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| S P E C I A L | Repairing Mir |
Mir 'normal' despite new computer failure
Latest developments:
September 8, 1997
- Spacemen not in danger, officials say
- Drifting in the dark
- Mixed results in weekend spacewalk
- Related stories and sites
Web posted at: 12:13 p.m. EDT (1613 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- For the third time since July, the main computer system on the Mir space station failed Monday, forcing the shutdown of all systems except life-support equipment, but a few hours later the crew reported the situation was "normal."
The cause for the computer failure was not immediately known but the three-man crew -- two Russians and an American -- were not in danger, according to Valery Lyndin, spokesman for Russia's Mission Control just outside Moscow.
Commander Anatoly Solovyov said systems which had been turned off when the computer went down were later restarted. He did not elaborate, and it was unclear whether the main computer had been switched back on.
The problem was not as serious as previous computer breakdowns because Mir's batteries are fully charged and most of the station's solar panels are pointed toward the sun, an official from the U.S. space agency NASA told CNN.
The computer shut itself off around 11 a.m. (3 a.m. EDT/0700 GMT), and the crew responded by turning off most systems to economize on power, Lyndin said.
Drifting in the dark
Images of cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov working outside the Spektr module on Saturday's Mir spacewalkJohn Holliman explains the first pictures of the Mir spacewalk. (NASA)
663 K/21 sec. QuickTime movie
While not life threatening, a computer shutdown is considered a serious problem.
Mir's gyroscopes, which normally keep the station pointed toward the sun to collect solar power, went off line, causing the space station to drift off course.
Most lights were turned off, forcing the crew to work in semi-darkness.
In the previous breakdowns, it took hours to bring the computer system back on line and several days to fully restore all functions.
Last month, the crew restored much of the Mir's power supply, which had been cut in half by a space collision in June. That appeared to signal a turnaround in the Mir's run of bad luck.
Mixed results in weekend spacewalk
The crew had hoped to make progress on additional repairs Saturday during a six-hour spacewalk aimed at finding the holes caused by the collision.
Solovyov and U.S. astronaut Michael Foale did manage to realign two solar panels, which will help increase the space station's power supply.
But the Russian-American team was unable to pinpoint the holes left by the collision, and no additional repair missions are planned until next month.
Correspondents John Holliman and Betsy Aaron contributed to this report.
· MIR MAIN PAGE · RELATED SITES · HISTORY ·
· TIMELINE · GALLERY · SOYUZ · CREW · REPAIR MISSION ·
- CNN In-Depth: Space
- Video Almanac: 1996 - Mir and Atlantis dock
- Video Almanac: 1986 - Soviets launch Mir
- Message Board: Repairing Mir
Related stories:
- Mir's main computer fails, station begins to tumble - August 18, 1997
- Spacewalk fails to locate source of Mir oxygen leak - September 6, 1997
- Possible source of leak on Mir found - September 6, 1997
- Spacewalkers unable to find source of leak on Mir - September 6, 1997
Related sites:
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- NASA Shuttle-Mir Web- official NASA site for U.S. astronauts and their activities aboard the Russian Mir Space Station
- ISS Phase I - Space Station Mir - contains graphics and specifications of the diferent areas of MIR
- Russian Space Agency - homepage of the Russian Space Agency through the NASA site
- Russian Space Science Internet
- Russian Space Research Institute (IKI)
- MIR Space Station - news, research, history, images and links from Maximov Online
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