A special House committee found that technology transfers to China by Hughes Electronics and Loral Space and Communications harmed U.S. national security. The 700-page, five-volume report was classified. The Chinese government sharply denied allegations that it had mounted a 'serious and sustained' effort over the last 20 years to obtain militarily useful U.S. technology.

The Mars Polar Lander was placed by the first burn of the second stage into a 157 x 245 km x 28.35 deg parking orbit. The second stage restarted at 20:55 GMT and shut down in a 226 x 740 km x 25.8 deg Earth orbit. The solid rocket third stage (a Star 48B with a Nutation Control System and a yo-yo despin device) then ignited and put the spacecraft into solar orbit, separating at 21:02 GMT. Mars Polar Lander was to land near the south pole of Mars on December 3, 1999, and conduct conduct a three month mission, trenching near its landing site and testing for the presense of frozen water and carbon dioxide. Attached were two Deep Space 2 Microprobes, penetrators which would impact the Martian surface separately from the lander and return data on subsurface conditions from widely spaced points.

When the spacecraft reached Mars on December 3, the lander separated from the cruise stage at 19:51 UTC and the two penetrators, Scott and Amundsen, were to separate about 20 seconds later. No further communications were ever received from the spacecraft. Landing had been expected at 20:01 UTC at 76.1S 195.3W, with the penetrators landing a few kilometres from each other at 75.0S 196.5W.

This failure resulted in a review and reassessment of NASA's 'faster, better, cheaper' approach to planetary missions.

The official Chinese Liberation Daily reported that a Chinese manned flight would take place "by the end of this century or the beginning of the next," . This would make China the first country in more than 30 years to join the United States and Russia in the exclusive club of manned mission launchers.

It was reported that China and Russia once discussed docking a Chinese module to the Russian section of the International Space Station. Spare docking ports would provide attachment points for Ukrainian and Chinese modules. Such possibilities had been discussed at the highest political levels.

A sixteen month overhaul of China's space tracking fleet was completed in Shanghai. The upgraded ships were capable of global tracking and control with a 400-fold increase in data transfer rates. The fleet was now ready for support of the first test launch of a Chinese manned spacecraft. To support this, for the first time three Yuanwang tracking ships would be deployed in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.

Taiwan's first satellite, with experimental communications, ocean imagery, and ionospheric studies instruments. The Primex OAM placed itself and the payload into an elliptical transfer orbit. A second OAM burn circularized the orbit, and ROCSAT separated into a 588 x 601 km x 35.0 deg orbit.

For the period between 27.01 and 2.02.99 three orbit corrections were planned. The 1st one took place on 27.01.99 at 1418 UTC and was relatively small. This correction was to check the performance of a number of systems. The impulse given by the engines of the freighter Progress-M40 lasted 97 seconds and increased the velocity with 0.35 Meters/second. The orbit was raised approx. 600 Meters. The greater correction, meanwhile executed, was scheduled for 29.01.1999 at 1337 UTC and had to increase the velocity with 1.44 Meters/second. (No exact details as yet) The 3rd and last correction of this sequence is planned for 2.02.1999 and has to add 0.85 Meters/second. Due to the planned last correction it is not yet possible to give exact predictions of Mir's (and Progress-40's) passes during the Znamya 2.5 reflector experiment.

Znamya 2.5:

On 3.02.1999 at about 2200 UTC (for Moscow time already 4.02) Progress-M40 will separate from Mir and remain in a distance of a couple of 100 Meters. The Mir crew will control the Progress-M40 with the TORU system and push the packages with the Znamya 2.5 sail in open space. By spinning the freighter around her X-axis the centrifugal forces will unfold and open the packages. These forces will also have to maintain the reflector sail unfolded in right angles towards sun and earth.

Mir and Progress-M40 and possibly the light beam can be seen in Western Europa somewhere between 1700 and 2000 UTC on 4.02.1999. Due to Mir's orbit correction on 2.02.1999 it is not yet possible to calculate exact predictions the passes in which Mir/Progress-M40 are still in sunlight and we in the earth's shadow. As soon as I have the Kepler elements after the correction I will issue a small Mir-report with times and other details (azimuth and elevation) for my position. The reflector beam will cause a spot of approx. 6 KM in diameter, but this spot will move very fast: approx. 8 KM/second

Progress-M40:

After the 24 hours which will be used for this experiment the freighter will be put on a destruction course into the atmosphere and burn up over a designated area in the Pacific Ocean East of New-Zealand.

Mir-routine:

Daily between 0500-2000 UTC the cosmonauts executed the prescribed programmes. This was not very exciting, but also not boring. They paid attention to a number of well known experiments such as: the French Fiziolab (medical), Ionozond (sensing the ionosphere in the benefit of the ionospheric stations in Narafominsk and Rostov), the Greenhouse, Portapress (blood circulation), Relaksatsiya (the study of the influence on molecules of products of combustion for which now and then small impulses of the engines were needed), Silay (the study of small particles from outer space resulting in minor flashes in the eyes of the cosmonauts), etc.

Apart from these and their experiments they had to do maintenance work, for instance the replacement of a ventilator of the Gas Analyser, mending the system for the transfer of urine, the installation and dismounting of experimental equipment and the separation of water in one of the Elektron oxygen generators. Regularly the crew reported the pressure in Mir's atmosphere: always approx. 705 MM mercury.

They also now and then checked the pressure in the Spektr module. Another regular reported measurement was the radiation level on board. This was always done by Avdeyev who used the Doza system. The values (doses) were given in ug-s and the velocities in mg-s per hour.

Communications:

Now and then the geostationary satellite Luch-1/Gelios was in use for instance for TV-transmissions, but also for a TV-link in which high speed data transfer took place. On 25.01.99 TsUP told the crew that the DLR was very pleased with the data of the Titus experiments transmitted by Mir and directly received by DLR. The Mir crew promised to transmit more. (Unclear whether the Germans received these signals via the 166, 165, 636 or 638 mc/s telemetry channels or via the Luch-1/Gelios. Theoretically GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen must be able to 'see' Luch-1)

Avdeyev often used the amateur radio frequency 145.985 mc/s for several modes: Packet Radio, Phone and SSTV images. Now and then Avdeyev, using call sign R0Mir, transmitted for phone on a somewhat lower frequency around 145.970 mc/s. He made his calls in Russian as well in English.

Preparations Znamya 2.5:

A lot activities in this field during the last days. For instance just before drafting this report TsUP spoke with the crew about the observations during the undocking and the deployment of the Znamya 2.5 sail. Padalka will control the TORU from the base block and Avdeyev will execute observations and make images with through a porthole (nr. 5 in Module-D or the porthole in the PSO).

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

This freighter will separate from the Mir complex on 4.02.99 at 0957 UTC. After the separation Progress-M40 will fly 'in formation with Mir' at a distance of approx. 600 Meters.

Znamya 2.5:

Thus far this experiment is still scheduled for 4.02.1999. The experiments starts immediately after the undocking of Progress-M40. All operations of Mir and Progress-M40 will be executed in the framework of that experiment. After undocking the Znamya 2.5 reflector will be deployed very soon (after approx. 30 minutes). One and a half hour later the observations of the light spot on earth will begin over Kazakhstan.

Orbit corrections:

The orbit of the Mir space station has been corrected on 1 and 2.02.1999. That is why it lasted so long before it was possible to calculate the passes in which both objects (Mir and Progress-M40 with the unfolded sail) will come within our range.

The latest 2-line elements, so after the last orbit corrections are:

Mir 16609U 86017A 99033.62215070 -.00705684 00000-0 -60986-2 0 1783 16609 51.6621 313.1101 0015148 80.9915 279.1017 15.70324883740230

For my position in the Hague (Kijkduin) this will be on 4.02.1999 between 1745 and 1752 UTC. The maximum elevation of 78 degrees will take place at 1747 UTC. For us in the west of the Netherlands Mir and Progress-M40 emerge at the horizon in the direction of 275 degrees, and will proceed to the T.C.A. (time closest approach) on 78 degrees in the direction of 176 degrees. Then Mir and Progress-M40 will fly away and disappear after the horizon in the direction of 102 degrees.

Using the remote control system (TORU) the crew of Mir will try to aim the reflector to the ground track between Liege in Belgium and Frankfurt in Germany between 1750 and 1754 UTC. So we hope to something before that period during the pass 2 minutes before and 2 minutes after TCA.

We in the Netherlands have another pass from 1918-1927 UTC with a maximum elevation of 28 degrees at 1922 UTC, but then the cosmonauts will sleep. They wake up again at 2230 UTC to work with Znamya 2.5 during some passes over Canada and the U.S.A. After the departure of Progress-M40 at about 0209 UTC and jettisoning Znamya 2.5 4 minutes later the crew will sleep on 5.02.1999 between 0230 and 1030 UTC.

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

A tragic conjunction of circumstances caused the failure of this experiment. In soviet times successes caused an enormous publicity explosion. Nowadays the balance goes the other way: extensive information and publicity before an interesting hazardous operation and when there is a failure a strong hangover afterwards. For me the days before the execution of the experiment were hectic. Lots of people, among them even some who never before were not interested in spaceflight, tackled me to get information. The media had given them the impression that the Russians were about to install a real midsummer night's sun. As much as possible, often even disappointing those enthusiasts, I tried to explain them that this was just an experiment to try out the methods and the technologies of a solar reflector for the far future and that it had not been planned to surprise us with an overwhelming happening.

It was clear the Russians were not happy with the enthusiasm and attention before and that some of them would prefer a little bit soviet-like publicity: so exuberant joy when a risky attempt was successful , but silence after a failure.

What went wrong? Just when Padalka transmitted the command to unfold the reflector packages, the Progress-M40 got a command from earth to deploy a Kurs antenna. One slip of the reflector got stuck behind this antenna and the unfolding process stopped. After the retraction of the antenna and a motor burn of the Progress-M40 the reflector came free, but a second attempt to deploy the reflector with the centrifugal forces of the spinning around its X-axis Progress-M40 failed. After analyses and nightly deliberations the Russians decided to blow off the experiment and to put the Progress-M40 on a destruction course.

Progress-M40:

On 4.02.1999 at 09.59.32 UTC the freighter separated from the aft (Kvant-1) docking port of Mir.

On 5.02.1999 at 1016 UTC Progress-M40 got the impulse to bring it back into the atmosphere. At 1110 UTC Progress-M40 burnt up over a designated area in the Pacific East of New-Zealand.

Communications:

These began with the reception between 1302 and 13.03.30 UTC of the 922.755 mc beacon and telemetry transmitter of Progress-M40. This was for me the prove that Progress-M40 was flying autonomously. Mir's radio conversations during the following passes of Mir and Progress-M40 made it clear that the experiment was not proceeding according to plan. Padalka reported hat he had switched off several systems and obviously the crew transferred the control of Progress-M40 to TsUP.

Avdeyev continuously reported to TsUP the distances between Mir and Progress-M40 with the times. During the pass in orbit 74054, 1439-1440 UTC, he reported that at 13.54.40 UTC the distance had been 4090 Meters. At about 1439 UTC the distance was approx. 2 KM. For the measurements Avdeyev had to soar from port-hole to port-hole. Regularly he reported that it was difficult to track and to observe the Progress-M40 due to the sunlight shining in his eyes and now and then Mir's solar panels hampered him. Possibly Avdeyev had to report the distances to the man at TsUP who controlled the Progress-M40.

Now and then the UKW-2 (130.165 mc) was in use for communications. During the pass in orb. 74055, (1606-1615 UTC) he continued to report the distances. One of my friends, radio-amateur Hans van Dijk (NL number 10204), picked up images of the Progress-M40 transmitted to earth with SSTV on 145.985 mc.

The failure of the experiment was discussed during radio traffic. Padalka did not make a fuss about this, but he was disappointed about the fact that the crew had not been able to carry out their work. He expressed his satisfaction about the fact that the control of Progress-M40 with the TORU and the transfer of commands for the experiment worked flawlessly. He regretted the fact that they had installed all equipment to film and photograph the events in vain. He joked that they might be able to try it again in 6 years. About this all and the plans with this experiment for the next day he had a conversation with Flight control chief V.A. Solovyov.

During the communication window in orb. 74057/58, 1915-1926 UTC, the crew, certainly unintended, startled the flight controller at TsUP by switching off the transmitter. This man possibly thought that something was wrong (in fact a free flying freighter not far from Mir!) and reacted immediately. Avdeyev told him that all was well on board.

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

Stardust was to fly within 100 km of comet 81P/Wild-2 in January 2004 and recover cometary material using an aerogel substance. A return capsule would land on a lake bed in Utah in January 2006, returning the material to earth. The launch went as planned. The second stage ignited at 21:08 GMT and its first burn put the vehicle into a 185 km x 185 km x 28 degree parking orbit at 21:14 GMT. The second stage second burn at 21:25 changed the orbit to planned values of 178 km x 7184 km x 28.5 degrees. The Star 37FM solid third stage ignited at 21:29 GMT and placed the spacecraft into a 2 year period solar orbit. The spacecraft separated at 21:31 GMT. Meanwhile, the Delta 266 second stage burned a third time on its own, until its propellants were depleted, entering a final orbit of 294 km x 6818 km x 22.5 degrees. The Stardust probe flew past Earth at a distance of 3706 km at 1115 GMT on January 15, 2001, and flew near the Moon at a distance of 98000 km at around 0200 GMT on January 16. The gravity assist flyby changed Stardust's heliocentric orbit from 0.956 x 2.216 AU x 0.0 deg to 0.983 x 2.285 AU x 3.7 deg.

On 8.02.1999 the Mir-crew transferred the transport ship Soyuz-TM28 from the forward (-X axis P.Kh.O.) port to the aft (+X axis Kvant-1) port between 11.23.04 UTC (separation from Mir) and 11.39.07 UTC (soft mate to Mir).

During the last stage of the redocking Mir and Soyuz-TM28 were in my range and the cosmonauts could be heard via 121.750 mc. The moment of the 'touch' (kasaniye) was reported by Padalka. The autonomous flight lasted shorter than planned. Padalka executed the approach and docking in the manual mode. Avdeyev reported that the fuel consumption measured by the SIRT had been 407 Kilograms. They spoke about 'flying around' but in fact the Soyuz-TM28 hovered while the Mir complex made a 180 degrees turn in the Z-axis plane just waiting until the aft port came in front of that ship.

During the pass in orb. 74116, 1313-1320 UTC, the cosmonauts again used the 143.625 mc. They were inside the station and had installed the clamps to attach Soyuz-TM28 firmly to Kvant-1. The crew almost recovered the Mir-station into the status it had before the redocking. They use the Russian word 'raskonservirovatj', so to undo the 'conservation'. Meanwhile they had 'conserved' the Soyuz-TM28, so they had put this in the 'stand by' or 'inactive' mode. Before the redocking the had 'de-conserved' that ship.

In the period in which the Mir-station is unmanned a lot of systems are switched off. If for instance the redocking fails and the cosmonauts have to return to earth the station must remain alive. Among the systems switched off are almost all life support systems, which consume a lot of energy, for instance the BKV-3 (the a.c.), the Elektron oxygen generator, the BMP (a unit to purify the air of unwanted products), the Vozdukh (the CO-2 scrubber) and the S.R.V.K. (the system to regenerate condensate into water). The crew also switched on again the greenhouse (oranjerie).

The reactivation of these systems was reported in that pass. They had to leave the Elektron 'off'. Padalka reported the start of the program to turn the solar panels to the most effective angles towards the sun.

Mir-routine in relation to the redocking:

During the last days there were indications about the oncoming redocking operation, for instance the necessity to clean up the Kvant-1 and on 7.02.1999 the crew got instructions about the procedures during this operation. Even the undocking time was mentioned 1420 DMV -Decree Moscow Time-, so 1120 UTC, but nothing was said about the day.

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

The first launch of the Soyuz- Ikar launch vehicle, selected by Orbcomm after failure of the Zenit launcher. The Ikar upper stage was derived from the Yantar reconnaissance satellite's propulsion module. The Soyuz second stage separated at 8 minutes 48 seconds into flight after placing the Ikar into a 236 km x 884 km x 52.0 deg transfer orbit. The Ikar stage burned at the second apogee passage, at 06:23 GMT, and released the Globalstar satellite at the top of the dispenser into a 915 km x 947 km x 52.0 deg orbit at 07:27 GMT. The three remaining satellites mounted around the side of the dispenser were released into a 903 km x 946 km x 52.0 deg orbit. This was also the first launch carried out by the Starsem organization, a joint venture including Aerospatiale and TsSKB-Progress (the launch vehicle manufacturer). The dispenser was built by Aerospatiale/Aquitaine (Bordeaux).

China planned to launch its own re-usable "space shuttle" with a maiden unmanned mission at the end of next year, said an astronomical engineer in charge of one of dozens of scientific research payloads that will be aboard. The engineer said the lift-capacity problems have already been resolved and he had been briefed on the cost of the Chinese shuttle but that he could not reveal it, as the information is classified. (AFP)

Loral Skynet's Telstar 6 had a mixed C and Ku band communications payload. The Block DM3 upper stage released Telstar 6 in a 6638 km x 35,756 km x 17.4 degree geosynchronous transfer orbit. After the first burn of its on-board R-4D engine on February 18, Telstar 6 was in a 15,037 km x 35,800 km x 7.9 deg transfer orbit heading for its final geosynchronous slot at 93 deg W Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 93 deg W in 1999. As of 2 September 2001 located at 93.01 deg W drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 93.03W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

JCSAT-6 carried a Ku-band relay system. It was operated by Japan Satellite Systems, Inc., Tokyo, provided communications and data relay for Japan and the Pacific Rim. Two burns of the Centaur upper stage placed it into a supersynchronous transfer orbit of 258 km x 96736 km x 24.1 degrees. JCSAT-6's on-board R-4D engine would maneuver it into its final geostationary location. Dry mass of the spacecraft was 1230 kg. Stationed at 124 deg E Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 123 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 124.00 deg E drifting at 0.014 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 124.01E drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.

Soyuz TM-29 docked with Mir on February 22 at 05:36 GMT. Since two crew seats had been sold (to Slovakia and France), Afansyev was the only Russian cosmonaut aboard. This meant that Russian engineer Avdeyev already aboard Mir would have to accept a double-length assignment. After the February 27 departure of EO-26 crew commander Padalka and Slovak cosmonaut Bella aboard Soyuz TM-28, the new EO-27 Mir crew consisted of Afanasyev as Commander, Avdeyev as Engineer and French cosmonaut Haignere. Follwoing an extended mission and three space walks, the last operational crew aboard Mir prepared to return. The station was powered down and prepared for free drift mode.

On 22.02.1999 at 05.36.16 UTC Soyuz-TM29 docked with Mir. During the first pass of both objects within my range radio-communications from Mir as well as from Soyuz-TM29 was related to the approach being in progress. Afanasyev reported a distance towards Mir of 36 meters. Approach and docking were executed in the automatic mode with the system Kurs. Soyuz-TM29 docked at the forward port (P.Kh.O.-transition section, -X axis).

During the next pass in orb. 74333, 0658-0706 UTC, the hatches between the ship and the station already had been opened and preparations for a TV-report of the meeting of both crews were in progress. From the given commands (Anna-73 and 86) could be derived that the TV-transmissions would take place via the UHF channels. Haignere could be heard giving some impressions about this arrival in comparison with that during his first flight. The opening of the hatches had taken place outside the communications zones and so it was not possible to report the exact time, but obviously this was not long before this pass. The next communication session took place in orb. 74334, 0830-0841 UTC. The crew reported that they had fastened the clamps of the Soyuz-TM29. This activity is necessary to be sure that Soyuz-TM29 does not slip away easily. Other subjects during this session were the combined power supply of Mir and Soyuz-TM29 and the oxygen production with the Elektron in Kvant-1.

Radio traffic Soyuz-TM29 on the 2nd flight day (21.02):

During orb. 18 a short communication session between 0708 and approx. 0711 UTC. Everything went flawlessly. Afanasyev reported that they had adjusted the Globus (the instrument with a globe to enable the crew to see the ground track of their ship on earth). This procedure has been in vogue since the first Vostok flights in the early sixties. Neither Afanasyev nor TsUP had nothing more to report and they switched off the radio equipment.

During the pass in orb. 19, 0840-0845 UTC, the ship could be monitored on all frequencies. With the use of the beacon transmissions on 922.755 mc I could see that the TCA (Time Closest Approach) was 08.42.120 UTC. Afanasyev reported that they were flying over Europa and that they had connected the purification cartridge at 0730 UTC. Then Bella got the microphone for a short conversation with a compatriot, (possibly his wife) at TsUP. He told that all went well, that all systems worked normally, but that he suffered from a headache. (Whether some noise on the frequency bothered me or that he must do something to enhance his Slovak language, I do not know, but it was impossible to determine whether he had a 'severe' or a 'light' headache.) During the still available windows of Soyuz-TM29: 'ani - vidu, ani - slechu', or: not a word has been heard!

Mir:

A lot more material could be obtained from the radio-communications between Mir and TsUP on 21.02.99. Padalka was literally buried under instructions about the attitude (movements-) control and manoeuvres of the Mir-complex in preparation for the oncoming approach and docking of Soyuz-TM29. The Mir had to make a turn of 180 degrees in the horizontal plane. This manoeuvre, possibly to be executed without gyrodynes, but with steering rockets, had to start on 22.02.1999 at 03.16.48 UTC.

Really a busy day, but nevertheless, the crew got the opportunity to have some private conversations with their relatives.

Bella:

The Slovak cosmonaut, or astronaut, spacionaut or, that it is: COSMONAUT, Ivan Bella, will execute during his mission the Slovak scientific program Stefanik. This consists of the following items: Dozimetrie (radiation levels), Senso-asymmetrie (whatever that may be), Endotest (possibly hormonstudies), Metabolism , Training and as they say: Prepelica (Japanese quails). Experiments with these birds have been executed on Mir some years ago; not a single bird survived. Let us hope that Bella will have more success. He spoke with a specialist on earth and told that he was happy to be able to start with his work. His headache was almost over and he congratulated everybody who had been involved in the successful docking operation.

For his conversation Bella used the UKW-1, the 143.625 mc. Padalka used for his connection with TsUP the UKW-2, so 130.165 mc. The simultaneous use of both frequencies will be regularly the case until August this year.

Soyuz-TM28:

The return flight of this ship is scheduled for the night from 27 to 28.02.99 with on board the present mission commander, Padalka, and the Slovak Ivan Bella. They are bound to undock from Mir on 27.02 at 2310 UTC and hope to make a happy landing in Kazakhstan on 28.02.1999 at approx. 0210 UTC.

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

The United States rejected a $450 million Hughes satellite deal with China over fears it could compromise U.S. national security. The APMT satellite was designed to provide mobile telephone links over much of Asia and was 51 percent owned by Chinese interests. This marked the end of Chinese-US commercial collaboration in space, with China thereafter concentrating on deals with European or other developing world partners.

The Arab League satellite had 20 Ku-band transponders and was to be stationed at 26 degrees East. Dry mass was 1200 kg. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 26 deg E in 1999. As of 29 August 2001 located at 25.93 deg E drifting at 0.007 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 25.89E drifting at 0.003E degrees per day.

Skynet 4E was a SHF/UHF military communications satellite for the UK Ministry of Defense. Dry mass was 759 kg; it used a Thiokol Star 30 solid apogee motor. Stationed at 53 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 53 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 52.91 deg E drifting at 0.000 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 53.02E drifting at 0.005E degrees per day.

Geosynchronous communications satellite, stationed at 35 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 35 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 34.80 deg E drifting at 0.013 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 107.14E drifting at 0.165W degrees per day.

Zhang Heqi, the chief astronomer of the Chinese space program said that an earlier report regarding a Chinese 'shuttle' was incorrect - 'It is a manned spacecraft, not a shuttle'. There was to be an unmanned launch in one or two years. A manned launch would follow this test in the next few years.The first unmanned spacecraft might carry animals to pave the way for future manned flights. It was also reported that China had selected several astronaut candidates from PLA Air Force fighter pilots.

This week aboard the International Space Station, commands were received from ground controllers in Houston and Moscow demonstrating that commands could be sent to the Zarya control module through the Unity node's communications system from Russia's Mission Control Center. Additional Details: here....

X-38 atmospheric test vehicle V-132 was dropped from carrier plane NB-52 # 8 at 16:17 GMT. The V-132 subscale version of the X-38 successfully deployed its parafoil and glided to a landing on the lakebed after a 9 minute flight. V-132 tested the rudders and flaps; the simpler V-131, which made two drop tests earlier, tested the parafoil control system.

NASA's long-delayed WIRE (Wide Field Infrared Explorer) astronomy satellite was the fifth Small Explorer (SMEX) mission managed by NASA-Goddard. The L-1011 Stargazer launch aircraft took off from Vandenberg's runway 30/12 at 01:55 GMT on March 2 for the first launch attempt. The planned 02:56 GMT launch was cancelled at T-46 seconds due to a problem with the tail fin release mechanism of the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The second attempt was successful, with the Pegaus XL being dropped at 36 degrees N x 123 degrees W over the Pacific Ocean at 02:56 GMT. However the WIRE ran into serious trouble shortly after orbit injection. The cover of the solid hydrogen telescope ejected prematurely, and the cryogenic coolant evaporated and vented, spinning the satellite out of control. WIRE was going to make an infrared photometry survey, generating a large catalog of galaxies and quasars. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ.

In the second Soyuz/Ikar launch four Globalstar satellites were delivered with the Ikar upper stage into a 235 km x 899 km x 52.0 degree transfer orbit. The Ikar stage then placed itself and its payload into a 897 km x 950 km x 52.0 degree deployment orbit. Satellite M022 was separated first from the top of the dispenser, followed by ejection of the other three satellites from the sides at 06:37 GMT. After dispensing the satellites, the Ikar deorbited itself on March 16.

A replacement for Asiasat 3, placed in the wrong orbit by a Proton launch in 1997, Asiasat 3S carried C and Ku band transponders. The Blok DM3 upper stage placed it a 9,677 km x 35,967 km x 13.1 deg geosynchronous transfer orbit. Asiasat's on-board R4D apogee engine was to be used to raise perigee to geostationary altitude. Mass in transfer orbit was 3,463 kg, down to 2,500 kg after insertion in geostationary orbit. Operated in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg E from 1999. As of 4 September 2001 located at 105.52 deg E drifting at 0.008 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 105.46E drifting at 0.017W degrees per day.

The first Boeing Sea Launch mission. The Zenit-3SL lifted off from the Odyssey floating platform on the equator at 154 degrees West longitude. The DemoSat payload was an instrumented dynamic model of an HS-702 satellite built by Boeing Commercial Space/Kent. 13 minutes after launch, the Block DM-SL upper stage completed its first burn and entered a 180 km x 735 km x 1.2 degree parking orbit. A second burn 47 minutes after launch placed DemoSat in a 638 km x 36,064 km x 1.2 degree geostationary transfer orbit. Three hours later, a third DM-SL burn lowered the stage's perigee so that it would re-enter quickly.

Resupply craft docked uneventfully with the Mir complex two days later. It also delivered the Sputnik-99 amateur radio satellite, launched into orbit by hand by the cosmonauts during an EVA on April 16. Still hopeful of finding a backer to pay to keep Mir in space, Progress M-41 began a series of engine burns in late April to raise the orbit of the station. It finally undocked from Mir at 11:20 GMT on July 17 and was deorbited over the Pacific later the same day.

ISRO's Insat 2E was placed in geostationary transfer orbit. The Indian-built satellite carried a C and S band communications package. Stationed at 83 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 83 deg E in 1999. As of 3 September 2001 located at 82.90 deg E drifting at 0.015 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 82.93E drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.

The Titan 4B placed the IUS upper stages and DSP-1 Block 14 ballistic missile launch detection satellite. payload into a 188 km x 718 km x 28.6 deg parking orbit. The first stage of the IUS burned at 18:14 GMT and put the second stage and payload into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The IUS second stage fired at 23:34 GMT in order to place the spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. However, at least one connector remained attached between the stages, and the second stage motor nozzle did not extend properly. When the stage fired, the vehicle tumbled wildly during the burn. Separation of the DSP was achieved. Although it could not perform its primary mission, it did provide a good test case in that the effects of radiation on its systems could be monitored as they underwent twice-daily passages of the Van Allen Radiation Belts. However after some weeks the hydrazine propellant aboard the satellite vented into space due to a broken fuel line. It was believed this had been induced by the wild ride aboard the IUS-2 stage.

Communications satellite is for the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization. The vehicle entered a 153 km x 385 km x 27.4 deg parking orbit nine minutes after launch. The second Centaur stage burn delivered the satellite to a 166 km x 46,076 km x 19.7 deg super-synchronous transfer orbit. The satellite was stationed at 7 deg E and carried 24 Ku-band transponders with a wide beam covering Europe, North Africa and Asia, and a spot beam for digital TV to Turkey. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 7 deg E in 1999. As of 26 August 2001 located at 7.01 deg E drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 7 located at 21.59E drifting at 0.003E degrees per day.

This freighter linked up with the Mir-complex on 4.04.1999 at 12.46.49 UTC. The docking was executed in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. (More or less a tragedy for me was the fact that when this operation was going on I drove along the Yaroslavskoye Shosse in Korolyov in a short distance from the building of TsUP! Theoretically I could have been in time in TsUP, if I had been allowed to enter that building, but my arrival by KLM on Sheremetevo was delayed due to a nearly fatal landing attempt. Heavy turbulence and side wind within a few meters from touchdown forced our captain to execute an emergency restart. So Progress-M41 successfully arrived at the first attempt, I did this only on the 2nd ) Two days later I did manage to visit TsUP and to monitor 1 one of the communication sessions with Mir in which one of the subjects was the mini Sputnik which will be launched during the first EVA.

1st Spacewalk (EVA) crew 27th Main Expedition Mir:

This EVA to be executed by commander Afanasyev and CNES cosmonaut Haignere will start on 16.04.1999 at 0430 UTC, when they open the outer hatch of the airlock (Sh.S.O.) of Module-D. The planned duration of the EVA is 5 hours and 12 minutes. The cosmonauts will install experiments at the outer surface of the complex and retrieve experiments which had been installed in the past from there. The whole day of 13.04.1999 the crew was working on the spacesuits. They checked the air-tightness and all technical systems. The air-tightness gave no problems, but from the spacesuit of Afanasyev the medical data did not reach the telemetry. TsUP presumed that there was something wrong with the medical data processing unit in Afanasyev's suit. Afanasyev suggested not to bother about this problem, but the medical group was not willing to give permission for the EVA if the problem would not be solved. If such a failure might arise during the EVA they could bear this for it would be difficult to stop the EVA, but they needed medical data at the beginning. So the management ordered Afanasyev to use spacesuit number 5 for the EVA. This means that a part of the checks will have to be repeated and that there is little time to train for the EVA.

Communications:

On 12.04.1999 Viktor D. Blagov congratulated the crew with the Cosmonauts Day. He expressed the wish that Russian spaceflight would be able to survive and that he hoped the same with the Mir space station. He told the crew that the Service Module for the I.S.S. would be transported to Baykonur in May to enable the launch in late October \ begin November this year. Towards the end of the communication session he informed them about a message he just got from Krasnoyarsk in which was reported that the only geostationary satellite available for Mir-communications, the Luch-1/Gelios standing over 77 degrees East , was unserviceable due to a technical failure. Until the beginning of next year TsUP and Mir do not have such an in fact necessary facility. In the beginning of 2000 TsUP again hopes to be able to make use of a new Luch or Altair, which has to be placed over 16 degrees West.

During a meeting in the Russian Space agency (RKA) in which I took part I asked one of the deputies of Mr. Koptev whether there were plans for such a satellite. He confirmed my question. This geostationary communications satellite will be launched in November or December this year.

Private situation:

I did not cancel my tour to Moscow because of the fact that the doctors and other experts advised me to go and thus to gain strength and relax after the hectic months. And indeed they were right, I now feel better than before my trip. Regretfully the status of my wife who is still in hospital has not changed and predicting the near future is almost impossible.

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

The Ikar upper stage entered a 234 km x 900 km transfer orbit, then maneuvered to dispense the four spacecraft into 900 km x 950 km x 52.0 deg parking orbits. The satellite's own thrusters would be used to place them into their 1410 km circular operational orbits. The Ikar stage deorbited itself after one day. The Globalstar satellites, built by Alenia and Loral, are L-band comsats which provide satellite phone service.

The vehicle entered a 175 km x 706 km x 98.2 deg initial orbit. 57 minutes after launch the Delta stage burned again to circularize the orbit at 668 km x 698 km and Landsat 7 separated from the stage. The Delta stage then burned to depletion of its propellant, into a 184 km x 710 km x 107.5 deg orbit that would decay quickly. The Landsat 7 remote sensing satellite was to be operated by NASA/Goddard until October 2000, when operations would be transferred to the US Geological Survey.

First launch of Russia's Dnepr launch vehicle, a converted R-36M2 ICBM. The Dnepr was launched from a silo. The third stage maneuvring bus (used on the ICBM for dispensing multiple warheads) placed UoSAT-12 into a 638 km x 652 km x 64.6 deg orbit. The third stage separated from the payload at 05:13 GMT and then made a burn into a 599 km x 1403 km x 64.6 deg orbit. UoSAT-12 was the first test of the Minibus platform, at 325 kg a larger spacecraft than earlier 50 kg Surrey UoSATs. It carried a mobile radio experiment (MERLION), a GPS receiver, and imaging cameras.

The second planned power test aboard the International Space Station was completed late last week setting the stage for the arrival of Discovery next month on the first logistics flight carrying hardware and supplies to the outpost, which celebrated its fifth month in orbit two days ago. Additional Details: here....

Tracking stations downrange did not pick up the spacecraft. It was later determined that the rocket nose fairing failed to separate four minutes after launch. The extra mass caused the vehicle to reenter over the South Pacific on the first partial orbit. Space Imaging's Ikonos 1 was to have been the first commercial imaging satellite with a high a resolution camera.

The Titan core vehicle operated correctly, but a software error in the Centaur stage resulted in all three planned burns being made at the wrong times, during the first orbit instead of over a six hour period. The three burns planned to place Milstar successively in a 170 x 190 km parking orbit, a geostationary transfer orbit, and finally geosynchronous orbit. Instead, at 19:00 GMT, several hours before the scheduled third burn, Milstar separated into a useless 740 km x 5000 km orbit. Milstar-2 F1 was the first upgraded Milstar with an extra Medium Data Rate payload with a higher throughput. The payload included EHF (44 GHz), SHF (20 GHz) and UHF communications transponders and satellite-to-satellite crosslinks, with narrow beams to avoid jamming.

The Centaur RL-10B-2 second stage engine's combustion chamber ruptured at the beginning of the second burn. The hot gases already in the chamber vented, putting the stage/spacecraft assembly into an uncontrollable tumble. The Orion 3 communications satellite ended up in a useless parking orbit of 162 km x 1378 km x 29.5 deg. It was to have served the Asia-Pacific region for Loral Orion with 33 Ku-band and 10 C-band transponders.

TERRIERS was part of NASA's Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative (STEDI), which was a precursor program to the UNEX (University Explorer) series. STEDI was managed by USRA (the Universities Space Research Association) for NASA, while UNEX was to be more directly managed by NASA-GSFC. TERRIERS was to be operated by the space physics group at Boston University for ionosphere studies, and carried TESS, a set of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrographs to get electron density and thermosphere emission profiles. The GISSMO instrument measured the solar EUV flux. The spacecraft was built by AeroAstro and based on HETE. TERRIERS was placed in the correct orbit, but it failed to orient its solar panel to the Sun and ran out of battery power by May 20. Controllers were optimistic that when its orbit processes to a better sun angle the satellite could be revived. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ. Additional Details: here....

After deploying the TERRIERS satellite, the conical Payload Adapter Fitting (1998-26E) was jettisoned at 05:21 GMT, leaving the disk-shaped MUBLCOM satellite attached to the Pegasus XL PRIMEX HAPS-Lite stage. The second HAPS burn at 05:22 GMT raised apogee to 775 km, followed by a third, apogee burn at 06:10 GMT which circularised the orbit. MUBLCOM was deployed to a 769 km x 776 km x 97.7 degree orbit. The final HAPS burn then placed the depleted HAPS stage in a lower 388 km x 722 km x 97.1 degree disposal orbit. MUBLCOM (Multiple beam Beyond Line-of-sight Communications) was an experimental satellite funded by DARPA and managed by the US Army's Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) at Ft Monmouth, New Jersey. It was built by Orbital Sciences using the Microstar (Orbcomm type) bus and carries a payload testing hand-held radio satellite communications for the armed forces.

Six years later MUBLCOM was the target for the DART Autonomous Rendezvous Technology mission. On April 16, 2005, DART closed within 100 m of MUBLCOM satellite, then evidently began a series of out-of-control maneuvers resulting in an in-space collission and MUBLCOM being bumped into a 3 to 5 km higher orbit. DART was deorbited while MUBLCOM, still functioned, continued on in space. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ.

Telesat Canada's Nimiq television broadcasting satellite was placed into a 7050 km x 35790 km x 15.9 degree transfer orbit. The Nimiq was to use its liquid apogee engine (Royal Ordnance Leros 1) to reach geosynchronous orbit. Telesat Canada also operated the Anik Canadian domestic communications satellites, the first of which was launched in 1972. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 91 deg W in 1999. As of 4 September 2001 located at 91.11 deg W drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 91.18W drifting at 0.012W degrees per day.

This classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite represented the first successful Titan launch in four attempts. The payload had been reported to be a Lacrosse radar imaging reconnaissance satellite. However the short 50 foot Titan fairing was used instead of the 66 foot fairing used by Lacrosse. This only seems to be used previously for an Improved Crystal photo-reconnaissance satellite in November 1992. The payload therefore could be related to the ocean surveillance triplets, or be an Improved CRYSTAL derivative. Veteran amateur satellite-watchers believed it was the second launch of 'Misty', a stealthy optical reconnaisance satellite (the first launch being USA 53 in February 1990).

DLR-Tubsat carried on the experimental work of Tubsat-A and -B. The satellite measured 32x32x32 cm and had a mass of 44.8 kg. The dechnology demonstrator conducted earth observation with 6 m resolution and conducted attitude control experiments. It was still in operation as of 2003.

Discovery docked at the PMA-2 end of the International Space Station PMA-2/Unity/PMA-1/Zarya stack. The crew transferred equipment from the Spacehab Logistics Double Module in the payload bay to the interior of the station. Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry made a space walk to transfer equipment from the payload bay to the exterior of the station. The ODS/EAL docking/airlock truss carried two TSA (Tool Stowage Assembly) packets with space walk tools. The Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC), built by Energia and DASA-Bremen, carried parts of the Strela crane and the US OTD crane as well as the SHOSS box which contains three bags of tools and equipment to be stored on ISS's exterior.

The STS-96 payload bay manifest:

• Bay 1-2: Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock
• Bay 3-4: Tunnel Adapter S/N 001
• Bay 5-7: Spacehab Tunnel
• Bay 5: Keel Yoke Device (KYD) and Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC)
• Bay 8-12: Spacehab Logistics Double Module
• Bay 13 Port: Adapter Beam (ABA) with IVHM
• Bay 13 Stbd: Adapter Beam (ABA) with SVF/Starshine
• Sill: RMS Arm S/N 303

On May 30 at 02:56 GMT Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry entered the payload bay of Discovery from the tunnel adapter hatch, and made a 7 hr 55 min space walk, transferring equipment to the exterior of the station.

On May 31 at 01:15 GMT the hatch to Unity was opened and the crew began several days of cargo transfers to the station. Battery units and communications equipment were replaced and sound insulation was added to Zarya. Discovery undocked from ISS at 22:39 GMT on June 3 into a 385 x 399 km x 51.6 degree orbit, leaving the station without a crew aboard. On June 5 the Starshine satellite was ejected from the payload bay. The payload bay doors were closed at around 02:15 GMT on June 6 and the deorbit burn was at 04:54 GMT. Discovery landed on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center at 06:02 GMT.

At 0:721 GMT on June 5 the Starshine satellite was ejected into a 379 x 396 km x 51.6 degree orbit from a canister at the rear of STS-96 Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay. The small Starshine satellite, built by NRL, was to be observed by students as part of an educational exercise.

Discovery's astronauts executed the first-ever docking with the International Space Station late Friday night, easing the shuttle to a textbook linkup with the new orbital facility at 11:24pm Central time as the two craft flew over the Russian-Kazakh border. Additional Details: here....

Discovery's crew headed for its sleep period this morning, reporting significant progress in the transfer of equipment and supplies to the International Space Station after finishing up the planned refurbishment of a battery system in one of the station's modules. Additional Details: here....

Discovery's crew was awakened this afternoon to begin readying its spaceship for the return trip home early Sunday morning. But before that, the crew has one last mission objective to complete: The deploy of a small educational satellite at 2:21 a.m. Saturday. Additional Details: here....

A photograph of the CZ-2F manned spacecraft launch vehicle and its vertical assembly building was posted anonymously on the Internet. It was said to have been taken in May 1998 at the Jiuquan launch site by a contruction contractor. Some believed the photograph to be a phony but events later proved it to be real and a deliberate leak.

International Space Station flight controllers prepared to maneuver the station slightly last weekend to avoid a possible close pass by orbital debris, but the maneuver was not carried out and ultimately was not required as the debris passed a harmless distance from the station early Sunday morning. Additional Details: here....

Geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 19 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 19 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 19.12 deg E drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 19.23E drifting at 0.019W degrees per day.

NASA's QuikScat carried the SeaWinds scatterometer for remote sensing of ocean winds. The Titan 2's second stage shut down at 02:20 GMT and then coasted to apogee still attached to the QuikScat. The Titan second stage vernier thrusters ignited at apogee to raise perigee, leaving QuikScat in a 280 km x 813 km x 98.7 degree parking orbit. The QuikScat's own hydrazine propulsion system then fired to raise the perigee over a period of weeks.

German-American radio systems engineer, first worked with early rocketeers in 1934. Member of the Rocket Team at Peenemuende and the United States until 1950; thereafter working in radio technology for North American Aviation and his own firm, Magnetic Research Corporation. Died a grapefruit rancher in Temecula, California.

The Delta 3-m payload fairing was successfully jettisoned and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer was placed in a 754 km x 769 km x 25.0 degree initial orbit. After separation the Delta second stage then a depletion burn and was left in a 182 x 915 km x 19.1 degree orbit from which it would quickly decay out of orbit. Checkout of FUSE in orbit was proceeding well as of July 1.

A Chinese company proposed a project to build a space port in Hainan. The $500 million project would include a launch complex, a tourist center and an industrial park. Hainan was already used as a sounding rocket launch site. It provided the most southern possible launch site on Chinese territory, which would maximise payload when launching geosynchronous satellites.

Carried a Russian Defence Ministry communications satellite. First attempted flight of the Khrunichev Briz-M upper stage in place of the usual Block DM. After the second stage explosion the remainder of the vehicle survived for 45 seconds before breaking up. Debris landed near Karaganda. As a result of this accident the Kazakh government suspended launches from Baikonur pending Russian agreement to pay back part of rent owed.

The launch was from one of the three active R-7 class pads at Plesetsk (LC16/pad 2, LC43/pad 3, LC43/pad 4) and used the 8K78M launch vehicle, consisting of the 11S59 core packet, the 11S510 Block I third stage, and the Block-ML upper stage. The Block ML and the payload were placed in a 62.8 degree low parking orbit and then the ML fired to deliver the payload to a 12-hour operational orbit. This was the 52nd Molniya-3 to be launched (two were orbited under the Cosmos designation).

American test pilot astronaut 1962-1974. Third person on the moon. Only astronaut to fly Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab. Commander of first successful space station mission. 4 spaceflights, 49.2 days in space. Flew to orbit on Gemini 5 (1965), Gemini 11, Apollo 12, Skylab 2.

China initiated the second phase of the National Manned Space program - Project 921-2. Phase 2 would focus on a manned 'space lab' and related key technologies. A China Academy of Science research team, including six subgroups on specific topics, was established in February 1999 to issue a requirements document. The new Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences was also involved.

During the whole period covering this report the 27th Main Expedition to Mir continued. This expedition is also called Russian-French expedition, but in my opinion it would be better to say 'French-Russian expedition'. ESA-astronaut Haignere, who executes the CNES program Perseus, seems to dominate life on board and it is obvious that he is enjoying his job very much. Daily he co-ordinates his work with the French consultative group at TsUP Moscow, his contacts with Russian experts or controllers are very scarce and he seems to go his own way on board. Now and then he and Avdeyev help each other with experiments and they get on rather well together. I don't believe that this is also the case between Haignere and Afanasyev.

Afanasyev shows no signs that he is enjoying his flight, on the contrary: he makes a irritated impression. I would not be surprised if he has health problems. He and Avdeyev take care of the good functioning of the systems of the station, especially those for the life support and the operational control, such as the performance of the solar batteries. Afanasyev uses to load commands given to him by TsUP in the on board computer systems and he checks the so called 'ugli posadki', angles of attack for eventual emergency landings. Avdeyev is responsible for the Packet Radio traffic on the service channels and the transmission to earth of files with experimental data.

As far as this can be derived from radio traffic, the mood on board is far from cheerful. Some time ago, Haignere had an argument with Russian physicians. They found some anomalies in the cardiovascular system of Haignere during a medical experiment. Haignere did not share their opinion. He stated that the exercises during that experiment were too strenuous and he demanded to be informed about the limits for such exercises during previous flights of French astronauts. In his opinion there was nothing wrong with his health and he presumed that the anomalies had psychological causes. Regularly technical problems emerged for instance failing ventilators, solar batteries showing incorrect angles towards the sun, bad performance of the air-conditioning and of the power supply systems.

During the last week radio traffic revealed a mysterious leak of air.

The leak seems to be very small for the loss of pressure was not more than 4 mm in 24 hrs. For a long time the cosmonauts tried to find the location of the leak and to be sure they closed all hatches between the base block and the modules. On 12.07.1999 the suspicion fell on the Module Kvant-2 (Module D).

The very last failure: In the night from 8 to 9.07.99 Afanasyev and Avdeyev reported that the SEP (Electrical Power Supply system) in the Module Priroda failed at 2136 UTC. Lights, ventilators, experiments and the radio amateur equipment in that module failed. Only the computer used by Haignere was still functioning. During all following passes that night and the passes during the following night there was no radio traffic, so no follow up about this problem. Possibly the crew restored the power supply in Priroda.

To reduce the natural decay of the complex a little bit, occasionally minor orbit corrections had been executed. On 6.05.1999 this was done by the use of the engines of the Progress-M41 and on 23.06.99 the impulses were given by the approach and orientation engines of the ship Soyuz-TM29. On 6.07.99 a correction with the engines of the Progress-M41 was performed, lifting the orbit of Mir a few kilometres upwards.

Communications: Often the 2 VHF-channels, UKW-1 (143.625 mc) and UKW-2 (130.165 mc) were used at the same time for different purposes. For instance Packet Radio or phone conversations by the Russians on UKW-1 and Haignere with his group at TsUP on UKW-2. During TV-sessions via UHF UKW-2 was in use as phone channel. Now and then interference was mentioned between ionospheric experiments (for instance with Ionozond) and VHF traffic.

Radio amateurism: During the period covering this report Jean-Pierre Haignere was still very active with phone using the call R0Mir on 145.985 as well as on 145.940 mc. At AOS of almost every pass the Packet Radio on 145.985 mc could be heard. This lasted until LOS or until the beginning of Haignere's calls by phone. Often the Packet Radio continued during the phone conversations. Haignere handles traffic in French as well as in English and he acts as a very skilled radio amateur. Especially on 145.985 mc the uplink is overloaded by traffic and to be able to make as much QSO-s as possible, he uses only 2 or 3 characters of the calling stations. He also regularly states with whom he wants to communicate and even threatened 'naughty' callers to ban them from answering for a certain period.

When in range of Moscow he switches over to 145.940 mc for conversations with his countrymen over there or with his wife Claudie.

Apart from Phone and Packet Radio the 145.985 mc was also used for a few SSTV transmissions. Now and then Avdeyev can be heard on the amateur frequencies. I did not at all hear Afanasyev over there.

Plans for the near future: Progress-M42: On 14.07.1999 at 1725 UTC launch of the freighter Progress-M42 with the normal cargo plus a special guidance and control computer to steer the complex remote controlled by TsUP during the last unmanned status of the Mir complex. At deadline for this report the launch that day was not sure due the decision of the Kazakh government to suspend all launches from Baykonur due to a dispute with Russia about compensation for pollution by Russian space debris.

The launch of the freighter Progress-M42 on 14.07.99 is crucial, not only for the well-being of the present crew, but also for the forthcoming period in which the complex will fly in the unmanned status.

To enable controllers on earth to control the flight via the special navigation computer to be delivered by Progress-M42 the present crew must be able to install and test that computer.

Without that computer the 'mission impossible' to put the complex on a safe destruction course into the earth's atmosphere would become considerably more 'impossible'. I am sure that the government of Kazakhstan will give permission for the launch of Progress-M42 on 14.07.99 and in that way leave the burden of the responsibility for the decay of the Mir space station where it belongs: on Russia. (remark: When this report went to 'press' the government of Kazakhstan did not yet give the green light for the launch, but preparations for the launch on 14.07.99 were going on and on 12.07 the carrier-rocket and freighter had been rolled out and erected on the start-complex.) 2nd Spacewalk (EVA) crew 27th Main Expedition: This EVA is on schedule for 23.07.1999. Though not officially confirmed now the EVA almost certainly will be executed by Avdeyev and Haignere. They must install a new so called reflector antenna and retrieve from the outer surface of the complex the experiments Spica and Ekzobiologiya.

Thus far the return flight of the Soyuz-TM29 with the present crew is scheduled for the end of August this year.

For an eventual extra, so 28th Main Expedition, in February 2000 we will have to wait, see and hear.

Illness Mrs. van den Berg: I tried to monitor Mir radio traffic as much as possible, but was not able to analyse, verify and report the gathered material as comprehensively as I used to do until May this year. Though we have still a long way to go, the condition of my wife is gradually improving and I hope to be able to restore my normal working methods in the near future.

Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 request: My last report was of 16.04.1999, so a number of E-mail addresses might be incorrect now. Please confirm the receipt of this report to enable me to determine which E-mail addresses have been changed.

International Space Station activities continue to focus on the maintenance of on-board batteries to ensure as long a life as possible and the troubleshooting of a balky antenna on the backup communications system. Flight controllers continue to watch over ISS systems as well, despite two instances of power outages at the Russian Mission Control Center late last week and again today. Additional Details: here....

Zhang Lihui, Director of Research and Development at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), said that a development plan for manned-space flight technology was issued by the Chinese State Council in 1992 and that China was on track to launch a manned space flight by early in the next century. This was the first direct official acknowledgement of such a program.

Delivered supplies to the crew of the Mir complex. Docked with the Kvant port at 17:53 GMT on July 18. Remained docked to the station after the departure of the last operational crew in September 1999. Undocked on February 2. 2000, to clear the port for Progress M1, at 0311:52 GMT. Deorbited over the Pacific later the same day at 0610:40 UTC with an 8 minute burn.

First of a new generation of larger Okean oceanographic satellites, carried a side-looking radar (RSL-BO), and a set of visible and infrared scanners and radiometers. It is built by the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye company and is a joint project of the Russian Aviation/Space Agency (RAKA) and the Ukrainian National Space Agency (NKAU).

A new space tracking ship, Yuan Wang 4, was delivered to China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. This was the fourth tracking ship in China's Yuan Wang space tracking fleet. The Yuan Wang 4 tracking ship was converted from the scientific survey ship Xiang Yang Hong 10. The announcment also contained the second announcement that the fleet would deploy for a major new operation (a test of a manned spacecraft) within the next year. The Yuan Wang 4 was 156.09 m long, 20.6 m wide along the mold-line, and had a displacement of 10,895 tons.

The docking at the aft port (Kvant-1 +X-axis) took place on 18.07.1999 at 17.53.23 UTC. The approach and docking were executed in the automatic regime by the system Kurs.

The final phase of the operation was going on during the first pass for my position in Mir's orbit 76637, 1746-1751 UTC. Afanasyev reported distances, approach speeds and other crucial data.

At 17.46.58 distance 150 Meters, approach speed 0.1 M/sec. At 17.47.15: 150 M, 0.4 M/sec., deviation somewhat to the left, 1 degree and along Y-axis 2 degrees.

At 17.47.28 moving to the centre, approx. 0.5 degree to the left , down along Y-axis 0.5 degree. Afansyev was still reporting these data during LOS. Last reported distance was 48 Meters, appr. speed 0.27 M/sec.

Opening hatches to the Progress-M42: This took place at 1835 UTC, so very soon after the docking. Afanasyev reported later on that the Progress-M42 was clean, quite a relief for there had been some concerns about this due to the fact that the launch had been put back so often.

Already on 19.07.1999 the crew started the transfer of cargo from the Progress-M42 into the station. The crew also worked on the integration of the engines for docking and orientation of the freighter into the system for the control of the movements of the complex in the Base Block and on the test of this system.

Spacewalks (EVA-s) crew 27th Main Expedition: The delayed arrival of the Progress-M42 did not result in changes of the schedule for the still planned 2 EVA-s. These will be made on 23 and 27.07.1999.

On 23.07 the exit hatch will be opened at 1115 UTC and closed at 1654 UTC.

No decision has been made for the times of the EVA on 27.07.

End of the 27th Main Expedition: The departure of the crew of this expedition has been put back from 23rd until 28.08.1999. This on a request of CNES. As of yet the reasons for this request are not fully clear. Better light conditions on 28.08 than on 23.08.1999 were mentioned, but possibly there are still other reasons.

Communications during 2nd day (17.07) of the flight of Progress-M42: During the 18th orbit telemetry and beacon signals in the 166, 165 and 922.755 mc bands could be monitored between 19.27.40 UTC and 19.32.00 UTC.

During the 19th orbit the signals were very strong between 2058 and 2105 UTC.

With the Doppler effect (dip on 922.755 mc) TCA (time closest approach) could be determined at 21.01.50 UTC There were in the Benelux and England clouds permitted this observers reported good visual observations of Progress-M42 around 2100 UTC.

Last Progress freighter during manned status Mir-space station: More or less the arrival of this last freighter is a historical event.

The eventual Progress which has to give the latest impulse to put the complex on a destruction course (in the beginning of 2000) has to dock during the autonomous flight of the complex.

all flight of freighters, in the beginning the Progresses, later on the Progresses-M.

It is not yet clear how the communications during flights of Russian transport and cargo ships to the International Space Station will be organised. My possibilities depend on those communications, so it might be that for me Progress-M42 has been the very last.

But nevertheless I was able to monitor this flight very well and this made it possible to draft an extensive report.

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

Examination of the capsule indicated that the explosive hatch had not blown, exonerating Grissom of inadvertently setting it off. It was theorized that impact with the ocean may have sprung the bolts loose. After restoration the capsule was exhibited at the Cosmosphere space museum in Kansas.

STS-93 was first rolled out to pad 39B on June 7 1999. The Chandra/IUS-27 vehicle was placed in the payload canister on June 19. The first launch attempt was on July 20, but controllers aborted the launch at T-6 seconds, just before main engine ignition, due to a data spike in hydrogen pressure data. This was determined to be due to a faulty sensor and a second attempt was on July 22. A lightning storm prevented launch during the 46 minute window, and the launch was again scrubbed. Finally the vehicle lifted off the pad on July 23, but five seconds after launch a short in an electrical bus brought down two of the three main engine controllers. Backup controllers took over, but a further failure on the backup controller bus would have resulted in engine shutdown and the first ever attempt at an RTLS (Return To Launch Site) abort. To further complicate matters engine 3 (SSME 2019) had a hydrogen leak throughout the ascent, causing the engine to run hot. Controllers sweated as temperatures neared redline. The hot engine's controller compensated as programmed by using additional liquid oxygen propellant. The final result was that the shuttle ran out of gas - main engine cut-off (MECO) was at 04:39 GMT, putting Columbia into a 78 km x 276 km x 28.5 degree transfer orbit. Columbia was 1,700 kg short of oxygen propellant and 5 meters/sec slower than planned. The OMS-2 engine burn at 05:12 GMT circularised the orbit 10 km lower than planned.

The orbiter payload bay contained only the Chandra spacecraft, the IUS, and the IUS tilt tableTthe following payloads were carried in the shuttle's cabin: STL-B (Space Tissue Loss), CCM (Cell culture module), SAREX-II (Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment), EarthKam, PGIM (Plant Growth Investigations in Microgravity), CGBA (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus), MEMS (Micro-electric Mechanical System), and BRIC (Biological Research in Canisters) and SWUIS (the Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System, an 0.18-m UV telescope to be used for airglow and planetary observations); GOSAMR (the Gelation of Sols: Applied Microgravity Research experiment) and LFSAH, the Lightweight Flexible Solar Array Hinge. MSX and SIMPLEX experiments were also to be carried out.

Chandra/IUS-27 was deployed from Columbia at 11:47 GMT July 23. Flight duration was limited; this was the heaviest shuttle (122,534 kg) and heaviest payload (19,736 kg) to that date. Columbia landed at 03:20 GMT on July 28 on runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center. Post-flight inspection found the presence of holes in the cooling lines on the nozzle of SSME 2019 (engine 3) which caused a hydrogen leak. A loose repair pin in the engine broke free and caused the failure. The cause of the short was found to be chaffed wiring inside the shuttle. The entire fleet was grounded for inspection and replacement of wiring as necessary.

The Chandra Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility was one of NASA's four Great Observatories (along with Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and the SIRTF). Chandra will study the composition and nature of galaxies, stellar objects and interstellar phenomena as well as basic issues in theoretical physics using the most sensitive X-ray telescope ever built. The IUS under-performed and placed Chandra in an orbit about 900 km lower than planned. Therefore Chandra's own IPS propulsion system had to be used to make up the difference. The first such manoeuvre was at 01:11 GMT on July 25 when the IPS engines fired for 5 minutes to raise perigee to 1192 km. Further perigee burns on July 31, August 4, and August 7 raised the orbit to its final 10,000 km x 140.000 km. Additional Details: here....

This time Afanasyev and Avdeyev 'walked' in open space and Haignere stayed inside to lend assistance, act as a liaison between TsUP and his comrades outside and to make video and photos.

The exit hatch of the Sh.S.O. (airlock of the Module-D) was opened 9 minutes before the scheduled time. So for a while some profit of time, but all activities during the EVA lasted longer than planned and so did the EVA. The hatch swung open at 1106 UTC and was closed behind the cosmonauts at 1713 UTC, so a duration of 6 hrs and 7 minutes, 28 minutes longer than had been foreseen in the original plan.

The number of tasks was quite substantial and not all of them could be accomplished. One item had been added to the schedule, i.e. the search for an air-leakage in the hull of the module Kvant-2 (Module-D). We still remember how difficult it was to find the leakage in the hull of the module-O (Spektr) during EVA-s and also with the help of gaseous dye markers for observations from departing Shuttles, and so it is not difficult to conclude that this task would be a mission impossible. The fact that the cosmonauts at least had to give it a try clearly indicates that specialists at TsUP consider the leakage, though very small, to be a serious problem. Ultimately they did not find the leakage.

A lot of time was consumed during attempts to deploy a new system for the deployment of antennae for satellites. This antenna was a Russian-Georgian project. The parabolic reflector antenna had to be installed at the Sofora girder and deployed with a remote control.

Afanasyev was able to open the antenna for 80 or 90%. During the following EVA the cosmonauts will try to achieve 100%. If they do not succeed the antenna they will get rid of it.

During the EVA the cosmonauts had to retrieve some experiments from the outer surface. They succeeded to do so with the experiments Exobiology and Dvikon.

Exobiology is a study to determine the possibility for survival in open space of organic samples wrapped up in meteorite-like materials. Dvikon is a study to determine and measure the effects of the exhaust of Mir's engines on materials nearby. Due to lack of time they did not try to retrieve the experiment Spica.

The EVA ended in a great hurry due to a failure of the thermoregulation in the spacesuit of Afanasyev. A filter was overheated.

Communications: A serious handicap for cosmonauts who have to do EVA-s is the fact that there is not a single geostationary communication satellite available. A lot of crucial activities they had to do when they were out of range of ground facilities, for instance the opening of the exit hatch. The communications between Mir and TsUP took place on 143.625 mc (UKW-1) as well as on 130.165 mc (UKW-2). As always during EVA-s 7 kc/s lower than normal.

When Mir came in range during orbit 76715 at 1640 UTC, the hatch was still open. During the first passes within my range TsUP and the cosmonauts experienced a lot of noise caused by cross modulation from air-traffic control centres. So the help of Haignere as a relay station was very useful.

The cosmonauts got orders to close the hatches between the air lock and the P.N.O. and the P.N.O. and P.G.O (respectively the scientific-instrument compartment and the instrument-cargo compartment) of the module which is leaking air, Module-D.

3rd EVA: This EVA is scheduled for 28.07.1999 between 1020 and 1530 UTC.

Which of the Russians will make this EVA together with Haignere was not yet known during the hard disc preparation of this report.

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

A two year extended mission following the original one-year mission was possible, during which the orbit was to be lowered to 50 km and then 10 km altitude to obtain higher resolution measurements. However this was not funded, and the spacecraft was commanded to crash into the moon.

During a radio-amateur conversation on 30.07.99 at 1450 UTC (orb. 76824) Haignere said that they had a minor problem with the attitude control of the station, but that all was well and he expected that the problem would soon be solved. During the pass in orb. 76825 (1627 UTC) TsUP gave Afanasyev computer commands related to the correction of the attitude with the use of steering rockets and the VDU-thruster, and in that way restoring the efficiency of the solar batteries. One orbit later (76826) at 1935 UTC TsUP told Avdeyev that he could use the means of the 'ship' (Soyuz-TM29) to secure the power supply.

The cause of the computer failure was a wrong command from TsUP. The crew was not very impressed and apart from the operation to restore the functioning of the gyrodynes, they continued a number of experiments and Haignere remained busy with his radio-amateur passion. TsUP altered the working schedule for the next days, using the interruption in the functioning of the attitude control to put forward the integration of the new control and navigation system (BUPO) in the Propulsion Control System of the complex. To make this integration possible, much of propulsion system had to be switched off, and so this 'failure' was utilised in a positive way.

BUPO: This is the Russian abbreviation for the new control unit. The name is Unit for Control, Docking and Orientation (Blok Upravleniya Prichalivaniya i Orientatsii). As far as I could derive from radio traffic, they concluded this work already on 31.07.99. On 2.08.1999 the crew conducted tests of the new system. That day the gyrodynes were spinning again at full speed.

It always lasts some time to gather the necessary details to know how a new system works. Several news bulletins gave the impression that the BUPO replaced the old central computer TsVM-1. But this computer, and also the SUD (movements control system), which controls the functioning of the gyrodynes, are still operational. BUPO has to secure a safe flight when the station has no crew on board.

According to the modest information at my disposal at this point, BUPO can replace the crew when the attitude control by gyrodynes fails. Thus far the crew used to take over that control by commanding steering rockets and the VDU roll control thruster, thus restoring the attitude and the correct angles of the solar batteries towards the sun. One of the first actions of the crew when the normal attitude control fails, has been the switching off of all energy consuming systems. BUPO should be able to do that when there is no crew on board.

The 'P' is an indication that this system will enable TsUP to control approach and docking operations. It stands for 'mooring' or 'docking' (Prichalivaniye). This might mean that BUPO can replace the crew when during docking operations, the automatic Kurs system fails. In the beginning of the year 2000 such an operation has to be executed. Then the 'tanker' Progress-M43, containing 4 fuel tanks, has to be docked at Mir for the final operation: giving the impulse to put the Mir-complex on a destruction course into the atmosphere. So if the Russians can not find the funds to send an extra crew (eventual Mir's Main expedition nr. 28, by Soyuz-TM30), TsUP might via BUPO secure the docking of the tanker.

Mir-routine: The cosmonauts energetically continue to execute experiments. If you did not know better, you might get the impression that Mir's exploitation would still last for a long time. Haignere does all what is necessary to conclude the Perseus program, he still executes experiments like Alice-2 and Genesis.

A few days ago Avdeyev installed equipment for the execution of the experiment Volna for the study of the efficiency of capillary intake gadgets in fuel tanks. Afanasyev worked on an experiment named Linza. Apart from these technological experiments the normal series were mentioned, giving all kinds of spectrometers and other devices the opportunity to sing their swan song.

But the fact that the crew will leave the space station before long more and more emerges in the radio traffic. The crew already is training in the Chibis suit, always a standard training for crews about to return to earth and they undergo extra medical checks, especially of the cardio-vascular system. Meanwhile they are replacing equipment, for instance a few days ago some accumulator batteries.

During radio-amateur conversations Haignere told that they have to do a lot of work during the last weeks of their mission. One of the main tasks is to prevent that an eventual extra crew will arrive in a chaos.

They will load all waste, especially human waste and garbage, in the Progress-M42 and they will have to prepare all on board systems for the flight of Mir in the unmanned status. He also spoke about the extra exercises they have to do to be ready to meet the earthly gravity conditions.

Communications: During the last weeks the radio traffic is very dense. The crew regularly uses 2 different channels: 143.625 and 130.165 mc. Via one channel they speak with TsUP, via the other channel they exchange Packet Radio traffic or hold a second conversation. The transceiver for radio-amateur traffic is almost always red-hot, especially when Haignere is using it. He continues to express his displeasure about the lack of discipline among radio-amateurs who fail to listen before calling.

If the dense working schedule of the cosmonauts makes this possible, there will be a lot of radio-amateur activities during the last 2 weekends, possibly also with SSTV images.

Eventual extra expedition next year: Optimists are sure that such a mission will take place. If so this will be the 28th Main Expedition to Mir, the crew of which will fly to Mir on the Soyuz-TM30. The members of the present crew are not optimistic: Avdeyev and Haignere are not sure that such a mission is possible. At TsUP there is some hope, but the most used expression there is: 'ne veroyatno' (unlikely).

For Russia another mission is more important. Nowadays 2 crews are training for a flight to the International Space Station in December 1999 to be there when the Service Module (Zvezda) will arrive there.

That crew must be there for the eventual manual docking of Zvezda if the automatic mode fails. The first crew consists of Padalka and Budarin, the stand-in crew of Korzun and Treshchov.

The return flight of the present and probably last crew with the Soyuz-TM29 is scheduled for 28.08.1999. Regretfully this decision is irreversible.

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

The launch vehicle delivered its H-10-3 third stage and the Telkom 1 payload into a 221 km x 35687 km x 7.0 degree geosynchronous transfer orbit 21 minutes after launch. Telkom 1 was owned by PT Telkomunikasi of Indonesia and was a successor to the Palapa series of satellites. Mass of Telkom 1 was 1700 kg in geosynchronous orbit after its on-board engine made the apogee burn. Stationed at 108 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 108 deg E in 1999. As of 3 September 2001 located at 107.98 deg E drifting at 0.011 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 107.98E drifting at 0.014W degrees per day.

Tang Xianming, Director of the Xichang Launch Center, confirmed the construction of a new Vertical Assembly Facility at the Jiuquan Launch Center. He also affirmed that China would continue to use the Xichang Launch Center, which would be upgraded with improved data processing and control equipment.

The return of the crew of the 27th Mir Main Expedition is still scheduled to take place in the night from 27 to 28.08.1999.

The Soyuz-TM29 will separate from the Mir-complex on 27.08.1999 at 2112 UTC.

The estimated landing time is on 28.08.1999 at 0030 UTC.

(Due to the difference in local times in Russia, the operation will take place on 28.08.99 in that country.) Indications imminent return flight: During radio-communications, the main part of the subjects is related to all that what has to be done to prepare the definitive closure of the hatches between Mir and Soyuz-TM29.

Nevertheless the cosmonauts regularly still mention experiments on which they are working or which have to be concluded.

On 30.07.99 Avdeyev got an answer on a question about the definitive closure of the module Priroda. This is scheduled for 23.08.1999 with the last possible option on 25.08.1999. Avdeyev had to know this for a lot of equipment has to be stowed in that module during the unmanned status of the station. Avdeyev asked TsUP what they should do in case one of the units in Priroda had to be switched back on. TsUP said they had this matter under control.

The crew is very active to prepare their bodies for the gravity conditions after return, by intensive physical exercises and working with the Chibis pressure suit.

On 13.08.99 Afanasyev and Avdeyev had a long conversation with ex-cosmonaut and RKK Energiya training chief, Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov, in which they exchanged congratulations for an anniversary.

Aleksandrov had tried to gather a great number of RKK's employees to be present during this conversation, but most of them had left for their dacha's or other nice places, while others attended a meeting at NASA about the ISS. Possibly the anniversary was the 43rd one of RKK Energiya, originally founded as OKB-1 on 14.08.1956. One of the subjects during this conversation was the place where Afanasyev and Avdeyev would be during their rehabilitation period. They will undergo this rehabilitation in different places: Avdeyev in Kislovodsk, Afanasyev at the Black sea beach.

Solar eclipse on 11.08.1999. That day the Mir-station crossed the shadow of the total eclipse 2 times. The first time this was in orbit 77011 (at about 1000 UTC) and in orbit 77012 (the second at about 1145 UTC). Between 1010 and 1021 UTC, when a partial eclipse could be observed over here in the Netherlands, Afanasyev was reporting his observations. Just after AOS (Acquisition of Signal), he told TsUP that was continuing his camera work. While he saw the horizon, he could see the shadow of the eclipse moving over the earth in the direction of that horizon. He met with some problems due to a structure blocking his sight. Sometimes he changed the position of his video camera. Avdeyev added to these reports that he saw Europe under the shadow. Afanasyev went to a window in the Base Block to make better images.

At 1020 UTC Mir started to send the recorded images to earth via a UHF-channel.

Afanasyev and Avdeyev did not see the sun itself during the eclipse through their windows. Haignere had more luck and could see the eclipse itself, as well as the shadow. During the pass in orb. 77012 at 1147 UTC he enthusiastically reported his observations.

Perseids: I did not hear anything about eventual observations by the Mir crew of this yearly meteorite stream.

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

In fact the description 'routine' does not fully cover the activities on board in this period. The major parts of the work are aimed at the preparation of the Mir-space station for the upcoming unmanned status. All available windows for radio communications are fully utilised, and when there are no conversations the Packet Radio is red-hot, for the stream of radiograms with a lot of instructions and recommendations does not decrease. Often the cosmonauts speak with TsUP during the P/R circular saw rattles. Most of the subjects in those radiograms can be determined by the questions of the cosmonauts or supplements or changes given by TsUP.

On 23.08 the SO, the docking compartment attached to the module Kristall, was conserved and closed. The conservation of the module Priroda had been put back to 25.08.99, which means that thereafter no experiments can be executed with equipment installed in that module.

The experiments Dakon (convection experiment) and Alice-2 (a fluid experiment) have been active until 24.08. Observations with the Lidar Alisa were concluded on 19.08.99 and the gathered data were copied to cassettes for retrieval to earth.

Fortunately on request by CNES the return of the crew had been put back from 23 to 28.08, for there still has a lot of work to be done.

The freighter Progress-M42, docked to the complex, is fully loaded with all what is superfluous. Among them also containers with urine. This urine cannot be used any more to regenerate technical water, for the SRVU, the system for this regeneration, had also to be switched off. The most important part of the activities in this stage is the switching off of all systems which are not needed during the unmanned status. For instance on 24.08 the cosmonauts had to check whether the furnace Krater had been switched off.

In the next months the Progress-M42 will now and then alter the orbit of the Mir complex. This happened also at least 3 times during the past week and this increased the altitude of Mir to approx. 359/353 KM.

After Priroda also the modules Kvant-2 and Kristall will be conserved.

The small air leakage in the module Kvant-2 has not been located thus far and a gradual decrease of the pressure in that module can be expected. I do not know if the module Kristall will be closed. The module Spektr cannot be conserved, for this module is not operational as of 27.06.1997.

Extra air seal checks have to be done on equipment which has valves to outer space. (For instance the Vozdukh CO2 scrubbers, draining CO2 into open space, and the Electrons doing the same with the hydrogen, a by-product of the electrolyse process for the oxygen production.) So there must be some concern about the module Kvant-2. On 25.08 the cosmonauts got orders to report regularly the air pressure inside the P.G.O. (instrument and cargo compartment of the Kvant-2).

Radio traffic reveals that the cosmonauts are working under great pressure. During the disc-preparation of this report there were only 2 days left for all what still has to be done, inclusive items like the checks of the systems of the return vehicle Soyuz-TM29, the execution of a number of physical exercises and medical checks. Now and then I am inclined to presume that the return must be put back some days (if this is operationally possible).

Radio traffic is also dedicated to the selection of what the cosmonauts will have to bring back to earth and which has to be stowed into the descent module (SA) of the ship Soyuz-TM29. It will be pretty tight in there! Press conference: On 21.08.1999 there were 2 press conferences at TsUP.

Main subject was an evaluation of the results of the 27th Main Expedition to Mir. The communications windows were pretty short and so the questions and answers had to be very short. The crew fulfilled all their tasks. Haignere was very pleased with his Perseus program, in which he also worked with earlier installed equipment from CNES as well as from the German DLR, such as the Titus furnace and many devices for geophysical- and ionospheric research.

Commander Afanasyev told that he did not like that Mir would fly unmanned so long. In one of the press conferences also the eventual 28th final Main expedition was mentioned. Thus far this is still unsure and depends on the funding.

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

The hatch between Mir and Soyuz was closed at 18:12 GMT on August 27, 1999. Soyuz TM-29 undocked from Mir at 21:17 GMT with Afanasyev, Avdeyev and Haignere aboard. The Mir EO-27 crew landed in Kazakhstan at 00:35 GMT on August 28. Afanasyev had set a new cumulative time in space record, but for the first time since September 1989 there were no humans in space.

China and Russia signed a new agreement in Beijing on the co-operation in the peaceful space exploration. Joint research would be conducted in telecommunication systems, Earth surface monitoring, and satellite navigation. The agreement also covered scientific research aboard the Mir space station, but not visits of Chinese cosmonauts to Mir. It was also reported that Russia was working with China not only on design of the new manned spacecraft, but also on the 921-2 space station.

Geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 112 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 112 deg E in 1999. As of 31 August 2001 located at 115.99 deg E drifting at 0.014 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 116.12E drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.

The first two Yamal communications satellites were placed into a 197 km x 36,311 km x 49.3 degree transfer orbit The DM-2M fourth stage made two successful burns, placing the satellites in circular 36,000 km geosynchronous orbits. Yamal 101 reportedly ran into problems after it was deployed. RKK Energia built the new Yamal satellites for AO Gazcom of Moscow, a joint venture of RKKE and RAO Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly. The two satellites will support internal communications for RAO Gazprom. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 89 deg E in 1999. As of 30 August 2001 located at 112.86 deg E drifting at 1.484 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 42.96E drifting at 1.484W degrees per day.

As the International Space Station orbits 245 miles above the Earth, work on the ground continues to focus on monitoring the health of onboard systems in preparation for the arrival in about two months of its next major component - the Zvezda service module. Additional Details: here....

The Centaur second stage put Echostar 5 into a supersynchronous transfer orbit of 131 km x 45526 km x 26.6 degrees. The satellite's own engine put it into the final geosynchronous orbit. Echostar 5 was a Ku-band satellite, part of the Dish Network. Stationed at 110 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 110 deg W in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 110.01 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 128.86W drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

Telstar 7, owned by Loral Skynet, had 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders. Dry mass was 1537 kg. After placement in final geosynchronous orbit it provided communications for North America from a position at 129 degrees East longitude. Sold to Intelsat in March 2004 and renamed IA-7. The satellite had a power failure on November 28, 2004 and was briefly declared lost. Intelsat recovered control of the satellite by December 4. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 129.01W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

Geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 75 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 75 deg E in 1999. As of 2 September 2001 located at 74.98 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 75.00E drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.

The only decoy used in IFT-3 was the large balloon from IFT-1A and IFT-2. It had an IR signature six times higher than that of the mock warhead. Because the decoy was so much brighter than the mock warhead, the EKV saw it first. Once the EKV realized that the balloon's IR signature did not match the target data loaded prior to the test, the interceptor shifted to the nearby target.

EKV anti-ballistic missile interceptor launched from Kwajalein Atoll by a two-stage PLV. Intercept of the MSLS launched by Minuteman 2 from Vandenberg was successful. Element test of the EKV, not an end-to-end system test, which relied on a surrogate booster vehicle and range assets to define the deployment basket and deliver the EKV to that location. Once deployed, the EKV operated autonomously to intercept the mock RV. Due to a malfunctioning Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which normally was used to position the EKV for the intercept, a backup method of locating the target had to be exercised. The EKV called upon its step-stare capabilities (which were used only during off-nominal circumstances) to extend its field of view since the target was not where it was anticipated. After executing that procedure, the EKV acquired its target.

Second successful Zenit-3SL flight from the Odyssey launch platform in the Pacific Ocean at 154 deg W, 0 deg N. First flight to carry a commercial payload. The satellite used its R-4D apogee engine to enter geostationary orbit at 81.6 deg W. Finally stationed at 101 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 81 deg W in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 101.19 deg W drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 100.87W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite. China's first earth resources satellite, known as ZY-1, weighed 1,540 kilograms. Chief designer was Chen Yiyuan. The satellite, a joint project of China and Brazil, was designed to gather information on the environment, agriculture and urban planning through remote sensing images and data transmitted to China, Brazil and other countries. Planned lifetime was two years. The satellite circled the Earth 14 times a day and the groundtrack repeated after 26 days. By 23 February 2000 it had taken more than 20,000 high quality images. It was formally handed over for operational use on March 2 2000. The High Resolution CCD Camera had a resolution of 20 meters in the visible spectrum. The camera could point up to 32 degrees to either side of vertical, imaging the earth's surface stereoscopically. After 177 days the Wide Field Imager failed in early May 2000. Other devices, including the high resolution CCD camera, continue to work normally.

Satellite used for international communications; complement the Telstar satellites operated by Loral Skynet. Stationed at 15 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 15 deg W in 1999. As of 6 September 2001 located at 14.97 deg W drifting at 0.006 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 14.99W drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

A national conference of space scientists held in southern Beihai, Guangxi, said that the Moon and Mars were the 'two big targets' for the country's space programme in the 21st century. Ye Zili, the China Space Science Association's General Secretary, said that dozens of plans and proposals for the two projects had been put forward. However no substantial government funding for such projects was to be available in the immediate future.

The egg of Columbus! In my MirNEWS.465 I gave my vision on this movement control system, which had been introduced as a 'totally new computer'. In that report I doubted if I would be able to tell more about that system before the conclusion of the manned status of the Mir-space station, in that way more or less suggesting, that I would be pleased if I could do so. Novosti Kosmonavtiki published an interview of Mr. V.I. Lyndin with the Deputy Head of TsUP, Mr. V.D. Blagov. This interview and an own interview by telephone with Mr. Lyndin gave me sufficient details to return to that subject.

BUPO is in no way a computer based on new and advanced technologies. The abbreviation stands for: Unit for the Control of the Mooring and Orientation. But the Mir-complex is no 'ship' that has to be 'docked' at any object, so immediately after knowing the meaning of that abbreviation the word 'mooring' (docking) bothered me. Orientation was no problem at all. But as I indicated in the head of this report it was indeed 'An egg of Columbus' , for BUPO is a very old movement control system which has been used from the first to the last Progress freighter. It was just an analogue control system developed for that what a Progress or a Progress-M had to do: to approach and dock well oriented and flawlessly to space stations like Salyut or Mir.

So BUPO is not a supplement of the for many years existing orientation system on board of Mir, so the Main Computer TsVM-1 of the Salyut-5B type and SUD, the system for movement (or: attitude control). That is system is not 'analogue' but 'digital' and so technologically more advanced than that poor BUPO. But of what avail BUPO would be in the unmanned status of the Mir-space station? In the unmanned status the power consumption has to be reduced to an absolute minimum. This can be achieved by switching off all unnecessary systems. Of course the normal orientation system is far from 'unnecessary', but the power consumption is considerable: the Main Computer itself, but also the gyrodynes, the 12 gyroscopes for a stable control are gluttons. In the unmanned status all control systems are switched off and the station is in the so called 'free drift' with a very modest spin, but so that some solar batteries can deliver enough power to keep the accumulator batteries charged.

But this can go wrong and then the functioning of the normal attitude control by the Main computer, SUD, gyrodynes, etc. to readjust the sun-angle of the solar batteries might be needed. For the power supply as well as for the correct attitude during dockings, for instance a Soyuz with a crew or the unmanned tanker Progress-M1, is compulsory.

But, and this often happened in the past, the attitude control by the main 'digital' system can fail. If a crew would be on board they could adjust the attitude during that 'free drift' with the use of steering rockets and eventually with the VDU, the external X-roll control thruster in the Sofora girder. But when there is no crew, then BUPO can do the job. With commands from earth BUPO can do with the whole complex what her colleagues used to do on board of Progress-ships: control the movements (attitude) by the efficient use of the steering rockets thus preventing a catastrophically uncontrolled situation. The 'digital' attitude control (so with the main computer, gyrodynes, etc.) and the BUPO never can work simultaneously. So it is always 'this or that'. So BUPO is not a supplement of the first system , but an alternative during the absence of a crew in case of failures of the first system.

Regularly TsUP checks Mir's telemetry and if they see that the accumulator batteries do not get enough power from the solar panels TsUP cannot immediately switch on the normal 'heavy calibre' system. To do that more power is needed. In that case BUPO can help using the steering rockets, eventually with the VDU, and correct the attitude so that there will be sufficient power to switch on the main movement control system and to activate the gyrodynes.

Now Progress-M42 is docked to Mir. Progress-M42 cannot do anything with the attitude control of the complex. Progress-M42 has solar panels, but the solar angle of these panels is not enough for a sufficient power supply. So now Progress-M42 gets power from the accu batteries in Mir. If TsUP wants to put Progress-M42 into an autonomous flight, for instance to dump the freighter into the atmosphere, they can undock her and after undocking the solar panels can be put into the right solar angle and pr-M42 can fly autonomously under control of her own BUPO by commands from earth..

The present situation: Both orientation systems are switched off. Still working are the Thermo regulation, the Telemetry and the Radio Command Channels.

There still is that mysterious small air leakage, which is now more mysterious for TsUP is no longer sure that the leakage is in the Kvant-2 module. TsUP is sure that if there will be another mission to Mir (still unsure due to the lack of money), the pressure will be high enough for the crew. It is also possible to add air (oxygen and nitrogen) from tanks (the so called 'ballony') Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Battery cycling of the five usable storage units inside the Zarya module was completed this week as controllers prepare for the next round of deep-cycling scheduled to begin late next week. The deep cycling of each battery takes about five days. The batteries store solar energy, which then is converted into electrical power for the Station's systems. Periodically, each battery is cycled to ensure its health and maintain its life. Additional Details: here....

Provided C and Ku-band communications services for GE Americom, replacing Spacenet 4. Stationed at 101 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 74 deg W in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 101.12 deg W drifting at 0.008 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 101.02W drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.

Multi-functional Transportation Satellite intended to provide communications and air traffic control for the Japanese transportation ministry and a meteorological data for the Japanese Meteorological Agency. The spacecraft had a mass of 1223 kg dry and was a follow-on to the GMS (Himawari) weather satellite series.

The unmanned first test flight of a prototype of the Chinese Project 921-1 spacecraft took place 49 days after the planned date of October 1, 1999. Shenzhou separated from its launch vehicle and went into orbit about ten minutes after lift-off. The spacecraft was controlled from the new Beijing Aerospace Directing and Controlling Centre. The spacecraft did not manoeuvre during the flight. The first attempt to return the spacecraft to earth came on orbitt 12, but the retrofire command would not be accepted by the spacecraft's computer. A retry on the next orbit also failed.

The Yuanwang-3 tracking ship off the coast of Namibia picked up the spacecraft's signal at 18:49 UT, and commanded retro-fire. This time the spacecraft accepted the command, which probably saved the entire program. The spacecraft passed out of range of the tracking ship nine minutes later. Its trajectory arced over Africa, skimmed the coast of the Arabian peninsula, and then over Pakistan, before re-entering over Tibet.

Following re-entry, the drogue chute deployed at an altitude of 30 km with the capsules soft-landing rockets firing 1.5 m above the ground. The capsule landed at 41 deg N, 105 deg E, (415 km East of its launch pad and 110 km north-west of Wuhai, Inner Mongolia), at November 20 19:41 UT. The spacecraft had completed 14 orbits of the earth in 21 hours and 11 minutes.

After the flight it was reported that not a single primary spacecraft system had failed, so none of the back-up systems were tested. The touchdown point was only 12 km from the predicted position. The soft landing braking rocket worked well - no damage was found to the capsule structure, heat shield or the seals. The jettisoned heat shield, parachute hatch, and drogue chute were found within 5 km of the landing point. The orbital module, which separated prior to retro-fire, continued in controlled flight until 27 November, when it decayed and reentered the atmosphere. A primary payload returned by Shenzhou were 100 kg of seeds, considered valuable to the Chinese after one day of exposure to the space environment. The Chinese space tracking fleet returned from the Shenzhou mission between 12 December 1999 and 4 January 2000. During their 259-day voyage, the four ships traveled 185,000 km and experienced some heavy seas while tracking and communicating with the Shenzhou for a total of 150 minutes. Additional Details: here....

Qi Faren, the General Designer of the Shenzhou had participated in the design of China's first satellite and was appointed the general designer of Chinese spacecraft in 1992. During the ensuing seven years, Qi directed and co-ordinated his thousand-strong team to '...make a breakthrough in China's manned space travel technology. We are now losing no time in furthering our research. We plan to send humans into space as soon as possible'.

The International Space Station's altitude was raised by an average of 10 statute miles yesterday following two thruster firings using jets on the Zarya module. The result of the orbit-raising burns placed the station in a 245 by 238 statute mile orbit in preparation for the arrival of the Zvezda service module early next year. Additional Details: here....

Mars landing was planned for December 3, 1999, with the end of the primary mission by February 29, 2000. All contact with the spacecraft was lost at the point of separation of the lander and multiprobes. Subsequent investigations pointed to shortcomings in project management and preflight testing, with the result that future 'faster, better, cheaper' NASA missions would be not quite so 'cheap'.

French optical military reconnaisance satellite based on Spot 4. Taken out of service in mid-October 2004, when the orbit of the satellite was lowered to 637 x 640 km, taking it out of the path of Helios 1A and the Helios 2A that would be launched in December 2004.

ESHCHO V ZHIVYKH:

Though I have no longer a direct 'entry' on board of the Mir-space station, there is still a lot to report. Every day the orbit of the complex looses a few hundred meters and the station is loosing a little bit of air. Confirmation that Mir is still alive can be derived from the fact that during some passes every day the telemetry can be monitored via the 638, 166 and 165 mc bands. I did not yet find the key to decipher those rattles. Regretfully the famous World War-2 Enigma-code crackers of Bletchley Park near London cannot help any more. Good sources, which have insight in that what the telemetry has to report, told me that all is going reasonable well. The complex is still flying in free drift and slowly spinning around the X- and Y-axes with an angular speed of 0.15 degrees/sec. If needed the B.U.P.O. can be activated to control the movements of the complex with the use of steering rockets and the external thruster VDU. It is also possible to use the steering devices of the freighter Progress-M42 for that purpose. This freighter can also be used to correct the orbit of the complex. This might take place one of these days, even already today. At about 1.12.1999 the per/apogee were respectively 322.3 and 325.9KM. The data TsUP derived from telemetry about the thermoregulation, the humidity, the power supply (accumulator batteries loaded by some solar panels) and about the already mentioned attitude show no anomalies. The slow but gradual loss of air pressure still gives concern. On high level especially the head of RAKA, Koptev, uses this problem as an argument against the eventual prolongation of the Mir-exploitation.

Mir's fate in 2000 still unsure: In the field of the policy makers for Mir's future 2 huge organisations have totally opposite points of view. These organisations are the RAKA (so: the Russian NASA) and Mir's owner RKK Energiya. Recently RKK Energiya got support from the Duma. The Duma gave permission to use money earned from spaceflight activities and for which Russia is the rightful claimant, so no money from the public treasury. RKK Energiya is hoping for the American project to use an electrodynamic tether as a counter action to suppress the natural drag. To make this possible the project has to be realised by attaching the 7 KM long tether at the Kristall module during an EVA by cosmonauts.

Koptev, however, has another opinion. He states that every rouble which can be used for Russian spaceflight has to be invested in the Russian obligations for the International Space Station. He is responsible that Russia fulfils her promises in international co-operation. Russia's contribution to the ISS is the only way to survive as one of the greatest spaceflight nations in the world. In his opinion it is not realistic to exploit Mir for 1 or 2 years more and thus loosing influence in the development of ISS. He also warns for the dangers which an uncontrolled Mir-complex might mean for humanity. He emphasises that the mysterious leakage of air makes further exploitation irresponsible.

Reasonable reliable assessments based on information from good sources:

There is still hope, but the promised funding by the Duma is far from sure. In this respect there has not been a single officially confirmed action in that respect.

There are still tentative plans for the beginning of 2000, which would make it necessary to raise Mir's orbit by a Progress. Towards the end of January 2000 (perhaps on 24.01.2000) the tanker Progress-M1 will be launched to Mir. This tanker can be used to put the complex on the final destruction course into the atmosphere for decay over the designated area East of New Zealand.

The Russians hope to send Main Expedition 28 (Zalyotin and Kaleri) to Mir in April 2000. Definitely without the movie actor Steklov. This mission will last 2 months.

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

The International Space Station's first two components are in good shape with only minor issues facing the flight control teams in Houston and Moscow - none of which affect the operation of the complex. Since raising the altitude of the Station last week, controllers continue to manage electrical power generated by the Zarya module. Additional Details: here....

There is no a shuttle program in China, stated Liu Jiyuan, former president of China Aerospace Corporation, adding that the formal shuttle project had not started. He also said that the first Shenzhou manned flight would depends on the results of unmanned tests, and that no animal flights were planned.

Much of the last week, flight controllers in Houston and Moscow have managed battery charging and watched over other systems on the station. Electrical power management continues to be the focus using four of six batteries inside Zarya. Batteries 1 and 2 remain disconnected from the electrical bus. Additional Details: here....

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission SM-3A, delayed repeatedly by technical problems with the shuttle fleet after the near-disastrous previous launch. Finally launched after the last possible day to avoid Y2K computer problems; one spacewalk was cancelled so that the shuttle could return by December 28. Hubble was in a 591 km x 610 km x 28.5 deg orbit at launch. After separation of the external tank ET-101 the Orbiter was in a 56 km x 587 km x 28.5 deg transfer orbit. The OMS 2 burn at 0134 UTC raised the orbit to 313 km x 582 km. The payload bay contained:

• Bay 1-2: External airlock/ODS
• Bay 7-8: ORU Carrier (Spacelab pallet). Carried Hubble replacement spares arranged as follows: COPE protective enclosure with three RSU gyros, a new solid state recorder, and an S-band transmitter; LOPE enclosure with an HST-486 computer and voltage improvement kit; ASIPE enclosure with a spare HST-486 and spare RSU; FSIPE enclosure with a replacement FGS-2 fine guidance sensor; and NPE enclosure with New Outer Blanket Layer insulation.
• Bay 11: Flight Servicing System (FSS). Contained the BAPS (Berthing and Positioning System) used to dock with the aft end of the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Bay 8: APC carrier with foot restraint
• Bay 12: APC carrier with HST foot retstraint

Korean Multipurpose Satellite; carried an ocean color sensor developed by TRW and particle detectors. KOMPSAT was built by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) based on a test model built by TRW; it used the TRW STEP Lightsat bus and had a mass of around 500 kg, with 73 kg of hydrazine fuel.

Measured the integrated solar energy output from 0.2 to 2 microns. Carried instrument deleted from Terra spacecraft, studying the total solar output. Failed on 2013 December 14 due to battery problems, months after a review recommended its continued operation. The ACRIM series of experiments, critical data for climate change studies, flew on Solar Max (1980), Spacelab-1 (1983), UARS (1991), and ACRIMSAT. The similar TIM instrument on the SORCE satellite (2003) continued operating, but it was unclear if it would continue in operation until a replacement instrument would be launched on the JPSS satellite in 2017 at the earliest.

Communications satellite. Third Ariane launch within three weeks. First Hughes HS 702 bus satellite, for PanAmSat Corporation to expand video and telecommunications services to North America and Brazil. The 20-watt C-band transponders will be used primarily for cable television customers. The Ku-band payload offers two power levels: 140 watts for video distribution, and 75 watts for data networks and other general communications services. This gives Galaxy 11 a total payload of 64 active transponders. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 99 deg W in 2000. As of 4 September 2001 located at 91.01 deg W drifting at 0.010 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 91.01W drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.

China formed a military space research center at the People Liberation Army's Arms and Command Technologies College. The center would study military space technologies including space launch operations and space war. It was equipped with various space simulation facilities.

Passive naval electronic intelligence satellite. The satellite was placed in an initial 147 km x 442 km orbit at 65 degree inclination. The US-PM's propulsion module fired at apogee to circularize the orbit. Replaced the only previous remaining US-PM satellite which ended operations in November and reentered earlier in December 1999.

Early warning satellite, carrying a large telescope to monitor missile launches. The payload and fourth stage were placed in an initial 229 km x 523 km x 62.8 deg orbit; the fourth stage (Block-2BL) fired over South America on the first orbit and delivered the payload to its 12-hour final orbit.

After a test period in the first 3 days of December, the complex could continue its winter sleep. The results of the tests were positive and gave the responsible experts at TsUP the confidence that they would be able to interfere if necessary, that they could control the attitude and movements of the complex and if needed to switch on the main computer (TsVM-1) and speed up the gyrodynes. So it was obvious that the analogue computer BUPO can be used. The concern about the small air leakage remains. During this test period the orbit of Mir was raised somewhat with the use of the engines of the freighter Progress-M42. Daily the complex is loosing a few hundred meters. Now the perigee is 316 KM and the apogee 322 KM.

The future of the station: The promise to take a decision about Mir's near future before the end of this year has not been kept. The last information about an eventual decision was that this will take place before 15.01.2000, although it is not clear if this will happen. The Head of the RAKA, the Russian NASA, is against the prolongation of the exploitation of the Mir-station. Nevertheless he accepted 2 draft scenario's between which the ultimate choice has to be made. Which of the 2 will be chosen depends on the destination of the money 1.5 billion rubles (approx. 58 million dollars) earmarked for the Mir-exploitation. In the opinion of Koptev this money is badly needed for other purposes, for instance for communication, meteorological, navigation and military satellites, but also for the Russian obligations in the framework of the ISS. A week ago Koptev assured Goldin that Russia will stick to her promise to take the Mir-complex out of orbit.

The first draft plan, assuming that the Mir-station will be de-orbited in 2000, starts with the launch of the tanker Progress-M1 number. 1 on 24.01.2000 and concludes with the de-orbiting of the complex on 30.06.2000. This plan also foresees in an extra manned mission, the Main Expedition 28, consisting of 2 Russians (launch foreseen on 30.04.2000) and 1 extra tanker, the Progress-M1 number. 2.

The second draft plan, supported by RKK Energiya, foresees in the continuation of the Mir-exploitation during the whole year 2000. Apart from Main Expedition 28, there should be a Main Expedition 29 and the delivery of 3 tankers of the Progress-M1 type. This plan does not include a planned date for an eventual de-orbit of the complex before 1.01.2001.

I wish you all a smooth transfer to the New Millennium (still convinced that this starts on the first second of the first day of the next year 2000), a Happy and Prosperous New Year and the acceptance and the execution of the 2nd plan.

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