SEPTEMBER 1998



MIR-routine: Gradually the passes of the MIR-station for Western Europe

shifted to the early evening hours. During the first passes of each 

daily  sequence of 6  radio communications can be monitored again via

the VHF-channels.



>From this traffic could be derived that life on board MIR is normal. 

part from minor repairs and maintenance work, no significant failures 

were reported.  The crew rendered  special attention to the oxygen 

production, the regeneration of condensation into water and the  

airconditioner BKV-3. 



The cosmonauts executed  astrophysical and geophysical experiments . 

They used the Mariya spectrometer in the Module Kvant-1 to study the 

generation of high energetic particles in space and the  in radiation 

belts around the earth.



Medical  check-ups and experiments revealed that the health and physical 

condition of the crew is excellent.  During a private conversation 

Avdeyev said that he expects to return to earth towards the summer of

1999.



Results 1st  spacewalk of the present crew: After this spacewalk, an

internal one inside the Module Spektr on 15.09.98, there was still the

question if the repair  of cable connections to interfaces of the 3 

undamaged solar batteries resulted in an improved power supply.  They 

achieved their goal: the solar batteries can be turned to the most 

effective sun angles, thus fully restoring the available power supply of 

the complex.



On 29.09.1998 during the pass in orbit 72045, 1854-1856UTC, strange 

sounds could be monitored.  Possibly this involved an experiment with an 

alarm signal  and a  female computer voice declared, that the 'operative 

systems were not normally charged and that there was a test in progress  

to transmit   data.'  During that test the letters DE in morse code were 

transmitted.



Progress-M40: Officially the launch of this freighter is still on 

schedule for 15.10.1998, but spokesmen at TsUP expect that this launch 

will be put back, possibly until 25.10.1998.  TsUP itself is waiting for

a decision about the launch date.  No further information or  a 

confirmation about the possibility that this Progress-M would carry the 

experiment Znamya 2.5 (the solar reflector), as recently   declared  by 

a reliable RKK Energiya source,  could be obtained thusfar. 



Communications:



The last few weeks the radio-amateurstation on board MIR continues to

use the frequency 145.985 mc for Packet Radio only, as far as could be

determined in Western Europe.  It might be possible that  the present

crew is not interested in phone communications or does not like the

crowded uplink over Western Europe.



   The geostationary satellite Altair-2 remained silent. Antenna number

4, used for the downlink to Russia of the received video and phone

signals from MIR, can no longer  be aimed automatically.  Reported was

that it is possible to aim this antenna manually, but whether this had

been done could not  be  established  nor confirmed by other sources.



  A number of radio-amateurs in Finland and Sweden, involved in

sleuthing and monitoring   geostationary satellites, picked up traffic

from MIR to TsUP via Luch-1/Gelios over 77 degrees East . They reported

that the signals are very strong and of a high quality. Regretfully they

cannot do much with these signals due to the fact that they only

understand their mother's language.  Some of them use  computer

translation programs for their E-mail correspondence.