|
Supplies, repair kits reach Mir
April 8, 1997
Web posted at: 3:13 p.m. EDT (1913 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- A supply ship docked successfully Tuesday with the Russian space station Mir, arriving with supplies that two cosmonauts and an astronaut need to repair failed oxygen-generating and air-cleaning systems.
(799K/21 sec. QuickTime movie)
The supply ship Progress left the Baikonor Cosmodrome on Sunday bound for Mir and carried regularly scheduled supplies as well as repair kits.
A L S O
Shuttle makes safe landing, 12 days early
Mir lost its main air purification unit last Friday when it overheated, forcing the crew to shut it down. The system is used to clean carbon dioxide out of the space station's atmosphere.
The crew switched on a backup air purifier, but it was the second of the station's crucial breathable-air systems to be switched to backup units. A secondary oxygen generation unit was also on line, while U.S. astronaut Jerry Lineger and his two Russian counterparts attempted to repair the primary unit.
Progress is carrying repair kits for the air purifier and parts to continue the repairs of the oxygen generator. The space shuttle Atlantis expects to ferry a new generator to Mir during its mission next month.
Progress brought additional lithium-hydroxide canisters, which are used in the backup air purifier.
Mir, an 11-year-old orbiting space station, has had numerous problems in recent weeks, including a brief fire in February that filled the living habitat with smoke.
NASA officials have stressed that the three-member crew aboard Mir is not in any danger. The crew can evacuate the station if necessary via a Soyuz capsule that is docked with Mir for that purpose.
Atlantis will pick up Lineger, who has been aboard Mir since January, next month. He is scheduled to be replaced by Michael Foale. Cosmonauts Valeri Korzun and Alexander Kaleri have been aboard the orbiting station since February, and are scheduled to leave in July.
Related stories:
- Russia launches supply rocket for Mir - April 6, 1997
- Orbiting Russian, U.S. spacecrafts beset by glitches - April 5, 1997
- Space station crew waits for supply ship - April 5, 1997
Special section:
CNN Interactive's extended coverageRelated sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Watch these shows on CNN for more sci-tech stories:
CNN Computer Connection | Future Watch | Science & Technology Week
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.