MIRNEWS.328                            17 SEPTEMBER 1996
  
  
  Start Atlantis:  Within 20 minutes after the launch of
  Atlantis on mission STS-79 on 16.09.1996 at 08.54.49UTC
  commander Readdy could be heard in a contact with Houston
  via a relaystation in Spain.  This was on 259.700 mc (AM)
  between 0913-0919UTC. 
  For ballistic reasons  lift-off took place 46 seconds
  later than originally planned.   
  
  Rendez-vous  and docking operations:
  
  Begin MIR rendez-vous operation:    18.09   2134UTC
  TI Burn                             19.09   0003
  Arrival on R-bar  
  (Earth radius vector)                       0153
  Hoovering at 170 feet from MIR              0235
  Begin final approach                        0310
  Atlantis docks with MIR                     0317
  Hardmate Atlantis/MIR                       0337
   
  For observers in Western-Europe the passes of MIR (and 
  -the then being in a short distance- of Atlantis) begin
  during MIR's orbit nr. 60468 with a pass between 0307-
  0315UTC,  maximum elevation 2 degrees.  So communications
  between MIR and Atlantis might be possible on the well
  known VHF frequencies.  Whether there will be TV-images -
  for instance via CNN- or not is not sure at this point. 
  If the Russians use Altair-1 (Cosmos-2054) over 16 dgs
  West images seen by MIR of the approaching Atlantis might
  be possible between 0230-0324UTC.  During the last
  dockingmission of Atlantis (STS-76)  those images could
  be seen via CNN together with images of MIR seen by a
  camera in Atlantis. It is also possible that the Russians
  will use Altair-2 (over 96 dgs East) during  the  window 
  from  0306-0402UTC.   
  
  Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202 
--- Maximus 2.01
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