2 Soviet Cosmonauts Return to Earth After 22 Weeks in Space
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MOSCOW — Two Soviet cosmonauts ended a 22-week mission Monday that included the first American experiment aboard the space station Mir. The men’s capsule floated out of a clear blue sky onto the glistening snow of the Kazakhstan steppe.
State-run television broadcast a tape from the descent module showing its white parachute casting a shadow in the snowy expanse.
Mission commander Alexander S. Viktorenko and flight engineer Alexander A. Serebrov touched down near Arkalyk, 1,080 miles southeast of Moscow, the Tass news agency said.
Viktorenko, 42, and his 45-year-old crew mate were in good health, Tass said.
The TV report showed the cosmonauts smiling as they sat covered with blankets at the landing site.
Among the 200 pounds of scientific cargo Viktorenko and Serebrov brought back were protein crystals exposed to weightlessness in an American experiment created by Payload Systems Inc. The company was the first authorized by the U.S. Commerce Department to fly an experiment aboard the Soviet space station.
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