"Mission VITYAS, do you read?" "I think the camera should be turned on now." "The camera!" "That's most important now." "Sasha!" " Yes." "Sasha, you must dock manually." " OK." "The hatch to the camera-room is open." "So dock manually, Sasha." " Alright." "And you, Lena, go to the back and operate the camera." "No, wait!" "Can the camera be turned on manually?" "Lena, you can turn on the camera now." "In Starcity near Moscow we said our goodbyes one sunny day in May." "Me, Anatoli Artsebarski, commander of the mission OZON, then lieutenant-colonel in the Soviet Air Force, flight engineer Sergei Krikalev and researcher Helen Sharman." "Sergei and I have got a flight programme of 5 months ahead of us, but Helen will return to earth in 8 days with the mission DERBENT." "In a few hours we'll arrive in Baykonur where the take-off is being prepared." "You dirty boy!" " Come on, get in!" "Papa, I wish you success with everything you do." "You'll have a lot to do up there." "Pity, you won't be here this summer." "Goodbye." "It should be up there now." "In Baykonur on the roof of our hotel we made contact with the space station MIR with an amateur radio." "Our friends are in that bright star." "It reminded me of "E.T.", which I saw with my son." "We talked to the mission DERBENT every day." "Mikhailich, greetings!" " Greetings!" "We should talk more often." "I hope the take-off won't be postponed." "First mission:" "The commander:" "Lieutenant-colonel Anatoli Pavlovich Artsebarski." "Flight engineer:" "Heroof the USSR, Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev." "Researcher:" "Helen Sharman, citizen of the United Kingdom." "The state commission proceeds with the launching preparations." "We drove out to launching platform No. 2on May 18th 1991 from which Yuri Gagarin took off 3o years ago." "Pity, you won't be here this summer." "Goodbye." "When I put on my space suit I thought of Hemingway:" ""The Butterfly and the Tank"." "In keeping with tradition, the old cosmonaut Alexei Leonov gave us wormwood twigs for the mission DERBENT." "The parameters of all systems are normal." "Roger." " 1oo seconds." "52o seconds." "The final stage is being disconnected." "Disconnected." " Roger." "This is the tenth." "Do you read?" "We read you loud and clear." "Congratulations!" "Well done!" "We wish you lots of success with the completion of the programme and a good journey back to earth." "The first earth rotations begins." "We have already come about 6o degrees." "The flight until the moment of docking had been calculated at 49 hours, 11 minutes and 51 seconds." "Instead, I had to dock manually after a few course corrections." "So the exertions of the long training hours did pay off after all." "I can see you through the porthole." "Mikhailich, do you hear me?" "Distance: 3o meters." " Roger." "Reduce speed." " Roger." "Everything's normal, Anatoli." "We can see you on the monitor." "Everything's OK." "Docking imminent." "Docking completed." "We arrived at the space station on May 2oth." "Our friends welcomed us with bread and salt." "A lot of work was awaiting us." "A whole series of experiments." "But first we had to take over the space station weighing 1oo tons." "We could see very clearly." " Did you count us at all?" "Yes, you all seem to be at your positions." "Prepare yourselves for the next transmission." "You will have a telephone conversation with the President." "This is Moscow." "I'll connect you." "You can speak now." "Mikhail Gorbachov is on the line." "Good evening." " Good evening." "Who is on the line?" "Greetings from the Soviet-British crew of the space station MIR!" "I'm pleased to have this meeting, this great encounter." "I congratulate you!" "Thank you." "What are you doing just now?" "We're getting ready for dinner." "If it were a little later we could have dinner together." "Five days of working together passed by quickly." "DERBENT and Helen prepared for the return flight." ""Well, can you whistle an evening song on a water pipe?"" "It's summer down there." "Sergei's looking out of the window." "We never thought at the time he'd stay up in space for 1o months." "After our friends had taken off Sergei and me stayed back alone." "Impatiently we awaited the news of their safe landing." "This smell!" "There's a very beautiful horizon behind the station." "Next day we immediately circled round MIR." "We checked the station from the outside." "It had the goodness of making a 36o degree turn." "We went out into free space 6 times." "We repaired the aerial of the approach and docking system and mounted panels for a heavy-particle detector." "We had to disembark 4 times to set up a construction 15 meters long that was to carry a new propulsion system for the rotation of the station." "We had to work day and night because the station, whilst circling the earth, gets into its shadow for some time." "A full circle lasts 92 minutes." "After 6 hours of work my space suit's cooling system failed." "That's how I came to reconsider man's possibilities." "Sergei, which one of you two is responsible for the store-room?" "Both of us." " You store-room attendants!" "I only got back just now and haven't talked to anyone yet." "Louder!" " I only got back yesterday and haven't talked to any of the guys yet." "I haven't got any news yet." " Understood." "I'll tell you today who'll be going." "I'll call here and have them tell you." "Good." "Thanks." "Everything's fine, Papa." "I'm healthy and in good spirits." "How were the summer holidays?" " We swam and went fishing." "We went hiking with Pasha." "It was great!" "Taras, can you see where I sleep?" "Papa, we got new furniture." "Good." "Do you like it?" " It's alright." "What's the name of it?" " I don't know." ""Julia"." "Well, if you like it I'll like it too." "I showed Grandpa Pascha the film." "Felix shot it." "Taras, can you see me?" " What?" "Can you see yourself on the screen?" " Yes, I can see you." "Can you see yourself?" "On August 16th we sent a freighter back to earth." "From the vessel we tried to fill a balloon with air." "The experiment failed." "The freighter, however, could continue its flight." "A week later another freighter brought us equipment and letters and sweets from our families." "The Tamanskaya division." " Possibly." "The Tamanskaya division and also the Kantemirovskaya." "It could very well be the Kantemirovskaya." "They're stationed not far from here." "We're trapped, Vadim!" "Those are tanks!" "Those are tanks." "The tanks are coming!" "Oh dear." "Guys, this is serious!" "In August the situation in Moscow was unsettled." "On amateur radio we heard Yeltsin's appeal to the Russian people and passed it on to all radio amateurs on earth." "Every day we received new information about the events in Moscow." "We went ahead with our work anyway." "Strike!" "Autumn came unnoticed and we prepared to receive guests." "Aleksandr VoIkov was to replace me as commander." "Sasha, when you landed in 1989 did you know you were going to fly again?" "He did!" " I hoped I was." "Instead of a flight engineer a Kazakh researcher was sent along." "With Austrian Franz Viehbock there were two researchers on board." "I wish my daughter a good start in life." "Guys!" "What's keeping the music?" "Toktar Aubakirov." "Do come in!" "The launching site Baykonur is in Kazakhstan." "The political decision to send a Kazakh as second researcher along complicated the mission's planning." "Goon!" "Go to work!" "That's why Sergei Krikalev had to stay 6 more months in space." "VoIkov had to come up and I had to fly back, both without a flight engineer." "Take two, action!" "I'll do this accurately." "Anatoli, we have switched to autonomous power supply." "When you board the station you'll have to switch on the oxygen supply." "You must open the valve immediately." "It will shut itself off." "Understood." "But now let's say goodbye toour colleague." "Parting from Sergei is hardest." "See you soon!" "Goodbye." "Good luck!" "Guys, thanks for the good work and have a good trip." "We now terminate the transmission." " Yes." "Terminate it, Sergei." "How do you feel?" " Wonderful." "Is it hot in the space craft?" " This here is the hardest work." "I could do with a vodka." "Come on, give me some." "Toktar wants a vodka on every tooth." "Did you fail to complete any part of the programme?" "Of course." "Would you fly again?" " Sure!" "I'd like to." "That's really something." "What's easier:" "The launch or the landing?" " The launch." "If you'd care to sit there." "As you like." "As you like." " Here's a comb." "Interesting picture." "Afterwards, you must show me with short hair." "A pleasant procedure." "Nice and cool." "Does it hurt?" " No, it's alright." "Pretty silly." "Who's hair is longest?" "I can't see a thing." "How about this?" "Yes, a haircut is actually detectable!" "Now, let me try." "One after the other!" "Now I'll sit on it." "I sometimes dream I'm back in space and I can see our childishness." "It's snowing in Moscow." "I think of Munchhausen." "Take care of the camera!" "Can it be seen?" " Not yet." "In a moment." "Isn't that beautiful!" "Get started!" " Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!" "The crew of the space station MIR welcomes you!" "The only recently founded Russian Goods and Raw-Material Exchange will, we are certain, yield good results." "How many more minutes will the connection last?" " 27." "All in all?" " All in all." "Hello, guys." "Here's Orlov of the Russian TV again." "Once more, a good afternoon." "I see you're doing well." " Yes, we're whirling around here." "I received your cassettes that arrived in the mail capsule." "The corral reefs and the medical experiments have been broadcast." "The recordings turned out well." "We can't even remember what we have been recording exactly." "Quite a bit." "But we're anxious to see more pictures." "Did you come to the control centre alone?" " Yes." "But former cosmonaut Sebastianov is here as well." "They're actually queuing out here." "We'll show you some shots and talk about them." "A beautiful shot!" "As if taken from a plane." "But you immediately know that planes can never fly that high." "Yes, you're right there." "When you see the whole of Kamchatka at a glance or two seas at the same time you realise the scale you are talking about." "Good afternoon." "Good afternoon, Mr Sebastianov." "There's a mixed international company talking to you from a brand-new control centre with a brand-new map." "The Baltic States have already got a different colour." "And the Kuril Islands are preparing for a change of colour too." "Now for something else." "What do you like most about earth from up there?" "Most of all what we can't see from up here:" "People." "At Christmas, when I wanted to send up a few words to the station" "I could only think of the French line:" ""The earth is blue, like an orange"." "Greetings, Donna!" "34o seconds." "The flight path is correct." "Thanks." "39o seconds." "The flight is going well." "Good, let's start now." "A new companion has arrived for you, a German." "Is he good company?" " He's still on his way." "We're just preparing to welcome the guests." "They'll arrive here tomorrow." "We're awaiting them." "Good." "Let's continue." "At your take-off the USSR still existed and Gorbachov was in power." "Your place of birth was called Leningrad, today it's St Peterburg." "Which of these changes impresses you most of all?" "I didn't get the question." "When you took off the USSR still existed, it was Leningrad, not St Peterburg," "Gorbachov was in power, today it's Yeltsin." "Which of these changes is most important to you?" "Which one surprises you most of all?" "Hard to say." "So much has happened." "But what surprises me most of all, perhaps, is this:" "Just now it was night, now it's light and the seasons rush past." "That's most impressive of all you can see from up here." "The next question is from press agency Reuter for Mr Krikalev." "Last year they left the Soviet Union now they return to Russia." "How do you feel about such drastic changes?" "No, thank you." "I don't feel like it." "Not right now." "We watch the earth." "I know 31o days aren't that many." "But now it's time." "Sergei, isn't it hard on you to have to say goodbye to the station?" "It is." "Lovely tea!" "That's so good!" "And the weather is wonderful." "Unbelievable, how we're being wrapped up here." "It's still winter where we are." "Sergei landed in the spring, on March 25th 1992." "Only now my flight is at an end." "That's me." "I have become a colonel of the Russian Air Force." "I'm glad to see you!" " So are we!" "Anatoli, why did you insist on being here for the landing?" "I never asked myself that question." "I always had the feeling we had been seperated by force." "I've been missing Sergei down here all the time." "When is a cosmonaut really home again?" "Immediately after the landing, or later?" "When he feels at home again?" "As soon as he breathes the earth's air through the open hatch." "The smell of the earth." "That's the feeling of being home again." "Yura, is there any film left?" "Is the camera running?" "It was, just a moment ago." "According toour calculations there's no more film left." "Is the camera still rolling?" " Yes."