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Possible source of leak on Mir found
September 6, 1997
Web posted at: 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT)In this story:
- Risky but tedious work
- Mission controls admits tasks 'over-assigned'
- Solovyov adjusts solar array
- Related stories and sites
MOSCOW (CNN) -- A Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut found a "suspicious" area during their spacewalk Saturday, but NASA officials were unable to confirm whether it was the source of a leak on Mir's Spektr module.
The Russian Space Agency's press conference about Mir spacewalkJohn Holliman explains the first pictures of the Mir spacewalk. (NASA)
663 K/21 sec. QuickTime movie
During his inspection of Spektr's hull, Anatoly Solovyov discovered an oversized gap where a solar panel was attached to the module, prompting speculation that it may be where the oxygen escaped.
Otherwise, Solovyov and U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, who accompanied him in the spacewalk, found only bent and broken brackets, which are used to fasten radiator panels to the hull, but no damage to the hull itself.
The walk was the first chance for a close-up inspection of the damaged hull since a remote-control supply ship rammed the Spektr module on June 25, slashing power and raising questions about the space station's viability.
Risky but tedious work
Solovyov did most of the close-up work, using a sharp-edged tool to remove layers of thermal blanketing from the hull to look for damage. The scraping sent debris floating outside Mir.
"The more (Anatoly) does that, the more the pieces are flying around and the less I can see," said cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, who was filming the spacewalk from the Soyuz escape capsule.
Foale, meanwhile, maneuvered Solovyov by manipulating a long cargo boom and shot video footage of the Spektr module's hull.
Friday's mission was considered moderately dangerous because of the risk that debris or jagged edges could puncture a space suit. Nevertheless, the work itself was slow and tedious and reminiscent of two plumbers laboring over a troublesome sink.
Mission control admits tasks 'over-assigned'
Solovyov said he felt fine, but was breathing heavily at times and expressed frustration at one juncture, saying, "Of course, this spacewalk is overloaded with work."
Ground chief Vladimir Solovyov admitted that perhaps those on the ground had "over-assigned" the tasks they wanted Anatoly Solovyov and Foale to complete.
"It's very hard work. I hope that everything will be fine," said Yuri Semyonov, the chief designer of Mir.
Foale emerged from the station about 9:07 EDT (0107 GMT) and secured a cargo boom and tools along the side the Kvant-2 module. He was then joined by Solovyov, who was making a record 10th walk in space.
Using the boom to help them negotiate around difficult areas, the crew reached the far end of the Spektr module and had to wait a few minutes for the station's orbit to carry it out of darkness and into the sunlight so they could examine the module's hull.
Solovyov adjusts solar array
The two men managed to redirect a solar panel by hand to point towards the sun, allowing Mir to accumulate more electric power. Alexander Spirin, head of an analytical group at Mission Control, said Mir's power supply would increase by 10 percent.
The station has been plagued with a number of technical difficulties and occasional power outages since the June collision.
Solovyov, now on his fifth Mir mission, did the actual adjusting of the array while Foale stabilized him with the boom.
Solovyov, 49, holds the world record of more than 41 hours in open space on nine walks, not counting last month's "interior spacewalk" in the airless Spektr.
It is the second spacewalk for the 40-year-old Foale, who made his first, outside a U.S. shuttle, in 1995.
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