SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS020
ARLS020 Space walk set to fix docking problem
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Space Bulletin 020 ARLS020
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT November 30, 2001
To all radio amateurs
SB SPACE ARL ARLS020
ARLS020 Space walk set to fix docking problem
Speaking via Amateur Radio November 30, International Space Station
crew chief Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, told youngsters in South
Carolina that a space walk scheduled for December 3 will attempt to
fix a Progress supply rocket docking problem. The faulty docking is
holding up the launch of the fourth ISS crew.
Culbertson said the Russian Progress rocket, which arrived November
28, was not completely attached to the ISS. ''It's firmly attached
with some latches, but it doesn't have the right hooks engaged to
make it really, really strong,'' Culbertson explained to youngsters
gathered at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia. ''So, on
Monday, two of the crew members are going to do a space walk to try
to find out what is blocking the hooks and see if we can get that
cleared and complete the latching.'' The Russian Progress supply
rockets are programmed to dock automatically with the ISS.
It appears likely that the two Russian crew members aboard the
ISS--Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov--would carry out Monday's
space walk. Culbertson said the space shuttle Endeavour would be
launched once the crew is able to fix the problem. He made the
comments during a scheduled Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station--or ARISS--school contact.
The Expedition 4 crew of Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Flight
Engineers Dan Bursch, KC5PNU, and Carl Walz, KC5TIE, was to head
into space November 29. They are scheduled to replace the current
crew of Culbertson, Tyurin and Dezhurov, who have been aboard the
ISS since August.
In addition to the replacement crew, new Amateur Radio antennas are
stowed aboard the shuttle for transport to the ISS. Once they
arrive, the new antennas will be installed around the perimeter of
the Service Module, allowing future operation from HF to microwave
frequencies.
For more information about the ISS, visit NASA's Human Space Flight
Web site, http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/index.html .
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