Word: tsibliyevs
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
MOSCOW: The Russian space agency's plans to repair the crippled space station Mir have been postponed because of commander Vasily Tsibliyev's heart condition. As a replacement, Russian officials may ask NASA to allow American astronaut Michael Foale to take part in the repairs, a move sure to attract fire from Congress, which has become increasingly critical of the joint U.S.-Russian program over the past several weeks. TIME's Andrew Meier reports that the Russian decision to cancel the spacewalk was made to give Tsibliyev a much needed day off after a series of harrowing incidents...
Last Wednesday the two Russians and one American aboard the Mir space station were playing a video game with the highest possible stakes. Outside, an unmanned Progress cargo ship hung in space, pointing its television camera toward Mir. Inside, Commander Vasily Tsibliyev watched a monitor as he operated a pair of joysticks, coaxing the robot ship in for a docking. But inexplicably, Progress stopped responding to Tsibliyev's commands and rammed the station. The collision damaged Mir's solar panels and punctured its hull, threatening not only the lives of the crew but perhaps the future of U.S.-Russian collaboration...
...contains science experiments and the American's sleeping quarters, forcing the crew to seal off that portion of the station. Damage to the solar panels cost Mir half its power, leading to a shipwide brownout, and the station itself was thrown into a sickening spin. At week's end Tsibliyev, fellow cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin and astronaut Mike Foale were reduced to pitching camp in the dimly lighted areas of the station that still work, as failing systems caused heat and humidity to soar and Mir itself to list and drift. "It's as critical as it can get," said astronaut...
Last week Linenger and cosmonaut Vasili Tsibliyev took a successful and widely publicized space walk outside the station. This week NASA plans to fly astronaut Mike Foale up to Mir, bringing to five the number of Americans who will have been Russia's orbital guests. Despite these successes, some in Washington are wondering whether it's safe for any American to set foot aboard the rickety ship. Even if Mir survives, others are asking, what does the sorry state of the craft say about Russia's ability to participate in future projects with the U.S.--particularly the long-planned international...