American, Russian Make History in Space

An American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut walked together in space Tuesday for the first time, collecting samples of cosmic dust and installing new equipment on the shell of the aging Mir space station.

American Jerry Linenger, as the highlight of his four-month stay aboard the troubled Russian space station, spent nearly five hours in space performing a series of tasks with cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev.

The two wore newly designed Russian spacesuits and spoke in Russian as they conducted tests to determine what materials are most durable in space and could be used on the international space station now under construction in the United States and Russia.

“They are both feeling fine,” Russian flight center spokeswoman Vera Medvedkova said during the spacewalk. “I can hear our mission controllers congratulating Linenger on making his first spacewalk. He is laughing and saying he likes it fine.”

Linenger, 42, is the fourth American to serve aboard Mir since NASA and the Russian Space Agency began cooperating on projects in 1993. The shared flights are designed to help astronauts of both countries prepare for the assembly of the international station in space starting next year.

Linenger spent more than a year and a half living in Russia’s cosmonaut training center at Star City near Moscow to prepare for his stay on Mir.

Since his arrival at the station in January, it has been plagued by a fire, problems with the carbon dioxide removal system, and coolant leaks that drove up the temperature and fouled the air of the station. The three-member crew has fixed most of the problems, and when Linenger departs in mid-May on the shuttle Atlantis, he will be replaced by American Michael Foale.

The station was originally designed to last five years but has now been in use for more than 11. It is scheduled to be replaced by the international station, which has suffered construction delays in Russia but is supposed to be operational by 2002.

Linenger and Tsibliyev completed their spacewalk in four hours and 58 minutes, about half an hour ahead of schedule.

The astronauts’ primary tasks were connected with the study of materials for use in future spacecraft. They installed American-made instruments for measuring radiation around Mir and an optical monitor to study the way the space environment affects the station. They also retrieved equipment that had been collecting micrometeorites and particles of space debris.

Not only was it the first U.S.-Russian spacewalk, it also was the first time an American astronaut wore a Russian-made suit in space. The new suits permit greater freedom of movement and have a water circulation system that keeps the cosmonauts cooler.

The third crew member, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin, stayed inside the station filming the spacewalk and maintaining communication with Earth.

While Tsibliyev and Linenger were walking in space, the head of the Russian Space Agency warned reporters that the international space station could be doomed to failure without continued cooperation between Russia and the United States.

Russia’s part in the program has been jeopardized by a financial crisis that has slowed construction of a crucial element of the station and delayed its launch by six months.

Space Agency Director Yuri N. Koptev said Russia has arranged for immediate bank loans of $139 million to finance continued construction. President Boris N. Yeltsin has promised a further $122 million for the station in May.

Some members of the U.S. Congress have criticized the delay, but Koptev said removal of Russia from the project would set back the station even more and cost the U.S. additional billions of dollars. “If Russia withdraws from the international space station today, it will put the project back to where it was 2 1/2 years ago,” he said. “For Americans, each year [of delay] costs $2.1 billion, which the Congress will not appropriate. So the whole project will be put into question.”