Flawless

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.: As Mir tumbled through space, the shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven was touching down at sunrise at Cape Canaveral. "We got all the science, plus more, that we were anticipating," said Commander James Halsell Jr., describing the armloads of experimental data (as well as space-grown spinach and clover) that his crew produced. "It was great to be up there and it's great to be home." Shuttle program manager Tommy Holloway added that after just an 84-day turnaround from its last, aborted mission, the revamped Columbia performed "in an absolutely exemplary manner, and I could not be happier." The intense focus of interest in the Canaveral press room, though, was the darkened and disabled Mir, at that moment spinning crazily in orbit with its three-man crew huddled in the escape capsule. The two missions, and the two national space programs today provided a stark contrast in performance that members of Congress are sure to note.