"Due to disruptions in financing for preparing the next mission and as yet uncertain prospects it is reasonable to switch to the method of conducting so-called visiting missions to the space station," Viktor Blagov said in an interview with Interfax.

The mission control center reckons that the current crew on board Mir - cosmonauts Sergei Zaletin and Alexander Kaleri - will return to earth in the middle of June after closing down the station and switching flight control from the central on-board computer to the analogue system, which is simpler but reliable, Blagov said. After that, no cosmonauts will visit the station until the fall.

Mir has been raised to an operational orbit of 375 to 390 km above earth. Mission control will now not have to worry about the orbit until the beginning of next year, Blagov said.

The crew of the 28th mission has conducted the required repairs and maintenance, "freshened up the technical condition of the station and prepared it for long-term use," he said.

"When money is found and a specific program is drawn up a mission will go, as was done on the previous Salyut series of stations," he said.

As for Mir's loss of air pressure, one of the leaks has been found: a pressure valve in the wall between the Spektr emergency module and the docking lock compartment, Blagov said.

Plugs have been installed here, but a final conclusion on whether the leak has been eliminated will be made next week after all checks are made on the Kvant module and the core block of the station, he said.

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