WASHINGTON INSIGHT

TO FLY: Just as Yuri Karash was training to be a cosmonaut, the Soviet Union collapsed, deflating his dream of flying in space. But now the dream is revived--in a new land. While pursuing a doctorate in space policy at American University in Washington, Karash is in Houston for three months on a U.S. government subcontract, helping two Russian cosmonauts prepare for flights in U.S. spaceships in 1993 and 1995. He hopes the mission will be a launch pad for himself. “If Jake Garn can go, I can go, too,” he said cheerily, referring to the space shuttle ride taken by the former Utah senator in 1985. . . . Karash is as learned as he is colorful: He already has a Ph.D. from the Academy of Sciences in his homeland and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins’ School for Advanced International Studies. The inspiration for his dream: Valentina Tereshkova, who became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963, the day Karash was born.