Cosmonauts may be set for record

Press, 21 July 1976, Page 8

Cosmonauts may be set for record

NZPA-Reuter Moscow

Two Soviet cosmonauts reached the two-week mark yesterday, possibly on their way to shattering the American space endurance record of 84 days, United Press International reports. Colonel Boris Volynov, the commander of the Covit Salyut 5 space station, and Lieutenant-Colonel Vithly Zholobov, the flight engineer, reported in a broadcast on Monday night that they had “completely adjusted” to the rigours of life without ityThe cosmonauts complained of working a gruelling 72-hour week aboard the 25-ton space laboratory, but said cheerily that they were pressing ahead with their programme of complex scientific experiments. Despite detailed reporting on the mission in the official press, Soviet officials have not said how long they in-

tend to keep the cosmnaut team in space. Only oblique references to the series of experiments ahead — one of the cosmonauts recently pointed out a monthly wall calendar to television viewers — have supported the widely held belief the cosmonauts are attempting to remain aloft for several months. One American official said the Soviets had indicated in private conversations that time was considered especially important, giving United States officials the impression that endurance is a primary element of the mission. “They seem very pleased with the length of the mission so far. This pleasure with the time factor suggests to us that they are going for the record,” the official said. Three American astronauts in the Skylab programme hold the current spaceendurance record of 84 days. The longest Soviet flight to

date was 63 days in Salyut 4 last year. If the cosmonauts hope to beat the American record they will have to stay aloft until September 29. Zholobov, who, unlike Volynov, has never been in space before, reported having difficulty in adjusting at first. According to official data, his pulse and breathing rate were substantially lower at times than his commander’s. “There is a lot of work. We are becoming tired. We have completely adjusted ourselves to weightlessness but there is a lot of work,” Volynov said. In addition to their daily work programme, the cosmonauts have been exercising strenuously in a minature gymnasium, even on their official “day of rest,” to keep up their muscle strength in the gravity-free atmosphere.

One Soviet scientist said the exercise programme was “the key” to prolonged stays in space.