Mir-25 Weekly Reports
Mir-25 - Week of February 6, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Mir Science - John Uri, Shuttle-Mir Program Mission Scientist, reports on Mir science
The seventh and final mission of an American astronaut to the space station Mir is well underway, as astronaut Andy Thomas nears the end of his second week as a crewmember on the orbiting Russian outpost furthering a cooperative program designed to provide both nations with the knowledge and experience they'll put to use assembling an international space station on orbit beginning later this year.
Thomas began his tour of duty January 25, taking over for astronaut David Wolf after his 119-day mission to the Mir. Thomas spent his first week settling in to his new living quarters with Mir-24 commander Anatoly Solovyev and flight engineer Pavel Vinogradov, and starting some of the 30 scientific investigations he'll pursue on orbit. Last week, those three welcomed a new group of cosmonauts onboard.
Last Saturday, the Soyuz capsule carrying the Mir-25 crew of commander Talgat Musabayev, flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, and French researcher Leopold Eyharts docked with the Mir station, two days after a successful launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Musabayev will take over command of the Mir for the coming six months. Eyharts will conduct a three-week science program during the crew handover period. The flight engineer, Nikolaie Budarin, last flew to the Mir as Solovyev's crewmate onboard the shuttle Atlantis during the first Shuttle-Mir docking in 1995.
Now through February 19th, researcher Leopold Eyharts will be busy each day on the variety of scientific experiments of his research mission, while astronaut Andy Thomas continues work on the science of his four-month mission, and the Mir-24 cosmonauts complete the handover of operational responsibilities for the station to the Mir-25 crew.
On February 19th, Eyharts will join Mir-24 commander Anatoly Solovyev and flight engineer Pavel Vinogradov in their Soyuz capsule, undock from the Mir station's transfer node, and return to Earth with a soft landing in central Asia.
The next day, Musabayev, Budarin, and Thomas will board their Soyuz capsule, undock from the Kvant-1 module and fly around the station, redocking the Soyuz at the station's transfer node. One day later, the progress resupply ship, which has been in a nearby orbit since late January, will be redocked to the Kvant-1 module's docking port.
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Mir
Increment
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Mir-25 - Week of February 13, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Interview with Andy Thomas -Andy fields questions from CNN.
As the continuing mission of Americans to the Russian space station Mir, and the oldest portion of the station itself, approach milestones of longevity, astronaut Andy Thomas is pressing ahead with the science research of his four-month mission onboard the Russian space station and preparing to say goodbye to three of his five crewmates.
Next Friday, February 20th, will mark the 12th anniversary of the launch of the first element of the Mir Space Station, its core module. Now composed of eight permanent modules, the station was originally designed to remain in orbit for five years. For most of the last two years, the station has been home to a series of American astronauts who have lived and worked alongside Russian crewmates. As of early next Friday morning, the continuous American presence in space through the Shuttle-Mir program will complete 700 consecutive days since the launch of mission STS-76 to deliver astronaut Shannon Lucid to the Mir. Thomas is scheduled to be onboard the Mir when the two-year anniversary of Americans in space is marked on march 22nd.
This week Thomas conducted his first on-orbit interview since the shuttle Endeavour departed the Mir two weeks ago. He talked about some of the experiments he has already begun during his first three weeks on orbit, and downlinked video of the latest generation of bioreactor experiment, called COCULT, in which he's growing cancer cells. He also passed on his thanks to his ground support teams in Houston and at the Russian mission control center outside Moscow.
Since January 31st, Thomas has been sharing research space in the Priroda module with French researcher Leopold Eyharts, who arrived with the Mir-25 cosmonauts to conduct a science program during the three- week handover from Mir-24 commander Anatoly Solovyev and flight engineer Pavel Vinogradov. Eyharts will join Solovyev and Vinogradov next week for a three-hour Soyuz capsule ride from the Mir to a landing site in central Asia. That undocking is scheduled for next Wednesday, February 18, just before midnight CST., with a soft landing expected at 3:17am CST on Thursday, February 19.
Next Friday, February 20, at 2:13am CST, the current American presence in space will pass 700 consecutive days. On that day Thomas will join Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin in the remaining Soyuz capsule as they undock from the station's Kvant-1 module docking port and fly around the station, re-docking at the Mir's transfer node.
Also next Saturday, February 21, the Progress re-supply ship which has been station-keeping in a nearby orbit since late January, will be commanded to dock at the vacant Kvant-1 docking port.
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Mir-25 - Week of February 20, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Dave Wolf Press Conference - Dave Wolf talks to the press for the first time since returning to Earth
Twelve years ago today the Mir's core module, perched atop a Russian Proton rocket, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan to begin what was designed to be five years in Earth orbit. The Mir Space Station is now comprised of eight permanent modules, the newest of which, Priroda, arrived on orbit in April of 1996 when American astronaut Shannon Lucid was one month into her tour of duty on the station.
Lucid's launch on the shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-76, in March 1996, initiated an American presence in space that has continued uninterrupted to the present day. In fact, shortly after 2:00 a.m. CST, February 20, the running total on the continuous American presence in space passed 700 complete days.
As that milestone passed this morning, astronaut AndyThomas and his Mir-25 crewmates, commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, were in the Soyuz capsule attached to the Mir. With Musabayev at the controls, the Soyuz undocked from the Kvant-1 docking port and backed away, holding position while the station rotated 180-degrees. The Soyuz then moved back to dock at the transfer node. On February 23, a Progress resupply ship, which has been stationkeeping in a nearby orbit, will be commanded to rejoin the station at the Kvant-1 docking port.
Tomorrow, with operations related to the Russian crew handover complete, astronaut Andy Thomas will refocus his full attention on continuing work with the variety of experiments in the science program of his four-month tour of duty on Mir.
On February 24, Mir commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin will begin on-orbit preparations for a series of spacewalks beginning in March designed to make repairs to the damaged Spektr module. On March 3rd, they are scheduled to venture outside the station to install a series of handrails on the exterior of Spektr to facilitate subsequent spacewalks during which they will attempt to locate and repair the breach to the module's hull.
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Mir-25 - Week of February 27, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Culbertson Interview - NASA Phase 1 Manager Frank Culbertson updates progress onboard Mir
The final four-month tour of duty by an American astronaut on the Russian space station Mir has passed its first month, as astronaut Andy Thomas pursues his agenda of scientific research on orbit to learn more about how the human body adapts to long periods in a weightless environment.
This past Monday morning, Thomas and his Mir-25 crewmates-commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin-saw their home on orbit increase in size as a Progress resupply ship was remotely commanded to redock to the Mir's Kvant-1 module. That cargo ship had been in a nearby parking orbit since late January when the Soyuz capsule carrying the Mir-25 crewmembers arrived.
Now 30 days into their six-month mission, Musabayev and Budarin have been preparing for a series of spacewalks during which they'll begin efforts to locate and repair damage to the station's Spektr module, which was struck by another Progress ship last summer.
On Thursday all three men took time for a crew news conference, to discuss the their mission with reporters on the ground. Thomas described a typical day onboard the Mir, and he and Musabayev commented on how well the three are communicating with each other speaking Russian.
Thomas said he's adapted to life on the Mir well, and that despite all of his training he has experienced a sense of isolation that anyone spending an extended period in space could feel.
The work for the crew on the Mir Space Station this weekend consists primarily of final preparations for the upcoming spacewalk.
While astronaut Andy Thomas continues with the work of his scientific research, he will also assist Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin as they prepare their spacesuits and other tools for Monday's spacewalk.
At 7:30 p.m. CST Monday, Musabayev and Budarin will open the airlock hatch and exit the station's Kvant-2 module. During their excursion they are to install handrails on the exterior of the Spektr module, to facilitate future repair efforts, and to install a brace on the center beam of Spektr's damaged solar array. Their walk in space is scheduled to conclude at 1:30 a.m. CST Tuesday.
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Mir-25 - Week of March 6, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
The seventh and final American tour of duty on the Russian space station Mir is nearing the end of its sixth week, with astronaut Andy Thomas and his Russian cosmonaut colleagues pressing ahead with their program of scientific research on orbit designed to help prepare their two nations and their international partners for the upcoming assembly of a new, International Space Station.
A part of their duties involve maintenance to the 12-year-old Mir Space Station, and this week Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin had planned a spacewalk to the station's Spektr module. This was for the cosmonauts to install equipment to facilitate future efforts to repair the damage to that module caused during last summer's impact from a Progress re-supply ship.
But this past Monday, March 2, as the Russians were preparing to begin their spacewalk, they were unable to open one of the secondary latches on the kvant-2 module's airlock hatch. All of the primary and secondary latches on that hatch were specially tightened at the conclusion of the last Mir spacewalk, by Anatoly Solovyev and David Wolf in January, to try to obtain an airtight seal on the hatch which had experienced trouble holding full pressure since last November.
In their attempt to open that latch, the cosmonauts broke the only specialized wrench available in the airlock for that task, as well as a general purpose wrench head they employed in the effort. Replacement wrench and latch hardware will be delivered to the Mir on the next Progress re-supply ship, which is currently targeted for a March 15 launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Also onboard will be food, fuel, clothing and repair parts for a damaged trace contaminants removal system that overheated last week.
Assuming an on-time launch, the Progress cargo ship currently docked to the station's Kvant-1 module will be commanded to undock on Monday, March 16th, and then burn up as it enters the earth's atmosphere. The following day, the new Progress craft will arrive for a docking at the vacated Kvant-1 docking port.
Subsequently this week, Musabayev and Budarin employed another piece of equipment and successfully loosened the bolt on that secondary latch. Mission control in Korolev reports they would now be able to open the Kvant-2 airlock to conduct a spacewalk should one be required, but no spacewalks are currently being planned until after the arrival of that next Progress cargo ship.
Also this week, the cosmonauts completed installation of a new air conditioner and began testing the station's thermal loops where they are connected to the new unit. The crew has been closely monitoring the station's internal atmosphere since a contaminant filtration system briefly overheated last Thursday and produced a small amount of smoke; they report that the carbon monoxide levels had returned to normal by this past Sunday.
This week astronaut Andy Thomas will be focusing his attention on experiments in several of the major areas of investigation of his research program, while assisting Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin in seeing to the maintenance of their home on orbit.
Wednesday, March 18, Musabayev and Budarin will begin their on-orbit preparations for a series of spacewalks in late March and early April during which they will replace the propulsion system atop the kvant-1's Sofura boom. That system, which has assisted in providing attitude control for the Mir for the past 11 years, has nearly depleted its supply of propellant.
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Mir-25 - Week March 13, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Pellis Interview - Neal Pellis, Senior Scientist in Biotechnology, discusses Thomas's research program
The seventh American tour of duty on the Russian space station Mir nears the end of its seventh week, with astronaut Andy Thomas and his Russian cosmonaut colleagues making preparations for next weekÆs scheduled arrival of a new cargo craft carrying food, fuel, clothing and station hardware.
This morning Thomas talked about the status of his mission to the Mir, and described the variety of science heÆs been working on during the past week.
"We continue to grow the human cells in the bioreactor vessel. There have been some ongoing problems with bubbles occurring in the vessel, but we've had some success in reducing the size of those bubbles. In addition to that, this week I've been conducting materials processing experiments. We've processed six different kinds of metallic alloy melts in order determine the physical properties of these alloys, a task that is quite difficult to do in 1 g. In addition to these activities, we've been conducting environmental measurements onboard the station, including acoustic measurements of the background noise levels. We've been doing measurements of the radiation levels, as well as the cosmic ray radiation levels onboard. Finally, earlier in the week I took part as a test subject in an experiment that was designed to evaluate the response of the human immune system to microgravity. There is some evidence that the immune system changes somewhat in microgravity and we did an experiment involving injecting me with a harmless, fairly benign antigen to evaluate through successive blood draws the response of my immune system to that antigen."
Thomas has also been assisting his Russian crewmates with housekeepping
chores and regular maintenance to the Mir station. This week Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin activated a new air conditioning unit onboard the Mir, and have started installing a drying unit in the new Vosdukh carbon dioxide removal system in the stationÆs core module. That will allow the recovery and recyclying of more condensate from the MirÆs environment rather than dumping it overboard.
During an interview with NBC television, Thomas said he was having no real
problem communicating in Russian with his crewmates, so long as neither he nor they speak rapidly, and that he has several ways to deal with the feeling of
confinement that comes from spending 48 days inside the station.
"To deal with the confinement, you need to be able to psychologically remove yourself from it and for that you use recreational aids, much like you would on Earth, actually. We have music, CDs and tapes. I've got a good repertoire of movies on videotape that I can play. I've got books. I brought some paperback books to read. There's even a guitar up here that I've tried with somewhat limited success to play. So these are the kinds of things that I use in order to just relax and unwind and relieve tension and get away from things."
In todayÆs status report Thomas mentioned some hardware work being done on the cell growth experiment called COCULT and described the cellular activity occurring inside the reactor vessel, and talked about the reasons for conducting the research.
"We're trying to grow artificial tissue in what's called a "bioreactor vessel" that we have in a module onboard the space station. To do that on the ground is a complicated process that's tricky because the tissue tends to, of course, just fall down to the bottom of the vessel and sit there and that inhibits the growth of the tissue and it stops nutrients getting to it, and problems like that. In the weightless condition, of course, it won't fall down to the bottom of the vessel and with appropriate measures you can sustain feeding nutrients to it and so you can grow a piece of tissue. The idea is that you can grow a piece of synthetic or artificial tissue that you can then use in studies of the way tissue forms and in particular the way blood cells form in the tissue. And that's the experiment we have. We're actually growing simultaneously two kinds of tissue. One is human breast cancer cells and the other is essentially normal human cells so that we've got a parallel growth going on.ö
Now, hereÆs a look at some of the events coming up over the next couple of weeks for the crewmembers onboard the space station Mir.
March 14, at 4:40 p.m. CST, an unmanned progress resupply ship is to be
launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying new supplies of food, fuel, and hardware for the Mir-25 crewmembers.
Assuming that on-time launch, the Progress craft currently docked to the MirÆs
Kvant-1 module will be undocked March 15, at about 1:15 p.m. CST, to burn up in the EarthÆs atmosphere. Then at 6:27 p.m. CST on Monday March 16, the new Progress ship will conclude its two-day trip to the Mir for a link-up to the vacant Kvant-1 docking port.
The following week will see two milestones for the American space program. On Sunday March 22, at 2:13 a.m. CST, the continuous American presence in space will mark two full years since the launch of the shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-76 to bring astronaut Shannon Lucid to the Russian space station. The presence of an American astronaut on the Mir will mark its second anniversary at 7:30 a.m. CST on Tuesday, March 24th, two full years after Lucid officially became a Mir crewmember.
A week later, beginning on April 1st, Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin are scheduled to make the first in a series of spacewalks to replace a jet thruster package on the MirÆs Sofura boom, which has depleted its fuel supply after 11 years. A spacewalk to install repair hardware to the exterior of the Spektr module is now targeted for April 20th.| 2/6/98 | 2/13/98 | 2/20/98 | 2/27/98 | 3/6/98 | 3/13/98 | 3/20/98 | 3/27/98 |
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Mir-25 - Week of March 20, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
The seventh and final tour of duty by an American astronaut on the Russian space station Mir is nearing its halfway point, with astronaut Andy Thomas pursuing his agenda of scientific research while preparing to assist his cosmonaut crewmates prepare for a series of spacewalks next month during which they will continue a program of maintenance and upgrades to the orbiting Russian outpost.
Last Saturday, March 14, a Progress re-supply ship carrying food, fuel, clothing and repair gear was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan on a two-day trip to the Mir. The next day, Thomas and Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin closed the hatch on the Progress ship attached to the station's Kvant-1 module, and watched as it was undocked to make room for the new cargo carrier.
On Monday evening, March 16, the new Progress ship began its final approach to the Mir's Kvant-1 docking port, the rendezvous being managed with the automated Kurs docking system. Russian flight controllers say they noticed a problem with the alignment of the Progress and the Mir when that cargo craft was about 40 yards from its destination, and they instructed Musabayev to take over manual control of the docking, a task all Mir commanders train for. He did so, and the Progress ship was nosed-in to the Kvant-1 docking port shortly after 6:30 CST.
In an interview March 18, Thomas was asked about Monday evening's event, and for his reaction to the unplanned manual docking.
"No, actually, it wasn't until after the event that I was even aware that he had been required to take manual control. It was seamless, a beautiful piece of work. The docking was very smooth. We felt a slight nudge and a shudder in the station as the docking took place and as the systems latched together. It was all very benign really and went very well and the commander executed the work flawlessly."
Thomas also discussed some of the science work he's been doing so far during his eight weeks as a crewmember onboard Mir.
"It's called a bioreactor, and essentially what we're doing is providing an environment in which to grow human cells and these are actually human cancer cells. In fact there are two kinds of cells that are growing: human cancer cells and normal benign cells. The idea is that you can artificially grow these cells and look at the way they form structures and use that as a model for what takes place in the human body. And the particular structural elements that they're looking at, or going to look at postflight, and these elements is the way the cells vascularize, that is, the way blood vessels form as the cells amalgamate into tissue. And of course that's very important from a cancer point of view because it's the blood cells that actually feed that tumor and feed the growth, so if you can understand some of the mechanism of the way the blood cells form, you might be able to understand some of the basic mechanics of the growth cycle of the tumor, which is clearly very important. So that's the aim of that experiment. It's taking place in the Priroda Module. It runs continuously. And the weightless conditions here provide a very benign environment in which to grow that kind of tissue, so it's a very good environment for doing that kind of experiment. This experiment's much more difficult to do on the ground."
In light of the concerns posed by a lack of gravity, and with word of the discovery of water ice on earth's moon, Thomas was asked if he believes it would be easier to live on a lunar base-with one-sixth the gravity of earth-than it is to live weightless on a space station.
"I think it would be a completely different kind of situation because here we have no gravity. Everything is weightless and everything floats around and that causes a lot of problems when you're trying to function in this environment because you have to tie everything down, you need tethers on things or you need Velcro on things because they just float around in front of you and it can become a problem. You're forever losing things for example. Even in 1/6 g on the surface of the Moon you wouldn't have that problem. Things would stay where you put them, at least not very firmly perhaps, but they would stay there. And so I think that would make your whole work environment a lot easier, and of course, having some gravity probably would mitigate some of the deleterious effects of being in zero gravity that we're trying to evaluate. Of course, I personally think that just being on the surface of the Moon would be a quite extraordinary experience and it's certainly a journey that I would very much like to take although I think I probably won't see it my professional lifetime, but I'm sure it will happen in the not too distant future. I think it's going to be a fascinating adventure when it does."
As for whether he'd volunteer for a turn onboard the International Space Station, Thomas said he needs to finish this mission before he'll know the answer...when asked if he's happy onboard Mir, or if he's counting the days until he comes home, Thomas said he's felt many emotions during the two months he's been away from earth.
"There have been times when I've been yearning to get into some open space because this is a confining environment. There are times when I just think this is an extraordinary experience and we have some wonderful moments here, like being in zero gravity, and the camaraderie, and so on. The work I find interesting and that's very challenging. I cover the full gamut of all those experiences you just described. I think it can be likened sometimes to the feelings you might have if you were taking a long trip, perhaps a long cruise, for example, and you were enjoying, but there's times you would be homesick. There would be times when you'd just be fascinated by what you're doing and the places you're going. This kind of flight offers all of those emotions and all of those experiences as well."
Thomas' extended time in space - today is his 58th day on orbit - is the last scheduled increment of the first phase of the International Space Station program, in which Americans and Russians have been working together to better prepare both countries for assembling the next generation of orbiting space stations. He continues with the scientific agenda of this seventh American tour of duty on the Mir Space Station, monitoring the cell growth experiments in the bioreactor vessel and seeing to the variety of other experiments he's conducting.
This Sunday morning at 2:13 CST, the continuous presence of an American astronaut in space will pass two years since the launch of shuttle mission STS-76. And this coming Tuesday, March 24th, at 7:30am CST, the continuous presence of an American crewmember onboard the Mir Space Station will mark two years since astronaut Shannon Lucid officially began her stay on the Russian station.
Next Thursday, March 26, Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin will begin their on-orbit preparations for a series of spacewalks in the month of April. On Wednesday April 1, Moscow time, they'll open the Kvant-2 module's airlock hatch and conduct a spacewalk to install a brace on the damaged solar array on the Spektr module, as well as a series of handrails and footholds on Spektr to facilitate future efforts to locate and perhaps seal the breach in the module's hull.
The following Monday, April 6, Musabayev and Budarin will begin a series of four spacewalks over a two-week period during which they will replace the jet thruster package on the station's Sofora boom, which has nearly depleted its supply of propellant over the course of its 11 years of operation.
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Mir-25 - Week of March 27, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Alexandrov Interview - Cosmonaut Alexander Alexandrov describes the work planned for the Mir25 cosmonauts during upcoming spacewalk.
The third year of Americans onboard the Russian space station Mir has begun, as astronaut Andy Thomas wraps up the ninth week of his four-month tour of duty.
With Thomas onboard the Mir this past Sunday, March 22, the continuous presence of Americans in space passed two full years since the launch of the shuttle Atlantis to deliver astronaut Shannon Lucid to the orbiting Russian outpost. And this past Tuesday morning, March 24, at 7:30 CST, the presence of an American onboard the Mir marked its second anniversary since Lucid officially began her stint as a Mir crewmember.
This week Mir25 commander Talgat Musabayev, flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, and Thomas began preparing the spacesuits the Russians will wear during a series of spacewalks in April; today the crewmembers concentrated on preparing the Kvant-2 module's airlock.
Starting tomorrow, March 28, astronaut Andy Thomas will pick up with the continuing agenda of scientific research on his four-month tour of duty aboard Mir, while lending a hand to his crewmates as they get ready for their first walk in space. This Monday, March 30, the cosmonauts will don their spacesuits for a dry run inside the Mir of the tasks they will perform during that first spacewalk.
Then this Wednesday, April 1, Musabayev and Budarin are to conduct a nearly-six-hour excursion to the exterior of the Spektr module. They are to install a series of handrails and footholds to facilitate possible future repair efforts, and attach a brace to the solar array which was struck by a Progress re-supply ship last June. Russian designers say they want to reinforce that solar array to ensure it won't become further weakened and perhaps strike other portions of the station.
The following Monday, April 6, Musabayev and Budarin are to again venture outside the orbiting Russian outpost for the first in a series of spacewalks to the area of the Kvant-1 module, where they're to replace the jet thruster package atop the station's Sofora boom. That jet, used to help maintain station attitude control, has nearly depleted its supply of propellant after more than 11 years on orbit.
The task of replacing that jet package will be continued in spacewalks which are now targeted for Saturday, April 11, and again on Thursday, April 16. Russian spacewalk specialists say if a fourth spacewalk is needed to complete the task, it will occur on Tuesday, April 21.
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Mir-25 - Week of April 3, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Alexandrov Interview - Cosmonaut Alexander Alexandrov discusses the upcoming Sofora boom spacewalks
The seventh tour of duty by an American astronaut on the Russian space station Mir is nearing the end of its tenth week. Astronaut Andy Thomas is pressing ahead with his agenda of scientific research, while his cosmonaut colleagues have started a series of five spacewalks planned for the month of April.
Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin conducted the first of those spacewalks this past Wednesday, March 29, when they opened the airlock hatch and exited the Kvant-2 module to continue work on the exterior of the station's Spektr module. The plan for the six-hour excursion was to install a brace to shore-up the damaged Spektr solar array, which was struck by a progress re-supply ship last summer, and a series of handrails and footholds to facilitate any future efforts to locate and repair the breach in Spektr's hull.
This week the cosmonauts experienced no difficulty in opening the airlock hatch, as they did when they first attempted this spacewalk last month, and they proceeded to the Spektr module where they installed one handrail and one foothold. However, the time required to install that one work station kept them from completing all their scheduled tasks, including the installation of the brace to the damaged solar array.
Musabayev and Budarin left the uninstalled hardware, including the solar array brace, secured to the work station they had installed and re-entered the station after almost six-and-a-half hours of work in space. They are now planning to complete the work outside the Spektr module at the beginning of the next spacewalk, which is scheduled for this coming Monday, April 6.
While Musabayev and Budarin are slated for another four spacewalks during the month of April, Thomas, who moitored his crewmates' activity from inside the station, noted that he has quite a bit of work in a number of other areas to keep him busy for the remainder of his time onboard the Mir.
His primary duty is conducting a variety of scientific experiments, including one called COCULT, in which he is attempting to cultivate three-dimensional cell tissues. Thomas and COCULT investigators have been working for some time to eliminate large air bubbles inside the reactor vessel, with thus far limited success.
Beginning this weekend Thomas will be assisting his Russian crewmates get ready for their next spacewalk this coming Monday, April 6, when they are to complete work on the Spektr module; the installation of a second work station and a brace to the module's damaged solar array. Then the cosmonauts will begin a series of spacewalks around the Sofora boom where they are to replace a jet thruster package which helps maintain station attitude control. That thruster has nearly depleted the supply of propellant it was launched with more than 11 years ago.
Additional spacewalks involving the Sofora boom jet thruster package are scheduled for the following Saturday, April 11, Thursday, April 16, and then a final excursion to complete the jet thruster replacement on Tuesday, April 21.
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Mir-25 - Week of April 10, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
Jerry Miller Interview - Johnson Space Center spacewalk operations officer talks about upcoming Mir spacewalks
Andy Thomas Interview - Thomas is interviewed for Australian television station KTZZ
Today is Andy Thomas' 76th day as a crewmember onboard the Mir, and the 79th day since his launch on the shuttle Endeavour in January. He continues his variety of scientific investigations while his Russian colleagues continue a month-long series of spacewalks.
Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, now in the 72nd day of their six-month mission, conducted the second spacewalk of their tour this past Monday, April 6, to complete the installation of work stations to the exterior of the station's Spektr module. Also on their agenda was the installation of a brace to shore-up the solar array on Spektr which was damaged last summer when it was struck by a Progress re-supply ship.
The Mir-25 cosmonauts are slated to begin the third spacewalk of their six-month mission tomorrow morning, April 11. With Andy Thomas monitoring systems from inside the station, Musabayev and Budarin will exit the station's airlock and begin work on the Kvant-1 module to replace the jet thruster package at the end of the Sofora boom.
This Sunday, April 12, the Mir-25 crew and the rest of the world will mark two anniversaries in the history of space exploration. Cosmonautics Day marks the 37th anniversary of the day Soviet air force lieutenant Yuri Gagarin rode a Vostok rocket into orbit, becoming the first person ever to go to space. Sunday is also the 17th anniversary of the launch of the first re-usable space vehicle, when astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen rode the space shuttle Columbia to orbit on its first manned test flight.
On Monday, April 13, Andy Thomas will return his full attention to the science agenda onboard Mir, while his cosmonaut crewmates will focus on preparations for the fourth spacewalk of their six-month mission.
Musabayev and Budarin are to continue their work on the replacement of the jet thruster with a second Spacewalk to the Sofora boom one week from today, April 17, and then conduct what's expected to be the final spacewalk in this series on Wednesday, April 22.
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Mir-25 - Week of April 17, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
With all Mir Space Station systems in stable condition, Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin completed their fourth space walk this morning, which involved preparing a new thruster jet assembly for next week's installation atop 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.
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.
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Mir-25 - Week of April 24, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas neared his 100th day in orbit, continuing his scientific research on the Russian Space Station Mir. 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.
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.
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.
Thomas' scientific research program is continuing with his primary focus on the Biotechnology System Co-Culture (CoCult) 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.
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.
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Mir-25 - Week of May 1, 1998
Andy Thomas Interview - Andy talks with Dan Billow in Orlando, and Ed Green in Denver
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
As 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. The crew members enjoyed a relatively leisurely day in orbit today as Russian flight controllers observed May Day celebrations.
On Wednesday, Budarin celebrated his 45th birthday by speaking to his wife, Marina, his two sons and friends via a two-way video link.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Mir-25 - Week of May 8, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
The seventh and final tour of duty by an American astronaut onboard the Russian space station has entered its final weeks, as astronaut Andy Thomas passes more than 100 days onboard the orbiting Mir complex with a month to go before the scheduled arrival of the space shuttle Discovery to return him to Earth. Last Saturday the space shuttle was rolled out to launch pad 39-b at the Kennedy Space Center in florida, where ground crews continue preparations for the targeted June 2 launch of mission STS-91.
It was a week ago today that Thomas completed his 100th day in space since his launch on the shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-89; and as of today his cosmonaut crewmates, Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, have now spent 100 days in space since they were launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan on a six-month mission.
During the month of April, Musabayev and Budarin completed five spacewalks, totaling just more than 30 hours outside the Mir, during which they installed a new attitude control thruster and braced-up the damaged solar array on the Spektr module.
During the coming week, Thomas and his crewmates will be busy preparing for the arrival of a new shipment of supplies from Russia. A Progress re-supply ship is now scheduled to be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome next Thursday, May 14, and will arrive at the Mir two days later.
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Mir-25 - Week of May 15, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
As he nears the end of his tour onboard the Russian Space Station Mir, American astronaut Andy Thomas has started the final science experiments of his four-month mission and has begun packing some of his equipment in anticipation of his scheduled return to earth less than a month from now.
Today is the 111th day of Thomas' tour of duty onboard the Russian space station, and the 105th day of the six-month mission of Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin. All three men are preparing for tomorrow's scheduled arrival of a Progress resupply ship, which was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan yesterday afternoon CDT.
Later today, with the final packing of unneeded items into the Progress ship now attached to the Mir's Kvant-1 module complete, that cargo craft will be undocked and sent off to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. That will open up a port for the new Progress ship to link up with the Mir and deliver its cargo of food, fuel, clothing, and other supplies for the continued operation of the space station. That docking is scheduled to occur at 6:52 p.m. CDT Saturday.
Thomas' four-month tour of duty on the Russian space station is to conclude early next month, with the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on the ninth and final Shuttle-Mir docking mission.
After Thomas returns to Earth next month, NASA and the Russian space agency will refocus the efforts of the Shuttle-Mir program to beginning the on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station, employing the lessons they've learned during the past four years of flying together on the shuttle and the Mir.
On-orbit research was one of the topics discussed during this week's preflight briefings on the upcoming shuttle mission, STS-91. Dr. John Uri, NASA's Shuttle-Mir mission scientist, said all seven American astronauts who've gone to the Mir have had successful research programs, and said one of the most important science lessons has been about how to conduct research in space.
"Science is an ongoing activity. It's very rare when you get a massive breakthrough. We've had significant firsts that we've done on Mir. The bioreactor work is certainly one of them. In terms of the plant growth, that's certainly been very significant. What we've really learned about is how to do the science in general. How to operate it, how to train for it, how to timeline it. I think that's probably been the most valuable experience that we can pass on to ISS."
The cooperative effort between the American and Russian space programs is the first phase of the International Space Station program. Astronaut Frank Culbertson, NASA's Shuttle-Mir program manager, said the phase 1 lessons of multinational cooperation are already being put to use in the next phase of the International Space Station program.
"We've compiled a great deal of lessons learned into databases and published reports. We have conducted debriefings from the crew and all people who've been involved in the missions to pass on information that's applicable to future space operations, and the other thing we're beginning to do is move people from one place to the other, moving people from Phase 1 into Phase 2 who can carry their experience, their knowledge, their own lessons learned into the future operations. We think that's the most important part of what we're doing, when we take what we've done now in Phase 1, apply it to Phase 2, and modify it for the reality of Phase 2, I think we'll have a much better program.
"As other people have said in the recent past, it's very difficult to imagine beginning Phase 2, beginning the assembly of an International Space Station, beginning operations without doing what we've done during the Shuttle-Mir program. Getting to know how to operate in space, getting to know how to work with an international partner, getting to understand the Russian way of doing business and they getting to understand the way we do business has been critical to beginning the operations in space"
Culbertson's feelings about the value of the Shuttle-Mir program were echoed by Randy Brinkley, NASA's International Space Station program manager, during another briefing this week. Brinkley applauded the Russian's confident attitude in the face of problems on orbit, and said the program has produced many lessons, particularly when the unexpected occurred.
"That experience has not been limited to the Phase 1 program. We have benefited in the International Space Station. The difficulties with the fire on orbit, with the collision, all of those things, and understanding the causes and being able to look at those in terms of the potential impact to the International Space Station and making changes to our procedures, to our design, have certainly benefited the International Space Station. But there's an intangible aspect to that that is equally if not more important and that is the confidence of working together. Having worked through difficulties together gives you a much greater confidence in one another and it certainly has improved our working relationship, not only in the Shuttle-Mir, but that has been certainly the case throughout the International Space Station program. That's something that I've learned from our Russians partners, who have always somehow been able to find a way, find a way to fix the Mir, find a way to do things based on our knowledge of resources we would believe was impossible and collectively. All of us together have been able to find a way to work through a number of difficulties, so I'm very proud of our team and I feel that we will continue to find a way."
Charlie Precourt, the commander of STS-91 was involved the first time an American shuttle linked up with the Russian station, and in addition to a pair of trips to the Mir, also served as NASA's director of operations in Star City. Precourt said he has seen considerable progress as a result of the two nations having worked together for four years.
"I think we were a very modest beginning when Sergei flew. I sat at the Control Center as Franklin's CAPCOM and we struggled through how we were going to coordinate working with each other and the language difficulties and that kind of thing, and now we get along just fine doing the most complex things you can imagine. I remember before STS-71 for the first docking when there was some complication with the delivery of the Spektr module, we didn't know what configuration the Mir would be in and whether that was going to complicate things for the docking, and now, I don't want to say it's routine, but we have perfected the approaches to the Mir such that we're using roughly one-third of the fuel that we used when we began to go from the manual phase to where we end because we've perfected the technique so well. So just the ability for the two countries to work through some very, very hard times stands as a good example of how well we've been able to overcome the obstacles that many people thought in the beginning we couldn't overcome, and we've overcome far more. It's been a great learning curve, very great experience to be part of and I think it's a good sign for the future."
While the primary mission of this flight of discovery is to bring Thomas back to Earth, mission specialist Valery Ryumin, the Russian director of the phase 1 program, will conduct an inspection of the Mir Space Station while the two spacecraft are docked together. At this week's crew news conference Ryumin discussed his survey plans, and Precourt noted that having Ryumin as part of a shuttle crew will benefit both space programs down the road.
Ryumin: "During our docked phase with the Mir for four days I will be involved in addressing a list of questions compiled by our station designers, questions that only a person who is experienced in this field can properly answer. These questions include issues of the condition of the hull, the condition of the cabling, and the condition of various feedthroughs between modules. In short, those items of the station that cannot be replaced on orbit. As you know, approximately 90% of the equipment that we bring up into space can be replaced; however, the remaining 10% cannot and it is this 10% that ultimately determines the lifetime of the station, and these will be the issues with which I will be occupied during the flight."
Precourt: "He was modest enough to say that he wasn't given a whole lot of tasks for the shuttle, but he will be quite busy. We have given him a lot of things to do, including setting up the communications with the Mir while we're doing our rendezvous. What he didn't mention is that he will go back and be a manager of the Phase 2 program for the Russians on the International Space Station and he will take with him experience and knowledge about the shuttle and our capabilities and limitations that few, if any, will have in Russia that he can use to great benefit as we try to come to quicker decisions in critical situations in the future, which I'm sure we will have. He'll have the benefit of that background and that knowledge. The only similar people on our side that have an equivalent experience are those that have had the long-duration flights on Mir, and none of them, to this point yet, have any serious management experience with the operation and the construction of the station as he has, so this is a great opportunity for both sides to really capitalize on building experience that will be helpful in the future."
During the four days the shuttle is docked to the station, the astronauts and cosmonauts will be transferring more than two tons of equipment and other supplies between the two vehicles. Astronaut Wendy Lawrence, who will be in charge of that on-orbit moving job, said that much of the material coming back on Discovery has been on Mir for some time in support of the American scientific effort.
"Actually this is a fairly routine transfer mission. We will continue to bring up water and food for the station. Certainly our top priority is to retrieve Andy Thomas - certainly in his opinion that's our top priority. Next on the list, I would think, is all of his scientific results and he had a full complement of experiments that he conducted during his stay, and his still conducting. There are some U.S. scientific hardware items that we would like to bring down on the shuttle and we will do so. There are also Russian hardware items that will come back down, equipment that has been replaced that we will return to the Russians. Actually, it's a very standard mission in that regard. I think Shannon's books will stay up there for the cosmonauts to enjoy. There are probably several U.S. items that have been brought up by previous crew members that we'll just leave to the cosmonauts who will follow the present crew."
Launch of STS-91 remains targeted for June 2. NASA managers are to meet at the Kennedy space center on Wednesday, May 20th, for a flight readiness review and should then set an official launch date.
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Mir-25 - Week of May 22, 1998
Interview with Frank Culbertson - NASA's Phase 1 Program Manager discusses activities on the Mir
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
121 days into his four-month mission, astronaut Andy Thomas is wrapping up his scientific investigations onboard the Russian space station Mir and packing his equipment and personal items for his scheduled return to Earth on June 12 onboard the shuttle Discovery.
Last Saturday evening, U.S. time, Thomas and his Russian crewmates, Mir-25 commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, greeted the arrival of a new shipment of supplies with the successful docking to the station of a Progress resupply ship.
This week NASA managers conducted the flight readiness review for mission STS-91, and set June 2 as the launch date for the final space shuttle flight to dock with the space station Mir. This 10-day mission will deliver logistics and supplies to the Russian space station, and return Andy Thomas from his tour of duty.
Scores of scientific investigations in a number of disciplines have been conducted by the seven Americans who have served onboard the Mir. In an interview Thomas summarized the scientific and operational lessons learned during the Shuttle-Mir program.
"We've learned a lot of technical things, like how to bring the shuttle up to a space station, how to dock, how to transfer supplies, how to perform all those technical functions you need to support an operating space station. We've also learned some very important things about how to work together in a spirit of coopration, how to understand each other and understand the programmatic requirements that each side has and issues like that. And of course we've learned how to live and operate and function on a day-to-day basis in an orbiting laboratory such as the space station."
It was four months ago today that Thomas was launched on the shuttle Endeavour to begin his tour of duty on the Russian space station; now just three weeks away from his scheduled return to the Kennedy Space Center, Thomas said he's eager to get home and a bit amazed that he's been gone so long.
"Sometimes I have to pinch myself to think of it that it has been 17 weeks since I arrived up here. I am definitely looking forward to being at home again. It's quite some time since I lived in my own house because I was training for this flight a year before in Russia, so I'm looking forward to living at home and just living a normal life for a while again."
Once Discovery reaches the Mir, one member of the shuttle crew will spend most of the four days of docked operations conducting an engineering survey of the orbiting Russian outpost. Mission specialist Valery Ryumin, a former Mir flight director and now the Russian manager of the Shuttle-Mir program, will be examining Mir to find out how its components have weathered their time in space.
The results of Ryumin's inspection of the Mir will be of use to designers of the International Space Station, which is intended to remain on orbit years longer than the Mir has already spent in space.
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Mir-25 - Week of May 29, 1998
Mission Status Report - Filed from Korolev, Russia
After 128 days in space, astronaut Andy Thomas is wrapping up the final chores of his scientific research agenda on the space station Mir and putting things in order for the conclusion of his tour of duty with next week's scheduled arrival of the space shuttle Discovery to return him to Earth.
Thomas began his mission to the Mir in late January with the Mir-24 cosmonauts; since mid-February he has lived and worked onboard the Russian space station with Mir-25 flight engineer Nikolai Budarin and commander Talgat Musabayev, who will remain onboard the Mir until the arrival of a new trio of cosmonauts in August. In a recent interview reviewing his mission, Thomas discussed the range of science he's been conducting, and the condition of the station itself, which suffered through a series of problems last year.
". . . free of any problems, remarkably peaceful and benign flight by any standards. It's true that in the previous year that there were a number of problems on Mir, quite serious in some cases, but I think if you look at the more recent history you'll see that the situation here has been remarkably stabilized and we've got a very benign operation right now . . . Everything is in very good working order. After the collision last year, of course, the Spektr module depressurized, and that is still depressurized and closed off from the rest of the station, but the solar cells on that module are still providing electricity to support the operations of the station . . . I've been working on a host of experiments, some biotechnology experiments, some materials science experiments, plus a number of experiments to document the environment we have here on the space station. Perhaps the one that's occupied most of my research time has been one of the biotechnology experiments, which has been striving to grow human cancer cells in a zero-gravity environment. For various reasons you can do that in the benign conditions of zero gravity with more success, some feel, than you can do in the 1-g conditions on Earth, and that's what we've been attempting to do. It's not been without its problems, but at this point we're keeping our fingers crossed and being cautiously optimistic."
Thomas also said that over the course of his time in space he's been surprised at how easily he adapted to living in a weightless environment, and that he will miss it once he comes home. Since he's due back on Earth in just two weeks, Thomas was asked if he's counting the days remaining in his mission.
"I've tried not to do that actually. You know, you can easily get caught in a trap of counting the days and focusing on the end and trying to get back and that just makes it a difficult task and that's not constructive, it's self-defeating. What you want to do is focus on what you're doing at the present time and what you have in hand and enjoy the environment that you have for what it offers you. And that way you can get a lot out of the flight and then you don't focus on the end and time passes productively and quickly. I've tried to adopt more of that kind of attitude, but I freely admit, at this stage of the flight, having done something like 17 and a half weeks on orbit, I will be very keen to get home. I haven't lived in my own home for something like 18 months because I was training in Russia, so I'm going to be very keen to get back and just relax in my own home for a while. That's going to be a nice feeling . . . I certainly would like to have another flight. I don't know if I'm going to be up to another long-duration flight like this one. This does take a lot of determination to complete, a flight like this. It's by no means easy. But I certainly would like to fly again on the shuttle if that's possible and there's going to be some very interesting flights coming up in the coming years with the construction of the International Space Station and perhaps I'll be able to participate in those."
Thomas' flight to the Russian space station is the seventh and final increment of a program of U.S.-Russian cooperation that was designed to teach the space agencies of both nations how to work together before joining their global partners in the assembly of the International Space Station.
The upcoming space shuttle mission, which will wrap up that program, will conclude nearly 1000 days of Americans and Russians working together in space.
Tomorrow morning, at 11:30 a.m. CDT, STS-91 commander Charlie Precourt and his six crewmates will arrive at the Kennedy space center to begin final preparations for their scheduled Tuesday afternoon launch. The countdown for the launch of the third space shuttle mission of the year is set to begin at 8 p.m. CDT Saturday.
Another milestone in the American space program will be observed this Sunday morning: 3:13 a.m. CDT on Sunday marks the conclusion of 800 full days since the launch of mission STS-76, and 800 consecutive days that there has been at least one American in space.
Assuming an on-time launch, Discovery is to dock to the Mir for the final time just before noon on Thursday, June 4, and when the hatches between the two vessels are opened, now scheduled for 1:45 p.m. Thursday, Andy Thomas' tour of duty on the Mir will be completed, and the last leg of his four-month-mission will commence.
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