MIRNEWS.383    10 SEPTEMBER 1997

Progress-M35:

This old supply-ship has been keeping watch at the aft
(Kvant-1) docking port as of 18.08, the day of the redocking. Due to the
well-known priorities the crew has not paid any attention to this ship
until 8.09.97. One of the first tasks of the this day was the opening of
the hatch and the inspection of Pr-M35's interior. The main function of
the Pr-M35 was the protection of the docking mechanism of Kvant-1 against
the sun. The freighter has still room in which garbage and other no
longer needed material can be stowed. During the first pass for our
position in orb. 65998 (0522UTC) preparations for the opening of the
hatch were going on. The crew got permission to open the hatch after
the air seal checks.
During the next pass in orb. 65999 ( the Russians consider this orbit
to be number 66000) the hatch had already been opened but Solovyov had
set this ajar for the smell which came out of the Pr-M35 was far from
a 'kurort smell'. The crew however had to cease all activities with
the Pr-M35 due to other concerns.

Main Computer failure:

In the pass in orb. 65999 TsUP wants to discuss
the air seal check with Vinogradov. V. interrupts TsUP with the statement
that a few minutes ago (exactly 0700UTC) the Ts.V.M.-1 had shut itself
down. After this report followed the usual chain reaction: the SUD
(system for movements- or attitude control) stopped and Foale reported
that this was also the case with the SUD in Module-D (Kvant-2). Systems
like SRV-U (regeneration of water from urine) and Elektron had to be
switched off. TsUP gave orders to burn 3 lithium perchlorate cartridges
for oxygen generation. (Solovyov stated repeatedly that the delivery of a
new supply of those cartridges during mission STS-86 is badly needed.)
Foale reported that the angle of the solar panels to the sun was
unfavourable, but that the complex though inclining a little bit on one
side, was stable. In passing TsUP stated that they have a jubilee: the
66000th orbit of MIR's Base Block. This statement did not evoke joyful
reactions or congratulations.

In spite of the complicated situation on board there was some excitement:
the 'scapegoats of the space era' ,Tsibliyev and Lazutkin, visited TsUP
and had a short conversation with their colleagues in space. Foale, the
crewman with a great sense of humour, told Tsibliyev that his 'darling'
the SUD, again chucked the thing. After a short conversation with
these 2 poor guys on earth about the fact that they would depart for a
vacation, the crew set back to work.

About the computer:

The crew restarted the computer, but failed to find
the cause of the failure. So they switched the computer off. A
specialist told Vinogradov that there must be a spare Ts.M.O. on board
which eventually could be used to replace the present Ts.M.O. (Central
Module for Data exchange). The failure of the Ts.V.M.-1 during the
redocking operation of the Pr-M35 had probably been caused by a
defective Ts.M.O. In the course of the day it was obvious that the crew
had everything under control and that the repair of the computer was
successfully proceeding.

During the night Solovyov was on duty to keep his eye on the situation 
and to assist TsUP during the reloading of the repaired computer. In the
morning of 9.09 Solovyov was still on duty during the first pass over
here in orbit 66013, 0427UTC.

Depending on the state of the SEP (Power supply system) they would power
up the rest of the gyrodyna's this day. During the next pass Vinogradov
was on duty and Solovyov tried to get some rest in his sleeping bag.
Already 6 gyrodyna's were spinning, the Elektron had been switched on,
lights were burning and ventilators were buzzing again. Vinogradov
reported about the problems he had met while powering up the computer. He
had met the same problems like Lazutkin a few weeks ago.

Stabilization:

At the beginning of the next day (10.09) it was obvious
that the situation had been stabilising gradually. All available
gyrodyna's were functioning and the crew could eventually restart
experiments. The main activity consisted of the reanimation of the Module
Priroda. The interior of this module will be dried with hot air. To
blow this hot air into the module air-hoses are used.

Next spacewalk (EVA): After the arrival of Progress-M36 in the beginning
of October.

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