Korolyov - An overworked crew and insufficient training were key factors leading to the worst crash in the history of the Mir space station, the head of a Russian commission studying the matter has said. The 11-year-old Mir collided with its Progress cargo resupply ship on June 25th, puncturing the station's Spektr scientific module and causing a major loss of power. Several months of repairs resulting from the accident still lie ahead. The Russian commission's report on the crash does not blame Mir Cmdr Vasily Tsibliyev, who was trying to dock the cargo ship manually, nor mission control, which programmed the trajectory of Progress, according to the commission head. Instead it says many factors led to the collision.
Tensions about the project eased yesterday when the US-Atlantis docked successfully with Mir, bringing a replacement American astronaut. The two ships nudged together in what US flight director, Paul Dye, called a "picture-perfect" docking. The seven crew from Earth shook hands with the three men on Mir in a ritual dating back to Cold War days. The Atlantis crew includes David Wolf (41), who will spend four months on Mir after NASA ruled at the last minute that it was safe, despite pressure from sceptical US politicians.