Contents

Preface ix

PART ONE: ON THE PLANET

1. Looking Upward 3

2. Becoming an Astronaut 5

3. Hello, Russia 16

4. Hanging Out in Star City 28

5. Training, Russian Style 38

6. Tomorrow, Mir 48

7. Crew Quarters 57

8. Off to Work 64

PART TWO: OFF THE PLANET

9. Docking a One-Hundred-Ton Space Shuttle 75

10. My First Days on Mir 88

11. The Arrival of Vasily and Sasha 92

12. "Fire!" ^

13. An Attempted Coverup I 1 1

14. Cosmonauts, Dal Mission Control, Nyet! I 18

15. The Glories of Earth Gazing I J5

16. Profound Isolation I4C^

17. Escaping a Near-Death Collision L60

VII

viii Contents

18. Housekeeping in Space 178

19. Hurtling Into Nothingness 184

20. Broken Trust 194

21. Taking a Stroll 203

22. Going Home 211

23. Even the Air Tastes Sweet 220

PART THREE: BACK ON THE PLANET

24. Home at Last 231

25. Getting Back on My Feet 237

26. Aftershock 241

27. "Are You Glad You Flew on Mir?" 246

Index 255