Electrical power has been restored to the Kristall module aboard the Mir space station following a successful internal spacewalk by cosmonauts on 22 August. Anatoli Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov reconnected the electrical cables leading from the solar panels of the crippled, depressurised Spektr module to the main power system on the station (Flight International , 5-12 August).
Power from three undamaged solar panels on the Spektr is now being fed gradually to the rest of the station. An external inspection of the Spektr module, which was damaged during a collision with the Progress tanker on 25 June, will be made during a spacewalk on 3 September by Solovyov and NASA astronaut Michael Foale.
The plan is to locate any small holes on the module by lifting its protective cover and then attempt to make temporary repairs using a form of glue and plaster. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is to be launched on 25 September on the seventh mission to dock with the Mir.
Source: Flight International