SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0428 * SpaceNews 28-Apr-97 * BID: $SPC0428 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY APRIL 28, 1997 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * MIR NEWS * ============ The Russian-American crew on Russia's 11-year-old Mir space station are struggling with a leak of antifreeze vapor and may have to abandon ship, mission control said last week. Spokesman Viktor Blagov said that at the moment there was no reason to evacuate Mir, but added: "The team is continuing its repairs. It's a difficult task and if it cannot be solved Mir might be abandoned by the cosmonauts." Speaking from space, NASA astronaut Jerry Lineger said he and his two Russian colleagues had almost abandoned ship twice in the past few months. Blagov, deputy head of the flight program, said the cosmonauts had repaired two leaks in the cooling system with special glue but had yet to find a third through which antifreeze was escaping into Mir's air supply. "It's on the limit of what is acceptable," he told a news conference, adding that it was not clear how dangerous the concentration of antifreeze vapor was. "We immediately told NASA about the defects on the station and the American specialists are kept continually informed about what is happening on Mir," he added. He said an urgent evacuation of the cosmonauts could be ordered from ground control or by the space station commander. "That could happen if there's a big fire on the station or if there is decompression," Blagov said, adding that the men could reach Earth in an hour using the Soyuz rocket which is now docked with Mir. "Mir orbits Earth 16 times in a 24-hour period. Three of them are over the region of the launchpad in Kazakhstan, where everything is ready for a search for the cosmonauts," he said. The Mir crew could also return to Earth in any other orbit, he added. "But in that case the place of touchdown could be in France, Ukraine, Britain, Asia or the United States." The leaks, which occurred during the past month, are the most serious so far on the station, which has also suffered four fires while in orbit, the last in February. Blagov said that leaks had been caused by electric cables touching the pipe carrying anti-freeze to the cooling system. He said that 1.6 liters of antifreeze had leaked out. A liter is about a quart. In the Kvant module where the main cooling system equipment was, the temperature had soared to between 79 to 88 degrees, which was bad for the cosmonauts trying to carry out repairs and could damage equipment for scientific experiments stored there. Igor Goncharov, specialist for medical emergencies on the orbiting station, said the crew's morale had been hit by the high temperature and stress suffered by the cosmonauts as a result of a fire Feb. 23. "They complained of insomnia but an analysis of their blood and urine did not show any abnormalities in their organisms," Goncharov said, adding that the men had interrupted their sleep patterns by working through several nights. "Now they have been given strict instructions to go to bed at 11 p.m. and wake up at eight in the morning," Goncharov said. The cosmonauts had also resumed their physical exercises. In four of Mir's six modules, living conditions were normal. "The team spends most of its time in safe sections," he said. [Reuter press release via Michael Catalanotti, N1YHW] * JAY APT RETIRES * =================== Four-time Shuttle astronaut Jay Apt, N5QWL, will leave NASA in late May to become director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA. "The astronaut office will miss Jay's dedication and spirit," said David C. Leestma, director of Flight Crew Operations. "I am sure he will use this new position to continue his efforts to educate and inspire young people to excel." Apt first flew on STS-37 on Atlantis in 1991, conducting two spacewalks, including one unscheduled EVA to deploy manually the antenna on the Gamma Ray Observatory spacecraft. He flew twice on Endeavour, during STS-47 in 1992 for the Spacelab-J mission, and again for STS-59, the first flight of the Space Radar Laboratory in 1994. Most recently, Apt flew aboard Atlantis on STS-79, the fourth Shuttle-Mir docking mission, in 1996. "Every minute that I've been a part of the space exploration program has been fascinating" said Apt. "I am delighted to have had the opportunity to fly around our planet hundreds of times, and now it is time to give something back to the people who sent me there. I am thrilled by the chance to return to Pittsburgh and lead one of the best museums in America into the next century. Providing an exciting environment for both families and scientists to learn about this planet is going to be the most challenging and interesting job I can imagine doing." [Info via NASA] * NORTH TEXAS BALLOON FLIGHT #7B * ================================== The seventh mission of the North Texas Balloon Project finally took to the air at 10:14 a.m. on 19 April 1997 from the Cleburne, TX Municipal Airport. Two hours later, it had a soft landing in a pasture near Italy, TX and was recovered by NTBP personnel within 30 minutes. The launch was delayed from its scheduled time of 9 a.m. by 1) local winds aloft data not being available, and 2) unexpected burst of the first balloon during inflation, the cause of which was unknown, but the parachute spreader ring, swivels and woven tow line allowed a nice easy descent. The GPS experiment experienced two separate difficulties during the flight. The Delorme Tripmate GPS receiver failed to maintain track on enough GPS satellites to provide accurate altitude data. In fact, the entire altitude data set was suspect and finally disregarded. However, the Tripmate did provide accurate Latitude and Longitude data. The other difficulty was related to the GPS beacon transmitter itself. The Yaesu FT-530 output power level dropped to near zero at 75 minutes into the flight. It has not been determined why the HT power dropped, but extremely cold temperatures are a likelihood. The FM crossband voice repeater was the highlight of the mission. The following locations were able to hear and/or work through the balloon. In Texas, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Houston, Plano, Irving, San Angelo, San Antonio, Kerrville, Newberry; Clovis, NM; in Louisiana, Shreveport and Bossier City; Wichita and Hays in Kansas; and last but not least Vicksburg, Mississippi! A great time was had by all operating through the balloon repeater. In addition, the 35mm still camera took some great pictures every 3.3 minutes which lasted nearly the entire ascent leg. These photos will be scanned and will be available for downloading within the next few weeks at the following Web site: http://procorp.com/procorp/NTXBP.htm Those wanting QSL/SWL cards for NTBP #7B, please send requests to kg5ie@flash.net. Doug Howard, KG5OA, would like to sincerely thank the Lockheed-Martin ARC in Fort Worth for supporting the NTBP. It took two very, very troublesome years to accomplish our seventh flight. Doug is extremely proud of the extraordinary patience and efforts that the members of the LMARC displayed throughout this difficult time. Hopefully, they will be ready to fly again soon! [Info via Doug Howard, KG5OA] * MIR FAN CLUB NEWS * ===================== The Mir Fan Club has a new URL. Its Web Page may be found at: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/2579/ * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below: WWW : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/ PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> /EX