Soyuz TM-23 was a
Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалис ...
spaceflight which launched on February 21, 1996, to ''
Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
''.
[The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-TM-23.htm] The spacecraft launched from
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
, and after two days of flight,
Yuri Onufrienko
Col. Yuri Ivanovich Onufrienko (russian: Юрий Иванович Онуфриенко, ua, Юрій Іванович Онуфрієнко; born 6 February 1961) is a retired Russian cosmonaut. He is a veteran of two extended spaceflights, aboa ...
and
Yury Usachov
Yury Vladimirovich Usachov (russian: Юрий Владимирович Усачёв; born October 9, 1957) is a former cosmonaut who resides in Star City, Moscow. Usachov is a veteran of four spaceflights, including two long duration missions on b ...
docked with Mir and became the 21st resident crew of the Station.
On September 2, 1996, after 191 days docked with Mir, the ship undocked with the launch crew and
Claudie André-Deshays
Claudie is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Claudie Blakley (born 1974), English actress
*Claudie Haigneré (born 1957), French doctor, politician, and former astronaut
*Claudie Minor
Claudie Minor is a former offensive tack ...
onboard, before eventually landing south west of Akmola,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.
Crew
Highlights
Onufrienko and Usachev began their mission without a third crew member. American astronaut
Shannon Lucid
Shannon Wells Lucid (born January 14, 1943) is an American biochemist and retired NASA astronaut. At one time, she held the record for the longest duration stay in space by an American and by a woman. She has flown in space five times including ...
would join them in late March 1996 during
STS-76
STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for ''Atlantis''. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 08:13:04 UTC from Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39B. STS-76 lasted over 9 days, traveled about while orbiting Ear ...
and depart the Mir 20 mission in September 1996 with
STS-79
STS-79 was the 17th flight of Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', and the 79th mission of the Space Shuttle program. The flight saw ''Atlantis'' dock with the Russian space station Mir to deliver equipment, supplies and relief personnel. A variety of sc ...
.
[ ]
Mir Principal Expedition 21
February 1996 - Mir 21 Begins
Progress M-30 Undocked and Soyuz TM-23 Launched
On February 21, Soyuz TM-23 launched from
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
with the cosmonauts for Mir Principle Expedition 21. To clear a docking port for the Soyuz TM-23, the
Progress M-30
Progress M-30 () was a Russian unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft, which was launched in December 1995 to resupply the Mir space station.
Launch
Progress M-30 launched on 8 December 1995 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It used a So ...
was undocked on February 22 and re-entered over the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. The Soyuz docked on February 23 at the +X docking port on the rear of the Kvant module. An hour and a half after docking, the hatches opened and the Soyuz TM-23 crew were greeted by
Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko (russian: link=no, Юрий Павлович Гидзенко; born March 26, 1962) is a Russian cosmonaut. He was a test cosmonaut of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (TsPK). Gidzenko has flown into space thre ...
,
Sergei Avdeyev
Sergei Vasilyevich Avdeyev (Сергей Васильевич Авдеев; born 1 January 1956) is a Russian engineer and cosmonaut.
Avdeyev was born in Chapayevsk, Samara Oblast (formerly Kuybyshev Oblast), Russian SFSR. He graduated from Mosc ...
and
Thomas Reiter
Thomas Arthur Reiter (born 23 May 1958 in Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the ...
, members of Mir Principle Expedition 20 and
Euromir 95. This began a week of joint operations where Mir 20 handed the station over to Mir 21, including familiarization with the current conditions of the projects and the station itself. Two days before the return flight, a water leak appeared in the Mir base block, but the cosmonauts were able to repair it.
Mir 20/Euromir 95 Mission Ends
Gidzenko, Avdeyev and Reiter donned their Sokol launch and reentry suits and entered the
Soyuz TM-22
Soyuz TM-22 was a Soyuz spaceflight to the Soviet space station Mir.The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-tm22.htm It launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch Pad 1 on September 3, 1995. After two d ...
on February 29, 1996. They landed safely about 105 km from Arkalyk. Their mission lasted 179 days, 1 hour and 42 minutes. Reiter then held the record for spaceflight duration by a Western European.
[ ]
March 1996 - Atlantis Visits Mir for the Third Time
First EVA for Mir 21
On March 15, Onufrienko and Usachev exited the Kvant 2 EVA hatch for their first space walk. Because the existing Strela could not be used to reach the Kristall module in its current location, they installed a second Strela boom on the Mir base block, on the side opposite the Strela already in place. In the 5 hour, 51 minute EVA, they also prepared cables and electrical connectors on the surface of the Kvant module for the May installation of the Mir Cooperative Solar Array. The array was stored on the surface of the Docking Module that was installed on Kristall last November.
Atlantis Launched
The
U.S. Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis was launched from
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
on March 22 at 11:00 UTC for its sixteenth flight as
STS-76
STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for ''Atlantis''. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 08:13:04 UTC from Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39B. STS-76 lasted over 9 days, traveled about while orbiting Ear ...
. During the ascent phase, flight controllers detected a small leak in one of Atlantis's three redundant
hydraulic systems, but after the system was shut off when Atlantis reached orbit, the leak stopped. The approximately 20% loss of that one system's hydraulic fluid would not adversely affect the mission because the hydraulic system would not be used again until the descent phase.
Preparations for Docking
During the first two days of the mission, Atlantis Commander
Kevin Chilton
Kevin Patrick "Chilli" Chilton (born November 3, 1954) is an American mechanical engineer and retired United States Air Force four-star general, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. His last assignment was as commander of U.S. Strategic Command from ...
and Pilot
Richard Searfoss began jet firings to guide Atlantis's journey toward Mir. The crew prepared for the docking by checking out communications equipment and docking and alignment aids. They also activated Spacehab and began orbital operations for Biorack experiments. Mission Specialists
Linda Godwin
Linda Maxine Godwin Ph.D. (born July 2, 1952) is an American scientist and retired NASA astronaut. Godwin joined NASA in 1980 and became an astronaut in July 1986. She retired in 2010. During her career, Godwin completed four space flights and ...
and
Michael Clifford checked out the space suits and equipment for their upcoming EVA.
Atlantis Approaches Mir
On mission day 3, when Atlantis was within 8 miles of the station, Chilton fired the orbital maneuvering system engines in the terminal phase initiation burn. As the two spacecraft completed another orbit, Atlantis approached Mir from below along the R-bar, using rendezvous
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
to track its approach rate and measure it's distance.
Third Atlantis/Mir Docking
Chilton took manual control at one-half mile below the Mir, executing a 180 degree yaw rotation to align Atlantis with the Docking Module on Kristall. He used the ODS centerline camera as an aid in refining and maintaining the alignment. At 12:34 UTC on March 24, he achieved contact, adding Atlantis to a space station complex that then totaled 230 tons. After confirmation of docking, leak checks and pressurization of the docking vestibule, the hatches were opened and the two crews greeted each other. Shortly afterward, the Atlantis crew installed ducts to aid in circulating air between the two spacecraft during the docking phase.
Lucid Joins the Mir 21 Crew
Shannon Lucid officially became a Mir 21 crew member at 12:30 UTC on March 24 after a joint "go" from the Russian and U.S. mission control centers. She became the first in a planned continuous U.S. astronaut presence on Mir until 1998.
New Supplies Brought Up on Atlantis
In the joint portion of the mission, the two crews loaded into the station more than 1 ton of U.S. science equipment, almost 2 tons of Russian supplies and 15 containers of water totaling about 1.5 tons. Approximately a ton of excess equipment, waste and science payload was transferred from Mir to Atlantis. From their vantage point in orbit, the crews were treated to a good view of the comet
Hyakutake. Some of the spacecraft hardware items brought up by Atlantis were replacement gyrodyne, a seat liner kit for Lucid to be placed in a Soyuz module if emergency return to Earth was required and three Russian storage batteries which had been replenished on Earth.
Experiment Supplies
Some of the new supplies and equipment for onboard experiments included replacement hardware for the Mir glovebox stowage experiments, Mir
electric field
An electric field (sometimes E-field) is the physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles and exerts force on all other charged particles in the field, either attracting or repelling them. It also refers to the physical field fo ...
characterization hardware to measure radio interference inside and around the complex, and a liquid phase sintering experiment that would use the Optizon
furnace
A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion.
Furnace may also refer to:
Appliances Buildings
* Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings
* Boiler, used t ...
to bond different metals.
Spacehab Module Work
On flight days 4, 5 and 7, the crew worked on the Biorack in the Spacehab module in the Orbiter payload bay. The Biorack contained eleven experiments to investigate the effects of microgravity and
cosmic radiation
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...
on plants, animal tissues,
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
, and insects. The various experiments were designed by
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
the U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Pre-EVA Procedures
In preparation for the EVA, Atlantis's cabin air pressure was lowered from 14.7 to 10.2 psia. the hatches were closed between Mir and Atlantis and Atlantis and Spacehab throughout the EVA to allow for sustained cabin depressurization. The Mir crew, including Lucid, stayed inside Mir and the Atlantis crew stayied inside the Orbiter cabin, with
Ronald Sega
Ronald "Ron" Michael Sega (also Ronald Šega) (Ph.D.) (born December 4, 1952) is professor of systems engineering and Vice President for Energy and the Environment at the Colorado State University Research Foundation, a non-profit advocacy organiza ...
coordinating the space walk activities from inside.
SAFER Backpacks Worn
Attached to their regular portable
life support system
A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outsid ...
backpack, Godwin and Clifford donned new self-contained backpacks with propulsion systems to allow enough free-flight capability to return an un-tethered astronaut to the spacecraft in an emergency. The device, called the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER), was designed for EVAs on docked vehicles which would be unable to quickly retrieve a drifting spacewalker. The backpack was test-flown on
STS-64
STS-64 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' mission that was set to perform multiple experiment packages. STS-64 was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 9 September 1994, and landed back on 20 September 1994 at ...
in September 1994.
First EVA by U.S. Astronauts at Mir
On March 27, Godwin and Clifford performed their 6-hour EVA in Atlants' cargo bay and on the exterior of the Mir Docking Module. Their major task was to secure four experiment canisters to handrails on the docking Module. The experiments, collectively called the Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP), were designed to record data on orbital debris, and to test potential International Space Station materials by exposing them to the low Earth orbit environment. The four passive experiment canisters would be retrieved by a later STS crew after almost 2 years of data collection. During their work on the Docking Module, the astronauts also evaluated new tether hooks and foot restraints that could be sued on both Mir and Shuttle Orbiter exteriors, prototypes of International Space Station EVA equipment. They also retrieved the Mir-mounted camera that had been used in docking alignment during
STS-74
STS-74 was the fourth mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, and the second docking of the Space Shuttle with ''Mir''. Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' lifted off from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39A on 12 November 1995. The mission ende ...
in November 1995.
Atlantis Leaves Mir Again
The STS-76 and Mir 21 crews bid each other farewell on the morning of March 28. They closed the hatches to their spacecraft, and the astronauts began preparations for undocking and return to Earth. With the steering jets to both spacecraft shut down, Atlantis separated from the Mir Docking Module. Then Chilton reactivated the jets and slowly moved away from Mir. At 600 feet out, he began a fly-around, circled the station twice while the crews took pictures of each other's spacecraft, then moved to another orbit.
April 1996 - A New Module for Mir
Mir 21 Continues with Full Crew
The daily flight plan, or cyclogram, for the Russian-U.S. crew was provided 4 days ahead of schedule by
TsUP
The RKA Mission Control CentreRKA (russian: РКА): Russian space agency (russian: Российское космическое агентство, ''Rossiyskoye kosmicheskoye agentstvo''). (russian: Центр управления полёта ...
. A group of NASA science experts in Moscow served as consultants on science activities. The first week after Atlantis' departure, the crew focused on the Optizon Liquid Phase Sintering Experiment (OLiPSE), processing 70 samples of different metals at high temperatures. The crew also conducted life sciences research and Earth observation photography. Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) monitors were placed throughout the station to record movement that might disrupt experiments. Radiation dosimeters in various locations provided another measurement of the station's internal environment. A leak in a coolant loop in the core module was detected in mid-April, but the crew was unable to find the exact location. That loop was turned off and the alternate loop was used.
The Priroda Module
The long-awaited launch of Priroda, earlier announced for March 10 so that the module would be in place when Lucid arrived at Mir, had been moved forward at least twice: once because of late delivery from the Khrunichev factory and once because a commercial
Proton
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...
launch in early April took precedence. But on April 23, Priroda was launched from Baikonur atop a SL-13 Proton rocket for a three-day orbital trip to Mir. One of the two battery-powered electrical systems on the spacecraft dropped off-line, eliminating the backup power source for the automatic docking system. If the primary electrical system had also malfunctioned, the Mir crew would have immediately initiated a manual docking.
The Priroda module had a mass of 19.700 kg, a length of ~12 m, a max diameter of ~4.35m and a pressurized volume of ~66 cubic meters. it was the last of the six permanent habitable Mir modules. Priroda was, like Spektr, designed by
RKK Energia
PAO S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (russian: Ракетно-космическая корпорация «Энергия» им. С. П. Королёва, Raketno-kosmicheskaya korporatsiya "Energiya" im. S. P. Korolyov ...
in the mid- to late-1980s and was built and assembled in the Khrunichev plant between 1989 and 1991. The module's two propulsion systems included one for orbit correction during the flight to Mir and rendezvous with Mir and one was for berthing and stabilization during the docking phase. The Priroda module included an unpressurized instrument compartment and an instrument/payload compartment.
The
Kurs automatic docking system on Priroda worked flawlessly, as did the electrical system. No problems were encountered on the April 26 docking of the new module at the -X port at the front of the Mir base block.
On April 27, from inside the station, the Mir 21 crew controlled Priroda's repositioning with the Lyappa arm to the +Z docking port, directly across from the Kristall module. Thus the Mir complex, with its six habitable modules and Docking Module, attained its final basic configuration. Henceforth, the shape of the complex would change only temporarily, with dockings by Progress, Soyuz and Space Shuttle Orbiter spacecraft.
Because of concern about possible
sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...
leaks from the malfunctioning battery system, a test of the modules' atmosphere was made before the crew entered. Once inside Priroda, the crew's first task was to unbolt the batteries, cap their connectors and place them in plastic bags. The 168 batteries would later be placed in
Progress M-31
Progress M-31 () was a Russian unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft, which was launched in May 1996 to resupply the Mir space station.
Launch
Progress M-31 launched on 5 May 1996 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It used a Soyuz-U rock ...
for disposal. The crew then connected Mir power sources to the Priroda systems and troubleshot the battery problems.
May 1996 - Progress M-31 Resupply and EVAs
Progress M-31 Brings New Supplies
A new Progress cargo spacecraft was launched from Baiknour on May 5 and docked under control of the Kurs automatic system at the -X port of the Mir on May 7. For the first time in the station's history, all ports of the base block were occupied at the same time. The crew began unloading the vehicle that week, in addition to continuing their science experiments and Priroda activation. They successfully tested the new Mir interface-to-payload systems (MIPS) hardware for downlinking data to the ground and replaced three
nickel-cadmium batteries in the Priroda power system. However, a power controller for the system failed, and ground controllers began monitoring and controlling battery charging. The crew finally isolated the coolant loop leak in the core module, but there was no health risk associated with the leak and repair was not immediately scheduled.
Cooperative Solar Array Installed over 2 EVAs
Onufrienko and Usachev left the station early on May 20 to remove the Mir Cooperative Solar Array from its stowed position on the exterior of the DOcking Module at the base of Kristall. They used the new Strela boom installed during their March 15 EVA to reach the array and move it to the Kvant module, where they positioned its cables in preparation for final installation during their next EVA. During the five hour and 20 minute EVA, they inflated an aluminum and nylon model of a
Pepsi Cola
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
can, which they filmed against the backdrop of Earth. The soft drink company paid for the procedure and planned to use it in a television commercial. On May 25, in their third space walk of the mission, the cosmonauts were outside the station for five hours and 43 minutes, completing the solar array installation on Kvant. After all connections were made, the array unfurled upon command from inside the station.
Mir 21 Crew Greets STS-77 Crew
All the crew members exchanged greetings with the astronauts aboard the
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational Shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th and ...
on
STS-77
STS-77 was the 77th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th mission of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission began from launch pad 39B from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 19 May 1996 lasting 10 days and 40 minutes and completing 161 revolut ...
and they held a conference with U.S. and Russian news media.
Camera Installed on Priroda Exterior During Fourth Mir 21 EVA
On May 30, Onufrienko and Usachev installed the Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner (MOMS), a German remote sensing camera, on the Priroda module. The camera, designed to collect Earth atmosphere and environment data, had been flown earlier on two Shuttle missions, STS-7 in June 1983 and STS-41B in February 1984. After the installation, Lucid activated the system by remote command from inside the station. During the five hour EVA, the cosmonauts also installed a new handrail on the Kvant-2 to facilitate movements in future space walks.
June 1996 - EVAs and Science
More Experiments Installed During Fifth EVA
The Particle Impact Experiment and the Mir Sample Return Experiment, U.S. space science experiments brought to orbit inside Priroda, were installed on the exterior of the Kvant 2 module during a June 6 EVA lasing about 3 and a half hours. The cosmonauts also replaced a cassette in the Komza experiment on the surface of Spektr.
Rapana Girder Assembled on Kvant in the Sixth EVA
On June 13, the cosmonauts spent over five hours outside Mir, installing and deploying a Rapana girder on the surface of the Kvant module as a platform for installing future experiments on the station exterior. The 5 meter structure was deployed in four sections. Another activity during this EVA was manual deployment of the Travers radar antenna on the exterior of Priroda. The large antenna had failed to deploy fully by command from inside the station.
Science Work Continued
In addition to assisting the cosmonauts during EVAs from inside the station, Lucid continued activating equipment, such as the Biotechnology System Facility for long-term biotechnology studies and conducting experiments such as the Humoral Immunity experiment to study spaceflight effects on the human immune system. The crew also monitored various aspects of the spacecraft environment. They took air samples in Spektr and the core module using the Solid Sorbent Air Sampler (SSAS) and the Grab Sample Container (GSC). They recorded effects of spacecraft motion with the SAMS equipment and began evaluation of the Microgravity Isolation Mount (MIM).
July 1996 - Greenhouse Work and a New U.S. Record
Fourth Shuttle Docking with Mir Delayed
On July 12, NASA announced the decision to postpone the July 31 launch of
STS-79
STS-79 was the 17th flight of Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', and the 79th mission of the Space Shuttle program. The flight saw ''Atlantis'' dock with the Russian space station Mir to deliver equipment, supplies and relief personnel. A variety of sc ...
, the fourth mission Atlantis would dock with Mir, until mid-September. In a post-flight discovery of STS-78, it was found that hot gas had seeped into the joints of the
boosters used in STS-78 launch in June. An investigation found that the most probable cause of the leakage was use of a new adhesive and cleaning fluid that was also used on the boosters for STS-79. Although the boosters were judged safe to fly, a decision was made to replace them in order to further study the J-joint failure and improve the safety margin of the joint.
U.S. Record Surpassed
On July 15, Lucid surpassed the space duration record for a U.S. astronaut set by
Norm Thagard
Norman Earl Thagard, M.D. (born July 3, 1943; Capt, USMC, Ret.), is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator and NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and ca ...
with his 115 days on Mir Principal Expedition 18 in 1996. With the delay to STS-79, her flight record would be even longer than anticipated.
Greenhouse Work
The crew assembled the Svet facility for the Fundamental Biology
Greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...
plant experiment during the latter part of July. A temporary limitation of power in Kristall caused a delay in the first planting, but was solved when ground planners instructed the crew to plug an
extension cord
An extension cord (US), power extender, drop cord, or extension lead (UK) is a length of flexible electrical power cable (flex) with a AC power plugs and sockets, plug on one end and one or more sockets on the other end (usually of the same type ...
into the Spektr's power supply. Station maintenance during the last week of July included replacement of a vacuum valve assembly on the
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
removal system. On July 26, the crew activated the backup oxygen system on August 1.
August 1996 - Progress Swap, Experiments and New Arrivals
Progress M-31 Departs and Progress M-32 Arrives
On August 1 at 16:45 UTC, Progress M-31 left the -X port for destructive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Launched on July 31 with fresh supplies and hardware for the upcoming Cassiopee mission experiments,
Progress M-32
Progress M-32 () was a Russian unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft, which was launched in July 1996 to resupply the Mir space station.
Launch
Progress M-32 launched on 31 July 1996 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It used a Soyuz-U r ...
docked at the -X port on August 2.
Gyrodynes Refurbished
The Mir 21 crew began setting up experiments for the upcoming mission. They also refurbished the gyrodyne system, maintaining station attitude by thruster firings from August 5 through the 7th while the gyrodynes were not available.
August Experimental Work
The seeds of the first crop of dwarf
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
were planted in the Greenhouse on August 5. Earth observations were made of areas of the United States, Europe and Asia. Lucid continued to run experiments, including the Queen's University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion (QUELD), using a furnace to analyze the formation of alloys in space, the Candle Flame in Microgravity (CFM), to study the physiochemical processes of combustion, the Anticipatory Postural Activity (POSA), to measure how muscles work in microgravity, the Forced Flow Framespread test to examine the flame-spreading properties of solid fuels, the Solid Sorbent Air Sampler for Volatile Organic Compounds to evaluation the Mir environment and provided data for the development of advanced life support systems and the Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC), a radiation-dosage measurement device.
Mir 22 Crew Arrives
On August 17,
Soyuz TM-24
Soyuz TM-24 was the 27th expedition to Mir. Soyuz TM-24 carried a crew of three. The crew consisted of Cosmonauts Valery Korzun and Aleksandr Kaleri, and the first French woman in space, Claudie André-Deshays. They joined American astronaut Shann ...
was launched from Baikonur with the new crew for Mir Principal Expedition 22. To free the -X port for docking of the approaching Soyuz, Progress M-32 was undocked on August 18 under automatic control and moved to a parking orbit. It would remain until the departure of Soyuz TM-23 with the homeward-bound Mir 21 crew on September 2. The Soyuz TM-24 docked at the -X port on August 19. The new arrivals were Commander
Valery Korzun
Valery Grigoryevich Korzun (russian: Валерий Григорьевич Корзун, born 5 March 1953) is a Russian cosmonaut. He has been in space twice totalling 381 days. He has also conducted four career spacewalks.
Personal
He is a R ...
, Flight Engineer
Alexander Kaleri
Aleksandr "Sasha" Yuriyevich Kaleri (russian: Александр Юрьевич Калери; born in Jūrmala, Latvia on 13 May 1956) is a Russian cosmonaut and veteran of extended stays on the Mir Space Station and the International Space Stati ...
and Cosmonaut Researcher
Claudie Andre-Deshays of the French Space Agency (CNES). Andre-Deshays accompanied the Mir 22 crew for a 2-week program of a set of scientific investigations collectively called Cassiopee. She would return to Earth with the Mir 21 crew.
Cassiopee Mission
Andre-Deshays, Korzun and Kaleri worked on PHYSIOLAB, a study of
cardiovascular
The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
physiology, COGNILAB, tests of
neurosensory system responses in microgravity, FERTILE, egg-based studies to determine the role of gravity on
embryonic development
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...
, ALICE II, experiments in fluid dynamics and CASTOR, analyses of
structural dynamics
Structural dynamics is a type of structural analysis which covers the behavior of a structure subjected to dynamic (actions having high acceleration) loading. Dynamic loads include people, wind, waves, traffic, earthquakes, and blasts. Any structur ...
.
September 1996 - Mir 21 Heads Home Aboard Soyuz TM-22
Onufrienko, Usachev and Andre-Deshays departed Mir on September 2 in the Soyuz TM-23 spacecraft and safely landed in Central Asia. Onufrienko and Usachev had been in space 194 day, Andre-Deshays 17 days.
References
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Crewed Soyuz missions
Spacecraft launched in 1996