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THIS WEEK ON |
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Friday > Archives
> 1997
> August
> August 15, 1997 Space Station Mir: How will Mir's problems affect the building of the International Space Station? Space Station Mir is feeling its age. Launched in 1986 for a scheduled 5 year tour, the station is still in use 11 years later. In the past year, the team aboard Mir has had to deal with problems ranging from failures of oxygen-generating apparatus to the failure of gyroscopes that stabilize the station. Coolant leaks, fire, and power problems have also plagued the aging craft. To make matters even worse, the battering the station received from an off-course supply ship in June has punctured one module of Mir, forcing the crew to abandon science experiments and needed supplies. The crash also damaged Mir's solar array, forcing the crew to take radical steps to conserve energy aboard the crippled craft. Now a support ship bearing a fresh crew trained to attempt to restore power and repair the Spektr module has arrived on the station. Will they be able to make the necessary repairs? Is it wise to even try, or should Mir be abandoned or scaled back? And what do the problems aboard Mir mean to the many science experiments aboard -- and to the plans for an international space station? Join Ira Flatow as he takes a look inside the star-crossed space station Mir.
Guests: John Uri Books/Articles Discussed:
Related links: Mir info See Mir yourself! The International Space Station |
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