WORLD : 2 Cosmonauts Stuck in Orbit

NEW YORK —  Two cosmonauts aboard the Soviet Union’s orbiting Mir space station have been without a reliable means of returning to Earth since February, an industry journal reported today.

Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine, quoting a visiting Soviet cosmonaut, said the Soyuz spacecraft that carried the cosmonauts to the space station was damaged during its launch Feb. 11, leaving the two men without a reliable means of returning to Earth.

The magazine reported in its May 21 issue that the cosmonauts are preparing for an emergency spacewalk to repair torn insulation on the Soyuz craft, which was docked to the Mir station in an orbit 200 miles high.

However, the magazine said, the outside repairs could not be undertaken without additional equipment which will have to be ferried to the space station by an unmanned spacecraft in June.