Summer Stroll

Two Russian cosmonauts carried out what probably will be the last spacewalk from the Mir space station, and succeeded Wednesday in unraveling a stuck antenna. During the 5-hour spacewalk, the cosmonauts also installed on the hull a device to study the effect of electric and magnetic fields on the space station and another device to detect air leaks. Russia plans to leave the station unmanned after the crew leaves in August. A final team will visit briefly early in 2000 to lower the Mir’s orbit. Then, mission controllers will send the Mir to burn up in the atmosphere, though some bigger pieces could land in the Pacific Ocean.