Valkyrie
9th June 2002, 21:04
Russia: Supermodel Astronauts Wanted
By MARCIA DUNN
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The international space station's new skipper says forget 'N Sync singer Lance Bass as the orbiting outpost's next tourist. Send up Cindy Crawford!
``We would be very happy to see one of the supermodels,'' Russian Valery Korzun said Saturday in response to a reporter's question as he settled in for a long and cloistered stay.
He quickly added: ``But this is a joke and we will be very happy to receive any space tourist. They're very welcome here.''
Korzun and his crew, American Peggy Whitson and Russian Sergei Treschev, moved into the international space station on Friday evening after their arrival aboard space shuttle Endeavour. They will spend the next 4 1/2 months on board.
On Saturday, the astronauts hoisted a crammed cargo-carrier from the shuttle, attached it to the station for unloading and prepared for Sunday's spacewalk, the first of three planned during Endeavour's visit.
They also reported a loud, growling noise inside the space station. It turned out to be a broken gyroscope that was commanded to spin down and then shut down. One of the bearings apparently seized up.
NASA said the other gyroscopes were working fine and that the failure would not affect the station's navigation and control. But the bad unit will need to be replaced, and the soonest that can happen is early next year
By MARCIA DUNN
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The international space station's new skipper says forget 'N Sync singer Lance Bass as the orbiting outpost's next tourist. Send up Cindy Crawford!
``We would be very happy to see one of the supermodels,'' Russian Valery Korzun said Saturday in response to a reporter's question as he settled in for a long and cloistered stay.
He quickly added: ``But this is a joke and we will be very happy to receive any space tourist. They're very welcome here.''
Korzun and his crew, American Peggy Whitson and Russian Sergei Treschev, moved into the international space station on Friday evening after their arrival aboard space shuttle Endeavour. They will spend the next 4 1/2 months on board.
On Saturday, the astronauts hoisted a crammed cargo-carrier from the shuttle, attached it to the station for unloading and prepared for Sunday's spacewalk, the first of three planned during Endeavour's visit.
They also reported a loud, growling noise inside the space station. It turned out to be a broken gyroscope that was commanded to spin down and then shut down. One of the bearings apparently seized up.
NASA said the other gyroscopes were working fine and that the failure would not affect the station's navigation and control. But the bad unit will need to be replaced, and the soonest that can happen is early next year