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Cosmonauts give Russian landing capsule top marks

Posted on: Thursday, 30 October 2003, 06:00 CST

Text of report by Russian Mayak radio on 30 October

[Presenter] The cosmonauts, the Russian Yuriy Malenchenko, the American Edward Lu and Spain's Pedro Duque have given their first news conference at Zvezdnyy Gorodok [Star City]. They returned to Earth on Tuesday [28 October]. Our special correspondent, Sergey Gololobov, has the details. Hello, Sergey.

[Correspondent] Hello. The first and main question that the cosmonauts were asked was how it happened that the station's engines were unexpectedly switched on and it turned at an angle of 25 degrees during their return to Earth. All the members of the crew insisted that that they did not press any buttons that they did not need to, although they were aware that something strange had happened and that it [the station] had start rotating. That is, the cosmonauts did in fact reject the announcement by representatives of Mission Control Centre that it was the [US] Chinese [Edward Lu], who was to blame for switching on the engine without permission. At any rate, a commission should get to the bottom of it.

Another interesting question was asked. Malenchenko and Duque are known to have flown both on the Shuttle and the Soyuz and what were their impressions of the flights. Naturally it is more pleasant to land in the shuttle, coming down smoothly just as in an aircraft. It would be even better if the shuttles did not go up in flames in the air together with their crews from time to time. Naturally, it is both cramped and shaky in the Soyuz capsule and the g-load is high. But then everyone always gets back from space alive and well. This is what the members of the crew of the 7th permanent expedition to the International Space Station think about it.

[Presenter] Sergey, thank you. That was our correspondent Sergey Gololobov reporting live from the first news conference given by the cosmonauts after returning to Earth.

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