Russians Want Leaking Shuttle at Arm’s Length

The message from the Russian Space Agency to NASA was clear Sunday: No way can your leaking shuttle come near our Mir.

With time running out, NASA ordered the space shuttle Discovery’s astronauts to repeatedly shut down and re-pressurize a leaking jet in a long-shot effort to stop the drainage and permit a close encounter today with Russia’s orbiting Mir station. It didn’t work.

Russian officials insist that, unless the steering jet stops spewing fuel, Discovery must stay at least 400 feet from Mir--365 feet farther than planned. They fear the small chunks of frozen propellant might damage critical optical sensors on a Soyuz capsule attached to the station and needed by the three Mir cosmonauts to return to Earth next month.

Mission operations director Randy Stone said National Aeronautics and Space Administration engineers believe the leaking nitrogen tetroxide would not attach to anything and poses no danger.

But the Russians aren’t convinced, “and it’s their call,” he said.

The original plan called for Discovery and its crew of six to fly within 35 feet of the station as a dress rehearsal for the first shuttle-Mir docking in June. NASA wanted to see how well the shuttle handled next to the 100-ton station and test navigation and communication systems.

“Obviously, the closer we can get the better it will be,” said Discovery pilot Eileen M. Collins. “But even if we only go to 1,000 feet . . . we will still be getting a lot of good information.”

While the leaking jet is not crucial for a close approach to Mir, it’s linked to two other jets, one of which is crucial. To turn off one jet in the cluster knocks out all three.