Soviets Abort Space Mission; Commander Ill

The Soviet Union aborted a Salyut-7 space station mission Thursday and brought the three cosmonauts aboard back to Earth because the mission commander was ill, the official press agency Tass said.

It was the first time in the history of space flight that a mission, either U.S. or Soviet, was terminated because of a crew member’s illness.

The Soyuz T-14 transport ship carrying Commander Vladimir Vasyutin and cosmonauts Viktor Savinykh and Alexander Volkov safely touched down in the Kazakhstan Republic, Tass said.

“The cosmonauts’ long flight aboard the orbiting complex was terminated due to Vladimir Vasyutin’s sickness and the need for hospital treatment for him,” Tass said.

Examined by Doctors

Doctors examined Vasyutin, 33, at the landing site and ordered him hospitalized, Tass said. “The condition of Vladimir Vasyutin is satisfactory. We cannot say anything more. A thorough examination is to be carried out,” Tass quoted the doctors as saying. The nature of his illness was not disclosed.

“During their two-month flight, the crew carried out a large amount of work,” Tass said, including a study of the Earth’s surface and astrophysical and medical experiments. Salyut-7, now orbiting on automatic pilot, was launched in April, 1982, and has been home to several major Soviet expeditions.