Third space station module to launch Wednesday

The Proton rocket awaits launch in Baikonur

July 11, 2000
Web posted at: 9:36 p.m. EDT (0136 GMT)

In this story: Space station nerve center Some flaws remain RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Miles O'Brien
CNN Space Correspondent

MOSCOW -- The rocket that will carry the long-delayed International Space Station's service module into orbit was prepared for fueling Tuesday as workers made last-minute checks to ensure a smooth launch.

The Zvezda ("Star") service module is scheduled for launch at 12:56 a.m. EDT on Wednesday (8:56 a.m. Moscow time/4:56 a.m. GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Russian engineers said they are confident a mysterious fuel pressure loss during the flight of a Proton rocket last week was a one-time event -- clearing the way for the launch of the "cornerstone" of the $60 billion International Space Station.

While the Proton rocket that will carry Zvezda had been considered perhaps the most reliable in the world, a series of problems last year has shattered that air of invincibility.

VIDEO CNN Space Correspondent Miles O'Brien explains what the launch means for the International Space Station QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     INTERACTIVE A 360° stroll through the International Space Station Cult 3-D model of the International Space Station     MESSAGE BOARD Will the Zvezda module prove reliable?     ALSO City in Space

Following two catastrophic failures, the Russians redesigned the Proton second stage. The improved rocket has now flown successfully twice, according to the Russians.

But during the last flight of the modified rocket on July 5, ground controllers detected a loss in fuel pressure in the Proton's second stage. The payload, a military satellite, was successfully deployed.

"We do not like when it is over dramatized," said Sergei Shayevich of the Khrunichev Design Bureau, the Proton's manufacturer. "There was low pressure in second stage -- but it did not affect the overall operation. The satellite was inserted into space and into the right position."

Afterward, Russian engineers pored over their data and determined it was a "one-time" event, then cleared the Proton carrying Zvezda for launch. But their NASA counterparts were not allowed to attend the meetings and are asking the Russians for additional information.

Russian Space Agency officials will hold a final "State Commission" to discuss launch readiness at the Baikonur Cosmodrome about 12 hours before launch.

The 42,000 pound Zvezda, based on the design of the core module of the 14-year-old space station Mir, will be the nerve center for the station during its first manned missions. It will keep the station in its desired orbit and provide living quarters for the vanguard crews.

Artist's concept of the Zvezda unfolding its solar arrays in orbit

Zvezda is scheduled to dock automatically with the space station -- orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 240 miles (384 km) -- on July 25 at 9:10 p.m. EDT (July 26, 5:10 a.m. Moscow time). Eight shuttle missions to transport and attach pieces of the station are slated during the next 12 months. Also on the launch calendar: five unmanned Russian freighter runs by Progress spacecraft and two manned Soyuz flights.

The first Soyuz flight, set for October 30, will carry the first station residents, known as the "Expedition One" crew. The crew will be commanded by NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd and rounded out with Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev.

The space station partners, which include the European nations, Japan and Canada in addition to the United Sates and Russia, are hoping it will be the start of a 15-year continuous multinational manned presence on the station.

Strapped for cash, the Russians have had a hard time completing the complicated Zvezda module. During the past six months, Russian Space Agency officials admit they spotted -- and they say rectified -- no less than 368 malfunctions in the service module. In addition, they say they made 70 design improvements based on input from astronauts and cosmonauts.

But Zvezda will still be launched with some serious flaws that will require repair in space. Among them, NASA engineers say: The service module does not meet their specifications for noise abatement and micrometeroid shielding.

The Zvezda module

The early crews will simply be provided earplugs and headsets while designers ponder some muffler designs. And shielding against wayward space junk and meteor fragments will be installed by spacewalking astronauts a few years from now.

The early three-member crews will also have to deal with one other odd design characteristic on Zvezda: There are only two small sleeping berths, leaving one station-keeper the odd person out.

Despite the hectic, complicated, expensive schedule that lies before them, Russian space agency officials say they are sticking with plans to keep Mir in orbit as long as they have investors -- and at least until February 2001, when the station will mark its 15th anniversary in orbit.

MirCorp, a Dutch-based, American-financed corporation has in effect leased out the station in an attempt to turn a profit.

As part of that effort, American mutual fund operator Dennis Tito has agreed to pay $20 million to become the first space tourist. He plans to spend 10 days aboard Mir next year.

Future of Mir in doubt after cosmonauts return home
June 16, 2000
Atlantis returns after successful mission
May 30, 2000
Shuttle returns to Earth after space station tuneup
May 29, 2000
Earthly woes mount for International Space Station
May 29, 2000
Mission accomplished: Shuttle crew rests after departing repaired space station
May 27, 2000

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