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| S P E C I A L | Repairing Mir |
Russia's cargo craft docks with Mir
December 22, 1997
An unmanned spacecraft docks with Mir on Monday
Web posted at: 3:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- An unmanned cargo ship successfully docked with the Russian space station Mir on Monday, bringing with it equipment, food and New Year's presents for the Russian-American crew, a mission control spokeswoman said.
"The docking took place at 1:22 p.m. Moscow time (1022 GMT) in automatic regime," the spokeswoman said.
"After checking docking systems the cosmonauts plan to start unloading the cargo craft," the spokeswoman added.
The Progress M-37 craft also delivered additional insulation for Mir's leaky hatch, which the spacecraft's crew use to exit the craft for spacewalks.
The crew discovered the hatch was not hermetically sealed after a spacewalk on November 3. They were then forced to pump air into the airlock where the hatch is located.
Mir The supply ship was launched on Saturday from the Baikonur cosmodrome that Russia rents from Kazakstan.
The previous Progress, M-36, undocked from Mir last week and burned up in Earth's atmosphere. Before its mission was over, a German-made Inspector flying camera was launched from the Progress about 500 meters (yards) away from Mir.
The camera failed to respond to commands and Mir, seeking to reduce chances of a collision, had to maneuver away from Inspector.
Inspector joined a list of accidents to confront the aging Mir this year, including a fire in February and a collision with a cargo vessel in June. Russian officials noted however that this time the problem was with non-Russian technology.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Related stories:
- Mir gets an upgrade - November 6, 1997
- Cosmonauts back in space to replace Mir solar panel - November 5, 1997
- Mir spacewalk goes smoothly - November 3, 1997
- Mir spacewalk ends as partial success - October 20, 1997
- U.S. astronaut says he loves Mir - October 16, 1997
- Mir's troubles overshadow plans for new station - October 13, 1997
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