Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 8, 1995 TAG: 9507100082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARCIA DUNN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Norman Thagard accepted a call of congratulations from President Clinton at the White House before walking from the space shuttle to the amazement of NASA's flight surgeons, who expected him to be too wobbly. His two Russian comrades from the space station Mir, Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov, were carried from Atlantis on stretchers.
``The Russians took good care of me,'' Thagard told the president. ``We're great friends, so I think if what we did on a personal level is any indication, there won't be any problem with this on an inter-governmental level as well.''
Clinton replied: ``The next time we have any problem between American and Russian officials I'm going to send them into space. I think I now know how to solve all international problems.''
During the 10-day shuttle mission, Atlantis docked with Mir 245 miles above Earth in a feat of precision flying executed at 17,500 mph. Atlantis delivered a fresh Russian crew to Mir and gave Thagard and his two crewmates a ride back home.
Thagard was by far the hardiest of the three men who spent 115 days in weightlessness. He greeted his wife of 30 years, Kirby, and their three sons with hugs and kisses - standing up, without help.
``He's a little thin, but he looked great,'' Kirby Thagard told The Associated Press.
After a 10-minute reunion, Thagard was whisked into a medical lab for blood tests and other exams. NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin met him with ice cream, keeping a longtime promise.
Dezhurov and Strekalov were subjected to similar medical tests after a brief visit with their wives and children.
The three men face nearly a month of medical testing. NASA has never had a chance to examine anyone who has spent so long in space; Thagard holds the U.S. space endurance record, though it pales beside the world record of 439 days, held by the Russians.
Thagard didn't mind all the poking and prodding. As far as he's concerned, the worst is over: He's back with his family.
The 52-year-old physician reported in almost every interview from orbit that he missed his wife and children terribly. He also complained of extreme ``cultural isolation'' aboard Mir, despite his fluency in Russian.
Goldin admitted the space agency had learned a lesson from Thagard.
``We put all our focus of attention on the physical well-being of the astronauts and the success of the mission. We neglected the psychological well-being,'' Goldin said.
Before Atlantis landed, flight surgeons were recommending that Thagard and his two colleagues stay at Johnson Space Center in Houston for a few days in semi-quarantine in case he got dizzy or sick on his return to gravity.
Astronauts can be lightheaded, lethargic and rubber-legged after just a few weeks in space, and suffer a loss of bone and muscle that can cause them to fall and break bones.
But Mrs. Thagard said her husband would probably want to spend his first night back on Earth at home.
As workers unloaded Atlantis, guards were erecting six-days-until-launch signs at Kennedy Space Center. Discovery is due to blast off Thursday on a satellite-delivery mission. If it leaves on time, it would be the shortest gap between flights in the history of U.S. human space flight.
by CNB