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Astronauts Set U.S. Record For Endurance in Space

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June 13, 2002, Section A, Page 30Buy Reprints
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Two astronauts woke up today with an American space endurance record, but both admitted that it would be psychologically daunting to challenge a world record set by a Russian in the 1990's.

In space now for 189 days, Capt. Daniel W. Bursch, 44, of the Navy, and Col. Carl E. Walz, 46, of the Air Force, passed the previous benchmark -- 188 days, 4 hours -- late on Tuesday while sleeping.

Dr. Shannon W. Lucid, a civilian astronaut, set the old American record in a mission to Russia's space station Mir in 1996. Dr. Valery V. Polyakov, a veteran Russian astronaut who served on a 438-day Mir mission in 1994 and 1995, holds the world record.

Neither Captain Bursch nor Colonel Walz, who have been aboard the International Space Station since December, says he wants to try to duplicate that feat.

''Without a shadow of a doubt, in my opinion, the biggest challenge would be mental and psychological, overcoming just being up here for that amount of time,'' Captain Bursch said in a space-to-ground news conference. Colonel Walz added, ''You would really want to be busy and have lots of scientific experiments to do, and it's hard to prepare for a year-and-a-half worth of those kinds of things.''

With Col. Yuri I. Onufrienko of the Russian Air Force, the two Americans set off for the station on Dec. 5, beginning a mission that was expected to last 158 days.

Their planned return in mid-May was delayed to give astronauts aboard the visiting space shuttle Endeavour, which docked at the outpost last week, time to prepare for an operation aimed at replacing a faulty wrist joint on the station's robot arm. That work is to be done in a seven-hour spacewalk on Thursday.

During their time in space, Captain Bursch and Colonel Walz have conducted 65 research experiments and have overseen the delivery of heavy equipment that will play a critical role in the expansion of the space station. They are to return to Earth aboard Endeavour on June 17, having spent 194 days in orbit.

''I don't care who you fly with -- it could be your best friend up here -- there are going to be times when you get on each other's nerves,'' Captain Bursch said.

''That happens, and you know, you find ways to deal with it, whether it's exercise or being by yourself or working on a hobby.''

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 30 of the National edition with the headline: Astronauts Set U.S. Record For Endurance in Space. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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