Aug. 13, 1962 - Two Soviet astronauts continued to circle the earth this morning on their “group flight” in space. Maj. Andrian G. Nikolayev, piloting the spaceship Vostok III, was on the third day of his orbital voyage. On Moscow television screens, the 32-year-old bachelor appeared bearded and weary, but still efficient. He munched sandwiches and chatted by radio telephone with Lieut. Col. Pavel R. Popovich, whose craft, Vostok IV, was completing its second day in an adjacent orbit. Premier Khrushchev radioed his best wishes for “happy landings” to the astronauts. There was no announcement as to when the spaceships would begin their descents. The two astronauts have exceeded all previous records for extended spaceflight. Vostok III has already traveled more than a million miles, or more than twice the distance to the moon and back.
