MIRNEWS.373    28 JULY 1997

Routine:

After the announcement of the postponement of the IVA the whole crew
showed a great disappointment that they would not do that. But
immediately it was obvious that the the mood on board was much better.
Though 10 days ago they energetically and skilfully worked on the IVA
preparations they possibly shrank from the task itself. Many Americans
expressed concern about the question what the crew would have to do
during the period until their relief. Apparently they thought there on
would be an idling bunch of cosmonauts on board. This is not true at all:
Foale immediately started to fulfil that part of the experimental program
for which he does not need the Spektr module: the greenhouse, the study
of crystalstructures, the beetle experiment and earth observations. And
he himself is there: he can continue medical and psychological
experiments. He told his American colleagues that the cooled modules
Kristall and Priroda attract moisture from the rest of the complex and
that the greatest condensation appears in these modules.

Tsibliyev and Lazutkin are now able to concentrate on the preparations
for their return and to continue in a more relaxed way maintenance- and
repairwork of the life support systems.

Using airducts and ventilators Lazutkin blew warm air into the Priroda
module and dried this module as much as possible. In a conversation with
Mark at TsUP Foale praised Lazutkin for that what he had achieved. The
drying of the Priroda made it possible to use it to stow away the hard-
and software for the French Pegase expedition and for material and
spareparts for the lifesystems of the complex. Tsibliyev is again fully
in command and presents himself in the way I still remember from his
flight in 1993/94.

Altair-2:

This geostationary satellite is in use regularly , more than Altair-1 in
the past, but in view of the fact that 16 windows a day might be
possible, they use this possibility relatively seldom. Altair-2 enables
the crew to have longer conversations with controllers and experts on
Earth. Especially Foale extensively uses this opportunity. The satellite
is also in use for the exchange of video images and data to Earth.
Obviously the use of the transceiver on board for these communications is
limited due to cooling demands. The transceiver and the Elektron have the
same coolingloop. Not always the full window for communications via
Altair-2 is used. This was the case on 27 and 28.07.

Cable disconnection:

It is still unknown who is to blame for this incident. The incident took
place during a training for the IVA. During the real IVA this cable has
to be disconnected to make it possible to close the hatch between
Kristall and the P.Kh.O. So this disconnection must have been mentioned
in the timetable for the IVA. I wonder whether or not there was anybody
in TsUP who had to monitor the activities of the crew and to warn them
not to disconnect that cable, because this was an exercise and not the
real thing. Head of Flightcontrol Solovyov shouted: 'This is not a
kindergarten'. Whom did he cry to: the crew or the people with him on
Earth?

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