SPACE.com: Although this is you first flight, you are definitely familiar with the spaceflight experience of your colleagues. What will be the unique features of this flight compared to others made by your fellow cosmonauts?
Zaletin: There are a lot of such features. First, most of the Russian spaceflights during the last 10 years lasted either one week or at least six months. Our flight will be somewhat in between -- about 45 or 60 days. Second, there will be no traditional shift of crews in the orbit. Usually one crew was replaced by the other and they flew together for about a week during such exchange. Nobody will replace us. Finally, for the first time in the history of Soviet/Russian cosmonautics, a man without a formal cosmonauts diploma will fly into space. He will just [be] a passenger on board the station. This will also impact activity in orbit in some way. (Editor's note: Zaletin was referring to plans to include actor Vladimir Steklov on the crew to film a movie during the mission, but that plan fell through when the production company failed to make payments to the organization that oversees Mir.)
SPACE.com: A veteran cosmonaut Georgy Grechko, based on the experience of international crews flying on Russian space stations, is convinced that in case of an emergency you would save Steklov. He told the story of an international crew which, upon leaving the station, almost left behind the results of the experiments conducted during their stay in the outpost. Grechko asked the Russian cosmonauts, "How could it happen?" "Because all our thoughts were concentrated on the foreign guest," they answered. Could something like this happen during your mission?
Zaletin: No, I dont think so. A joint work with Steklov is not mine or Alexander Kalerys priority. We are supposed to spend about 12 hours on a cinematographic activity during this flight.
SPACE.com: What about psychological compatibility? Steklov is not a cosmonaut, a pilot or a flight engineer. Could this be a reason for a certain misunderstanding between you, Kalery and him?
Zaletin: Theoretically this could happen. I should say, however, that during our joint cosmonauts training, which has lasted for two months already, we had a lot of hard training sessions. Ive had an opportunity to watch him in different situations. He is a very hard working and very goal-oriented guy. He is determined to do the best job he can and to help us to the extent of his competency. So, I dont anticipate any problems between us and him. Keep also in mind that our flight will last not a year or six months, but just 45 to 60 days. Each member of our crew knows his particular functions on board the station. Steklov knows very well what he and we are supposed to do. He will harmonically integrate himself into the main crew, which will be doing the main job of taking the station out of the sleeping mode.
SPACE.com: As a mission commander, do you believe that Steklov is adequately trained to deal with emergency situations that may happen aboard the station?
Zaletin: Yes, we practiced all the major emergency situations which might happen in space, particularly fire, sudden depressurization,on board computer malfunction etc Steklov will do certain actions aimed at helping us to solve these problems. He clearly understands his role in such situations.
SPACE.com: You said that Steklov will spend about 12 hours working on board Mir on the movie. What about other time? Will he participate in the experiments or engineering activities in the station?
Zaletin: I believe that 12 hours does not reflect overall a true amount of time which we will have to spend on the movie-related activities. Well probably have to spend our personal time to do this job. As about other types of activities which Steklov will be involved in on board the station, it is all a matter of [the] training he will get while still on Earth. The more training he gets, the more we shall trust him as a professional.
SPACE.com: In other words, you do not consider him as dead weight ?
Zaletin: Of course, not. He will be our assistant.
SPACE.com: Do you realize that the future of the Russian independent piloted space program depends on the success of your flight?
Zaletin: Yes, this is exactly how we view it. We realize that our flight will give an answer to the question: Will Mir celebrate its 15th anniversary in orbit, or no? A number of very interesting experiments is supposed to be conducted on board the station by the time it reaches the age of 15. If everything goes as planned, these experiments should be conducted by the next crew which will fly to the station at the end of this year.
SPACE.com: So, you believe that the station will celebrate its 15th birthday?
Zaletin: As a man, I want to believe that this will happen, however, deep in my soul I am convinced that the station will live long enough to see its 15th year in orbit.
Interview with Flight Engineer Alexander Kalery
SPACE.com. You are a veteran cosmonaut who has already made two spaceflights. What are the peculiarities of your upcoming mission compared to the other flights made by you?
Kalery: First, this flight is coming after a considerable break in the manned operations of the Mir space station. Nobody is waiting for us up there. Our initial activities on board the station will be related to putting Mir out of the sleeping mode and reactivating its systems and equipment. This is the third break in the history of manned operations of the station. The first one was after the first mission in 1986 (Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov), the second one after the fourth mission in 1989 (Alexander Volkov, Sergey Krikalev and Valery Polyakov). Then the station was in continuous manned operation for more than 10 years. A lot of water passed under the bridge since then. Some of the ground support specialists who helped cosmonauts in the past to reactivate the station are no longer around.
Another peculiarity of this flight, at least for me, is that unlike in my two previous flights when I had two crewmembers, this time I will fly with only one crewmember. Finally, a considerable amount of repair work should be done on board the station, including a search for a leak.
SPACE.com: Taking into consideration all the challenges which youve just mentioned, do you think it was a well considered decision to send a rookie cosmonaut-mission commander with you?
Kalery: Of course, an experience means a lot, but Sergei has the necessary experience. To be a commander requires more than just to make decisions: it also involves taking care of personnel, organization of subordinates activities, etc. Sergei can do all these things because he started gaining his command experience when he was still a cadet in the flight school, and then kept accumulating it during his pilots career as a senior pilot and as commander of a flight of aircraft. So, it wont be accurate to say that he is totally inexperienced. As for space issues, we will help each other. Of course, in the beginning of our joint activity on board the station I will do most of the work. The most important thing for him at this point is to fly, to gain the necessary pilot-cosmonauts experience and to pass it to other rookie cosmonauts.
SPACE.com: What are the major technical challenges of your flight?
Kalery: First, I would mention a big volume of work related to the reactivation of Mir, which we have to do in the beginning of our mission. We are used to being welcomed on board the station by a staying crew which has been supporting regular operation of the station, including maintaining normal living conditions inside the outpost. This time we will have to do everything by ourselves, including activation of control panels, ventilation, life support system, etc. Let me give you an example: even before we will be able to cook a dinner, we will have to do a prophylactic check-up of the heating system. However, in order to do this checkup we need power. In order to get the necessary power we will have to do a number of procedures right after the docking and moving inside the station which will take at least four or five hours. The same is true with regards to waste, water supply and other systems of Mir. The fresh crew never had to think about such things when it just had to carry on the work of a previous crew.
Our work days will be fairly long in the beginning of our mission. Even when we are still on board Soyuz, we will have to work eight to 10 hours each day. At the day of docking we will have to work 10 to 11 hours in Soyuz and then continue our work in the station at least for another six hours. Then we will have to continue reactivating the station. There are also a number of repair activities which need to be urgently done, particularly fixing the solar array. It has a problem with its drive, which cannot orient it toward the sun. Before we fix this array we wont have enough power on board.
Another serious problem is related to a thermo-control system. Some of the thermo-circuits have lost their leak-tightness, which resulted in the coolant/heater (ethylene glycol) leaking into the atmosphere of the station. This problem was first noticed in 1995. Personally, I was fixing some of these circuits during my flight in 1996-97. The bad thing about ethylene glycol getting into the cabins air is that the air humidity inside the station is condensed, recycled and then used as a water for drinking and cooking. The good thing is that now there is a catalytic filter-reactor in Mir which oxygenates the bad condensate and makes regular elements out of it. These elements in their turn are being cleaned in the cleaning blocks. In order to minimize chances of ethylene glycol leaking into the stations atmosphere, it was decided to lower pressure inside the cooling/heating circuits so that it would be less than atmospheric pressure inside Mir (before it was higher). However, such pressure difference results in the air getting through micro-cracks into the thermo-circuits and converting into air bubbles. These bubbles stick to the gear pumps and ultimately put them out of service. This is why one of our repair activities will be related to the removal of air out of the thermo-circuits to ensure the effective work of thermo-control system and ultimately comfort inside the station.
As about the station losing its pressure, I would say that there is nothing life threatening in this situation which looks dramatic, mostly because the leak has not been located yet. The leak was noticed not long before the last crew abandoned the station meaning that we had no opportunity to search the hole during half a year. Such leaks happened before and they were always found and fixed. I dont see why this time it should be different. We have no idea where it could be located but we will be looking for it and hopefully well find it.
SPACE.com: Your mission will last 45 to 60 days?
Kalery: A. I would say that it will more likely last 60 days. Theoretically it may be extended even beyond that. Such a decision will be based on several evaluations, particularly of the rate of waste of critical life support elements, like food, water, waste neutralizing stuff etc. A key role in such an extension will be played by one more Progress [cargo ship] flight, which is contingent on money. And money is a big problem, as you know.
SPACE.com: An actor, Vladimir Steklov was supposed to fly with you but his flight was canceled. Do you regret this, or do you overall have an indifferent attitude towards Steklovs mission?
Kalery: I would say that it was beyond any manner of doubt a very interesting project. Sergei and I were very interested in taking part in it. This project was something new, something what could have resulted in a visible and important product for all people on Earth. This is why we regret that it will not happen. Personally I feel very sorry for Volodya (a nickname for Vladimir). I believe that he was shamelessly cheated. It looks like somebody was playing a dirty game using Steklov like a small card. If there were no plans to send him to space, why was it necessary to induce illusions on him and than to disillusion him so ruthlessly? He had a very serious attitude towards cosmonauts training and achieved good results. He sacrificed a lot in his life in order to fly in space. He passed all the medical and professional examinations just to see the fence risen in front of him and cutting him off the launch pad. As about people who so outrageously used him, let this be on their conscience.
SPACE.com: Will cancellation of Steklovs flight force you to considerably change you work schedule or to redistribute the workload between you and Sergei on board the station?
Kalery: I would not speak for the whole flight. However, some redistribution of workload will be required during the first couple of days. During training we distributed professional activities among ourselves. We trained Volodya for certain procedures and he was ready to fulfill them. He could be of real help to us during the first and second days of our flight. Now Sergei and I will have to do everything by ourselves. As about further down the road of the mission, we will see how it will work.
SPACE.com: Do you feel a special responsibility for the results of this flight which may determine Mirs future fate, at least through the end of this year, and consequently, the fate of the Russian national human space program?
Kalery: I try not to think about that, although this is a correct observation. Such thoughts, however, should not hang over my head like a sword of Damocles and distract me from my work. I believe that we have been prepared well for our mission. Each of us should be like a well-trained sportsman who, in order to win, should not become too nervous about the outcome of the competition, but just has to do his best.
SPACE.com: As a cosmonaut you support a continuation of Mirs operation. However, as an engineer, what do you think about the reasonable time of its further operation a year, or two? Maybe it would make more sense to invest the money that is currently spent on Mir in some other advanced national piloted space project?
Kalery: I will be able to say something definite only after the flight. I have a pretty vague idea of Mirs current technical health. I visited the station three years ago and so many events happened on Mir since then, including Progress ramming, coolant leak, overheating etc. However, I believe that before we launch a new station, and as long as Mirs operation is reasonably safe and we dont have to spend all our time on its technical maintenance, but still have enough time left for scientific activities, why not operate the station for a while? I believe that Mirs operation extension should not be considered as a goal per se, but as an accumulation of a useful experience which will be applied to the creation of the new generation of spacecraft and orbital outposts. By keeping Mir in orbit we will also keep our highly qualified specialists in good professional shape.
SPACE.com: Will the recently created MirCorp introduce any specifics into your on-board activities?
Kalery: I dont know yet and I dont think that anybody could give a definite answer to this question. Lets see how it will work.
SPACE.com: Would you have any wish for SPACE.com readers?
Kalery: Health and happiness. And I also would like to wish SPACE.com readers, particularly young ones, to live long enough to read SPACE.com reports about human missions to the moon and Mars.
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