Space: The Russians' Turn

As he circled the earth in his Soyuz 4 spacecraft last week, Russian Cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov looked down toward central Asia to watch a tiny billow of flame and smoke. It was Soyuz 5, on its way with Cosmonauts Boris Volynov, Evgeny Khrunov and Aleksei Eliseev. "I'll meet you soon in space," radioed Shatalov.

After slipping into orbit, the second Soyuz extended its winglike solar-energy collectors: it looked like some species of space bird as it sought out its sister ship. "We've been hunting for you," said someone in Soyuz 5 as ground...