Soviet Space Capsule Docks With Orbiting Lab

Two Soviet cosmonauts guided their Soyuz space capsule to a successful docking with an orbiting “space hotel” today, bringing the Soviet Union one step closer to its goal of a permanently manned outpost in space.

The linkup with the Mir space station, considered one of the most difficult maneuvers in manned space flight, was completed at 2:28 this morning, the official news agency Tass said.

Table Already Set

Waiting for Flight Commander Yuri V. Romanenko, 42, and Flight Engineer Alexander Laveikin, 35, inside the Mir was a traditional Russian greeting for travelers--a table set with bread and salt--left behind by the last crew to occupy the space station in July, 1986.

The cosmonauts activated the systems on the Mir, which means “peace,” by remote control, Tass said.

Five-Month Stay

The Soyuz space capsule blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Soviet Central Asia on Friday in only the second manned space flight--both Soviet--since the U.S space shuttle Challenger disaster Jan. 28, 1986.

The cosmonauts, who are to stay on the space station at least five months, are expected to break the 237-day space flight endurance record set by three cosmonauts in 1984.

The two are carrying a “specialized astrophysical observatory” equipped with four X-ray telescopes built by the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, West Germany and Britain, Tass news agency said.

The Soyuz TM craft is described as a new-generation craft with improved propulsion and computer-controlled guidance systems.

Mir Launched Last Year

The Soyuz settled into an elliptical orbit 191 miles above the earth as it raced to catch up with the Mir, which was launched Feb. 20, 1986.

Romanenko and Laveikin will continue construction of additional experimental modules outside the Mir, Tass added.