1.   A winged American spaceship has never before docked with a Russian craft.

2.   But only the winged spaceships, with their cavernous cargo bays, can haul derelict craft back to Earth.

3.   If the plan is implemented, the agency would essentially become a paying customer of a private shuttle company rather than continue to operate the winged spaceships itself.

4.   Repeatedly during the next two years, the winged spaceships and Mir are to dock, with crews being transferred to the space lab.

5.   Safety experts agree that the winged spaceships must run regularly or become balky and their launching crews rusty.

6.   Repeatedly during the next two years, the winged spaceships and Mir are to dock, with crews being transferred to the space laboratory.

7.   The payload bay is warmer because a radiator there rejects waste heat from the winged spaceship.

8.   The winged Russian spaceship flew but once, unmanned, and is now displayed in a Moscow park.

9.   Rockwell has opted for a winged spaceship, similar to the current shuttle but without the exterior fuel tanks.