Status space station
MIR:

As of 24.03.2000 the  main
computer and the SUD (system for the control of movements)
continuously control the attitude  of the MIR-complex with the
use of the gyrodynes. When the main computer was working again
with new installed data, the gyrodynes were activated again and
spinning at full speed. In the period in which the station was
unstaffed these systems had been tested regularly. Now everything is
aimed at the arrival of the Soyuz-TM30 with a new crew.
   
During a session of  the relevant  commission on 24.03.2000
green light has been given for at least one expedition to the MIR
station.   The crew and the reserve crew for that mission
have been in Baykonur to inspect their ship. During a
press-conference after that meeting the commission again confirmed
that the promised money for the training and flight of Steklov had
not been received and that the actor will not fly (this time).
The commission decided to give permission for a flight of 45 days,
but it might be possible that the flight will be  extended up to
90 days. Nothing has been decided about an eventual following
flight.

Main purpose of the flight of
this 28th Main Expedition to MIR is to inspect the state of all
systems of the complex in order  to analyse  whether the
station is suitable for the accomodation of crews in the near
future. The highest priority for this crew is the search for
the mysterious leakage of air and the eventual elimination of that
problem.

When the crew of the
27th Main Expition was about to return to earth in August 1999, 
specialists at TsUP considered the possibility to put back the return
a few days to enable that crew to solve this problem, but this idea
was cancelled as  in that case the crew had to land in darkness.
Thusfar there has been no answer to the question in which part of the
complex the leakage might be.

Altitude of the complex: Perigee
is 335 KM,  Apogee 356 KM. The period is 91.2
minutes.

Communications: For the
communications between TsUP Moscow and MIR the Russians have to
depend on the tracking stations within the territory of the Russian
Federation and Kazakhstan (Dzhusali near Baykonur). Until 29.08.1999
TsUP also got the support from American tracking stations at White
Sands, Dryden and Wallops. It is unlikely that this will be
possible during the future exploitation of MIR due to the American
dissatisfaction with MIR’s  prolongation. Furthermore the
Russians do not yet have a geostationary satellite for the MIR-TsUP
communications. The plan is  to position such a
satellite, the Altair-3 over 16 degrees West this  
summer,  but sofar it is unsure if the Russians can use this
satellite for MIR because of the fact that this satellite has to be
used for the Russian segment of the ISS, the service module Zvezda.
In fact the systems of that new satellite are suited for both
purposes. The systems are equal to those of the previous Altairs and
Luch-1 transponders.

Telemetry transmitters MIR:  Still in the 166 and 165 mc bands,
but also now and then, mostly a few minutes before LOS,  in
the 634 mc band. Always somewhat lower than this
frequency  due to the Doppler effect.

Soyuz-TM30: This transportship
with on board the crew for the 28th Main Expedition (Zalyotin and
Kaleri), will be launched from Baykonur on 4.04.2000 at
05.01.26UTC.

The ship has to dock at MIR on 6.04.2000 at about
0630UTC.   This is 8 minutes after LOS for Western Europe.

The radio traffic during the
last phase of the approach can be heard in Wetern Europe 
between 0616 and 0622UTC on 121.750 FM-N. When the crew is on
board of MIR the radio traffic can be monitored via 143.625 mc
FM-N.

Approx. 3 hrs after  
launch Soyuz-TM30  comes in my  range  and can be
heard on 121.750 mc and the telemetry channels in the 165 and 166
bands and via 922.755 mc.

The main crew, Zalyotin and
Kaleri, will use the call-signs  Yenisey-1 and 
2.

The standins Sharipov and
Vinogradov, got the call Tan-Syan.

Chris van den Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202