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Mir Relief Crew Prepares for Repair Spacewalk
A two-man relief crew arrived on the Russian space station Mir August 7 and prepared for an important internal spacewalk August 20 to restore power from the solar panels attached to the disabled Spektr module.
![[image of new Mir crew members]](../970815/images2/mirnewcrew.jpg)
Station commander Anatoly Solovyov and flight engineer Pavel Vinogradov arrived at Mir on August 7, two days after their Soyuz TM-26 spacecraft launched from Baikonur. The docking was performed manually after problems developed with the automatic docking system as the Soyuz craft made its approach.
Solovyov and Vinogradov replaced the hard-luck crew of Vasily Tsibliev and Alexander Lazutkin, who returned to Earth August 14. American astronaut Michael Foale remained on the station. Foale will return to Earth after the STS-86 shuttle-Mir docking mission in late September.
The new crew has its share of problems to deal with. The primary oxygen generating unit failed in early August and cannot be repaired until parts arrive on the shuttle next month. A secondary unit is in the powered-down Kvant-2 module and cannot be turned on. Russian officials said it should work should the internal spacewalk be a success and power restored.
The crew is using lithium perchlorate candles to generate oxygen. The crew as sufficient supply to last well into October, at which time one of both oxygen generating units should be repaired. Both a shuttle docking and a Progress resupply mission are scheduled to take place before then as well.
The Mir crew also faces a potential water shortage. Water supplies from the station's recycling systems are tainted with antifreeze from leaks in the system earlier this year and are not considered drinkable. Tests on water samples returned from the station to Earth last week will see if the level of contamination is still too high.
If the water is still unsafe to drink, the crew will continue to use separate fresh water supplies, which could run out as soon as late September. Both the shuttle and the Progress module plan to bring new supplies of fresh water to Mir at around the time the current supplies are running low.
"The overall water situation in terms of how much is on board and how far it will stretch is something we are going to have to watch very carefully," said Shuttle-Mir program manager Frank Culbertson.
Despite these problems, Solovyov and Vinogradov are still preparing for an August 20 internal spacewalk to replace the hatch separating the Spektr module from the rest of Mir with a new version with connections for power cables from Spektr's solar panels.
During the spacewalk Vinogradov will remove the hatch and reach into Spektr to connect the power cables to the new hatch, while Solovyov assists from the node. Foale will wait in the Soyuz spacecraft should problems develop during the repairs.
The spacewalk was planned to take place last month, but was delayed when former Mir commander Tsibliev developed heart problems and when the station temporarily lost power after a crew member accidentally disconnected a cable powering the attitude control system on the station.