A Space Record for the U.S.S.R.

And another U.S. try to save the faltering Skylab

One day last week, shortly after the sun set over the Kremlin's ancient towers and onion domes, the Soviet Union passed another milestone in space travel. On their 46th day in orbit, Cosmonaut Commander Vladimir Kovalenok and Flight Engineer Alexander Ivanchenkov, who have been circling the earth aboard Salyut 6 since June 17, brought the total time that they and their comrades have logged in space to 22,504 hours. That put the Soviets ahead of the U.S. for the first time since 1965, when American crews were following each other into orbit with clockwork regularity in the intensive preparations for the first landing on the moon. The U.S. is not likely to regain its lead any time soon; no Americans will venture into the void again until the first orbital space shuttle flight in late 1979.

In Moscow, the state-controlled press has discreetly limited itself to factual accounts of the Salyut 6 flight, pointedly ignoring any comparisons with the U.S. space program. But for all the Soviet cool, the implications of the achievement were not lost on U.S. space observers; they noted that in number of flights and size of pay loads launched, the Russians' increasingly active space effort, both military and civilian, is now about four times as big as the U.S.'s whittled-down program. Said the Library of Congress's astute space watcher Charles Sheldon: "In quantity, if not in quality, the balance is definitely tilted toward the Russians."

Launched into earth orbit last September, Salyut 6, while not as large or as sophisticated as America's Skylab, is more technologically advanced than any Soviet predecessor. Like Skylab, it is equipped with two docking ports, making it capable of multiple linkups in orbit. Indeed, the Soviets have dramatically displayed their new skill with several three-ship linkups. These have included not only visits by other cosmonauts in smaller Soyuz spaceships but also dockings by the Soviets' new unmanned Progress spacecraft, which have brought fuel, food and other necessities in the first automatic resupplying operations attempted in space. In either case, the visiting ship edges into the space station's unused port. *Noting the capability such visits give the Russians for establishing permanent outposts in space, one Soviet cornmentator said: "Already one can visualize long-term cosmic 'settlements' made up of orbital stations and a ferry service, keeping up a steady flow of supplies and technical equipment."

Though they were nearing the end of their second month in space, Kovalenok and Ivanchenkov appeared to be thriving aboard Salyut, understandably. The spacious ship includes such amenities as a new electronic control system that the Soviets say can take over navigation and control chores from the crew, a shower (Skylab has one too) and a small water-recycling plant. There is also an abundance of scientific equipment, for both observing the earth and performing tests in space. Last week, for instance, the cosmonauts began a new experiment with sprouting seeds to see how well they might grow in zero-g. A little earlier they took a space walk of two hours and five minutes in a new type of space suit, during which they collected sample materials that had been placed outside the ship, checked scientific instruments and installed a new apparatus for measuring radiation. The cosmonauts so enjoyed their televised extraterrestrial stroll that they refused to be rushed back on board by ground controllers. Joked Kovalenok: "We would just like to take our time, since it is the first time in 45 days that we've been out into the street to have a walk."

In contrast with these high-flying Soviet space efforts, NASA is still struggling to save the unoccupied Skylab space station from plunging prematurely to earth. Late last year, Skylab began to show a dangerous loss of altitude, a byproduct of atmospheric effects caused by unexpectedly strong sunspot activity during the current solar cycle. Skylab's descent is being hastened by its wobbling motion, which increases friction as the ship moves through stray molecules of atmosphere in its path. Ground controllers twice tried unsuccessfully to stabilize the craft, hoping to keep it aloft at least until the end of 1979. By then the space shuttle may be ready to carry into space a small booster that could be attached to Skylab to push it into a higher orbit--or, if that is not possible, to help direct the shaky space station through a fiery, yet safe descent into a remote area of the ocean. Two weeks ago controllers again used Skylab's altitude thrusters and gyros in another attempt to reorient the ship. The maneuver appeared to work, at least for the time being. At week's end space officials were still watching, waiting and keeping their fingers firmly crossed as the unmanned space laboratory streaked across the sky above them.

*The other port is reserved for the Soyuz ferry craft that brought Kovalenok and Ivanchenkov to Salyut and will eventually return them to earth.

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