Systems of Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia, and the Russian Space Agency. Diameter is 0.24m.

The CZ-3B's liquid hydrogen upper stage and the Sinosat were placed in a 609 x 35958 km x 19.0 deg geostationary transfer orbit at 09:45 GMT. The first two liquid apogee burns were carried out on July 19 and 21. Sinosat, an Alcatel Spacebus 3000, was built in Cannes and owned temporarily by EurasSpace, a joint venture between Daimler-Benz Aerospace and the China Aerospace Corporation. After on-orbit testing it was delivered to the Sino Satellite Communications Company of Shanghai for communications services in China. The satellite carried 24 C-band transponders and 14 Ku-band transponders which covered the entire Asia-Pacific region. With a design life span of 15 years, the satellite was to provide multiple data transfer services for China's financial and air transportation control systems, as well as the Shanghai Information Port project, Sinosat operated in geosynchronous orbit at 110.5 deg E in 1998-1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 110.55 deg E drifting at 0.012 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 110.51E drifting at 0.001W degrees per day.

American test pilot astronaut 1959-1974. First American in space. Grounded on medical grounds during Gemini, but reinstated, becoming fifth person to walk on the moon. Millionaire entrepreneur on the side. 2 spaceflights, 9.0 days in space. Flew suborbital on Mercury MR-3 and to the moon on Apollo 14 (1971). Died of leukemia, two years after diagnosis.

American test pilot astronaut 1959-1974. First American in space. Grounded for medical reasons during Gemini, but reinstated, becoming fifth person to walk on the moon. Millionaire entrepreneur on the side. 2 spaceflights, 9.0 days in space. Flew to the moon on Apollo 14 (1971). Died at age of 74 of leukemia, two years after diagnosis.

Indefatigably the 2 cosmonauts on board Mir continued the exploitation of this immense laboratory. Contradictory to the last months it seemed as if the cosmonauts could reduce their attention to repairs and replacement of systems, which enabled them to spend more time and energy to their main task: the preparation and execution of all kinds of scientific experiments. In the west, especially in the U.S.A., media attention for that what is going on aboard Mir is rather poor after the departure of the last American astronaut. Long series of radiograms, reaching the cosmonauts by the Packet Radio system (originally used by radio-amateurs and which cannot be praised enough) contain enough instructions for experiments to keep them busy day in and day out. Regularly the crew speaks about experiments in the furnaces Optizon, Gallar and Kristall, of which those performed in the Optizon furnace take place in co-ordination with American experts. Other experiments which pass the review are Dakon, MAD, Temir, Phantom, Optovert, Maksat and Laser sensing with Alisa.

Communications:

For Western Europe the Mir-complex merely comes in range during the night hours and so there is not much traffic via the VHF-channels. During the working day Mir-TsUP communications take place during one window. In the period from 10 to 17.07.98 Altair-2 was in use for other purposes. On 16 and 17.07.98 the 10 GHz channel was in use for the relay of audio and TV transmissions of the ceremonies for the burial of Czar Nikolay-II and his family. Just before the conclusion of the ceremonies, as soon as the first salute of guns was fired the relay of Altair-2 stopped and this satellite could be used for Mir-TsUP traffic again. On 22.07.98 during a communications session via Altair-2 the cosmonauts called someone with the call sign Agata. They spoke about the BDD-2 (Betriebstechnik Deutschland Direkt), so they used the same system which was operational during the ESA-expedition to Mir (Euromir-95). The crew had received 2 diskettes with a program to activate a computer for BDD experiments. They exchanged data of the experiment Dakon. The communications took place via a station in Russia and not via Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany as was the case during Euromir-95.

Technical failures:

The a.c. BKV-3 still shows hiccups just after switching on. An alarm signal points out that something is wrong with the pressure. After switching off and on a few times, the BKV-3 worked well. On 19.07.98 there was again smoke alarm. There was no smoke at all and in this case the smoke sensor was to blame. The malfunction of one of the gyrodynes was also mentioned and one of the solar panels of the Spektr module does not produce enough energy due to the malfunction of the driver which has to change the angle of that panel. (To eliminate this problem the crew of the next expedition has to execute an internal spacewalk -IVA- inside Spektr). The life support systems are performing well in this period, possibly due to the fact that they have to serve only 2 men. The crew keeps a sharp eye on the CO-2 values, especially during and after physical exercises.

Plans for the near future:

In fact the uncertainty phase still continues. Russian spaceflight organisations are still waiting for the promised funding needed to continue Mir operations until June 1999. The Russians expect that the money will be remitted in due time. And there was another development: the Russian Menatep bank promised to sponsor the last Mir-Mohicans, i.e. Mir's ME 27 from February to June 1999.

Almost certain is:

that Soyuz-TM28 with Padalka, Avdeyev and Baturin will be launched on 13.08.1998 and dock with Mir on 15.08.1998, that the freighter Progress-M39 will separate from Mir on 14.08.1998 for an autonomous flight until the departure of the relieved crew and Baturin with the Soyuz-TM27 on 25 or 26.08.1998 and that the launch of the next freighter Progress-M40 will take place not before 15.10.1998. Znamya-2: Several Television programs used the Itar-Tass publication about the execution of the experiment Znamya-2 in November this year to enlighten the dull season program with an interesting item. A Progress-M freighter should deploy a circular reflection sail for the spectacular illumination of a number of cities on earth.

That this operation might be possible in November is doubtful for after an experiment like this, the freighter has to decay in the earth's atmosphere and cannot return to the Mir-complex to redock to the aft (Kvant-1) docking port. Because of the necessary thermal protection of that port and the Kvant-1 itself, a Progress-M ship has to be docked there until the next Progress-M ship. The period until the docking of the Progress-M41 (not before March 1999) would be pretty long. (And there is also the question if the Progress-M can be redocked after the experiment.)

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

Soyuz TM-28 docked at 10:56 GMT on August 15 with the rear (Kvant) port of the Mir space station, which had been vacated at 09:28 GMT on August 12 by Progress M-39. The EO-25 crew, Musabayev and Budarin, landed with Baturin on Aug 25, leaving the EO-26 crew of Padalka and Avdeyev on the station. As only one final Soyuz mission to Mir was planned, with two of the seats on that Soyuz pre-sold to Slovak and French experimenters, the return crew of Soyuz TM-28 was subject to constant replanning and revision. On February 8, 1999, at 11:23 GMT Padalka and Avdeyev undocked from Mir's -X port in Soyuz TM-28, and redocked at the +X Kvant port at 11:39 GMT, freeing up the front port for the Soyuz TM-29 docking. Finally on February 27, 1999 EO-26 commander Padalka and Slovak cosmonaut Bella undocked Soyuz TM-28 from the Kvant rear docking port at 22:52 GMT, landing in Kazakhstan on February 28 at 02:14 GMT. Avdeyev remained on Mir with the EO-27 crew delivered on Soyuz TM-29, heading for a manned space flight time record.

This transport ship docked at Mir's aft (+X-axis) docking port on 15.08.1998 at 10.56.52 UTC. The intention was to perform approach and docking in the automatic mode with the system Kurs, but at the distance of about 20 M, when the approach speed was almost 0 M/sec. , TsUP seemed to be unsure about the good functioning of the Kurs system and ordered Padalka to take over the approach manually. From the distance of 12 M Padalka flawlessly steered his ship to the docking port and accomplished a perfect docking. Well done for a cosmonaut who makes his first spaceflight. He certainly deserves the so called 'manual docking bonus'.

During the pass in the next orbit (71335, 1218-1229 UTC) the crew prepared the TV-report of the opening of the hatches and the meeting of the 2 crews. It could be derived from the given communication commands that the images of that event would be transmitted on a UHF-channel and via Russian tracking stations, so not via Altair-2. Just before the complex disappeared behind my eastern horizon the crews got permission to open the hatches and to greet each other. This time the Russians refrained from the normal routine to have the first human contact between the 2 commanders due to the presence of the VIP Baturin. He got the honour to be the first crew member to float from Soyuz-TM28 into Mir and embrace his CIS-countryman, Musabayev. This took place at 1230 UTC.

From that moment on the crew of the Mir-space station consists of 5 persons and this will undoubtedly draw a heavy toil on the life support systems of the complex. Technically the situation on board was not 100% before the docking: the power supply is not fully restored and the station seems to fly in the free drift (they spoke about 'indikatornyy rezhim', but whether the gyrodynes are fully spinning or not has not been confirmed) and Musabayev got orders to economise power consumption and to switch off all superfluous equipment.

Until his departure Musabayev will remain commander of both crews. During all communication sessions on 15.08.1998 it was clear that Musabayev acquits himself of that task. Meanwhile Budarin occupied himself with radio-amateurism on 145.985 mc. He tried to get in touch with Russian radio-amateurs.

During the last pass in which Mir was able to communicate via a Russian tracking station with TsUP (orb. 71339, 1704-1715 UTC) Musabayev called in vain and he decided to give his message blindly (hoping that TsUP would hear him anyway). He reported that they had reinstalled Baturin's seat liner (from Soyuz-TM28 to Soyuz-TM27). The BKV-3 (a.c.) worked after he had tried to switch it on 3 times. The humidity was quoted as 11.3, the gas composition in the station as: CO2 4.5 , oxygen 203 and water 11.2. Pressure 797 MM.

Communications during flight Soyuz-TM28:

13.08.1998: After the launch the signals of the Soyuz-TM28 could be monitored here for the first time between 1415-1420 UTC. A very stable Padalka reported the results of the 1st and 2nd impulses: 1st 1384 during 32 seconds, 2nd 696 for 16 seconds. The SIRT (system for the measurement of the fuel consumption) gave after the 1st impulse 745 KG, after the 2nd one 728 KG (remaining fuel). During the following passes he reported that all went well, they were in a good mood and health and all systems worked nominally. There were only problems with a recording experiment. The device of that experiment did not give the right figures. Baturin had been shooting video images. Good signals in the 166 and 165 mc bands and on 922.755 mc.

During the pass between 1547 and 1552 UTC again good signals on all frequencies. TCA (dip in 922.755 mc signal) was at 154915 UTC. Padalka still very stable reported the good functioning of all systems. They had done something with the orientation in relation to the power supply and they got a good power reading between 25 and 26. The TV-test they had done was positive. They felt well and enjoyed the flight.

14.08.1998: Good signals on all frequencies and Padalka again sounded like a skilled cosmonaut. All parameters were normal and the only problem was a recording device about which Padalka long and extensively reported.

Soyuz-TM27: The return flight of the crew of the 25th Main Expedition to Mir (Musabayev and Budarin) and the cosmonaut-researcher-politician Baturin is scheduled for 25.08.1998. The Soyuz-TM27 will undock from Mir at 0220 UTC descend was announced as 0526 UTC.

26th Main Expedition to Mir: The crew of this ME is Padalka and Avdeyev. According to information now available (confirmed by a reliable source) this crew will remain on board Mir until June 1999. So if there will be no changes anymore the 26th ME is the last one to Mir.

Mir-routine:

In the period after MirNEWS.432 a number of technical problems emerged. Radio communications revealed that the complex had been flying in free drift (indikatornyy rezhim), which caused a sharp decrease in power supply on 11.08.1998. That day all superfluous systems had to be switched off and for a while only 2 lamps were burning: one in the Base Block and one near the P.Kh.O. (transition section). There were also airseal problems. Musabayev had to check a rubber bearing of a hatch with his fingers. To secure a good atmosphere on board the crew used oxygen from a tank in the Progress-M39. The crew also repeatedly tested the Kurs antenna on Kvant-1 and they had to change cable connections of this system. Not long before the launch of Soyuz-TM28 they had to repeat such a test which seemed to have been positive.

On 12.08.1998 Musabayev launched a long tirade in which he relieved his feelings. He has great problems with the activities of journalists who, in his opinion, are not really interested in the cosmonauts as such. Only when something goes wrong they are on it like a bird and then they blame the crew for that. He characterises a lot of their publications as nonsense and even swinishness. He emphasises that this expedition, the 25th, was a very fruitful one. While the Mir-station is operational for 12.5 years their expedition performed 50% of all melting experiments in the furnaces, for instance almost all what had to be done with the Optizon furnace. They accomplished experiments which could not be done by previous expeditions. In the 190 days of their mission they were not able to work according the formular 23 for 2 days and for this the crew was even not to blame. They also solved a lot of technical problems and he refers to the repair of the SUD (attitude control system) on the eve of the arrival of a Shuttle.

The fact that life on board Mir is still possible is thanks to their work for they installed the new VDU (external thruster). They did a lot of cardio vascular experiments, which still had to be executed.

My personal opinion about this argumentation is the following: I do not want to compare this expedition with other ones. But I agree with Musabayev: he was in command of a magnificent expedition.

First day with 2 crews on board:

On 16.08.1998 during the first pass Padalka asked TsUP whether they had seen something in the Telemetry and he supposed that they wished to speak to them. TsUP confirmed this and ordered Padalka to switch over to the 2nd regime for this conversation. From this moment on monitoring had no sense due the computerised scrambling of the speech. For a very long time, I dare to say for years, they had not used this routine.

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

Singapore-Taiwan-1 Matra Marconi Space Eurostar 2000 class satellite to provide communications for Singapore Telecom and Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan. Geostationary at 88.0 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 88 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 88.04 deg E drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 88.05E drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

Built by Hughes/El Segundo for Panamsat. The satellite carried 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders to provide US/Caribbean coverage, and was to have replaced the ageing SBS-5 satellite at 123 deg West. Replenishing the Galaxy/PAS constellation was a high priority for Panamsat following the loss of Galaxy 4 and problems with Galaxy 7. Galaxy 11 was not scheduled to go up until the first launch of the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL in early 1999, and this booster was in limbo due to legal problems with unauthorised transfer of technical data from Boeing to Russia. In addition there were several PAS satellites awaiting launch over the next year on Proton and Ariane vehicles.

Padalka and Avdeyev redocked this ship from the aft to the forward docking port of the Mir-complex on 27.08.1998. They separated from Mir at 0544 UTC and docked again at 06.07.09 UTC. Padalka accomplished the approach and docking manually, so if the Russian treasury is able to bear this he can expect his 2nd manual docking bonus.

Communications during this operation was via the VHF channel of Soyuz-TM28 on 121.750 mc. For listeners in Western Europa there was a short pass during an elevation of 1 degree. Nevertheless such a lot of traffic could be monitored between 0600 and 0603 UTC that it was clear that the operation proceeded flawlessly. At 06.00.20 UTC Padalka reported that they had finished the fly around and that the Soyuz-TM28 was station keeping on the X-axis. They had the target dish exactly in the centre and were able to see the docking port. The fuel consumption had been very low and the SIRT indicated that there still was 463 KG available. Padalka reported that he did not want to wait and that he was about to approach and dock. At 06.02.30 UTC the distance to Mir was 15 M.

Traffic during the pass in orbit 71521, 0731-0741 UTC, made it clear that the redocking had been successful. The cosmonauts were back on board of Mir. They switched back on all the systems they had switched off before the operation. An air hose had been deployed from the base block to the Soyuz-TM28 and they started the conservation of that ship. During the following passes these activities were still going on.

The new crew: This crew, that of the 26th Mir Main Expedition, presents themselves as if they already were on board for months. Every time I am surprised that cosmonauts making their first spaceflight very quickly adjust themselves to the new situation and demonstrate that they fully have things in hand. Those who selected and trained these cosmonauts did their work well. (This time Padalka is making his first flight, Avdeyev his 3rd.)

Altair-2:

On 13.08.1998 something went wrong with this geostationary satellite over 16 degrees West. During the transfer of data of the relaksatsiya experiment from Mir to TsUP the antenna actuator failed. The communications stopped for the antenna of Altair-2 was no longer aimed at the ground station Shcholkovo near Moscow. A provisional damage assessment seems to justify the conclusion that Altair-2 might be lost.

Luch-1/Gelios (95054A - 23680): This relay satellite is placed over 77 degrees East. After the launch on 11.10.1995 it was reported that this satellite would be used for the data , telephony and Television relays for Russian manned space flight. Observers in Eastern Europe who can 'see' this satellite better than we in the west, reported that they never heard or saw anything from that object. Just like Altair-2 Luch-1 has been registered as a military satellite.

Unbelievably soon after the failure of Altair-2 the Russians inserted Luch-1 in the communications chain for Mir -TsUP traffic. After a test communication in the morning of 15.08.1998 the first regular relay of phone and TV between Mir and TsUP could be realised some orbits later. The Russian Television complex Ostankino in Moscow serves as tracking station for Luch-1.

Ostankino is able to handle phone and TV relays to and from Mir, but modifications have to be implemented to do the same with Telemetry (and possibly Packet Radio).

For spacewalks (EVA's), docking and descent operations the position over 16 degrees West is better than that over 77 degrees East. Also NASA preferred 16 degrees West during Phase 1 of Shuttle/Mir and after the failure of Altair-1 in the beginning of 1997 they asked the Russians to transfer Altair-2 from 96 degrees East to 16 degrees West.

More about communications:

I just have learned that the Mir voice relay sites at NASA's bases in the US will remain in operation, at NASA's expense, per a decision by Frank Culbertson to demonstrate US generosity.

The loss of Altair-2 means that the amount of information monitored by me will decrease. I now am depending on that what I can monitor via the VHF-channels.

For some weeks the Russians have problems with the transfer of radiograms by Packet Radio via the service frequencies. Probably the problem has something to with the uplink from a number of tracking stations in Russia. In this period they use for the transfer of radiograms the old RTTY system.

There are no problems with the Packet Radio in the radio-amateur band. Recently they used the 145.985 mc for that purpose, but now they regularly can be heard on 145.940 mc.

Progress-M39:

The redocking of this freighter was scheduled for 29.08.1998 but has been put back. Now this operation is now planned for 1.09.1998. Based on calculations I think that this will take place at about 0400 UTC. The plan is to execute the approach and docking in the automatic mode by the system Kurs, but Padalka and Avdeyev prepared the TORU, the remote control system for eventual use. Padalka will be ready to take over manually if necessary and maybe he has a chance to earn his 3rd manual docking bonus. For us in Western Europe the elevation during the pass in which the objects are in range during the final phase of the approach (orb. Mir 71596, 0350-0353 UTC) is only 1 degree.

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

The first burn of the Proton's Block DM3 put the spacecraft into a 220 x 36,007 km x 51.6 deg transfer orbit. Astra 2A satellite was a Hughes HS-601, owned by Societe Europeene de Satellites, based in Luxembourg. Luxembourg has not registered any of the Astra satellites with the United Nations, in violation of treaty requirements. Geostationary at 28.3 degrees E. Used HS-601 XIPS ion engine for station keeping. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 28 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 28.21 deg E drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 28.20E drifting at 0.028W degrees per day.

North Korea reported the launch of its first satellite on the first of September. This announcement was followed on September 14 by the release of a photograph of the satellite and the claim that the satellite had completed its 100th orbit of the earth between 08:24 and 11:17 local time (2017 GMT) on September 13. Video of the launch, the satellite, and an animation of the satellite in orbit around the earth were distributed to foreign news agencies the following weekend. The satellite appeared almost identical to the first Chinese test satellite (which itself appeared almost identical to the US Telstar).

Despite these claims no foreign observer ever detected the satellite visually, by radar, or picked up its radio signals. The Pentagon at first claimed it was an ICBM launch, and that the satellite story was just a cover for the test. However on further analysis of the data collected on the launch they admitted nearly a month later that there had been some a satellite launch attempt. What seems to have happened is that the third stage either failed and fell into the Pacific or misfired and put the satellite into a low orbit where it decayed very quickly before it could be detected by foreign observers. Additional Details: here....

After the return of the freighter Progress-M39, the cosmonauts were able to execute a number of experiments. From 1 until 3.09.98 they worked on geophysical, astrophysical and medical experiments. During the geophysical experiments they used the lidar Alisa. Apart from medical experiments the cosmonauts also underwent routine check-ups of their cardiovascular system.

In this period, but also thereafter, not much was reported about technical failures. Now and then the CO2 scrubber, Vozdukh, in the Base Block received extra attention and the BKV-3, the a.c., was less capricious and mostly functioned without hiccups after it had been switched off and on some times. The internal pressure of the system remained the problem.

Communications:

Meanwhile the passes of the Mir-complex for Western Europe shifted to the night. So not much radio traffic can be monitored. Observers in Finland and Sweden confirmed that Luch-1/Gelios is used for Russian manned spaceflight and produces very strong signals. To be able to do somewhat with those signals they have to do a lot of experimental work before they can do with Luch-1 what we could do with Altair-1 and later on with Altair-2. One of them has a dish with a diameter of 3.5 Meter and via a channel not in use for Mir-TsUP traffic, he produced nice pictures of a Proton launch relayed by Luch-1/Gelios.

Radio-amateurism:

Until 2.09.98 the 145.940 mc was in use for Packet Radio. As of 2.09 Packet Radio they use 145.985 mc again.

1st Spacewalk (internal Spacewalk) crew Main Expedition Mir nr. 26:

After 3.09.98 most attention of the cosmonauts was dedicated to the preparations for the Internal spacewalk scheduled for half September. Until 15.09.98 the crew used some days to check spacesuits and equipment, but also to prepare the complicated procedures in relation to the disconnection of cables in order to close some hatches of the P.Kh.O. during the IVA. The internal spacewalk (IVA) inside the module Spektr will be executed in the night from 15 to 16.09.98. The IVA will last approx. 3 hrs, but the times still have to be confirmed. Possibly the hatch between the P.Kh.O. (transition section) and Spektr will be opened on 15.09.1998 at 2100 UTC. Radio traffic during the preparations and the IVA itself will be handled via the Eastern tracking stations in Russia and the Luch-1/Gelios satellite. During some small windows radio communications might be monitored in Western Europe during the first passes of the Mir-complex, to begin with that in orbit 71828, 2247-2255 UTC.

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

Internal Vehicular Activity. After donning spacesuits, the PKhO compartment of the Mir core module was depressurized and the crew entered the dead Spektr module at 20:00 GMT. They reconnected some cables for the solar panel steering mechanism and closed the hatch a half hour later. The PKhO was then repressurized.

Tested TAL-D55 plasma engine and was to be part of the NRO's ATex tether experiment. The ATeX lower end mass was meant to remain attached to the STEX parent spacecraft, but with only 21 m of tether deployed, it appeared the tether was so far off vertical that automatic safety systems jettisoned the base to protect the remainder of the STEX satellite. Thus, the upper and lower ATeX end masses were in orbit as one object connected by a 21 m tether, and designated USA 141 (1998-055C). The main STEX satellite was in orbit as a separate object, 1998-055A.

NRO's ATeX (Advanced Tether eXperiment) reportedly failed on January 16. The ATeX lower end mass was meant to remain attached to the STEX parent spacecraft, but with only 21 m of tether deployed, it appeared the tether was so far off vertical that automatic safety systems jettisoned the base to protect the remainder of the STEX satellite. Thus, the upper and lower ATeX end masses were in orbit as one object connected by a 21 m tether, and designated USA 141 (1998-055C). The main STEX satellite was in orbit as a separate object, 1998-055A.

Geostationary at 23.5 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 28 deg E in 1998-1999; 5 deg E in 2000.- As of 5 September 2001 located at 5.04 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 4.97E drifting at 0.000W degrees per day.

During the last weeks the frequency in which my MirNEWS-es appeared decreased a little bit. Main causes of this reduction were the loss of the geostationary communication satellite Altair-2 as an information source, and the fact that Mir-passes merely took place during the night hours. So the VHF-passes, on which I now can only depend did not give much information. Meanwhile Mir is passing again during the evening and afternoon, and the amount of communications has considerably increased. Fortunately sufficient information can be derived from VHF communications and so my work remains to be meaningful. In fact I did not have the Altair-facilities before 1992 and after the installation of an own dish for those communications in 1994 there have been long periods in which the satellite was not available. After the drop out of Altair-1 in the beginning of 1997, due to an attitude problem bringing that satellite in a sun-pointing position, I had to wait until that summer when the Altair-2 was replaced from 96 degrees East to 16 degrees West.

Mir-routine:

During the full period after my previous MirNEWS (440) , TsUP and the crew regularly discussed problems regarding the oxygen production for Mir's mini atmosphere. Every day the cosmonauts were engaged in the functioning of the Elektron oxygen generators. These systems did not fail, but it was clear that the crew did not trust the automatic functioning of them, and took over manually at every given moment. The crew did not have problems with the BKV-3, the air conditioner. Recently this system showed glitches when the cosmonauts switched it on.

On 3.10.1998 the attitude control was discussed. There was no failure, the crew spoke about the SUD (system for control of movements). From the given commands and the use of the indication Quaternion (a coefficient of 2 vectors) could be derived that for a while the attitude was not under control by the gyrodynes. Possibly a reset operation took place. Regularly the gyrodynes have to be reset to the starting point.

On 5.10.1998 TsUP told the crew that there had been a session of the Contract Commission. The session was a rather tumultuous one, because among other things they discussed problems experienced by the previous expedition (Musabayev and Budarin). The man at TsUP evaluated the results of that session as 'favourable'. Somebody of that commission (possibly named Rodionov) had ordered TsUP to pass on to the present Mir-crew that the 'leadership was highly pleased with the work of the crew'. If Padalka and Avdeyev might have problems they immediately could pass these to him. The man had also promised to follow radio-communications as much as possible.

On 6.10.1998 Avdeyev discussed with TsUP an audio measurement experiment. In the beginning this was not so successful, this in contrary to the execution of the same experiment in the past. Avdeyev just started the adjustment of parameters and later discussions made it clear that the experiment was running well. Padalka asked for an advice about the Holter experiment (an American cardio-vascular experiment).

On 7.10.1998 the same audio experiment (possibly Intrazvuk) was accomplished. That day the cosmonauts discussed the inventory of the French experiments on board Mir.

On 8.10.1998 the cosmonauts showed a great interest in the protest demonstrations which had taken place the day before. It was clear that they agreed 100% the demands of the demonstrators. TsUP gave a short report about the demonstrations, the numbers of the participants (more than our media told us), the many red (communist) and blue (trade-union) flags and the fact that even army chiefs were there. Padalka asked the man at TsUP if he had received his salary. The man said that he had indeed received it.

On 9.10.1998 there was some confusion about a number of Telemetry connections. The data of some life system channels did not reach TsUP and TsUP was not able to give commands and data inquiries via the 'uplink'. The cosmonauts repeatedly interchanged a number of connections and thus solved the problem. TsUP supposed that the problem was caused during the expedition of Solovyov and Vinogradov.

On 10.10.1998 TsUP spoke about the possibility that the CO2 amount in Mir's atmosphere was too high. Telemetry gave a value of 5.9. Padalka said that nothing was wrong and that they still felt excellent. Avdeyev checked the Vozdukh CO-2 filter and did not find anomalies. Later the value had been increased to 6.0 and the crew took counter measures by using ventilators to blow the air through the whole complex. This did not help. To decrease the CO2 amount the crew got orders to adjust the Vozdukh scrubber in the Base Block.

Progress-M40:

In MirNEWS.440 the possibility of the delay of the launch of this freighter had been reported. Meanwhile there has been confirmed that the launch has been put back from 15.10 to 25.10.1998 due to funding problems. The launch on 25.10, a Sunday, was chosen for ballistic reasons.

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

The orbit at burnout of the Centaur was 286 km x 25866 km x 27.0 degree. Modification of the orbit to a geostationary 38,300 km circular x 0.0 degree inclination was accomplished by the Marquardt R-4D liquid propellant motor on the HS-601 spacecraft. The satellite carried UHF and EHF transponders for naval communications, and a Ka-band Global Broadcast Service video relay package. Launch mass of 3200 kg dropped to 1550 kg once geostationary orbit was reached. UHF F/O F9 was placed over the Atlantic Ocean in geosynchronous orbit at 174 deg W in 1998; 22 deg W in 1999. Additional Details: here....

Maqsat 3 was an instrumentation package used to monitor performance of the Ariane 5 booster. At T+12:43 the Speltra adapter cover separated revealing Maqsat-3. At T+15:14 the EPS stage Aestus engine ignited and burned until T+31:00. At this point on a normal mission the satellite would separate from the EPS, but to avoid creating space debris Maqsat remained attached to the EPS. The EPS/Maqsat-3 was placed in a 1027 km x 35863 km x 7.0 degree geostationary transfer orbit.

The ARD was an 80 percent scale model of the Apollo Command Module, and a technology test for a possible International Space Station Crew Rescue Vehicle. Equipment included a TDRS satellite communications system; a GPS navigation system; 7 DASA 40 kgf hydrazine attitude control thrusters; a 2.8 m diameter heat shield; three 23 metre diameter parachutes, and a SARSAT recovery beacon. The ARD separated from the Ariane EPS upper stage at 12 minutes 2 seconds after launch. ARD and the EPC stage manoeuvred into a 1 km x 830 km orbit, guaranteeing re-entry at the end of the first orbit. The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific at 3.69 degrees N, 153.35 degrees W, and was successfully recovered by the French Navy.

Brazil's SCD-2 satellite was aboard Orbital Science's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft when it took off from the Cape Canaveral Air Station's Skid Strip (Runway 02/20, 28.2N 80.6W) at 23:05 GMT on Oct 22 and flew to the drop zone near Cape Canaveral (in the Mayport, Florida, Warning Area) at 29.0N 78.3W. The Pegasus ignited 5 seconds after drop. The first stage carried a NASA experiment attached to its right wing, to study hypersonic boundary layer separation. The 115 kg Satelite de Coleta de Dados (Data Collection Satellite) relays data from environmental monitoring stations. Air dropped in Mayport DZ.

The primary mission of Deep Space 1 probe was to test new technology for future interplanetary spacecraft, the main experiment being an ion propulsion engine using xenon propellant. It had an initial mass of 486.3 kg, including 81.5 kg of Xenon and 31.1 kg of hydrazine propellants. The Delta 7326 used three Alliant GEM-40 solid strap-on motors, the standard Delta II core vehicle, and a Thiokol Star 37FM solid motor as the third stage. The Delta second stage entered a 185 km parking orbit, then fired again to enter a 174 km x 2744 km x 28.5 degree orbit. The Star 37FM then separated and accelerated to place Deep Space 1 to escape velocity. Deep Space 1 successfully started its ion engine on November 24 after an initial attempt failed after four minutes on November 10. From its initial solar orbit of 0.99 AU x 1.32 AU x 0.4 degree, Deep Space 1 was to fly past the 3 km diameter asteroid 1992 KD at its perihelion of 1.33 AU. The spacecraft then flew past the nucleus of comet 19P/Borrelly at a distance of 2200 km at 2230 GMT on Sep 22 2001. It survived the encounter in good shape, sending back photos of the comet. At the encounter DS1 was in a 1.3 x 1.5 AU x 0 deg (ecliptic) solar orbit; Borrelly's orbit was 1.3 x 5.9 AU.

Following separation of the third stage and the primary Deep Space 1 payload, the Delta second stage manoeuvred from its 185 km parking orbit to a 174 km x 2744 km x 28.5 degree orbit. It then released the SEDSAT micro-satellite, built by the Huntsville, Alabama chapter of SEDS (the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space). SEDSAT has two amateur radio transponders and an earth imaging camera.

Docked with the rear (+X, Kvant) docking port of the Mir station on October 27. Delivered fuel, dry cargo, and the Znamya-2.5 solar illumination experiment. This was a follow-on to the earlier Znamya-2 experiment on Progress M-15 in 1992. The 25 m diameter Znamya reflector, which would unfold from the nose of the Progress, was to reflect sunlight over a 6 km area onto selected cities. Znamya-2.5 was developed by the Space Regatta Consortium, led by RKK Energia. Energia had long studied such space mirrors as a means of providing lighting to Siberian towns. The project was opposed by environmentalists and astronomers, who feared light pollution. Progress M-40 undocked on February 4, 1999 at 09:59 GMT, but the attempted deployment of the Znamya-2.5 reflector was thwarted when it snagged on a rendezvous system antenna. After two more failed attempts to deploy the antenna the experiment was abandoned. Progress M-40 fired its engines at 10:16 GMT on February 5, braked out of orbit, and burned up over the Pacific Ocean.

On a space walk from Mir on November 10, Padalka and Avdeyev hand-launched the Spoutnik-41 amateur-radio mini-satellite at around 19:30 GMT. Spoutnik-41, also designated RS-18, was another scale model of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, launched 41 years ago. It carried a small transmitter and was sponsored by Aero Club de France, AMSAT-France, and the Astronautical Federation of Russia. A similar model was launched in 1997 for the fortieth anniversary of Sputnik. On that occasion, two flight models were carried to Mir but only one was launched. The second Spoutnik-40 flight model was still aboard Mir as of 1998. The second Spoutnik-40 would perhaps be deployed prior to the abandonment of Mir in 1999.

This freighter linked up with the Mir-space station on 27.10.1998 at 05.43.42 UTC. Approach and docking were executed in the automatic mode with the system Kurs. During the pass for my position (the Hague) could be heard how the cosmonauts observed the approaching Progress-M40. They also took images with the LIV camera. At the beginning of this pass (in orb. Mir.72476) from 0530-0537 UTC the distance to Mir's aft docking port was 152 Meters, at LOS this distance was approx. 113 Meters. A calm Padalka regularly reported that all was going well. During this pass the beacon transmitter of Progress-M40 on 922.755 mc could be heard, so obviously this transmitter does not interfere with the Kurs transponders.

During the next pass in orb. 72477, 0702-0712 UTC, it was clear that the docking had been a success and that the hatches to the Progress-M40 already were open. These had been opened between 0620 and 0630 UTC. The crew enjoyed a nice wintry smell of the air which reached them from the Progress-M40. The cosmonauts already had installed the protection caps and TsUP gave them permission to load some orientation commands in the control computer. They also loaded commands for the aiming of the ONA (the narrow beam antenna for contact with the geostationary satellite). This had something to do with the fact that communications via Luch-1/Gelios had not been satisfactory. The cosmonauts also started unloading the Progress-M40.

Communications:

During passes of Progress-M40 on 26.10.1998 the transmitters in the 166, 165 and 922.755 mc bands easily could be monitored.

Radio-amateur equipment:

TsUP reported that the mini-sputnik, almost the same as the Sputnik-40 and the promised gear for SSTV experiment could not be transported to Mir with this Progress-M. Other items, for instance the experiments for the French- and Slovak expeditions and a French device for the measurement of meteorite streams had a higher priority.

2nd Spacewalk (EVA), (the 1st one was an IVA, the internal spacewalk in the Spektr):

The French sensors for the detection of meteorites must be installed at the outer surface of the Mir-complex. This EVA was put forward to have this experiment operational during the Leonid meteorites around 17.11.1998. The EVA will be made in the night from 10 to 11.11.1998 and will last approx. 5 hours. A second task during this EVA will be the dismantling and retrieving of Russian experiments from outside.

Progress-M39:

This old freighter undocked from Mir on 25.10.1998 at 23.03.24 UTC. Indeed the Russians manoeuvred a lot with this ship after the undocking. The ship flawlessly responded on steering commands and the crew made video-images and measurements with spectrometers. On 29.10.1998 at about 0630 UTC deorbit impulses will be given for burning up over a designated area in the Pacific East of New Zealand.

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

Afristar was the first WorldSpace satellite. Afristar was to broadcast digital radio over Africa and the Middle East. Small hand-held radios could pick up the 24 to 96 radio channels available on the three L-band beams. Dry mass of Afristar was 1205 kg; it carried 1534 kg of propellant at launch. Geostationary at 21.0 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 21 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 20.98 deg E drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 20.98E drifting at 0.010W degrees per day.

Satellite was originally built as a backup for Argentina's Nahuelsat. This allowed Dornier and Alcatel to deliver the satellite in a record twelve months. Dry mass of GE 5 was 769 kg - it carried 950 kg of propellant at launch. Geostationary at 36.4 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 79 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 79.00 deg W drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 78.99W drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.

The flight of STS-95 provoked more publicity for NASA than any other flight in years, due to the presence of ex-astronaut Senator John Glenn on the crew, which also included the first Spanish astronaut, Pedro Duque. The US Navy PANSAT student satellite was deployed on Oct 30 into a 550 km x 561 x 28.5 degree orbit. The Spartan 201 satellite was deployed from Discovery on November 1 and retrieved on November 3. Spartan 201 was on its fifth mission to observe the solar corona. The data on this mission would be used to recalibrate the SOHO satellite which recently resumed observation of the Sun following loss of control. Discovery landed at 17:03:31 GMT November 7 on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

Chris Rice's "Hallelujahs" awakened Discovery's seven astronauts at 6:35 a.m. Central time today to begin their fourth day of science activities. The song was requested by pilot Steve Lindsey's wife, Diane. Today's primary activity will be deployment at 1:03 p.m. CST this afternoon of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which will fly free of Discovery for two days studying the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere. Additional Details: here....

The SPARTAN satellite was captured and returned to its berth this afternoon, successfully completing its two-day solar science mission. SPARTAN Mission Manager Craig Toohey congratulated the crew and flight control team on their performance in executing the mission exactly as planned. Toohey said that 30 percent of the science data already had been linked to the ground and the remainder would be off-loaded at landing. SPARTAN Scientist Dr. Richard Fisher noted that investigators were pleased to have the satellite in orbit near a solar maximum cycle and that its instruments had captured sought-after data on a solar mass ejection event. Additional Details: here....

The Proton launch vehicles Block DM3 fourth stage put the Panamsat PAS 8 into a 6784 km x 35941 km x 17.3 degree transfer orbit. PAS 8 had 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders and was to be located over the Pacific after its R-4D apogee engine manoeuvred the orbit to geostationary altitude and inclination. Geostationary at 166.1 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 166 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 166.05 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 165.96E drifting at 0.002E degrees per day.

The USAF conducted the launch of the ait (atmospheric interceptor technology) suborbital rocket, marking the first launch from the Kodiak Launch Center in Alaska. During the 16-minute flight, the vehicle flew a trajectory that reached an altitude of about 730 km and traveled approximately 1,600 km downrange, landing in the Pacific Ocean west of Seattle, Washington.

The seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery were awakened at 3:09 a.m. this morning to make final preparations for their return to Earth later this morning. "La Cucaracha," a well-known Spanish song, was played for Mission Specialist Pedro Duque at the request of his wife, Consuelo. Additional Details: here....