Shuttle With Relief Astronaut Reaches Mir

The space shuttle Endeavour slid up to Mir and docked Saturday, bringing a fresh American astronaut to relieve a homesick David Wolf.

Wolf gave a thumbs-up and waved moments after the shuttle touched, then did a slow-motion somersault in midair--the orbital equivalent of jumping for joy.

“This whole event is touching me a little bit more than I had predicted,” he confided.

After four months aboard the Russian space station with two cosmonauts--both men--Wolf was pleased to see a female face. Impatient for the hatches to open, he peeked through a window at shuttle astronaut Bonnie Dunbar.

“These guys are OK, but you’re an awful lot prettier,” he told her.

When the hatches finally swung open, Wolf, a 41-year-old doctor, embraced his shuttle comrades, both male and female.

The shuttle and station will remain linked for five days so the 10 occupants can move more than 3 tons of supplies back and forth. Among the items to be carted into the station: a new air conditioner, a spare computer, science experiments, food and fresh water.

The most crucial exchange, though, will be Wolf and his replacement, Andy Thomas. When Endeavour pulls away on Thursday, Wolf will be on board for the ride back to Earth. And Thomas will be settling into Mir, his home for the next 4 1/2 months.