MIRNEWS.354    9 APRIL 1997

Progress-M34:

Without problems the freighter Pr-M34 linked up with the MIR-complex. The
soft docking, the so called 'kasaniye' (touch) took place on 8.04.97 at
17.30.01UTC. The approach and docking took place in the automatic mode by
the use of the system Kurs. The Pr-M34 docked at the aft (Kvant-1 +X
axis) docking port. During the 1st pass of MIR and Pr-M34 (orbits
63618/34) between 1721-1726UTC it was obvious that the approach was going
on. The crew did not report many details of the approach apart from the
distance: 150 M. Tsibliyev was on the alert to take over manually by the
system TORU, but he met problems with the image on the screen, which he
needed for that operation. In coordination with TsUP he even consulted
the on board documentation to resolve that problem if necessary. So that
what I could derive from radiotraffic did not convince me that the
approach was successful. Moreover LOS for my position was 4 minutes
before the actual docking. During the next orbit (63619 - 1856-1903UTC)
it was obvious that the docking had been successfully accomplished: of
the 2 hatches between the Kvant-1 and Pr-M34 the crew already had opened
the hatch on the side of MIR. They had to wait with the opening of the
Pr-M34 hatch until the airseal checks had been completed. The next orbit
everything had been opened and the crew already had deployed an airhose
between the 2 objects. The mix of the oxygen coming from Pr-M34 with
that of MIR did not give any problems.

MIR-routine:

So for the time being the exploitation of the MIR-spacestation as a
manned complex has been secured. Now there are sufficient lithium
perchlorate cartridges to ensure the oxygen production until the arrival
of Atlantis in May. Pr-M34 delivered a lot of spare parts and reparation
material , but whether these are sufficient to do something on the
defective Elektron oxygen machines is not sure. Let us hope that there is
now enough material to do something on other defective and faltering
systems. The failure of the CO2 absorption filter Vozdukh emerged less
than a week ago so it is unlikely that the Russians were able to deliver
with Pr-M34 anything for the reparation. Apart from the lithium
perchlorate cartridges Pr-M34 brought a tank with 50 KG pure oxygen.

Compliments:

The Russians deserve our serious compliments for the fact that they again
solved a lot of almost hopeless problems and thus made the continuation
of the cooperation with NASA in the IRS Alpha precursor program possible.
The history of the Russian people that suffered so much
("mnogostradal'nogo Russkogo naroda") gave the Russians the instinct to
survive during the most inclement circumstances and in spaceflight they
regularly proved that they know how to use that quality.

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