Mir

“ Then to those humble and devout ones, to whom grace first has come, to those lovers of the divine wisdom, who burn with desire of it, and are willing to be still, for the magnifying of God, I shall propose pertinent speculations, showing how little or nothing is it to turn the mirror outward unless the mirror of our mind be rubbed and polished. ”

“ In the series of states in which the mind has existed, from the first moment of our life, to the present hour, the feelings of extension, resistance, joy, sorrow, fragrance, colour, hope, fear, heat, cold, admiration, resentment, have often had place ”

“ This he attributes to Mir’s being designed for long-duration flight, while the Shuttle is designed to support a crew for only short periods of time. [93]
Long stays in space also affect training and timeline preparation for Mir crews. Mir crews experience more “on-the-job-training” than Shuttle crews, because it is impossible to simulate a 6-month or 12-month stint on a station and train for every eventuality. Their schedules are much more loosely planned than those of Shuttle astronauts, who spend only a few precious days in space and must put virtually every minute to productive use. ”

“ What, my soul, was thy errand here?
Was it mirth or ease,
Or heaping up dust from year to year?
"Nay, none of these!"
Speak, soul, aright in His holy sight
Whose eye looks still
And steadily on thee through the night
"To do His will!" ”

“ May the mirrors of hearts be cleansed from dust in order that the Sun of Truth may be reflected therein.
Man possesses two kinds of susceptibilities: the natural emotions, which are like dust upon the mirror, and spiritual susceptibilities, which are merciful and heavenly characteristics. ”

“ Bards of Passion and of Mirth,
Ye have left your souls on earth!
Have ye souls in heaven too,
Double-lived in regions new? ”

“ In addition, Mir cosmonauts have evenings and weekends off. (In practice, the cosmonauts often work in their free time, either because they are highly self-motivated or because experiments require it.)
Krikalev further stated that living conditions on the station depend heavily on the preferences of the resident crew. Krikalev stated that levels of cleanliness and odors varied according to the standards the resident crew was willing to accept. ”

“ Progress (figure 1-24) was an unmanned version of the Soyuz Ferry designed to perform logistics resupply of the Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir space stations. Progress missions 1 through 12 carried supplies to Salyut 6. Missions 13 through 24 visited Salyut 7, as did the unusual Progress-related Cosmos 1669 mission. Progress missions 25 through 42 served the Mir station. The first 17 Progress missions to Mir delivered 40 tons of supplies, about double the station’s launch weight. Most Progress spacecraft functioned routinely, as expected of a logistics spacecraft. ”

“ Soyuz-TM 2 • Mir • Kvant • Progress 30 May 21-July 19, 1987 First and second EVAs—solar array installation. On June 12 the Tamyrs exited Mir’s multiport node for the first of two EVAs to install the solar array delivered by Kvant. There was insufficient room available in the multiport node for two spacesuited cosmonauts plus the main boom and first two sections of the new array, so Laveikin and Romanenko sealed the hatch between the Soyuz-TM 2 docking module and orbital module and left the hatch between the orbital module and the multiport node open, creating an extended airlock. ”

“ After docking in 1987, the front port Kvant antenna was folded down, its work done. Module blocks the main engines at the rear of the Mir base block. Since Kvant docked, all orbital maintenance maneuvers have been carried out by docked spacecraft. Six control moment gyros (gyrodynes) , with a total mass of 990 kg, which permit extremely accurate pointing of the complex (necessary for astronomical observations) . The gyrodynes reduce the amount of attitude control propellant needed by the Mir base block’s control thrusters. They do, however, use a great deal of electricity. ”

“ Four ports are lateral, with their docking planes parallel to the station’s long axis. They are used to berth modules which have docked at the fifth, longitudinal port (the front port) . There is no EVA hatch on the Mir base block, though before the arrival of Kvant 2 and Kristall the cosmonauts could egress through any of the five ports. The node is shorter than the Salyut 7 transfer compartment, accounting for Mir’s shorter overall length. ”

“ During this period, propellant was pumped through Kvant to Mir’s ODU for the first time. The Elektron system aboard Kvant, which produced oxygen by electrolysis of water, was readied on May 8.
Soyuz-TM 2 • Mir • Kvant May 11-21, 1987 Mir power shortage. The Soviets acknowledged that Mir was short on electricity. The situation became particularly difficult when melts lasting days were conducted using Korund 1-M. The Tamyrs spent most of May conducting medical experiments and Earth resources photography, activities which required little electricity. ”

“ February 5 Soyuz-TM 2 launch—Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Laveikin travel to Mir. March 3-March 28 Progress 28. March 31 Kvant launch—The Soviets launch Kvant, the first Mir space station module, atop a Proton rocket. Kvant fails to dock with Mir on April 5 because of a docking transponder problem. On April 9 it achieves soft dock, but cannot make hard dock. Laveikin and Romanenko perform an unrehearsed EVA to investigate the problem. They discover a foreign object jammed in the docking mechanism. ”

“ The Mayaks removed 20 instruments with a total mass of 350-400 kg from Salyut 7 before returning to Mir. Between August 19 and August 22, engines on Cosmos 1686 boosted Salyut 7 to a record-high mean orbital altitude of 475 km to forestall reentry. Atmospheric drag took its toll, however, and the station reentered over South America 54 mo later. Pieces of Salyut 7 and Cosmos 1686 were found in Argentina. 2.9 Mir/DOS-7 (February 19, 1986-present) The Mir space station is the centerpiece of the Russian manned space program. Its base block (figure 2-11) has been in orbit for 9 years. ”

“ During docking, cosmonauts aboard Mir noticed that three of the eight thermal blankets (layers of foil vacuum-shield insulation) on the descent module of the approaching Soyuz-TM 9 spacecraft had come loose from their attachments near the heat shield, yet remained attached at their top ends. The main concern was that the capsule might cool down, permitting condensation to form inside and short out its electrical systems. There was also fear that the blankets might block the infrared vertical sensor, which oriented the module for reentry. ”

“ The major portion of Part 2 is devoted to the three DOS multiport stations, Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir. Part 3, covering the “Space Station Modules,” describes their surprisingly convoluted heritage, with particular attention given to the Mir modules Kvant, Kvant 2, and Kristall. Part 4 is a chronology comparing U.S. and Soviet/Russian manned spaceflight developments in context. It begins with the first manned spaceflight, but attempts completeness only from 1970 to its conclusion (November 1994) .
All times and dates are in Universal time (UT) unless otherwise stated. ”

“ Arrived at the Mir station carrying a three-man crew, including French cosmonaut Chretien on his second flight into space. Titov, Manarov, and Chretien returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-6. Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev, and Valeri Polyakov remained aboard Mir. On April 28, 1989, they left Mir in mothballs and returned to Earth in Soyuz-TM 7. ”

“ Polyakov remains on Mir with Manarov and Titov, while Mohmand and Lyakhov depart in Soyuz-TM 5 on September 6. They discard the orbital module before firing the main engine, a practice begun with the early flights of the Soyuz-T. This practice permits the spacecraft to burn more fuel for orbital maneuvers; with no orbital module to deorbit, less fuel need be retained for the deorbit burn at the end of the mission. Orientation sensor and software problems force them to remain aloft an extra day in their cramped descent capsule with neither docking apparatus nor sanitary facilities. ”

“ July 27 Soyuz-TM 15 launch—Docks with Mir on July 29 carrying cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov, Sergei Avdeyev, and Michel Tognini (France) . Tognini returns to Earth with Viktorenko and Kaleri on August 10 in Soyuz-TM 14. Their Earth-landing system malfunctions, so the capsule lands hard and comes to rest upside down, trapping the crew until it can be turned over. July 31-August 8 STS-46—Atlantis deploys the Italian-built Tethered Satellite System and ESA’s EURECA experiment carrier on the STS-46 mission. ”

“ Equipment for extracting carbon dioxide and harmful trace gases from the station’s atmosphere. The system is rated for use by up to three cosmonauts. The filtration system is “renewed in the vacuum of space.” Nonrenewable filtration cartridges are used only when more than three cosmonauts reside on Mir (i.e., when a guest crew visits) . Operational experience indicates that up to five cosmonauts can rely on the renewable system. Scientific gear (800 kg) includes the Roentgen X-ray telescope suite (four instruments) and the Glazar ultraviolet telescope. ”

“ Progress 41 March 16, 1989-April 25, 1989 Many Progress missions served a psychological purpose as well as a logistics one. Psychologists in ground control had a hand in choosing morale-boosting treats for the space station crew. In addition, Progress cargoes usually included mail from loved ones and newspapers. Progress 41 carried to Mir postcards commemorating the 30th anniversary of Luna 1 (launched January 2, 1959) , the first probe to pass near the Moon. A possible main engine failure prevented Progress 41 from making the usual controlled destructive reentry at the end of its mission. ”

“ Here I found, also, warm faith in the human, glowing idealism, sweetnesses of unselfishness, renunciation, and martyrdom — all the splendid, stinging things of the spirit. Here life was clean, noble, and alive. ”

“ The sage has conquered passion, and has come to lasting peace. As the mighty mountain remains unmoved by the turbulent ocean that beats round its base, so the mind of the sage, towering in lofty virtue, remains unshaken by the tempests of passion which beat unceasingly upon the shores of life. Good and wise, he is evermore happy and serene; transcendently virtuous, he lives in beatific bliss. ”

“ Soyuz-T 15 • Salyut 7 • Cosmos 1686 May 6-June 25, 1986 First EVA—girder experiment. Vasyutin’s illness left loose ends on Salyut 7. Most notably, the Chegets were unable to perform EVAs with implications for the Mir program. On May 28 the Mayaks climbed outside to retrieve space exposure experiments and test the Ferma-Postroital (“girder-constructor”) device. A deployment canister converted a folded girder cartridge into a 15-m girder in only a few minutes. The girder was retracted by reversing the process at the end of the EVA. The EVA lasted 3 hr, 50 min. ”

“ Let your feelings be governed and controlled by the principles of eternal life, as should the children of God, delighting in truth and righteousness. Let the wicked say what they please, for their breath is in their nostrils, and all their glory is like the grass and the flower of the grass that passeth away. ”

“ The light of truth and understanding, that is God's Smile, looks up into our faces from the heart of every flower, whether bathed in moonlight, or shining underneath the sun; the simplest soul or the grandest intellect, alike, may bask beneath this light and feel its healing power. ”

“ May 15 Energia—The Soviets launch the first Energia rocket. It carries the unmanned 80-ton Polyus space platform. An FGB-based propulsion/service module is designed to complete orbital insertion and provide attitude control and orbit maintenance. An attitude control problem prevents the orbital insertion burn. May 19-July 19 Progress 30. July 22 Soyuz-TM 3 launch—Alexander Viktorenko, Alexander Alexandrov, and Mohammed Faris (Syria) dock at the Kvant port on July 24. Alexandrov remains onboard Mir, and Laveikin returns to Earth with Victorenko and Faris in Soyuz-TM 2 on July 30. ”

“ In addition to the three Atlantis dockings and the initial dockings of Priroda and Spektr, seven Progress-M and four Soyuz-TM dockings occurred between November 1994 and August 1996. Soyuz-TM 20, Soyuz-TM 21, and Progress-M 32 were each undocked and redocked once. Six relocations of Kristall, Spektr, and Priroda brought the total number of dockings for the period to 23. Using the icon concept developed for "Mir Hardware Heritage," each configuration is depicted at the left of the narrative description of mission events. A key to the individual icons is given in figure 1. ”

“ Temptation, trial, sorrow, pain; hope, fear, self-hatred, love and joy, with ever-renewed and increased aspiration and effort, all variously change and deepen their combinations and qualities, outlook and ideals. But they do not for one moment cease. All things but grow in depth and significance, in variety within unity, in interiority and interpenetration. ”

“ Lift your soul up to its height, now and then, and breathe a thought of the heart that may grow into a prayer as you recall the great Circle of which you are a member. Think in silence of their multiplied and varied circumstances, perils, temptations and necessities. Think of the disheartened, the bereaved, the suffering, the doubting; those who have great power, but do not know how to use it; those who are sick of sin and worldliness, and do not know how to get into the path of holiness and peace. ”

“ Love and goodness, purity and truth, benevolence and devotion, firmness and justice, authority and command—these are a few, and a few only, of the abstract ideas which may be presented and represented to us in every degree and in every combination by the remembered image of some silent face. What a wealth of concepts is set before us, for example, in the images raised by this single line:
'Her eyes are homes of silent prayer'! ”