June 25, 1997
MIR - Progress have "Space Fender Bender"
June 25th, 1997 The crew of the space station MIR had removed all of the goods from the unmanned resupply vehicle Progress just like the many times before. They had stowed all of the garbage and unneeded supplies back into the empty Progress vehicle and were running a practice docking mission when the 14,000 pound space craft collided with the MIR Space Station.
The Russians are currently reviewing the situation to see exactly how much damage has occurred in the module. At first glance, there seems to be a 1/4 inch (6mm) in diameter hole in the outer hull. There also has been a substantial amount of damage to the solar cells. The first order of business was to seal off the hatch between the central node and the leaking module. According to astronaut Jerry Linneger, there would be a ventilator hose, a power cable and a signal cable that would run between the two modules. The vent hose would be pulled back into the central node and the other two cables probably were cut with a special cutting tool made for such an occasion. Once the door was rotated shut, the pressure of the central node would hold the door closed while it was being latching in place.
At this point, the recently repaired Elektron oxygen generating unit was not operating and the crew will be working to conserve oxygen until that unit can be brought back online. The gyro units that stabilize the station have been shut down and will need to be turned back on over the next few days. Once the gyros are back up and running, the station will be able to maintain a more stable attitude. Currently, the station is being kept in place by firing thrusters that keep the solar cells pointed towards the sun to generate the much needed electricity.
The Progress vehicle ran into the Spectr module. This module was put in place in 1995 and contains new solar cell panels and a wide variety of science experiments. This module was also home to the US Astronaut Michael Foale.
The Shuttle/Mir program managers stated that this was a "big deal," but that the correct things were done in the few minutes after impact and the correct things need to continue to be done to get out of this crisis. The Soyouz "life boat" ship was not involved in the accident and would still be able to bring the crew home if this situation would require emergency transport.
Take a look at the Space Shuttle/MIR web page. This page should be the most current source of news about the station.
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab
This is NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab page. The JPL has a rich history and is currently in charge of all unmanned exploration. Lots of good photographs from all over the universe are here.
NASA's Main Shuttle Page
This is NASA's main shuttle information page. Here's the place to start looking for Shuttle information.
International Space Station Home Page
This is the page to look at if you are interested in manned space flight for the next 20 years. The International Space Station currently being built on the ground in Alabama, USA and outside of Moscow, Russia. The ISS is sponsored by a coalition of 13 countries that intend to fund and participate in this project. The size of this project is truly enormous. The complexity has been compared to building a 747 airplane while flying over the factory. The USA and Russia will be starting the on-orbit assembly of this project in early 1998.
NASA's Mars Pathfinder Home Page
NASA launched a two missions to the Red Planet at the end of 1996. This site describes the Mars Pathfinder mission. The Pathfinder will land a small vehicle called a rover on the surface of Mars. This vehicle will actually drive around the planet collecting data as it moves around. This mission is scheduled to land on Mars on July 4, 1997. Keep watching this site for updates and photos of the mission practices in progress.
NASA's web page for the Russian MIR space station
The Russian Space Station MIR (meaning peace) has been in the news quite often. NASA has prepared an excellent site that describes the space station and gives updates on recent MIR happenings. The USA has maintained a crew member continuously on this space platform for over a year now and the Russians have maintained a continuous presence for over 11 years. Visit this site and take a tour of the station.
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Space
