News via shortwave from the English service of Radio Moscow, this day in 1977 – First a progress report on Soyuz 26:
The launch of two cosmonauts into space two weeks earlier as part of a Soviet plan to set up a permanent scientific station in space, the Tass news agency said this day. Cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Georgi Grechko were launched Dec. 10 aboard Soyuz 26 and later linked up with the Salyut 6 station. Since then, the crew has inspected malfunctioning docking equipment aboard the space station from inside and with walks in space. “The aim of the work by the scientists and cosmonauts is not separate or unique experiments, but the establishment of a permanently functioning scientific watch in orbit,” Tass said.
The news agency said Soviet space designers have been trying to create convenient and comfortable conditions aboard space stations. “Salyut 6 is making in this sense a noticeable technological contribution to Tass said. It said some of the key improvements have been a double-docking system that would allow two linkups with the stations at the same time.
And the day after – News of the death of Sir Charles Chaplin, the king of silent movie comedies Christmas morning at his home in Vevey, Switzerland, brought expressions of sadness from around the world. He was 88. Brian William Gordon, acting British Consul here said: “Everybody in Britain will be very, very sad indeed. I think he was universally loved by the old and the young alike and I think everyone was absolutely delighted when he was knighted in 1975.
Gordon added that though the knew how sad Chaplin’s fellow Britons felt because of his death, they would be pleased that at least it occurred while he was sleeping peacefully after having given happiness to countless millions throughout the world. The family went into seclusion and a private funeral for close family members only was planned for tomorrow in Vevey, where the Chaplins lived for years in the sprawling Manoir du Ban overlooking Lake Geneva. Daughter Geraldine, the actress, was in her home in Spain but was expected in Vevey today.
And that’s just a small slice of what was going on, this day after Christmas in 1977 as reported by the English Service of Radio Moscow.
