1.   Cosmonauts have gotten chicken eggs to hatch, but the chicks spun like pinwheels as they struggled to flip themselves right side up in a weightless environment.

2.   However, while not in space, Russian cosmonauts only get their meager government pay of several hundred dollars a month.

3.   The cosmonauts could not get a latch on the hatch to close properly behind them and they had to use a pry bar to force it into position.

4.   Two Russian cosmonauts got a clean bill of health and the final go-ahead to blast off Tuesday on a mission to repair the troubled Mir space station.