MIRNEWS.312    9 JULY 1996

POSSIBLE CHANGES IN PLANNING NEAR FUTURE:

During the launch of Columbia on 20.06.1996 hot gasses leaked
through the insulation of the rocket boosters. This might cause a
month's delay in the launch of Atlantis -STS-79- 4th docking
mission with MIR. During radiotraffic from MIR Shannon Lucid.

Soyuz-TM24:

Shannon Lucid also said that the Russians still stick to the launch of
this ship on 14.08.1996 with Manakov, Vinogradov and Claudie Andree
-Deshays and the return of Onufriyenko and Usachov together with the
French guest-cosmonaut on 30.08.1996.

Progress-M32:

If there will be permission for the use of the rocket Soyuz-U before
21.07.1996 this freighter will be launched from Baykonur in the night
from 21 to 22.07.1996.

Just before the deadline for this report the press-service of TsUP
near Moscow did not have information about changes and sticks
to the original schedule:
Launch Atlantis: 31.07.1996,
Launch Progress-M22: night from 21. to 22. 07.1996, and
Launch Soyuz-TM24: 14.08.1996.

Moscow confirmed that changes might be possible.

Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.