The Mir's erratic equipment worked without glitches Friday while the Russian-American crew planned routine tests to prepare for the planned docking with the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis.

"We haven't got any technical problems so far, touch wood," said Viktor Blagov, deputy chief of Russia's Mission Control. "Before an important moment, we try to freeze and not do anything."Atlantis, carrying a crew of seven, blasted off from Florida late Thursday. The shuttle was scheduled to dock with Mir just before 1:55 p.m. Saturday MDT.

The Mir circles just 250 miles above the Earth, but it will take the two spaceships almost two full days before they synchronize their orbits.

The shuttle is bringing U.S. astronaut David Wolf for a four-month stint on the Russian space station as the replacement for astronaut Michael Foale.

Recent breakdowns on the Mir have raised concerns about its safety, and NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin waited until Thursday to announce that Wolf would carry out his planned mission.

The Mir's central computer failed Monday for the third time in as many weeks, casting a cloud of doubt on the scheduled rendezvous. The computer maintains the station in a stable position necessary for the docking with another spacecraft.

The Mir's crew quickly fixed the problem, but space officials warned that they had run out of reliable spare computers and parts. The Atlantis is carrying a new computer and new parts for the ailing space station.

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"Whatever happens, the crew's safety will be ensured," Blagov told the ITAR-Tass news agency.

The cash-strapped Russian space agency is getting $472 million over several years from the Americans and wants to keep the joint venture going.

Wolf will be the sixth American to live on Mir since the program began in 1995.

Foale, meanwhile, has finished packing the U.S. scientific experiments and other equipment for the return to Earth on board the shuttle.

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