Mir Crew Clears Way for Delivery of Supplies

After removing a forgotten parking brake, three crewmen aboard the Russian space station Mir on Tuesday jettisoned a used supply capsule and cleared the way for today’s arrival of a fresh cargo shuttle.

A day earlier, the two Russian cosmonauts and U.S. astronaut David Wolf had been unable to dislodge the Progress M-35 craft, which had been attached to Mir since July 7, from its docking port.

Flight controllers speculated that the crewmen had forgotten to remove one or more of the clamps used to secure a connection between visiting supply craft and the port, which proved to be the problem.

The forgotten clamp was removed and the capsule ejected over the South Pacific, expected to burn up as it plunged toward the ocean.

Arrival of a replacement cargo craft had to be put off by about 24 hours to allow time for tests and preparation, said Valery Lyndin, a Mission Control Center spokesman. The new craft, which is ferrying up the last of the tools and equipment needed for an Oct. 20 spacewalk to repair the collision damage, was rescheduled to dock at 10:13 a.m. Los Angeles time today.

In Cape Canaveral, Fla., meanwhile, returned U.S. astronaut Michael Foale said his former commander blames himself for a July 25 crash that damaged Mir. In an emotional interview broadcast by NASA early Tuesday, a weary-looking Foale struggled to explain Mir commander Vasily Tsibliyev’s feelings of guilt: “He felt responsible for the whole accident, which I don’t quite feel . . .”

Choked by emotion, Foale was unable to go on.

A Russian inquiry reported last week that the crash was caused by “an unfavorable combination of factors” and did not hold Tsibliyev responsible.