Atlantis And Mir Spacemen Say Goodbye Smiles All Around For New Oxygen Generator, U.S. Flier’s Chance To Feel ‘Breeze In My Face’

In a bittersweet goodbye, astronauts and cosmonauts shook hands and hugged one last time in orbit before sealing the hatches Wednesday between their linked spacecraft.

NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis was due to undock from Russia’s Mir station Wednesday night after delivering a new oxygen generator and other crucial repair equipment, as well as a replacement for U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger.

Linenger was elated to finally be going home after four difficult months aboard the aging Mir. He returns to Earth on Saturday.

“I’m going fishing!” he said. “What I miss most are things like fresh air and the breeze in my face.”

His wife, Kathryn, has some other ideas, like preparing a nursery. She’s due to give birth to their second child on June 27. And she’s already arranged a haircut for him; he’s looking a little shaggy these days.

“I have a whole list of to-do things for him. He will not be bored,” she promised.

During his Mir mission, which seemed to feature a drama du jour, Linenger battled flames, fumes, excruciatingly high temperatures and broken machinery. The 42-year-old doctor said it was “a tough time,” but added: “Any adventure like that when you come close to pushing the envelope and survive, it’s a great adventure, and in retrospect I have no regrets whatsoever.”

Nonetheless, Linenger made sure he wouldn’t be left behind. He was the first one into Atlantis when it came time to close the doors.

Cries of “We’ll see you” filled the docking tunnel, as well as “Spasibo,” Russian for thank you.

Michael Foale, Linenger’s relief aboard Mir, smiled as he watched his American colleagues float away one by one.

“It’s a little bit sad, of course, because a thrilling flight is coming to an end,” said shuttle commander Charles Precourt. “We’re happy that we were able to pull it off.”

This was the sixth time Atlantis had docked with Mir and, for the Russians, one of the most important linkups.

The 11-year-old Mir needed the new oxygen generator as soon as possible as a backup. The generator now in use is unreliable; it stopped for a while in March because of a clogged filter.

Atlantis also dropped off clamps and plugs to repair a leaky cooling oop, extra lithium-hydroxide canisters to purge carbon dioxide from Mir’s air and a valve for a spare carbon dioxide-removal system yet to be built.

Linenger will have spent 132 days in orbit if Atlantis lands Saturday as planned, the next-to-longest spaceflight by an American. Shannon Lucid’s 1996 Mir mission lasted 188 days. Foale’s visit is supposed to last 135 days.