A year in Space

by George A. Spiteri
Page 13

Thursday December 1st 1988

It was announced that the highlight of the Soviet/French flight, the space walk by Volkov, and Chretien, had been brought forward from December 12th to the 9th.

Friday December 2nd 1988

Titov and Manarov began intensive preparations for their return to earth scheduled for December 21st. Dr. Polyakov carried out another routine medical examination of the cosmonauts.

Saturday December 3rd 1988

The cosmonauts spoke to their families (for the Soviet/French crew this was the first occasion that they had spoken to their relatives during their month-long flight).

Sunday December 4th 1988

Today was the 350th day in orbit for Titov, and Manarov; Dr. Polyakov, who has monitored their health, said they were in good condition.

Monday December 5th 1988

Jean-Loop Chretien and Alexander Volkov said that they had tested their space suits for Friday’s EVA. Meanwhile, the Soviet/French crew conducted medical experiments related to space adaptation. Vladimir Titov end Musa Manarov were getting the results of their experiments conducted over the past year ready for return to earth. It was also mentioned today that there was a fir tree aboard Mir brought from earth to remind the cosmonauts of the holiday season (in the U.S.S.R. Christmas is not an actual holiday but the New Year is celebrated).

Tuesday December 6th to Thursday December 8th 1988

Alexander Volkov and Jean-Loop Chretien continued extensive preparations for the international missions highlight their space walk. Both donned their space suits inside Mir and were given a medical examination by Pr. Valery Polyakov.

Friday December 9th 1988

Today cosmonauts Alexander Volkov and Jean-Loup Chretien performed their critical EVA. The main purpose of the space walk was to install a folding structure made of carbon plastic called ERA which would then unfold into a hexagonal prism 1metre high and 4metres in diameter. This structure was the prototype for future girders to be used for mounting telescopes, solar batteries and solar powered units. Once erected outside Mir and with the cosmonauts safely back inside, ERA would be jettisoned into space. Another purpose of the EVA was for the crew to leave equipment and specimens outside Mir to be collected during a future space walk in 6 months time.

Once, outside Mir the cosmonauts first installed a support platform outside the station’s passage compartment and then mounted ERA to it. At first, the structure would not unfold and when Mir came into contact with Mission Control, Volkov said, "the framework has been unfolded" but said, with a chuckle, a Russian four-letter word was needed for help!

The final task for the cosmonauts was to test the structure for vibration resistance with measuring instruments gauging its oscillations and video cameras recording the experiment. Flight Director, Valery Ryumin, ordered them back inside, obviously concerned about their oxygen supply. Volkov and Chretien’s EVA lasted 5 hours and 57 minutes (a record for Soviet space walks). Another milestone was Chretien became the first man other than an American or a Soviet to make a space walk. Soviet and French specialists highly praised the performance of the two men.

Saturday December 10th 1988

Today was a well-earned rest-day especially for Volkov and Chretien.

Sunday December 11th 1988

The cosmonauts continued with another rest-day.

Monday December 12th 1988

Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov familiarized and checked out the Soyuz TM 6 systems. This is the capsule they will use to return to earth on December 21st along with Jean-Loup Chretien. Speaking to Mission Control today, Chretien said he regretted that the most exciting part of the mission, last Friday’s space walk, was now over.

Tuesday December 13th 1988

Today the cosmonauts conducted a new set of technical experiments including studies of the interaction of materials in zero gravity including super hard polymers and alloys.

Wednesday December 14th 1988

At 14:50 GMT Titov and Manarov officially broke the space endurance record by 10% (this is under IAF rules). They were congratulated by Mission Control.

Thursday December 15th 1988

The cosmonauts performed cardio-vascular tests and various other medical examinations.

Friday December 16th 1988

The crew carried out more experiments under the joint Soviet/French programme.

Saturday December 17th 1988

The six cosmonauts did more medical experiments: in particular man’s adaptation to weightlessness.

Sunday December 18th 1988

The cosmonauts held a news conference with journalists in Mission Control and continued their experiments. Titov and Manarov transferred the results of their year-long flight into the Soyuz TM 6 craft in readiness for landing on December 21st.

Monday December 19th 1988

The cosmonauts spoke to President Mitterand of France who wished them a safe return to earth. They continued to prepare for the landing of Soyuz TM 6 on Wednesday.

Tuesday December 20th 1988

Titov, Manarov, and Chretien made final preparations for their return to earth tomorrow. The landing was due at approximately 07:00 GMT near the town of Arkalyk in Soviet Kazakhstan. The cosmonauts have packed up the results of their yearlong flight aboard the Soyuz TM 6 Descent Nodule. Tension was mounting in Mission Control because the last time a Soyuz returned to earth there were serious difficulties (Soyuz TM 5 in September). Titov and Manarov said they were "homesick" but it was a sad experience to be leaving Mir, their home for the last 12 months.

Wednesday December 21st 1988

In the early hours of the morning Titov, Manarov and Chretien said their farewells to Volkov, Krikalev and Polyakov and transferred into Soyuz TM 6. Soyuz undocked from Mir; during this manoeuvre the cosmonauts on Mir sent live TV pictures back to earth showing the transport craft slowly moving away.

The unthinkable was to occur yet again. Prior to the landing the computer aboard Soyuz TM 6 decided that its memory programme was overloaded due to incorrect information and automatically cut off preparations for the craft’s landing. According to TASS the problem was traced to "the faulty interaction of some of the new software with the old package of programmes". Mission Control decided to delay the return of the cosmonauts for three hours (that is, two orbits) whilst a new descent programme was sent to the computer. The landing would now be near the town of Dzhezkazgan.

To lessen the tension, Valery Ryumin, the Chief Flight Director at Mission Control was quoted in "Izvestia" as saying to the cosmonauts, "It’s nothing, boys. You flew for a year so you can wait another two orbits. Let Jean-Loup look at Paris from above one more time".

After switching to a back-up computer programme, Soyuz re-entered the earth’s atmosphere. Radio Moscow had live coverage of the capsule landing amid applause and, no doubt, some relief in Mission Control. Soyuz hit the earth a few seconds prior to 10:00 GMT.

Titov and Manarov were back on earth after their 12-month space odyssey. Television pictures later showed three smiling cosmonauts sitting down and looking fit and well surrounded by medical personnel who, after an initial on-the-spot medical check-up, pronounced the cosmonauts to be well.

There was a change to the post-landing procedure; instead of staying at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the cosmonauts were flown direct to the Space Centre near Moscow where they would undergo intensive medical examinations to see how well they had withstood their space flight. The early signs were that Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov appeared physically and psychologically fit and healthy. In fact, both expressed a desire to remain in space for a few more weeks.

With the cosmonauts safely back on earth, Presidents Gorbachev and Mitterand awarded Titov, Manarov and Chretien the highest decorations of their respective countries.

Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov’s historic space flight ended successfully after exactly a year in space. This was another important step forward in the Soviet Union’s long-term programme in their quest to send men to Mars in the next century.

 

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