Emergency EVA to remove KRT-10. On August 9 the KRT-10 antenna failed to separate from Salyut 6. Examination through the aft-facing ports indicated that the antenna was snared on the aft docking target. This prevented further Progress dockings and interfered with the engines. The Protons attempted to free the antenna by rocking the station. After considering abandoning Salyut 6 —according to Ryumin, its primary mission was complete—crew and TsUP agreed to attempt an EVA to remove the antenna. Ryumin and Lyakhov performed the 83-min EVA on August 15. With difficulty Ryumin deployed a folded handrail, then clambered over the hull to the rear of the station. He found that the KRT-10’s ribs had torn the station’s insulation. As Ryumin cut cables the KRT-10 oscillated back and forth, threatening to strike him. Ryumin carried a 1.5-m barbed pole to push the antenna away after he finished cutting it away from Salyut 6. Once the antenna was discarded, the Protons inspected the exterior of Salyut 6. They found that portions of its insulation had broken off or become discolored. They also retrieved samples of materials that had been exposed to space conditions on Salyut 6’s hull, and a portion of the micrometeoroid detector.[1][2]
|