Space Shuttle On Course for Mir Docking

The space shuttle Atlantis and the next American to live on Mir closed in on the Russian outpost Friday, with flight controllers watching and hoping the station’s troublesome computer keeps on working.

Astronaut David Wolf is due to arrive at Mir this afternoon, along with the rest of the shuttle crew, a new computer and other gear.

The shuttle lifted off Thursday, just hours after NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, ending weeks of suspense, pronounced Mir safe and gave the go-ahead to put Wolf aboard for a four-month stay.

Wolf said he plans to carry out his mission the same way he does his aerobatic flying: “Do it carefully and don’t cross the line.”

“You have to always take spaceflight seriously,” he said in a broadcast interview. “I’m concerned as I would be in any other spaceflight. But the Mir’s in excellent condition to my mind, and I’m looking forward to being over there.”

The computer that keeps Mir in the right position has failed three times in the past three weeks, possibly because of buildups of heat and humidity on the station.

Although the computer was working Friday for the fourth consecutive day, engineers fear it might go down again just as Atlantis is pulling up.

The docking would have to be postponed if the computer crashed early in the rendezvous. But NASA and Russian flight directors said Atlantis can proceed with the linkup if a breakdown occurs once the shuttle is within 30 feet; any unstable movement by the station, at that point, would be too slight to make a difference.

The rendezvous between Atlantis’ seven crew members and the three men on Mir will take place 250 miles above Earth.

Wolf will change places with American Michael Foale, who has spent 4 1/2 months on Mir and was aboard when a cargo ship plowed into the station in June.

Besides a new computer, Atlantis is carrying sealant for holes caused by the collision.