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Cosmonaut's Heart Condition Delays Mir Repairs
A recently-reported heart irregularity in Mir commander Vasily Tsibliev will delay a critical internal spacewalk that had been scheduled for later this week to restore power from the solar panels mounted on the damaged Spektr module, and may require American Michael Foale to take his place.
![[image of Tsibliev]](../970715/images2/tsibliev.jpg)
Tsibliev reported the heart problem July 14 in a conversation with a doctor at Russian mission control. He said he had noticed the heart irregularity while trying to sleep last Friday night and again Monday while exercising. He blamed it on stress from the June 25 collision of a Progress resupply craft with the Spektr module.
Tsibliev and fellow cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin were scheduled to perform a critical, dangerous "internal spacewalk" late this week to replace the hatch separating the Spektr module with a new hatch that will allow power cables from the solar panels mounted on the module to pass through.
"Will I be able to make the trip?" he nervously asked the Russian doctor. The doctor told him to calm down and not take any medication at this time.
The repairs have already been delayed by a week to allow the Mir crew and cosmonauts on the ground to practice the repair. The Mir crew will study a film of a rehearsed repair spacewalk performed in a pool before conducting their own rehearsal July 15. The film was sent to the station in a television transmission July 14, but the rehearsal was delayed due to Tsibliev's condition.
NASA sources originally said that Foale will not take part in the spacewalk, despite Tsibliev's ill health. However, on July 15 one NASA official said the agency was considering a request by the Russian Space Agency to have Foale take Tsibliev's place on the spacewalk.
The repair spacewalk will likely be delayed by up to 8-10 days from the scheduled July 18 date, sources reported Tuesday.