The World - News from May 8, 1988

The first flight of the Soviet Union’s space shuttle, which officials previously said would be unmanned, probably will carry two crew members, the official Tass news agency said. “The Soviet reusable spaceship will probably be carrying two persons on its maiden flight, just as the U.S. space shuttle did on its test mission,” Tass quoted Vladimir Shatalov, chief of cosmonaut training, as saying. Tass did not give a launch date, but last month the head of the Soviet space agency told a news conference that scientists were working around the clock to prepare for the first launch of the space shuttle before June.