Tim Furniss/LONDON
China Aerospace is considering using Russia's Mir space station as a docking base for its planned first manned spacecraft.
Two Chinese astronauts, flying on an uprated Long March 2E booster, will be aboard the spacecraft - based on Russian Soyuz technology - for a launch, possibly at the end of the year. A test flight of the Long March 2E booster is reported to be imminent (Flight International, 22-28 April, 1998).
China's use of Mir would be on a commercial basis as part of Russia's plan to extend the life of the space station to 2002, a move announced by Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov on 22 January.
Russia's Energia space company is believed to have found a partner to help fund the commercial operation of the Mir space station to at least 2001, if not 2002, with a required annual budget of $250 million, including launches of Soyuz and Progress ferry vehicles.
No further details have been announced, but the agreement, if made, is expected to involve commercial flights of "passengers" to the Mir.
The space station was to have been de-orbited in June, to allow the cash-starved Russian space station to concentrate on its obligations to the International Space Station (ISS).
The USA will be angered by the decision and concerned about its effect on the ISS assembly schedule, particularly as the launch of Russia's Service Module for the ISS is already facing a delay from July to September. This latest setback will mean pushing back several Shuttle missions planned this year in a schedule that has already been thrown into disarray by the delay in launching the Chandra X-Ray Observatory aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia STS93 from 8 April to at least mid-May.
To accommodate the Chandra's possible launch in May, the flight of STS96 Discovery, also due to take place from Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, has been pushed to late May. Pad 39A is out of commission for servicing and will not be available until September
The STS96 is the second mission to the ISS and it will provide additional logistics. It will also act as a platform for more spacewalks in preparation for the docking of the Service Module.
Mir cosmonauts have begun preparations for a space mirror experiment to be made from a Progress craft.
Source: Flight International
