Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 29, 1995 TAG: 9506290090
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON LENGTH: Medium
``We're busy making preparations,'' Thagard said from the orbiting Russian outpost Wednesday. ``We're also trying to pack some things away and make some order to the station.''
The shuttle lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday on a mission to dock with Mir and bring home Thagard and his crewmates.
Thagard noted that he, Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov have been in orbit for nearly four months and are eagerly awaiting ``our ride home.''
The three men took a break from their cleaning to answer questions from U.S. and Russian athletes at the Special Olympics World Games in New Milford, Conn.
One youth wanted to know how many times Thagard had circled Earth. The astronaut said he'd have to take his 106 days aboard Mir as of Wednesday - a U.S. record - add his 25 days on earlier flights, then multiply that by 16 orbits a day.
``I'm not sure what that number comes out to be. A lot,'' Thagard said.
Atlantis, meanwhile, raced toward its rendezvous with Mir. Late Wednesday, the shuttle was narrowing the gap at a rate of 270 miles per orbit.
The American ship, with five astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts aboard, was scheduled to dock with the station at 9 a.m. EDT today in the first linkup between U.S. and Russian spacecraft since the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975.
The 245-mile-high linkup should occur over central Asia.
Atlantis' crew discovered an annoying problem when they tried to test two hand-held lasers. Someone on the ground forgot the batteries.
The astronauts wanted the laser devices to gauge Atlantis' distance from Mir during final approach. Mission Control said the devices were supplementary and not essential for docking.
by CNB