Cosmonaut Wrote Songs to Avoid Being Spaced Out

Cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko said today he kept occupied during his 326-day space mission by watching Earth, writing songs and directing his wife through a renovation of their apartment, warning her he would stay up longer if she didn’t get the job done soon.

The 43-year-old cosmonaut, who holds the space endurance record, wrote about 20 songs during his mission, said Chief of Cosmonaut Training Vladimir Shatalov at a news conference.

Romanenko, fellow cosmonauts and space officials gathered to discuss the longest manned space mission in history.

“Difficult psychological situations can arise among crew members on space ships, and this has been observed during long flights,” Romanenko said when asked about his stay aboard the Mir space station. “In this case, however, we had comradely relations, close contacts, and our colleagues, my comrades-in-arms so to speak, always worked well together.”

Romanenko and Alexander Laveikin blasted off on Feb. 6, 1987, aboard the Soyuz TM-2 capsule, docking at the Mir station two days later. Mission control ordered Laveikin back to Earth after five months because of heart problems. He was replaced by Alexander Alexandrov in July.

Romanenko said he coped well with the isolation of space because he had regular contact with ground control officials and with his family and friends. He talked with his family once or twice a week via television monitor and radio, he said.

“My wife got our apartment renovated during the mission and I gave her good advice from afar,” he joked. “When I came back the flat was all ready.”

Romanenko said he had more problems adapting to Earth’s gravity after 96 days in orbit in 1977-78 than upon his return Dec. 29 after 326 days in space.

“Then my legs felt leaden, I worked up a sweat quickly and my heart was palpitating,” Romanenko recalled of his first steps after the space flight 10 years ago. But after the latest mission, Romanenko said he had to beg the doctors to let him walk and exercise as soon as he returned.

Anatoly Grigoriev, deputy director of the capital’s Bio-Medical Space Research Institute, said Romanenko showed no abnormal reactions to the prolonged stay in space. Most minor physical symptoms disappear within two or three days, he said.

The space officials said the information gained during the recent mission has shown cosmonauts can endure terms in space of up to 1 1/2 years without creating artificial gravity aboard the space station.