Word: spektr
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...healthier than it has been all summer. But because of the damage to Spektr's hull, the science module is still uninhabitable by Foale or other NASA astronauts, for whom it normally serves as living quarters and science workshop. Though the listing Mir has taken a big step toward righting itself, its problems in space and on Earth are far from over...
...immediate goal of Friday's fix-it call was to install a new hatch on Spektr--one equipped with a cable assembly that would let the crew tap electrical power from the lab's solar panels while keeping the module sealed off from the rest of the station. Before the walk got started, NASA's Greg Harbaugh, who helped plan the exercise, played down its difficulty, brushing off news reports calling it the most dangerous EVA ever. "I don't think they get much easier," he said...
...exactly. Shortly after Solovyev and Vinogradov donned their spacesuits and depressurized an airlock adjacent to Spektr in preparation for opening the airless lab's hatch, Vinogradov's left glove began leaking air. At first the cosmonauts were unconcerned, and a ground controller even joked as Vinogradov struggled to adjust his suit. "Pull it with all your proletarian force," he instructed...
When the cosmonauts turned again to Spektr's hatch, they had no idea what they would find behind it. In the wake of the accident, officials feared the lab would be filled with waving wires, glass debris and even globules of blood collected from the crew for medical tests. But when Vinogradov popped his head inside and peered around with a flashlight, he found that the place looked surprisingly undisturbed. The darkened instrument panels were covered with a layer of sparkly frost, and a cloud of white crystals floated about like fireflies. These were thought to be the remains...
With the cables in place, Solovyev joined Vinogradov inside the lab, and the crewmen began their next chore, looking for breaches in Spektr's skin caused by the collision. The cosmonauts had originally been ordered not to turn the place upside down hunting for holes but rather just to scan for what NASA called blue sky showing through the walls. With the work going so well, however, controllers approved a more thorough search, and Vinogradov and Solovyev went so far as to disassemble Foale's stationary bicycle in order to create maneuvering room. "Michael," Solovyev joshed, "your riding days...