New crew ready for space station stint

New crew ready for space station stint

But they face many maintenance issues upon arriving

By GUY GUGLIOTTA Washington Post

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Washington — A fresh crew is heading for the International Space Station today for a six-month stint that will include science and spacewalks but also will demand close attention to an array of potentially serious maintenance problems that have arisen in the aftermath of last year’s shuttle disaster.

Unlike the last crew exchange, however, when two midlevel NASA officials refused temporarily to certify the safety of the mission, planners have given “Expedition 9,” the ninth crew to staff the station, a clean bill of health.

Lingering defects ranging from an iffy oxygen supply to jury- rigged exercise equipment and a temperamental gyroscope continue to raise concerns, but National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said they have been analyzed and deemed manageable.

“The best you can do is train for every one of these contingencies,” NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe said last week. “But you’re going to have equipment challenges, and there’s no way to call Pep Boys or Wal-Mart. You’ve got to have the capacity to do this onboard.”

O’Keefe also denied reports of disputes between NASA and Russian space officials over priorities for shipping vital equipment on the Russian Soyuz and Progress cargo spacecraft, which have assumed the burden of servicing the station since the U.S. space shuttles were grounded after last year’s Columbia tragedy. The Russians “have responded like partners,” he said. “It has been extremely successful.”

Still, NASA’s William Gerstenmaier, manager of the space station program, showed little enthusiasm for a recent Russian proposal to extend space station missions from six months to a year.

Gerstenmaier also addressed several of the space station’s problems, saying a leaky lab window poses little danger and a mysterious rattling noise may have come from a fan in the Russian sleeping quarters.

Other problems were not so easily dismissed and concerned important pieces of equipment that in many cases cannot be easily replaced because of the limited cargo capacity of Russia’s Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.

A chief concern was an oxygen-producing Elektron unit, whose erratic performance early this year several times forced crew members to rely on auxiliary oxygen. Should the auxiliary oxygen be depleted, the space station would have to be abandoned.

Gerstenmaier said the Elek-tron had been repaired and added that the crew will bring two pumps up to help repair another failed unit. He acknowledged, however, that “the Elektron we have in-stalled is effectively our last spare.”

Expedition 9 is scheduled for launch tonight from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakstan.

The 132-foot rocket topped by a Soyuz TMA-4, which will carry the new crew, was hoisted into launch position Saturday at the Kazakstan site.

Russian Air Force Col. Gennady Padalka, 45, a veteran of long- duration spaceflight aboard the Mir space station, will command the mission. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Fincke, 37, a spaceflight rookie, will serve as flight engineer and science officer.

Docking is scheduled for the early morning Wednesday.

Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, 45, another first-timer, will accompany Padalka and Fincke and conduct experiments aboard the space station for nine days. He will return to Earth April 30, with the departing crew: American Commander Michael Foale and Russian Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri.

In a mission expected to last about six months, Padalka and Fincke will perform experiments in disciplines ranging from human physiology to materials science, physics and chemistry. They also will conduct extensive observations of the Earth’s geography, geology and environment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

THE TIMETABLE

Here is the schedule for the next mission on the International Space Station:

— Tonight: Launch of Soyuz craft with new crew (Monday Kazakstan time).

— Early morning Wednesday: Docking of Soyuz with station.

— April 30: Departure of Soyuz for Earth with previous crew.

— July 22 and Aug. 25: Spacewalks by both members of two-man crew.