Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Astronauts Thanked by Clinton for Effort

Endeavour’s astronauts chatted about space with President Clinton, who said their overall success will help him prevail in Congress this week on the scaled-down space station project. “You’re doing as much up there to help us win the votes down here as anyone, and I thank you for that,” Clinton said. Shuttle commander Ronald Grabe replied that he and his crew were gratified by Clinton’s support of the space station. The astronauts were still moving toward this mission’s orbiting quarry, a European satellite loaded with science experiments.