Mir Mishaps 1997-1998

Mechanical problems continued to plague Mir in 1998, though none as serious as the supply ship collision last June and the fire aboard several months earlier. Despite the continuing troubles, Russian space officials are working to keep Mir in orbit until the planned International Space Station is in place.

MAY 30, 1998 - Mir's main onboard computer, which controls the station's orbital alignment, fails, leaving Mir adrift but in no immediate danger. The computer was later restarted.

APRIL 6, 1998 - A steering thruster runs out of fuel forcing cosmonauts to cut short their spacewalk to brace a damaged solar array on Mir's Specktr module. Communication during the spacewalk was hindered by satellite problems that forced the use of transmitters on Earth.

APRIL 1, 1998 - A jammed airlock hatch keeps cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin from executing a spacewalk to work on solar panels. (Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin)

MARCH 19, 1998 - CNN learns that temperatures in parts of the space station had risen to 95 oF. Despite the installation of a new air conditioner, the temperature remained an uncomfortable 82 degrees F for crew members. Flight Commander Talgut Musabayev tells Russian mission control the crew are being overworked and are making mistakes due to lack of rest.

MARCH 16, 1998 - Mir crew is forced to switch to manual control moments before the docking of a Progress supply ship. The docking was supposed to have been automatic.

JANUARY 26, 1998 - After arriving on Mir, NASA astronaut Andy Thomas has trouble getting into the custom-made Russian spacesuit to be used to escape Mir in case of emergency. With a few adjustments, the spacesuit is made to fit.

(Andy Thomas in Shuttle emergency rescue suit)

JANUARY 2, 1998 - The Mir space station lost power when a fault in its main computer caused the vessel's solar panels to stop tracking the sun, a Russian space official said.

DECEMBER 17, 1997 - Shortly after Mir's launch, a new, powerful inspection camera had to be abandoned, because of a malfunction

OCTOBER 6, 1997 - The Progress M-35 supply ship failed to undock from Mir as scheduled. The crew later cast off the garbage-laden ship after unhooking a mooring clamp, left locked by

SEPTEMBER 22, 1997 - Just days before the shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to dock with Mir, the space station's central computer malfunctions for the third time in three weeks.

SEPTEMBER 16, 1997 - An American science satellite speeds past Mir at a relatively close distance. The crew retreats to the Soyuz escape capsule as a precaution.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1997 - The Mir space station's main computer failed, forcing the crew to turn off all systems except life-support equipment. It was the third computer failure since July.

AUGUST 25, 1997 - Primary and backup oxygen generators fail. The generators were restored a few hours later. NASA report MD 101/19, NASA report MD 104/22, CNN

AUGUST 18, 1997 - Mir main computer fails, forcing the crew to shut down central systems.

AUGUST 18, 1997 - Computerized automatic pilot system aboard a Progress supply ship fails during redocking. Crew uses manual controls to dock cargo ship.

AUGUST 5, 1997 - Two electrohydrolytic oxygen generators break down and crew is forced to use special oxygen canisters. NASA 5 MD82, CNN

JULY 17, 1997 - Mir loses power after crew member accidentally disconnects a vital computer cable sending Mir into free drift.

JULY 14, 1997 - Russian Commander Vasily Tsibliyev records irregular heart beat during a ride on a stationary bicycle. Later he is declared unfit for repairing the Spektr module. NASA 5 MD 60, CNN

JULY 5, 1997 - Cosmonauts report a substance leaking from the module damaged in June. Officials say they cannot identify substance.

JULY 3, 1997 - Stabilizing gyroscopes that point the Mir space station toward the sun shut down again. Russian space officials say the problem can be fixed.

JUNE 27, 1997 - NASA reports a "power glitch" aboard Mir in which the ship's computer disconnected from the control system overnight, after some critical batteries ran low. Officials were still not sure what caused the problem.

JUNE 25, 1997 - During a test of the automated docking system, a seven-ton cargo ship collides with Mir, damaging a solar panel and poking a hole in the Spektr module. NASA 5 MD 40, NASA 5 MD 41, NASA 5 MD 42, NASA 5 MD 43, NASA 5 MD 44, NASA 5 MD 45, NASA 5 MD 46, NASA MD 47, Movie of Collision (below)

APRIL 11, 1997 - American astronaut Jerry Linenger tells reporters that ethylene glycol fumes leaking from the coolant system are giving the crew nasal congestion. NASA 4 MD , CNN

APRIL 4, 1997 - A leak in Mir's cooling system forces crew to shut down its primary carbon dioxide removal system temporarily. CNN

MARCH 7, 1997 - An oxygen generator fails, leaving the three-man crew with a two-month supply of oxygen. CNN

MARCH 6, 1997 - A Progress cargo ship fails to dock and is dumped.

FEBRUARY 24, 1997 - When cosmonauts try to change an air filter, fire breaks out, filling the station with smoke and forcing the crew to wear oxygen masks. NASA 4 MD 43, NASA 4 MD 44, NASA 4 MD 45, NASA 4 MD 46, NASA 4 MD 47, NASA 4 MD 48, CNN.

References:

http://cnn.com/TECH/9707/mir/timeline/index.html

Prof. Dava Newman, 16.423 Aerospace Physiology and Life Support Systems Engineering, MIT, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, course lecture notes.

http://web.mit.edu/16.423/www