Soyuz Ready To Launch Progress To Mir For Deorbit

SPACE TRAVEL

The last Soyuz to Mir stands ready for launch. Photo by Energia

Mowscow (AFP) Jan. 23, 2001
The Progress cargo ship, which is due to steer Russia's ageing Mir space station to destruction, will blast off early Wednesday, Russia's space control said Tuesday.

The supply ship will be launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0429 GMT Wedneday and is scheduled to dock with the 15-year-old orbiter on Saturday at 0530 GMT, a spokesman said.

Russian space chiefs had to delay the planned launch of Progress on Thursday after Mir developed last-minute problems with its orientation system.

The destruction of the Soviet-era station envisages Progress lowering Mir's orbit to 80 kilometres (50 miles), causing it to enter the dense layers of the atmosphere where most of it will burn up.

Debris is expected to fall into the Pacific Ocean up to 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) off the coast of Australia on March 6.

The decision to bring down Mir follows several glitches in recent years, including a serious fire and a near-fatal collision with a cargo ship in 1997.

Russia has found that its commitment to the new International Space Station (ISS) has stretched its budget to breaking point. Unable to support both space projects, it decided last November to abandon Mir.

SPACE TRAVEL

Rockets Now Keeping Mir At Station, Back Up Crew Stands Ready For Manual Shutdown

Moscow (Interfax) Jan. 22, 2001
The pitch and angle of the Russian space station Mir are currently being maintained with the help of its rocket engines, the press service of Mission Control in Korolyov told Interfax.

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