Astronaut Reliever Off To Troubled Mir Nasa Decides Space Station Doesn’t Hold ‘Unnecessary Peril’

The space shuttle Atlantis took off Thursday night for a rendezvous with the Mir space station after the NASA administrator decided that Dr. Dave Wolf could replace another American astronaut for an extended stay aboard the Russian craft.

Wolf, a 41-year-old physician, and six other astronauts blasted off in Atlantis at 10:34 p.m. Eastern time on a 10-day mission to dock with Mir. After a planned linkup on Saturday, Wolf is supposed to change places with C. Michael Foale and begin a four-month stay aboard the Russian station.

The space agency’s administrator, Daniel S. Goldin, acknowledged the risks of manned space flight but said NASA consultants had just completed three safety reviews in which they concluded that Americans were not being subjected to “unnecessary peril” on Mir. Goldin, at a news conference in Washington, insisted that recent problems aboard Mir had made staying there no more risky now than in the past.

Goldin said he was deeply touched by concerns expressed by the public and some members of Congress about the safety of American astronauts aboard Mir since a series of incidents began in February.

The problems have included a small but fierce fire caused by an oxygen generating unit; a collision with a cargo craft that ruptured one of the station’s main modules and damaged solar-power panels; repeated failures of Mir’s main controlling computers, and numerous problems with the station’s life-support system, such as the leaking of toxic coolant into the air.

But Goldin said the United States still had something to gain from working with the Russians aboard Mir.

“We know the decision to continue our joint participation aboard Mir should not be based on emotions or politics,” he said. “It should not be based on fear. Our decision should be based, and is based, on scientific and technical assessment of the mission’s safety and the agency’s ability to gain additional experience and knowledge that cannot be gained elsewhere.”

At a hearing of the House Science Committee last week, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., who heads the committee, and other members called on NASA to stop sending Americans to Mir for long-term visits because of safety concerns and questions about the continuing value of doing research there.

Sensenbrenner challenged Goldin to make the decision on Wolf’s mission himself and told him that he would have to provide justification to Congress in deciding to continue the program. Sensenbrenner said Thursday that he questioned whether the newest safety reviews were thorough enough to satisfy all questions, and said he intended to asked Goldin to defend his judgments before the committee.

“It is my fervent hope that the safety evaluations submitted to the NASA administrator are not a NASA whitewash of the many significant safety risks aboard Mir,” the congressman said. “We have learned from the Challenger accident that ignoring safety warnings can lead to tragedy and a setback of space exploration for years.”

At stake in the decision to have a sixth American spend months on Mir is cooperation with the Russians in building the proposed $40 billion international space station, which also includes European, Japanese and Canadian partners.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has paid Russia about $470 million to station Americans aboard Mir for extended periods to gain experience in working on and maintaining a space station, and has said it considers continued Russian participation in the new station essential.