Mir Astronauts Begin Air Repairs

Astronauts aboard the Russian orbiting space station Mir will begin repairing their damaged air supply systems today, after an unmanned cargo craft carrying oxygen and vital repair parts from Earth docked safely with the aging station Tuesday.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Jerry Linenger and two Russian cosmonauts, Vasily Tsibliyev and Alexander Lazutkin, have been forced for weeks to rely on only one of the orbiter’s two oxygen-producing systems.

Among the troubles that have plagued Mir since the 42-year-old Linenger arrived Jan. 19 on space shuttle Atlantis have been a flash fire, problems with the motion-control system and a partial power outage.

The main device for removing carbon dioxide from air inside the station is also broken, and the crew is using a back-up system of lithium hydroxide canisters to purge the poisonous gas.

The two cosmonauts will remain in orbit six weeks longer than planned. Originally, a new crew planned to blast off to the space station on June 24, but a shortage of booster rockets has forced the agency to delay that mission until Aug. 5, ITAR-Tass said.