Mir Mission Status Reports
Mir-25 - Week of February 6, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
February 6, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were functioning normally as U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas completed his second week aboard the Russian station. Thomas officially became a member of the Mir-24 crew on January 25. Since then, Thomas has been performing a variety of scientific experiments as he settles into his four-month stay on orbit.
Meanwhile, Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov have been busy handing over the reins of control of Mir operations to Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, who arrived on the station on January 31 along with French researcher Leopold Eyharts, who is representing the French space agency CNES.
On February 19, Solovyev and Vinogradov will board their Soyuz TM-26 craft with Eyharts, undock from Mir and return to Earth to complete 198 days in space. Eyharts will have spent three weeks in orbit. The next day, February 20, Musabayev, Budarin, and Thomas will climb into the Soyuz TM-27 craft which is docked to the Kvant-1 port, undock from Mir and fly around the station for a redocking at the transfer node port. That will free up the Kvant-1 port for the redocking of an unmanned Progress resupply vehicle on February 21. The Progress has been in a parking orbit a safe distance from the Mir since late last week.
On Wednesday, the six crewmembers aboard Mir received a message of a software glitch in an onboard computer that placed Mir into free drift without automatic attitude control for a short time. The Mir's motion control system computer never shut down, however, and the electrically powered gyrodynes continued spinning even though they were unpowered for a brief period. There was no impact to any of the multinational science experiments being performed onboard. The glitch occurred because of a false indication that an attitude control module on top of a boom assembly on the Kvant-1 module was out of propellant. The false indication was traced to erroneous data in the software. Measures to correct the software problem were relayed to the crew and attitude control was quickly regained.
In other systems activities, the cosmonauts replaced the electronics unit on one of Mir's 11 operational gyrodynes. Spare parts for the gyrodyne were brought up on Endeavour during the STS-89 docking mission. Before repairing the gyrodyne, the station had been operating normally on 10 gyrodynes, but having the additional gyrodyne available to the cosmonauts will reduce propellant consumption.
Also this week, Thomas began his complement of science investigations aboard Mir. This research will focus on 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research. One of the first experiments to be activated was an X-ray detector device. This investigation will gather information on the background cosmic radiation aboard the station.
Thomas, who is the seventh and final NASA astronaut to live and work aboard Mir, is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard the shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 mission, during which four days of joint work will be conducted, including the transfer of Thomas to the shuttle and the delivery of new logistical supplies and water to the Russian outpost.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
Mir
Increment
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Mir-25 - Week of February 13, 1998
Two crews on the Mir Space Station continue to work closely together with one settling in for a six-month mission and the other preparing to return to Earth next week. The focus of attention for U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas and French researcher Leopold Eyharts continues to be experiment work with the orbiting complex healthy from a systems standpoint.
Next week will be a busy one aboard Mir. The Mir-24 crew consisting of Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov are set to return home after 198 days in space. They will be joined by Eyharts who arrived Jan. 31 as part of the Mir-25 crew for three weeks of experiment work.
Following their departure, Mir-25 crew Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and Thomas will move their Soyuz capsule from its present Kvant-1 module docking port to the transfer node position vacated by the Mir-24 crew. This frees the Kvant-1 spot for the Progress resupply craft that has been in a parking orbit since January 30. Progress will automatically redock with Mir on February 23.
In preparation for their return home, Solovyev and Vinogradov this week stepped up their exercise routines and took turns wearing a device designed to mimic the one gravity environment of Earth for periods of time. The Chibis suit is worn on the lower torso and pulls fluids into the legs as occurs on the ground. This routine is followed on Mir for long-duration crew members and has proven effective in reducing the light-headedness experienced once back on Earth.
In addition to planning for next week's activities, science work is moving full steam ahead. In the first 10 days of their mission, Musabayev and Budarin have completed questionnaires on back pain as the in-flight portion of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) experiment. These answers combined with pre- and post-flight MRI's will help researchers understand changes that occur to the spine and muscles after prolonged exposure to microgravity.
Thomas activated several experiments including the Astroculture unit (ASC), which is a hardware demonstration designed to provide a controlled environment chamber to support plant growth in space. The test plants will grow for 70 days before the experiment is terminated.
The Biotechnology System Co-Culture (COCULT) experiment continues to provide the necessary growth media nd nutrients to grow two different cell types in order to form three dimensional tissue samples in microgravity. Thomas spends much of his time ensuring the chamber is rotating as it should and the proper doses of media and nutrients is reaching the reactor chamber.
Thomas began collecting urine samples this week to support the Renal Stone Risk Assessment experiment. A phenomena of space flight is the rapid de-calcification from the bones causing the calcium to be absorbed into the system. Researchers want to use this data to determine the risk of renal stone formation due to this sudden absorption of calcium by the body.
Another experiment that was activated was an X-ray detector device. This investigation will gather information on the background cosmic radiation aboard the station.
This complement of science investigations by Thomas on Mir is part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research.
As mentioned, hardware systems on Mir are performing well. On Monday, the Priroda roll control thrusters were integrated into the motion control system and are responding to commands from the core module's computer. The Priroda jets will be used until Monday when the system will be switched back to full motion control from the attitude control module atop the boom assembly on the Kvant-1 module. That swap back is to use the more proven method of motion control during the Soyuz and Progress activities scheduled next week.
Additionally, cosmonauts have been busily replacing some hardware systems on the station, including two different water reclamation systems - one that recycles urine and one that recycles condensate. These are routine, periodic maintenance activities. All other Mir systems are performing as expected.
Thomas, completing his third week on Mir since becoming a station crewmember Jan. 25, is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-91). He is the seventh and final NASA astronaut to live and work aboard Mir.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of February 20, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
February 20, 1998This morning, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and Thomas were congratulated on the 12th anniversary of the launch of the Mir's Core Module on February 20, 1986. They then boarded their Soyuz TM-27 craft and backed away from Mir at 3:47 a.m. Eastern time. While stationkeeping at a distance between 30 and 70 kilometers, Mir was repositioned so that the vacated transfer node pointed directly toward the Soyuz. Musabayev then manually flew the spacecraft back to a smooth docking with Mir at 3:32 a.m. EST. This frees the Kvant-1 port for the Progress resupply craft redocking to Mir late Monday morning. It has been in a parking orbit since Jan. 30. The Soyuz maneuvers and the Progress redocking are common occurrences on Mir.
As expected, operational activities moved to the forefront this week aboard the station as final preparations were made for yesterday's return home by Mir-24 crew members Anatoly Solovyev, Pavel Vinogradov and French researcher Leopold Eyharts. Landing of their Soyuz spacecraft occurred at 4:10 a.m. EST Thursday on the snowy steppes of Kazakstan.
After their Soyuz TM-26 craft landed, the trio was reported in good condition before being flown back to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow for continued post-flight checkups and rehabilitation. The landing ended 198 days in space for Solovyev and Vinogradov, and 21 days for Eyharts.
Shortly after the Soyuz landing, Mir was maneuvered to an orientation to shade the exposed docking port from the sun for about 4 1/2 hours. The thermal conditioning was required until the Mir-25 crew could reposition the new Soyuz could be repositioned to that vacated transfer node docking port today.
Before Solovyev boarded his spacecraft and closed the hatch on his Soyuz, he formally handed station command duties to Musabayev, who arrived with Budarin and Eyharts on Jan. 31.
The undocking was delayed 5 minutes when Vinogradov's suit did not pressurize properly. With the ground's assistance, the problem was quickly traced to a sticky oxygen flow valve on his suit. With that solved, Soyuz undocked at 12:52 a.m. EST Thursday and the deorbit burn occurred at 3:16 a.m. EST.
Earlier this week Solovyev and Vinogradov continued their hearty exercise routines and medical reconditioning in the Chibis suit, which is designed to mimic the gravity environment of Earth.
Though operational work occupied much of the timeline this week, some scientific experiment activity continued, including work with the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (COCULT) experiment.
COCULT is designed to grow two different cell types in order to form three dimensional tissue samples in microgravity. Air bubbles in the rotating chamber have hampered the experiment's effectiveness, but payload investigators on the ground are developing procedures that should remove those bubbles from the growth medium. Thomas is spending much of his time ensuring that the chamber is rotating as it should and the proper dosage of media and nutrients is reaching the reactor chamber.
Thomas has also been collected urine samples in support of the Renal Stone Risk Assessment experiment. One additional collection session is scheduled later in the flight for Thomas and two collection sessions are scheduled for Musabayev and Budarin. A phenomenon of space flight is rapid bone decalcification, causing calcium to be absorbed into the system. Researchers want to use this data to help determine the risk of renal stone formation due to this sudden absorption of calcium by the body. Dr. David Wolf also conducted the experiment during his stay on Mir.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research.
As previously planned, the roll control component of the station's attitude control system was switched from the thrusters on the Priroda module to the propulsion system atop the Safora boom assembly on the Kvant-1 module. Russian flight controllers indicated that roll control from the boom assembly is a more proven method during Soyuz and Progress activities. Calculations show enough propellant is in the tank to conduct maneuvers at least through Monday's Progress redocking. The boom assembly will be replaced during three space walks currently targeted for early April.
Solovyev's 198-day mission gave him a total of 652 days in space on five missions, placing him second on the all-time space endurance list. Russian cosmonaut Dr. Valeri Polyakov logged a record 679 days on two flights.
Thomas has completed four weeks on Mir since becoming a station crew member January 25. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 docking mission to the Mir. He is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard Mir.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of February 27, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
February 27, 1998This week Mir-25 crew members Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin began preparations for next week's space walk while U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas continued his science investigations.
The week began with the automatic redocking of the Progress resupply ship that has been in a parking orbit since January 30. The resupply craft is used for discarded items that eventually will burn up in the atmosphere with the vessel upon its reentry, which is scheduled in the middle of March after a new Progress is launched bringing supplies to the crew. Progress activities are a common occurrence on Mir, as will they be on the future International Space Station.
Earlier Friday, Musabayev and Budarin checked out the spacesuits they will wear for Tuesday's extravehicular activity (EVA) that is set to begin about 4:30 in the morning Moscow time (late Monday night in the U.S.) The EVA is planned to last about six hours. Musabayev and Budarin will attach a brace to the fragile Spektr solar array that was damaged in last summer's collision with a Progress resupply ship.
Throughout the space walk, motion control of the space station will be handled by the core module, Progress and propulsion system atop the Safora boom assembly on the Kvant-1 module. That boom assembly, which is close to running out of propellant for roll control, will be replaced next month during three space walks by the two cosmonauts. The current Safora has been operating since its delivery to the station in March 1987.
As the crew conducted routine housekeeping chores late Thursday, Musabayev reported to the ground that he noticed a small quantity of smoke coming from one of the Trace Contaminants Removal Systems. The system was turned off which immediately stopped the smoke generation. Following discussions with the ground, the crew was instructed to activate another, identical unit, and the traces of smoke were quickly removed from the cabin air. The quantity of smoke generated always remained below levels which would set off the Mir's smoke detection system, and smoke alarms were never sounded onboard. The problem had no effect on other systems aboard the orbiting complex and caused little interruption to the crew's normal activities. The crew, in fact, participated in a televised press conference only a few minutes after the incident. Russian flight controllers are evaluating the cause of the problem with the unit.
In science activities onboard, Thomas continued to oversee work with the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (COCULT) experiment designed to grow two different cell types in order to form three dimensional tissue samples in microgravity.
Air bubbles in the rotating chamber have hampered the experiment's effectiveness, and researchers on the ground are developing troubleshooting measures in an effort to remove the bubbles from the chamber's growth medium. Thomas is spending much of his time ensuring that the chamber is rotating as it should and the proper dosage of media and nutrients is reaching the reactor chamber.
Thomas also continues to record tiny disturbances, or vibrations, that occur during various activities onboard in an effort to understand what such disturbances cause to sensitive experiments being operated. This unit, called the Space Acceleration Measurement System, or SAMS, was operated for last week's Soyuz undocking and redocking as well as the Progress redocking. SAMS is the longest running U.S. experiment on Mir and is being utilized to assist planners in operations on the ISS.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research.
Thomas has completed five weeks on Mir since becoming a station crew member January 25. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 docking mission to the Mir. He is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard Mir.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of March 6, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
March 6, 1998This week's scheduled space walk, which was intended to brace the damaged Spektr solar array, did not occur. Mir-25 crew members Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin were preparing to exit the Mir Space Station from the airlock in the Kvant-2 module, but were unable to open a secondary latch on the airlock hatch.
The hatch has 10 primary latches and 10 secondary latches and Musabayev and Budarin were able to release all the primary latches and nine of the secondary latches, but were unable to release the final one. During their efforts to release the latches, the special tool used to unfasten the latches was broken. A second general purpose wrench was also bent during the procedure. A supply of additional wrenches is located on the Mir Space Station, but none of the ones which were available in the airlock were the correct size.
Upon returning to the main part of the station, the crew was able to locate the correct size general purpose wrench, and they were able to loosen the previously stuck latch. If a space walk were required at this time, the crew has the necessary tools onboard to open the latches. However, Mir's Russian controllers have chosen not to perform any space walks until after the next Progress resupply vehicle (Progress M-240 ) comes to the Station.
Additional tools and new latches will be coming up on the next Progress resupply vehicle, which is currently scheduled to launch on March 15 and dock with the Mir Space Station on March 17. The space walk to brace the damaged solar array has been rescheduled to late April. Prior to that space walk, beginning sometime in late March or early April, there will be three space walks to replace the propulsion system atop the Safora boom assembly on the Kvant-1 module. This propulsion assembly has been operating since its delivery to the station in March 1987, and is close to running out of propellant.
Controllers on the ground in Moscow were monitoring Mir's atmosphere very closely over the weekend, after a problem last Thursday during which the contaminant filtration system overheated, producing a small amount of smoke. The crew switched to another, identical filtration system, which removed the smoke from the cabin air. This system, called the Trace Contaminants Removal System, continues to function normally.
After the problem occurred, initial measurements from the onboard combustion products analyzer indicated an increase in carbon monoxide levels, but by late Sunday the levels had returned to normal. The Russians are planning to deliver repair parts for the damaged first system to Mir on the next Progress mission. The problem had no effect on other systems on the orbiting complex.
During the rest of the week, U.S. astronaut, Andy Thomas continued his science program while the cosmonauts began work to replace Mir's air conditioner. Mir's air conditioner has not been operational since December. New parts for air conditioner were brought up on the last Space Shuttle flight, STS-89, which docked to the Mir in late January. The crew has been using the Soyuz vehicle's dehumidifier and the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system to take excess moisture out of atmosphere.
In science activities onboard, Thomas continued to oversee work with the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (COCULT) experiment designed to grow two different cell types in order to form three dimensional tissue samples in microgravity.
Air bubbles in the rotating chamber have hampered the experiment's effectiveness, but researchers on the ground have developed troubleshooting measures in an effort to remove the bubbles from the chamber's growth medium. Thomas was instructed by the researchers to reduce the rate at which media and nutrients rotate around the reactor chamber. The slower rate is expected to reduce the bubbles and decrease the amount of oxygen reaching the cells. COCULT researchers wanted to ensure that the cells receive the correct amount of oxygen. Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research.
Thomas is entering his seventh week aboard Mir since becoming a station crew member January 25. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 docking mission to the Mir. He is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard Mir.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week March 13, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
March 13, 1998As of Friday afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Russian Mir Space Station were functioning normally. Mir-25 Commander Talget Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas spent the week preparing for the arrival of the next Progress resupply ship to the Russian outpost and continued regular systems maintenance work. Thomas pressed ahead with a variety of scientific experiments as his research mission neared the two month mark.
The Progress vehicle is scheduled to be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan on Saturday, March 14, U.S. time at 4:40 p.m. CST (early Sunday, Moscow Time). The Progress ship currently attached to the Mir will be jettisoned on Sunday to burn up in Earth's atmosphere, clearing the Kvant-1 docking port for the arrival of the new resupply capsule on Monday evening, U.S. time, with docking planned for about 6:30 p.m. CST (early Tuesday, Moscow time).
The primary payload aboard the new Progress is a new propulsion system for Mir's boom jet assembly known as the "Sofora". The old propulsion system atop the boom which rises from the Kvant-1 module has been operating since its delivery to the station in March 1987, and is almost depleted of fuel. It will be replaced during three space walks by Musabayev and Budarin which begin in about three weeks. Some of the other items that will be aboard the new Progress include new latches for the airlock hatch, new tools, fresh food, a CD player and a CD of Beatles music for Musabayev.
Earlier in the week the crew reported that the new air conditioner that was installed aboard Mir last week was working well. Mir's air conditioner had not been operational since December of last year. New parts for the air conditioner were brought up on the last Shuttle docking mission to the Mir, STS-89, in late January. The crew had been using the Soyuz return vehicle's dehumidifier and the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system to remove excess moisture out of the Mir's atmosphere.
The crew spent the last part of the week installing a new drying unit for the Vozdukh system in the Core Module. The drying unit in the other Vozdukh system located in the Kvant-1 module is functioning normally. With the new drying unit, the Vozdukh system in the Core Module will no longer be required to dump excess moisture overboard. That moisture will now be collected by the new air conditioner, and will be recycled for technical use.
Last weekend a pump in an internal cooling loop in the Priroda module failed, resulting in slightly increased temperatures in that facility. On Tuesday, the crew reconfigured cables so the ground could send commands to switch to a backup pump. By early Wednesday, the loop was working and temperatures in Priroda returned to normal.
In science activities onboard, Thomas began his participation in the life science investigation to study and compare the human body's ability to produce antibodies to fight illness in a microgravity environment with the body's ability to produce antibodies on Earth. Previous research has indicated that some of the human body's immune responses appear to be suppressed during long duration space flight. Understanding the effects of space flight on the human body's immune system may be important in protecting the health of future space travelers on long duration flights. Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, and David Wolf all participated in this investigation during their research aboard Mir.
Thomas also began processing samples for the material science experiment QUELD, the Queens University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion. This is a joint U.S., Canadian, and Russian experiment that uses a special furnace to analyze the process of diffusion, slow mixing of materials by the random movement of molecules of one substance into another. Researchers hope to learn more about diffusion processes on Earth by studying the effects of diffusion in a microgravity environment.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research.
Thomas is entering his eighth week aboard Mir since becoming a station crew member January 25. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard the Shuttle Discovery during the STS- 91 docking mission to the Mir. He is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard the complex.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of March 20, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
March 20, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems on the Mir Space Station were functioning normally. U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas and his Mir-25 crew mates, Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, concluded the week by unpacking fresh food and supplies from the Progress resupply ship, which docked to the station early Monday evening, U.S. time.
The new Progress was manually guided to a linkup with the Mir's Kvant-1 docking port by Musabayev at 6:31 p.m. CST after Russian flight controllers noticed a minor misalignment between the unmanned supply ship and the Mir at a distance of about 12 meters. Chief Flight Director Vladimir Solovyev instructed Musabayev to override the automatic docking system and the linkup was smooth and uneventful. Ninety minutes after the docking, the crew opened the hatch to the Progress, and reported they could smell fresh apples.
The primary payload carried into space in the Progress is a new propulsion system for the Mir's boom jet assembly known as the "Sofora." The old propulsion system atop the boom, which rises from the Kvant-1 module, has been operating since its delivery to the station in March 1987, and is almost depleted of fuel. It will be replaced during four space walks by Musabayev and Budarin that begin April 6. Before that, the two Russians will conduct an additional space walk, on April 1, to reinforce the damaged solar array on the Spektr module. That space walk had been scheduled for March 3, but was postponed when one latch on the Kvant-2 airlock hatch refused to unlatch. The problem has since been corrected.
Some of the other items that arrived on the Mir on the Progress included letters from home, a computerized photo album for Thomas, new latches for the airlock hatch, new tools, fresh food, a CD player and three two-volume sets of "Beatles" music for Musabayev and Thomas.
Besides unpacking the Progress, the crew performed various maintenance tasks this week. On Wednesday morning, the Elektron oxygen generating unit in Kvant-1 shut itself down. Later that morning, the crew restarted the Elektron with its oxygen sensor disabled. Earlier today, the crew completed repair work on the station's trace contaminants removal unit, using replacement parts delivered on the Progress.
The Mir's air conditioning system shut itself down earlier in the week, but it was quickly restarted with no impact to mission operations. Next week the crew will begin space suit preparations for the April 1 space walk.
Meanwhile, Thomas is continuing his scientific research program onboard, including the first of two sessions of an immunity experiment. This life science investigation is designed to study and compare the human body's ability to produce antibodies to fight illness in a microgravity environment with the body's ability to produce antibodies on Earth. Previous research has indicated that some of the human body's immune responses appear to be suppressed during long-duration space flight. Understanding the effects of space flight on the human body's immune system may be important in protecting the health of future space travelers on long duration flights. Astronauts Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, and David Wolf all participated in this investigation during their research aboard Mir.
Thomas also continued to troubleshoot the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (COCULT) experiment, designed to grow two different cell types in order to form three-dimensional tissue samples in microgravity.
Air bubbles in the COCULT's rotating chamber have hampered the experiment's effectiveness, and researchers on the ground developed troubleshooting measures in an effort to remove the bubbles from the chamber's growth medium. In late February, Thomas was instructed by the researchers to reduce the rate at which media and nutrients rotate around the reactor chamber. The slower rate reduced the bubbles and decreased the amount of oxygen reaching the cell. This week Thomas tried to empty the media bag, but the bag did not contain the anticipated amount of spent media. Thomas is now checking the system in an effort to discover the location of the spent media.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research.
Thomas has passed the halfway mark of his four month mission since becoming a Mir crew member January 25. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard the shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 docking mission to the Mir. He is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard the complex. Next week, on Tuesday, Thomas and his crew mates the second anniversary of a continuous U.S. presence on the Mir, which began on March 24, 1996 with the arrival of Lucid during the STS-76 mission.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of March 27, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
March 27, 1998U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas and his Mir-25 crewmates, Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, commemorated two important space anniversaries this week. Tuesday, March 24, 1998, marked two years of continuous US presence aboard Mir. On March 24, 1996, at 4:30 p.m., Dr. Shannon Lucid officially became a Mir crew member when she transferred from the Space Shuttle to the Mir Space Station. (Dr. Norm Thagard was the first U.S. astronaut on Mir; he arrived on Mir March 14, 1995, and stayed 116 days in space.)
Friday, March 27, 1998, marked an important but solemn day -- the 30th anniversary of the death of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin became the first human to escape Earth's atmosphere and orbit the planet, and April 12th is still celebrated in Russia as Cosmonautics Day.
As Thomas continued his science program, Musabayev and Budarin began preparation for next week's space walk. On Friday the crew was scheduled to spend about nine hours in the airlock preparing for the space walk. Plans called for the cosmonauts to replace old ancillary latches on the hatch with new latches which were brought up by the Progress resupply ship. Prior to any space walk, crew activities include a review with Russian ground controllers of the procedures to be used, a check of their space suits, medical checks, and a suited dry run of the space walk.
Next Wednesday, April 1, the crew will go outside the space station to reinforce the damaged solar array on the Spektr module. That space walk had been scheduled for March 3, but was postponed when one latch on the Kvant-2 airlock hatch refused to unlatch. The problem has since been corrected. The hatch is scheduled to open at 8:20 a.m. EST. The space walk should last a little under 6 hours.
Once the damaged solar array is braced, the crew will perform four additional space walks to replace the propulsion system for the Mir's boom jet assembly (known as the "Sofora"). The old propulsion system atop the boom which rises from the Kvant-1 module has been operating since its delivery to the station in August 1992, and is almost depleted of fuel. The series of space walks by Musabayev and Budarin to replace the boom jet assembly will begin April 6. The space walks will be spaced approximately five days apart and will last from five to six hours each.
Besides preparing for next week's space walk, the crew performed various maintenance tasks this week. On Wednesday, they completed repairs on the trace contaminant removal unit. Replacement parts, including a new valve and charcoal filter, were brought up on the previous Progress. The crew reported that there was no visible damage to the old charcoal filter after hot air had accidentally been blown over the unit a few weeks ago.
The station's air conditioning system continued to experience difficulty starting this week, but the crew was able to start it on every attempt. Russian ground controllers are investigating possible causes of these difficulties.
Meanwhile, Thomas is continuing his scientific research program. This week he continued an immunity experiment, for which he is periodically taking blood and saliva samples. This life science investigation is designed to study and compare the human body's ability to produce antibodies to fight illness in a microgravity environment with the body's ability to produce antibodies on Earth. Previous research has indicated that some of the human body's immune responses appear to be suppressed during long duration space flight. Understanding the effects of space flight on the human body's immune system may be important in protecting the health of future space travelers on long duration flights. Astronauts Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, and David Wolf also participated in this investigation during their research aboard Mir.
Thomas also continued to troubleshoot the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (COCULT) experiment, designed to grow two different cell types in order to form three dimensional tissue samples in microgravity.
Thomas processed seven samples for the material science experiment QUELD, the Queens University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion. This is a joint U.S., Canadian, and Russian experiment that uses a special furnace to analyze the phenomenon of diffusion. Diffusion is the slow mixing of materials by the random movement of molecules of one substance into another. While commonplace, the physical process of diffusion is not completely understood. Researchers hope to learn more about this process by studying diffusion in a microgravity environment.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation. The investigations are a combination of experiments performed on previous Mir missions as well as new research.
Thomas has reached the half-way mark in his mission, having completed his ninth week aboard Mir and with nine more weeks to go before completing his mission in early June. He is scheduled to return to Earth aboard the Shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 docking mission to the Mir. He is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard the complex.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of April 3, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
April 3, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems on the Mir Space Station were functioning normally. U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas continued his science program this week while his Mir-25 crewmates, Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, performed a space walk to install handrails and foot restraints on the damaged Spektr module and prepared for two space walks scheduled for next week.
On Wednesday the cosmonauts opened the airlock hatch with no difficulty and began their six and one half hour space walk. This excursion had been scheduled for March 3, but was postponed when one secondary latch on the Kvant-2 airlock hatch refused to unlatch. Last Friday, four new secondary latches were installed on the hatch to replace four of the old latches on the hatch, including a replacement for the latch that stuck on March 3. These latches were brought to the Mir in mid-March on the latest Progress resupply ship.
During Wednesday's space walk, the crew installed handrails and foot restraints on the Spektr module near the radiator, then moved to its damaged solar array to begin installing a work station. With the tasks taking longer than expected, the cosmonauts ran short on time and were unable to install a second work station and a brace for Spektr's damaged solar array. The second work station and reinforcement beam were secured to the work platform which had been installed. Russian flight controllers told Musabayev and Budarin to resume the array bracing work in the first two to three hours of the next space walk on Monday.
During Wednesday's space walk, Thomas was in the Mir's Core Module, monitoring the progress of the cosmonauts and shooting video.
On Monday, once the damaged solar array is braced, the crew will begin work to replace the propulsion system for the Mir's boom jet assembly, known as the "Sofora". The old propulsion system atop the boom which rises from the Kvant-1 module has been operating since its delivery to the station in August 1992, and is almost out of fuel. This replacement work is expected to span four space walks, spaced about five days apart. Following Monday's space walk, additional work by Musabayev and Budarin outside the Mir is scheduled for April 11, 16 and 21.
Meanwhile, Thomas is continuing his scientific research program. Next week he will conclude the immunity experiment, for which he is periodically taking blood and saliva samples. This life science investigation is designed to study and compare the human body's ability to produce antibodies to fight illness in a microgravity environment with the body's ability to produce antibodies on Earth. Previous research has indicated that some of the human body's immune responses appear to be suppressed during long duration space flight. Understanding the effects of space flight on the human body's immune system may be important in protecting the health of future space travelers on long duration flights. Astronauts Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, and David Wolf also participated in this investigation during their research aboard Mir.
Thomas also continued to troubleshoot the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (COCULT) experiment, designed to grow two different cell types in order to form three dimensional tissue samples in microgravity. Last weekend, Thomas opened up the hardware in an effort to gain insight into the location of a possible occlusion in the fluid loop. Thomas reported that he found dry, dark-colored blockage in one of the tubes of the apparatus. On Tuesday Thomas sent video of the hardware and the potential blockage site so experts on the ground could examine the area and determine their next course of action. Due to this blockage, Thomas had to alter the cell feeding procedures. On Thursday, Thomas performed a modified "manual" feed of fresh nutrients and was able to resume the experiment.
Thomas also processed twelve samples for the material science experiment, QUELD, the Queens University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion. This is a joint U.S., Canadian, and Russian experiment that uses a special furnace to analyze the phenomenon of diffusion. Diffusion is the slow mixing of materials by the random movement of molecules of one substance into another. While commonplace, the physical process of diffusion is not completely understood. Researchers hope to learn more about this process by studying diffusion in a microgravity environment.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation.
Thomas is beginning the eleventh week of his four month research flight. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard the Shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 docking mission to the Mir. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard the complex.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of April 10, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
April 10, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station remained in good operating condition as Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin finished preparations for a space walk tomorrow to begin the replacement of a jet thruster component on a boom rising from the Kvant-1 module.
The space walk will be the third for Musabayev and Budarin. The first two space walks were devoted to the installation of a brace to shore up the damaged solar array on the Mir's Spektr module. As was the case with the first two space walks, U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas will monitor communications and document Saturday's excursion by Musabayev and Budarin.
Last Monday, the two Russian cosmonauts spent 4 hours and 23 minutes outside Mir, completing the installation of handrails and foot restraints on Spektr, and stabilized Spektr's array with a special brace. After completing these tasks, the cosmonauts were instructed to return to the station, when the Mir appeared to heading toward an unfavorable orientation to the sun during an attitude maneuver. Flight controllers adopted a conservative approach to the Mir's orientation to the sun for power generation at that time, opting to use jets on the Priroda module for attitude control rather than totally deplete the dwindling fuel supply in the Kvant-1 boom jet thruster. The original plan called for the crew to begin work to replace the propulsion system for the Mir's boom jet assembly, known as the "VDU", after the solar array was braced. But Russian flight controllers revised their plans after determining that the space walkers would only have about one additional hour left to perform work on the boom jet. Since three more space walks were already scheduled to perform this work, Russian officials concluded that there was no need to begin the boom jet tasks until tomorrow.
The Mir is currently using its electronically-controlled gyrodynes as its primary means of attitude control with additional use of maneuvering jets both on the Kvant-1 module's boom jet and on the Priroda module available. Once Musabayev and Budarin replace the jet thruster on top of the "Sofora" boom, the new fully-fueled unit will assist in the control of Mir's maneuvering.
During tomorrow's space walk, the cosmonauts will replace the existing jet unit atop the boom, which has been operating since its delivery to the station in August 1992. Musabayev and Budarin will remove and jettison the old boom jet assembly, after which they will clear the work area by removing and discarding a segment of the boom assembly known as "Rapana." The "Rapana" once housed experiments, but is no longer in use. In subsequent space walks on April 17 and 22, the cosmonauts will complete the installation of the new boom jet assembly.
On Sunday, Musabayev, Budarin and Thomas will relax and celebrate Cosmonautics Day with family and friends via two-way video. April 12 is the 37th anniversary of the launch of Yuri Gagarin as the first human in space.
Meanwhile, Thomas is continuing his scientific research program. This week he concluded an immunity experiment, for which he is periodically taking blood and saliva samples. This life science investigation was designed to study and compare the human body's ability to produce antibodies to fight illness in a microgravity environment with the body's ability to produce antibodies on Earth. Previous research has indicated that some of the human body's immune responses appear to be suppressed during long duration space flight. Understanding the effects of space flight on the human body's immune system may be important in protecting the health of future space travelers on long duration flights. Astronauts Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, and David Wolf also participated in this investigation during their research aboard Mir.
Thomas also processed twenty of thirty samples for the material science experiment, QUELD, the Queens University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion. This is a joint U.S., Canadian, and Russian experiment that uses a special furnace to analyze the phenomenon of diffusion. Diffusion is the slow mixing of materials by the random movement of molecules of one substance into another. While commonplace, the physical process of diffusion is not completely understood. Researchers hope to learn more about this process by studying diffusion in a microgravity environment.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation.
Thomas is beginning the twelfth week of his four-month research flight. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June aboard the Shuttle Discovery during the STS-91 docking mission to the Mir. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard the complex.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of April 17, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
April 17, 1998With all Mir Space Station systems in stable condition, Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin this morning completed their fourth space walk which involved preparing a new thruster jet assembly for next week's installation atop the Sofora truss. The 6 hour, 33 minute excursion began at 3:40 a.m. Eastern time.
The first task was to dismantle and stow the 'Rapana' truss segment once used as a support fixture for external scientific experiments. Though the flight control team originally had planned for the truss to be jettisoned during today's extravehicular activity (EVA), it was decided instead to stow it for possible future use.
Next, the new boom jet assembly was raised by ground command from the side of the specially modified Progress resupply ship. The crew then inclined the boom jet to the proper angle (about 35 degrees), and locked it in place where it will remain until the next space walk Wednesday. The angle provides for easier transfer to the Sofora truss.
This was the fourth space walk scheduled during the Mir-25 crew's 6-month tour on the station which began in late January. Thus far, Musabayev and Budarin have spent 23 hours, 47 minutes outside the station.
The fifth and final timelined EVA is targeted for April 22. Though current consumables can support two additional space walks beyond that, if necessary, Chief Flight Director Vladimir Solovyev yesterday told the crew that the desire is to complete all the tasks by next week. This, he said, will provide the crew a month to prepare for the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery in late May on the final scheduled shuttle/Mir docking mission.
Today's space walk followed last Saturday's which saw the two cosmonauts remove and jettison the nearly-spent boom jet used for roll control of the station in pointing Mir's solar arrays at the Sun. The EVA began at 5:55 a.m. Eastern time and ended 6 hours, 25 minutes later at 12:20 p.m. The primary task was the removal and jettisoning of the old boom jet assembly from atop the 14-meter-long Sofora truss. Musabayev and Budarin gently pushed the trunk-sized unit away from the station at a precise moment so that it would fall beneath and out in front of Mir. It is projected to reenter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up within a year.
Next the crew removed the old boom jet adapter plate and installed a new one. The old one was brought back inside and placed in the Progress to be discarded.
At a point between the boom jet operation and the next task, Musabayev's suit lost the capability to transfer telemetry to the ground. While this caused no alarm on the ground, he was asked to periodically provide verbal updates on his biomedical data for the duration of the space walk. As a result, earlier this week, the commander and flight engineer checked out a different suit that Musabayev wore for today's space walk.
Throughout all space walks, U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas documents his colleagues movements with video and still photography and provides the flight control team with routine systems data.
Meanwhile, Thomas is continuing his scientific research program. In addition to other experiment work, his focus has been on work with the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (CoCult) experiment. Thomas spends much of his time working with the experiment including visual inspection, photo documentation, cell sampling, nutritional replenishment, while ensuring the chamber is rotating as it should. The experiment's goal is to grow two different cell types in order to form three dimensional tissue samples in microgravity.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation.
Today marks Thomas' 85th day in space. He will return to Earth in early June following the STS-91 mission. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut scheduled to live and work aboard Mir.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of April 24, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
April 24, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were in good working order as Russian flight controllers tested a new thruster assembly that was installed earlier this week during a space walk by Mir-25 cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin. Meanwhile, U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas neared his 100th day in orbit, continuing his scientific research on the Russian outpost.
Following the checkout of the boom jet assembly atop the "Sofora" truss on the Kvant-1 module, the unit was integrated into the station's attitude control system to provide roll control that was temporarily handled by thrusters on the Priroda module.
The fifth and final planned space walk of the Mir-25 mission began at 1:34 a.m. EDT Wednesday and lasted 6 hours, 21 minutes. The hatch was closed at 7:55. The total space walk time for the five April excursions outside Mir by Musabayev and Budarin was 30 hours, 08 minutes.
For the most part, Musabayev and Budarin stayed right on the timeline. They had no problems retracting the Sofora boom to ease the transfer of the new boom jet assembly from its location on the side of the Progress to its new position on the boom.
After cables were hooked up from the boom jet package to the 14-meter-long truss structure, Thomas powered on the new boom jet's heaters from inside the station.
The attachment to Sofora was completed about 3.5 hours into the space walk and the boom was rotated back to its full vertical position and was locked in place.
As the two cosmonauts began cleanup activities, flight controllers at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow confirmed through telemetry that all connectors were mated. The small drive mechanisms used to retract and extend the Sofora tower were then detached and jettisoned.
Wednesday's space walk marked the 70th performed on the Mir station and the 90th in the history of the Russian space program. As of today, no further space walks are planned for the Mir-25 mission, which is scheduled to end with a crew exchange in August.
Throughout all the space walks, Thomas documented the activity of his colleagues with video and still photography and also provided the Russian flight control team with routine updates on Mir systems.
Thomas' scientific research program is continuing with his primary focus on the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (CoCult) experiment. He provided the Mir Operations Support Team with the latest video of the unit, which has been operating since early in his stay on the station. The cause of air bubbles in the chamber is still being analyzed by experiment investigators, but has not appeared to hamper the growth of the three dimensional cancer cells, which is the focus of the experiment.
He also continues to periodically gather blood, urine and saliva samples to be evaluated after his mission on the effects of long duration space flight on the human body.
Science investigations by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation.
Saturday morning between 9:00 and 9:40 CDT, Thomas will answer questions from Australian school children and will talk with the astronauts aboard the shuttle Columbia who are conducting neurological research on the STS-90 mission. Both events will be carried live on NASA Television.
Today marks Thomas' 92nd day in space. He is scheduled to return to Earth in early June following the STS-91 mission. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut earmarked to live and work aboard Mir.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of May 1, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
May 1, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were in good working order. This week the Mir crew, Talgat Musabayev, Nikolai Budarin, and U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas, returned to their regular research and maintenance program after completing five space walks in April.
Following last week's checkout of the boom jet assembly atop the "Sofora" truss on the Kvant-1 module, the unit was placed on line as part of the station's attitude control system to provide roll control for the Mir which was temporarily handled by thrusters on the Priroda module. The new thruster assembly has been in use since last Friday to augment the electrically powered gyrodynes which are the primary source for orienting the Mir. The thrusters on the Priroda module have been deactivated.
On Wednesday, Budarin celebrated his 45th birthday by speaking to his wife, Marina, his two sons and friends via a two-way video link. The crew members enjoyed a relatively leisurely day in orbit today as Russian flight controllers observed May Day celebrations.
Thomas' scientific research program is continuing with his primary focus on the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (CoCult) experiment. This week Thomas attempted to remove the air bubbles in the experiment chamber with a syringe, but was unable to capture the bubbles. The air bubbles in the chamber do not appear to be hampering the growth of three dimensional cancer cells, which is the focus of the experiment.
To date, Thomas has processed twenty six out of thirty pairs of samples for the material science experiment, QUELD, the Queens University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion. This is a joint U.S., Canadian, and Russian experiment that uses a special furnace to analyze the phenomenon of diffusion. Diffusion is the slow mixing of materials by the random movement of molecules of one substance into another. While commonplace, the physical process of diffusion is not completely understood. Researchers hope to learn more about this process by studying diffusion in a microgravity environment.
This week, Musabayev began a U.S. experiment to study the loss of bone mineral density during long duration space flight. This investigation requires the periodic gathering of blood, urine and saliva. These samples will be returned to Earth on the shuttle Discovery in June for analysis by scientists on the ground.
The investigations being conducted by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation.
Astronaut Mike Foale, who spent four months on the Mir last year, spoke to Thomas from the Russian Mission Control Center on Thursday. The two U.S. astronauts discussed their experiences as Foale visited Russia for meetings and to present awards to Russian flight controllers who supported him during his mission.
Tomorrow, Thomas will celebrate his 100th day in orbit. He is in his final weeks of a four month mission aboard the Mir. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut to live and work aboard the Russian outpost.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of May 8, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
May 8, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were in good working order. This week, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, and U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas continued activities centered around research and maintenance aboard the Russian complex.
Thomas' scientific experiments are continuing as he nears the end of his four months in orbit. The investigations being conducted by Thomas on Mir are part of 27 studies in the areas of Advanced Technology, Earth Sciences, Human Life Sciences, Microgravity Research, and International Space Station Risk Mitigation.
On May 6th Thomas processed the final pair of samples for a material science experiment called the Queens University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion (QUELD). A total of thirty samples were processed during his mission. This is a joint U.S., Canadian, and Russian experiment that uses a special furnace to analyze the phenomenon of diffusion, which is the slow mixing of materials by the random movement of molecules of one substance into another. While commonplace, the physical process of diffusion is not completely understood. Researchers hope to learn more about this process by studying diffusion in a microgravity environment.
This week, Thomas also completed the second of three experiment blocks of the Renal Stone Risk Assessment experiment. The third block will be completed at the end of May, just prior to Thomas' return to Earth. This investigation collects urine for postflight analysis in order to obtain information on the risk of kidney stone formation during prolonged exposure to microgravity. Prior research indicates that space flight may increase the risk of kidney stone formation. The results of this study will provide a better understanding of renal stone formation, which may lead to ways of counteracting the formation of these stones both in space and on Earth. This experiment has been performed on three previous Shuttle-Mir missions.
Thomas reported earlier today that he could spot large fires in Honduras and the Yucatan Peninsula last night. Last week, Thomas was also able to photograph a large dust storm that swept from the Sahara to the Mediterranean. Thomas has been performing photo documentation of changes in the Earth surface throughout his stay on orbit.
Musabayev and Budarin continued a U.S. experiment to study the loss of bone mineral density during long duration space flight. This investigation requires the periodic gathering of blood, urine and saliva. These samples will be returned to Earth on the shuttle Discovery in June for analysis.
The Russian cosmonauts performed routine systems work this week on thermal loops and the Kvant-1 Elektron oxygen generating system. Earlier in the week, small leaks were observed in two areas in the condensate recovery system. The leak was traced to a water separator and a valve. The leak was fixed by replacing the separator unit and by resetting the valve.
Also, the primary cooling loop for the Kvant-1 module shut down automatically due to what Russian flight controllers described as inadequate cooling. The crew members checked for any leaks in the system and found none and the loop is maintaining constant pressure. As the loop is brought back on line, Russian flight controllers say its temporary shutdown will have no impact to mission operations.
Next Thursday night, May 14, U.S. time, the next Progress resupply ship for the Mir will be launched at 6:12 p.m. Eastern time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Late Friday, May 15, U.S. time, the current Progress docked to the Mir's Kvant-1 port will be jettisoned. The new Progress will dock to the Mir Saturday night, U.S. time, May 16 at 7:50 p.m. Eastern time, carrying fresh food and supplies for the station.
Thomas has begun packing his belongings and scientific hardware and is conducting an inventory of the U.S. equipment aboard the station in advance of the arrival of the shuttle Discovery on the STS-91 mission in June to bring him home and complete almost 1000 days of U.S. astronaut occupancy aboard the Mir, including more than 26 months of continuous time. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut to live and work aboard the Russian outpost.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of May 15, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
May 15, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were in good working order. This week, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, and U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas finished loading refuse in the Progress M-38 resupply ship currently linked to the Mir and prepared for the arrival of the Progress M-40 resupply ship, which was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to carry food, water and supplies to the outpost. The Progress launched successfully at 6:13 p.m. EDT Thursday.
The Progress now attached to Mir will undock this afternoon at 2:44 p.m. EDT. About 30 minutes later, Russian flight controllers will command the Progress to begin a series of four engine firings to enable the cosmonauts to conduct an experiment to analyze the Progress vehicle's engine plume. The last of these firings will occur an hour and ten minutes after undocking. The Progress will then move away from the Mir to a point well away from the station until after the new Progress docks with the station Saturday night at about 7:50 p.m. EDT. Once the new Progress docks with the Mir, Progress M-38 will be commanded to reenter the Earth's atmosphere, where it will burn up.
This week, Thomas continued to monitor the large fires in Honduras and the Yucatan Peninsula. Thomas has been performing photo documentation of changes in the Earth surface throughout his stay on orbit. Last week he was able to photograph the eruption of Costa Rica's Arenal volcano.
Thomas' scientific experiments are continuing as he nears the end of his four months in orbit. The investigations he is conducting on Mir are the continuation of 27 separate studies in the areas of advanced technology, Earth sciences, human life sciences, microgravity research, and International Space Station risk mitigation.Last week, Thomas completed the second of three phases of the Renal Stone Risk Assessment experiment. The final phase will be completed just prior to Thomas' return to Earth early next month. This week, Musabayev and Budarin participated in this experiment. This investigation collects urine for postflight analysis in order to obtain information on the risk of kidney stone formation during prolonged exposure to microgravity. Prior research indicates that space flight may increase the risk of kidney stone formation. The results of this study will provide a better understanding of renal stone formation, which may lead to ways of counteracting the formation of these stones both in space and on Earth. This experiment has been performed on three previous Shuttle-Mir missions.
Musabayev and Budarin also collected data for a U.S. experiment this week named "Cardio". This experiment will evaluate the mechanisms by which the autonomic nervous system regulates the circulation of blood and nutrients to tissues, particularly the brain, during the human body's adaptation to the microgravity environment.
Russian flight controllers said this week that a faulty controller for a computer display unit onboard Mir will be replaced by the cosmonauts in the next few weeks. The display enables the crew to monitor data from the station's motion control computer used to keep the Mir in the correct orientation. The display is currently working, but has gone blank on an intermittent basis over the past month. Despite the minor problem, the Mir has full control over its orientation and is operating in excellent condition.
Thomas has less than three weeks left aboard the Mir Space Station. In early June, the shuttle Discovery will dock to the Mir on the STS-91 mission and will bring Thomas home to complete almost 1000 days of U.S. astronaut occupancy aboard the station, including more than 26 months of continuous time on orbit. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut to live and work aboard the Russian outpost.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of May 22, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
May 22, 1998As of mid-afternoon, Moscow time, all systems aboard the Russian Mir Space Station were in good working order. This week, Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, and U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas began unloading the Progress M-40 resupply ship which successfully docked to Mir last week.
The Progress carried water, fresh food, fuel, scientific hardware, and personal items for the crew. Thomas received letters and photos from his family, compact disks, a novel, candy and other personal items.
On Thursday, Thomas downlinked video of the fires in Honduras and the Yucatan Peninsula. As seen from space, the smoke from the fires is visible over part of the United States. Thomas has been performing photo documentation of changes in the Earth's surface throughout his stay on orbit.
Thomas' scientific experiments are continuing as he nears the end of his four months in orbit. The investigations he is conducting on Mir are the continuation of 27 separate studies in the areas of advanced technology, Earth sciences, human life sciences, microgravity research, and International Space Station risk mitigation.
Thomas' scientific research program is wrapping up with the focus of attention on the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (CoCult) experiment. The cause of air bubbles in the chamber is still being analyzed by experiment investigators. It has not appeared to hamper the growth of the three dimensional cancer cells, which have been studied over the past few months. CoCult will remain powered on for the duration of Thomas' mission. The unit will be transferred to the shuttle Discovery after the STS-91 astronauts arrive on Mir in early June
Thomas also continues to periodically gather blood, urine and saliva samples to be evaluated after his mission to study the effects of long duration space flight on the human body.
Thomas has been packing a total of 33 bags of items to be returned to Earth on Discovery. These bags include U.S. science hardware, scientific samples, video and still film, space walk tools, and personal effects. Thomas has completed packing five bags, and has partly packed 15 of the remaining 28 bags.
On Friday, Musabayev and Budarin flushed the tanks containing water for technical use in the Kvant-2 and Kristall modules with a water-based solution containing silver. The silver solution destroys bacteria which may formed in the tanks over the course of the past several months. This flushing procedure is a regular maintenance task on Mir, occurring about once a year. Water in the Kvant-2 and Kristall tanks is not used for drinking, but for operational requirements, such as use in the Elektron oxygen generating system or for flushing the Mir's toilet.
Thomas has less than two weeks left aboard the Mir Space Station. On June 2, Discovery is scheduled to launch on the final Shuttle-Mir docking mission. Linkup to the Mir is planned for June 4. Thomas' return to Earth is currently scheduled for June 12. When Discovery lands, Thomas will have completed almost 1000 days of occupancy by U.S. astronauts on Mir, including more than 26 months of continuous time on orbit. Thomas is the seventh and final NASA astronaut to live and work aboard the Russian outpost.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of May 29, 1998
Mir-25/NASA-7 Status Report
Mission Control Center -- Korolev
May 29, 1998As of mid-afternoon Moscow time, all systems aboard the Mir Space Station were functioning in good fashion. The last full week of U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas' mission aboard the Mir was devoted to completing experiment work and packing for the return trip home. Thomas will become a member of the STS-91 crew aboard the shuttle Discovery after it docks to the Mir next week and hatches are opened between the two spacecraft for the final time.
The only problem incurred aboard the Mir this week involved a minor glitch with an avionics unit for one of Mir's electricity generating batteries and a problematic pump on a cooling loop. Neither problem affected activities or research work aboard Mir and the cosmonauts have replaced the affected hardware.
On Monday, flight controllers reported that an avionics unit attached to one of six batteries in the Kvant-2 module had failed and the crew disconnected the battery on Tuesday. The cosmonauts successfully replaced the faulty unit yesterday. It is designed to charge and discharge the batteries twice a month as a part of routine Mir maintenance, but was found to be discharging one battery more frequently than was needed. The batteries are used to store solar energy for use by Mir systems when the station is in darkness.
Yesterday, the crew switched to an alternate pump on a thermal cooling loop in the Kvant-2 module after the system shut down earlier this week. Additional spare pumps are onboard if needed, but since the alternate pump was activated, it has been working with no further problems.
Joined by his Mir-25 crewmates, Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, Thomas continued to pack up equipment, experiments and supplies into about 30 transfer bags to be returned to Earth aboard Discovery. With preparations continuing on schedule for the launch of Discovery Tuesday, the three Mir crew members have been kept updated daily on launch processing activities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Earlier this week the crew chatted with the Kazak Ambassador to Russia, Taeer Mansurov, who delivered congratulations and best wishes to the crew. Commander Musabayev is a native of Kazakstan. Mansurov asked Thomas about his thoughts on the mission as it nears its conclusion and was told by Thomas that his four months on the Russian complex has "been great" and that he has enjoyed working with the Russian cosmonauts.
Thomas plans to hold a news conference with U.S. reporters at about 10:40 a.m. EDT Monday, which will be his last interview as a Mir crew member. The news conference will be broadcast on NASA Television.
Thomas has continued his scientific work as he nears the end of his four-month stay in orbit. Twenty-seven studies in the areas of advanced technology, Earth sciences, human life sciences, microgravity research, and International Space Station risk mitigation were conducted throughout his increment. As part of the human life sciences investigations, the crew continues to collect blood, urine and saliva samples for later study on the effects of long duration space flight on the human body.
The experiment garnering the most attention has been the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (CoCult) experiment, which has operated almost continuously since Thomas' arrival on Mir in January. CoCult will be transferred to the shuttle and continue to operate until Discovery returns to Earth. Air bubbles inside the unit's growth chamber do not appear to have hampered the maturation of the three dimensional cancer cells, which is has been the goal of the experiment.
In preparation for the arrival of Discovery, the two crews met via a video-teleconferencing link-up this week to discuss the plans for four days of docked operations. Discovery's Commander, Charlie Precourt, and his crew mates, Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Janet Kavandi, Wendy Lawrence and Valery Ryumin, spoke to the Mir crew from crew quarters at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. In addition to general greetings and well wishes, the discussion focused on the plan for transfer of items between the two spacecraft beginning Thursday after docking.
On Sunday, Thomas will mark a milestone, 800 consecutive days in space by U.S. astronauts since the launch of Shannon Lucid on the STS-76 mission in March 1996. Based on Discovery's planned launch Tuesday and docking to Mir two days later, Thomas - at the moment of hatch opening - officially will end more than 26 months of a continuous U.S. presence on the orbiting outpost and will become a member of the STS-91 crew. His stay, combined with those of his six predecessors, amounts to nearly 1,000 days of occupancy by U.S. astronauts dating back to Dr. Norm Thagard's trip to Mir in March 1995.
| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
| 4/3/98 | 4/10/98 | 4/17/98 | 4/24/98 | 5/1/98 | 5/8/98 | 5/15/98 | 5/22/98 | 5/29/98 |