Russia Says Mir Station to Fall Later Than Planned

Russia's aging Mir space station will come crashing to Earth around a week later than planned, according to more precise calculations on the station's orbit, the Russian space agency said on Thursday.

A spokesman for space agency Rosaviakosmos said data from the 15-year-old station showed it was likely to plunge into the Pacific Ocean March 13-18, rather than March 5-8 as originally calculated.

"It is now moving at an altitude of 280 kilometers (170 miles)...and the decision was to start dumping it when it comes to 230-250 (135-160 miles)," spokesman Vyacheslav Mikhalichenko said. "We had thought it would reach that altitude on about March 3 and March 8 was the scheduled date for dumping it," he said.

Once the station dropped to 250 kilometers, he said, more precise calculations could be made. The 130-ton vessel is due to splash down some 3,000 kilometers (1,850 miles) east of New Zealand's southern tip and away from major sea and air routes. Up to 40 tons of debris are expected to reach Earth at speeds high enough to smash through two meters (6.5 feet) of reinforced concrete.

Mikhalichenko said the station was functioning normally and was descending without any outside assistance. "We are calculating all the time, we do this continually."

Last month, an unmanned Russian cargo craft docked with Mir, starting the countdown to the destruction of the former jewel in the crown of the Soviet space program.

The space station has become increasingly accident-prone in recent years, and ground controllers in December feared they had lost control of it for good when a sudden power outage cut communications for 24 hours.

Designed with a three-year service life, the space station also grabbed a raft of space endurance records following its launch in 1986, becoming the envy of the better-funded U.S. space effort.

Mikhalichenko also said the commission responsible for disposing of Mir had met on Thursday to discuss the state of the station, its location, forecasts for its fall and its readiness for the descent.






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