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Brief Scare Aboard Space Station As Shuttle Heads Home

STS-115 astronaut Joen Tanner in the quest airlock on the ISS. Credit: NASA.

Progress Cargo Ship To Be Undocked From ISS
Moscow (RIAN) Sep 18 - The Progress M-56 cargo spacecraft, filled with garbage, will undock from the International Space Station and crash into the Pacific Tuesday morning, a Mission Control center said Monday. The spokesman told RIA Novosti that the parts of the craft that will not burn up in the atmosphere will sink in a "spacecraft cemetery" at 40 degrees longitude in the Pacific, a short distance from Christmas Island. The Russian Mir station ended its life in the area in February 2000, after 15 years of service. The new cargo spacecraft Progress M-58 will be launched October 18 and will be docked with the ISS October 20. It will deliver 2.5-tons of cargo to the station, including fuel, equipment, food, water, air, and gifts for the crew.
by Jean-Louis Santini
Cape Canaveral (AFP) Sep 18, 2006
A possible chemical leak aboard the International Space Station gave a brief scare Monday after an otherwise flawless shuttle Atlantis mission due to wind up Wednesday. The incident came a day after the six Atlantis astronauts left the station following the first ISS construction mission since the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, and two days before the arrival of a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the first woman space tourist and two professional astronauts.

The orbiting laboratory's ventilation system was shut down and the three ISS occupants put on surgical masks and gloves after a bad odor alerted them to a possible leak.

Space station manager Mike Suffredini said the ISS's Russian, German and American crew members smelled what appeared to be potassium hydroxide (KOH).

"It's an irritant, it's not a life-threatening material, and at no time did the crew have to put on the gas mask or the oxygen mask," he said. "However we did have them wearing some surgical gloves and masks."

The crew initially reported light smoke and an odor of potassium hydroxide coming out of an oxygen vent on the Russian section of the space lab, he said.

"There is no more smoke, just a smell, the situation is stable," ISS astronaut Jeff Williams of the United States later told NASA's mission control.

Suffredini said the incident will not delay Wednesday's scheduled docking of the Soyuz rocket that left Kazakhstan earlier Monday, carrying Iranian-born US citizen and millionaire tourist Anousheh Ansari, NASA's Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.

As the ISS underwent emergency procedures, Atlantis was 74 kilometers (46 miles) from the space station as its crew scanned the shuttle's heat shield for potential damage from micrometeorites.

The astronauts used a camera at the end of the orbiter's robotic arm to check the orbiter's nose cap and wing leading edges. The shuttle remained close to the ISS in case it is forced to return due to damage.

Shuttle flight director Paul Dye said he had not seen any problems.

"The only thing obvious was that everything was very good," Dye said.

Analysts will pore over the data during the next 24 hours before mission managers can give Atlantis the green light to land in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday.

The procedure is part of new safety measures created after the Columbia accident, which was caused by a crack on the shuttle's heat shield that led to its disintegration as it returned to Earth in February 2003.

Atlantis was already cleared from damage that could have been caused by debris during liftoff. Columbia was doomed by foam insulation that peeled off its external fuel tank during its launch and pierced its heat shield.

The five men and one woman of the Atlantis crew arrived at the space station on Sepember 11 to install the first addition to the half-finished ISS since November 2002.

The astronauts used the station's Canadian-made robotic arm to attach the 16-tonne truss segment with two solar arrays, and spacewalkers set up the system, which will double the ISS's power capabilities.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration hailed the resumption of the construction work as a success.

NASA plans 15 more flights to complete construction of the ISS by 2010, when the three-shuttle fleet is to be retired.

The Atlantis mission was the third shuttle flight since the Columbia accident that left seven astronauts dead.

The last two missions aboard the Discovery shuttle, in 2005 and in July, were aimed at improving safety.

earlier related report
Atlantis Departs The International Space Station
The shuttle Atlantis separated from the International Space Station on Sunday and performed a full 360-degree check of the station searching for possible damage and debris at the end of the first ISS construction work since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

The six shuttle astronauts hugged and shook hands with the orbiting laboratory's three occupants after a busy week that included three spacewalks to hook up two giant solar panels that will double the station's power capabilities.

Atlantis pilot Chris Ferguson pulled the spacecraft off the orbiting laboratory and performed the flight around the ISS so astronauts could take pictures of the newly expanded space station.

Video broadcast on NASA television showed striking images of the space station against the backdrop of space and the Earth, with the sparkling new solar arrays in place.

"We got a lot of great pictures," said Atlantis Mission Commander Brent Jett as he radioed the ISS flight engineer Jeff Williams.

"It was really a spectacular sight to see your vehicle from above, looking down on the Earth," Jett said.

"It's a great mission," replied Williams. "Thanks for all the good work. . . look forward to seeing you back in Houston."

Ferguson then guided Atlantis away from the ISS and will keep it 74 kilometers (46 miles) from the station for a final inspection of the shuttle's heat shield.

The crew will use a camera at the end of the orbiter's robotic arm early Monday to scan the shuttle's nose cap and wing leading edges for possible damage from micrometeorites.

The shuttle will remain at a safe distance from the ISS in case it needs to return to the station due to damage on its protective skin.

The procedure is part of new safety measures created after the Columbia accident, which was caused by a crack on the shuttle's heat shield that led to its disintegration as it returned to Earth in February 2003.

Atlantis was already cleared from damage that could have been caused by debris during liftoff.

Atlantis is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 5:57 am (0957 GMT) Wednesday.

The five men and one woman crew arrived at the space station on Sepember 11 to install the first addition to the half-finished ISS since November 2002.

The astronauts used the station's Canadian-made robotic arm to attach the 16-tonne truss segment with two solar arrays and spacewalkers set up the system.

Astronauts Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Joe Tanner conducted the first and third space excursions, while Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean and US counterpart Dan Burbank performed the second spacewalk.

The solar arrays, unfurled Thursday, measure 240 feet (73 meters) and will ultimately provide a quarter of the outpost's power once it is completed. They will be activated during a Discovery shuttle mission planned for December.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration hailed the resumption of the construction work as a success.

"There are a lot a smiles in mission control this morning," Phil Engelauf, one of the flight directors, told reporters at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

"The shuttle mission, although not over yet, is so far just extraordinarily successful in accomplishing the objectives that we set up to undertake on the flight," Engelauf said.

The complex installation of the power-producing solar panels set the stage for future, complicated assembly work.

"All of the rest of the assembly missions are going to be challenging," said Jett, the Atlantis commander. "We are off to a good start on assembly. I think we can pass along a lot of the lessons to the future crews."

NASA plans 15 more flights to complete construction of the ISS by 2010, when the three-shuttle fleet is to be retired.

The Atlantis mission was the third shuttle flight since the Columbia accident that left seven astronauts dead.

The last two missions aboard the Discovery shuttle, in 2005 and in July, were aimed at improving safety.

As part of the new safety measures, Atlantis's heat shield was photographed as it headed to the ISS to check for potential damage caused during liftoff.

Columbia was doomed by foam insulation that peeled off its external fuel tank during its launch and pierced its heat shield. Seven astronauts died when the shuttle broke apart during its return to Earth.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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ISS Goes Into Emergency Mode After Chemical Leak
Cape Canaveral (AFP) Sep 18, 2006
NASA shut down ventilation aboard the International Space Station Monday and its astronauts donned surgical gloves and masks after a bad odor alerted them to a chemical leak, the agency said.







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