MOSCOW, Nov. 27 -- Russian Mission Control says two of the three minor problems recorded on the Zarya ('zah-RYAH') module have been fixed and the third will resolve itself within two weeks. Ground controllers were able to fix a malfunctioning accumulator battery by sending a series of commands, restoring it to working order.
The antenna vibrator, which had reportedly failed to fully deploy, has now deployed and is in perfect condition after controllers ran a series of tests. The problem of a high humidity level is expected to disappear by itself after the station heats up in a couple of weeks. All the problems were described as minor glitches that 'could be expected in a new module of this size.' Zarya, the first module of the future International Space Station, was launched into orbit last Friday and is now in a holding orbit awaiting the arrival of the next part of the multinational space project. The U.S.-made Unity node will be launched into space on board the space shuttle Endeavour on Dec. 3, and the link-up between the two modules will take place Dec. 6. The 16-nation space project will take 44 more launches to complete, and will be ready by the year 2004. The station will welcome its first crew starting in the year 2000, and the entire project is estimated to cost almost $40 billion, with the U.S. paying slightly over half of the cost. The new space station is replacing Russia's 12-year-old Mir space station, which is due to be scrapped next year. ---
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