Space: Back To Earth

Unscathed After 326 days in orbit, a Soviet cosmonaut says he feels no pain

"I feel fine," said a smiling Yuri Romanenko in Moscow last week. It was the Soviet cosmonaut's first public appearance since his record-breaking 326-day sojourn in space, and what he had to report was dramatic: he had suffered virtually no ill effects from his prolonged flight. In the past, Soviet cosmonauts have returned from long missions with bones, muscles and cardiovascular systems weakened by extended periods in zero gravity. But Romanenko claimed he could stand up, albeit shakily, shortly after his Soyuz capsule touched down in Soviet Kazakhstan on Dec. 29. Said he: "My muscles were strong enough to support me....

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