Cosmonaut Recovers After Mysterious Illness

Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin has recovered from a mysterious illness that forced his return to Earth last month and may be home in time for the New Year holiday, a spokesman said Wednesday. He declined to describe the illness.

Fellow cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh, who spent six months in space, has overcome the effects of long-term weightlessness and also will return home soon, the space center official said.

Their return was the first time in the history of space flight that a mission was aborted for illness. At the time of their return Nov. 21, doctors said Vasyutin suffered from an “inflammation disorder.”