Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
January 24, 2001 - Issue #375
PROGRESS LAUNCHES TO HELP BRING DOWN MIR
After a few delays, a Russian Progress cargo ship finally launched
early this morning from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan -
it's expected to dock automatically with Mir on Saturday. If
anything goes wrong with the docking on Saturday, a crew of
cosmonauts is standing by to launch and help repair things
manually. The Russian Space Agency expects to use the Progress'
engines to drop Mir out of orbit on March 6, 2001, and crash it
into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia.
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NEWSALERT: Wednesday, January 24, 2001 @ 0700 GMT
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MIR DEORBITER TUG LAUNCHED
An unmanned freighter destined to drive Russia's abandoned space
station Mir into a suicidal plunge back to Earth was launched into
orbit today atop a Soyuz rocket. Liftoff occurred at 0428:42 GMT from
Central Asia.
Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
January 22, 2001 - Issue #373
MIR'S GYROS HAVE FAILED BUT DOCKING WILL STILL PROCEED
Because of a sudden power loss last week Mir's gyroscopes have
failed, and Russian ground controllers haven't been able to get
them working again. The gyros are necessary to keep the station
aligned, so while they're not working controllers are using a
collection of small thrusters to ensure the station doesn't spin
out of control. Even without the gyros, the Russians still plan to
dock a Progress cargo vessel later this week to transfer fuel to
the station. Mir will be brought back to Earth in early March.
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NEWSALERT: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 @ 0450 GMT
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MIR NURSED BACK TO LIFE, PROGRESS SET FOR LAUNCH
Flight controllers have reactivated Mir's main computer which has
been off-line since a power failure last week. Although attempts to
reactivate the station's gyrodines failed, launch preparations have
resumed for the cargo craft that will deorbit the station.
NEWSALERT: Saturday, January 20, 2000 @ 1450 GMT
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RUSSIANS SET NEW LAUNCH DATE FOR MIR'S DEORBITING TUG
RKK Energia officials currently plan to make another attempt to
launch the Progress M1-5 cargo ship toward Mir on January 24, if
mission controllers in Korolev can reboot the main computer onboard
the station in time.
Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
January 16, 2001 - Issue #370
MIR CRASH DATE SET
A spokesman from the Russian Space Agency announced yesterday that
March 6, 2001 is the day they have planned to de-orbit the Mir
space space station and crash it into the ocean east of Australia.
An unmanned Progress cargo ship is scheduled to launch on Thursday
this week to deliver the fuel Mir will need to perform its
de-orbiting maneuvers - an emergency crew of cosmonauts is ready to
go if anything goes wrong with the automated docking system. The
Russians are now expected to focus their efforts on space station
Alpha.
Internet Coverage:
BBC
Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
November 16, 2000 - Issue #342
RUSSIAN CABINET APPROVES PLAN TO DEORBIT MIR
The Russian Cabinet has approved a plan to crash the 14-year old Mir spacestation
into the Pacific Ocean sometime in February. The likely scenario from this
point is that an unmanned Progress cargo ship will dock with the station
in January, and then fire its thrusters to bring the station quickly into
the atmosphere above an unpopulated area. Russia is legendary for announcing
the imminent destruction of Mir, only to save it shortly thereafter.
Original source:
MirCorp
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SPACE.com Newsletter for Thursday 16 November 2000
MIR SPACE STATION TO BE BROUGHT DOWN TO EARTH IN FEBRUARY
The Russian space station Mir will be crashed into the Pacific Ocean on February 27 or 28, the general director of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) said Thursday.
NEWSALERT: Thursday, November 16, 2000 @ 1437 GMT
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now
RUSSIA DECIDES TO DUMP MIR
The Russian government has decided to deorbit the Mir space station,
according to reports from Moscow. "The government has agreed that
[Mir] be taken out of orbit and brought down into the Pacific Ocean
in a pre-determined area off Australia between February 26 and 28,"
Russian space agency chief Yuri Koptev told reporters.
SPACE.com Newsletter for Wednesday 15 November 2000
RUSSIA MAY SEND CREW TO MIR IN JANUARY
Russia may send a new crew to the Mir space station on Jan. 18, but
the government hasn't decided how much longer to keep the 14-year-old
outpost in orbit, an official said Tuesday.
MirCorp to Make Historic Initial Public Offering
Washington, D.C./Moscow, Russia (October 12, 2000) - MirCorp plans an
historic Initial Public Offering (IPO) on leading exchanges worldwide to
raise $117 million in financing for long-term commercial operations with
Russia's Mir space station.
This first-of-its-kind IPO was spurred by worldwide international interest in the commercial opportunities with Mir - the only independent space station in orbit today.
"Recognizing this unprecedented interest in Mir, we have decided to pursue the IPO to raise the working capital for long-term commercial service with the station," MirCorp President Jeffrey Manber said. "We are in the process of making decisions on which markets in Asia, Europe and the U.S. we will be registering the IPO."
The Holland-based MirCorp was formed to operate Mir as a truly commercial space platform. It has an exclusive lease agreement with RSC Energia - the Russian space systems manufacturer that built and operates the space station.
MirCorp successfully saved Mir from destruction earlier this year, and financed a 73-day mission of two Russian cosmonauts to reactive the orbital facility - opening it for business. It also funded three unmanned resupply missions to maintain Mir in a fully operational status, with a fourth to be launched October 16 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
"There has been strong international support for Mir, and the IPO will raise capital that will demonstrate to both the Russian government and the world that we have a solid business plan that is fully backed by financing," Manber said. "As MirCorp is 60 percent Russian controlled, we look forward to working with the Russian government while we pursue the full commercial opportunities with Mir."
Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, a director and major investor in MirCorp, said the company has significant asset value, and is unique in offering true commercial access to space.
"MirCorp has been valued at between $1.3 and $1.5 billion by KPMG, which recognized the worth of Mir as the only orbital platform of its kind in service today," Dr. Kathuria said.
MirCorp is developing its manned flight schedule for 2001 and beyond, with several missions now being organized. They include the launch of Dennis Tito, MirCorp's first Citizen Explorer, as well as the flight of a winner from the "Destination Mir" reality series from NBC and "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett.
Dennis Tito has completed the second two-week training cycle at Russia's Star City cosmonaut base near Moscow, and his historic Citizen Explorer mission is scheduled for 2001.
The NBC "Destination Mir" series - in which a diverse cast of at least a dozen American civilians will train for the mission at Star City - will end with one person selected for the flight to Mir. "Destination Mir" will run during the 2001-02 season.
"The Dennis Tito and 'Destination Mir' flights have confirmed the revenue potential of the station with non-traditional users of space," Dr. Kathuria added. "We also foresee a major revenue stream from the more traditional sectors - including space science, remote sensing and manned missions with national or governmental space agencies."
Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
October 4, 2000 - Issue #317
MIRCORP WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH PLANS, DESPITE MIR'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Although the beleaguered Mir space station has an uncertain future, MirCorp
is still moving forward with all its plans to commercialize the space station.
A Russian Progress unmanned cargo spacecraft will launch to the station
on October 16 to bring fuel and other supplies - it will also boost Mir's
orbit to prevent from entering the Earth's atmosphere. All this despite
the rumours that the Russian government has almost approved a plan to deorbit
the station.
Original Source:
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TWO NEW MIR MISSIONS ANNOUNCED FOR 2001
Although it's currently empty, the financial backers for the Mir spacestation
have plans to fill it again in 2001. The first mission will begin when businessman
Dennis Tito begins his $20 million trip to the spacestation. He and two cosmonauts
will join the two cosmonauts that will already be on board. Then Tito will return
with the two original cosmonauts, leaving the relief crew on board to conduct
an extended mission for the second half of 2001.
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MirCorp Approves Operation of Mir Space Station
In Permanently-Manned Mode Beginning Next Year
The schedule of privately-financed MirCorp flights begins with the launch of an unmanned resupply spacecraft to Mir this fall, followed by two long-duration missions with cosmonauts in 2001. Citizen Explorer Dennis Tito will be part of a crew exchange between the two manned missions at mid-year 2001, and he is to spend approximately 10 days aboard the station.
MirCorp's decision was taken in a unanimous vote of its full board of directors during a regularly scheduled meeting led by Chairman Yuri P. Semenov. Also attending the meeting in the city of Korolov near Moscow were Vice Chairman Walt Anderson and board members Valeri Ryumin, Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria and Alexander Derechin.
"The board's historic decision allows MirCorp to enter into final negotiations with the many potential clients who have been awaiting our establishment of a long-term flight schedule," MirCorp President Jeffrey Manber said. "These potential clients involve a mix of aerospace companies, financial services, media outlets and providers of consumer goods."
MirCorp's mission manifest begins with the launch this fall of a Progress unmanned resupply spacecraft that will bring propellant and other supplies to enable Mir's continuous autonomous operation into early 2001. It will be the third such resupply mission to Mir since MirCorp saved the station from a destructive reentry earlier this year.
Mir currently is unmanned following the successful MirCorp-funded mission of two cosmonauts earlier this year. The 73-day mission, which ended June 16, marked the world's first commercial flight to renovate a manned space station - opening Mir for commercial operations.
MirCorp's next manned mission will be launched to Mir in early 2001, with two Russian cosmonauts spending several months aboard the orbital station. In mid-year, they will be joined by a two-man Russian cosmonaut replacement crew that will be joined by Citizen Explorer Tito.
Tito will stay on the station for approximately 10 days, returning to Earth with the first crew. The replacement cosmonauts will continue to live and work on the station for a mission that continues into the second half of 2001.
"The board's vote to permanently man Mir sends a message to our potential strategic partners, investors, sponsors, advertisers and affiliates that MirCorp's momentum is building," said Andrew Eddy, MirCorp's Senior Vice President, Business Development.
MirCorp's long-term mission plan will be reported to the appropriate Russian government authorities for validation and coordination.
The Holland-based MirCorp was formed earlier this year to operate as a direct link between commercial users of Mir and the space station's Russian operators. In February, MirCorp signed a first-of-its kind commercial lease agreement for Mir with RSC Energia, the Russian space systems manufacturer that built and operates the space station.
MirCorp acts as a commercial facilitator, beginning with the establishment of business conditions for Mir's use, and continuing through successful completion of a user's activity on board the station. MirCorp is 60% owned by RSC Energia, while the remaining 40% held by its investors.
NEWSALERT: Tuesday, July 11, 2000 @ 0941 GMT
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MIRCORP SEEKS SPONSORSHIP, ADVERTISING FOR SPACE STATION
Russia's Mir space station has been opened for sponsorship and
advertising opportunities. Commercial possibilities range from the
flight of products and material onboard the manned orbital facility
to the corporate sponsorship of a Mir habitation module.
MirCorp
June 19, 2000
MirCorp's June 19 press conference presenting the world's first citizen space explorer mission will be broadcast via live audio streaming. The conference will begin at 9:30 AM local Washington DC time (Eastern Standard Time).
Go to:
http://www.mirstation.com/news_conference.html
MirCorp
MirCorp's Privately-funded Mission to Save Mir Ends with Cosmonauts'
Touchdown in Kazakhstan
Mission commander Sergei Zalyotin and flight engineer Alexander Kalery emerged from their Soyuz TM-30 transport spacecraft after touching down on the Kazakh steppe at 00:44 GMT.
Their recovery by a specialized ground crew marked the end to a long-duration flight sponsored by MirCorp that revived the station, making it ready for follow-on commercial missions.
"Working in partnership with our Russian colleagues, we have demonstrated the viability of MirCorp's business model," MirCorp President Jeffrey Manber said. "We are excited about the commercial prospects for this extremely capable space station."
Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, one of MirCorp's major investors, declared the station ready for long-term operation as a commercial space platform. "The successful conclusion of this flight is one of MirCorp's most significant milestones to date," he said. "The cosmonauts confirmed that Mir is in good working order, and they demonstrated the value of Mir to the world's business community. We now are preparing the groundwork for upcoming missions to the station."
Highlights of the MirCorp sponsored flight with Zalyotin and Kalery included:
The first privately sponsored extravehicular activity (EVA, or spacewalk). The May 12 spacewalk included a pioneering test of future techniques to repair space stations.
The renovation of Mir - including repairing a small air leak detected during a previous mission and the implementation of a system to downlink digital images and content.
The first resupply of a space station using missions financed by the private sector. Two such flights with unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft were carried out - one on February 3 (prior to the cosmonauts' arrival on board Mir), and the other on April 27, which occurred during the crew's third week on the station.
Cosmonauts Zalyotin and Kalery spent a total of 73 days aboard Mir, orbiting the Earth 1,100 times while working on the station.
The Holland-based MirCorp was formed earlier this year to develop commercial operations on Mir. The company acts as a facilitator, beginning with the establishment of business conditions for Mir's use, and continuing through successful completion of a user's activity on board the station.
MirCorp is 60% owned by RSC Energia - the manufacturer and operator of Mir - while the remaining 40% held by its financial investors.
Newsletter for Saturday 17 June 2000
Mir Crew Lands Safely
* A Soyuz reentry capsule carrying two cosmonauts from the Mir space station successfully landed on Thursday.
Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
June 16, 2000 - Issue #257
NEWSALERT: Wednesday, May 24, 2000 @ 1115 GMT
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Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
May 23rd, 2000 - Issue #241
NEWSALERT: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 @ 1017 GMT
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Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
May 22nd, 2000 - Issue #240
MirCorp
Their flight - which began in early April - marked some extraordinary firsts, including the first crew sent to space without government funding, the first operations on board a commercially funded space station and the first commercially sponsored spacewalk.
In addition, the crew successfully began renovating the Mir, repairing critical systems, replacing batteries and finding a troublesome leak. The smooth nature of this flight led to the mission being extended from its originally planned 45 days to more than two months in space.
"We have achieved all the technical milestones planned for this crew's mission onboard the station," MirCorp president Jeffrey Manber said. "Working with our colleagues in Moscow, we have proven how robust this station is, and demonstrated that the re-opening and saving of Mir captured the attention and enthusiasm of the entire world."
MirCorp will spend the next several months planning its business infrastructure, and will announce new strategic partners, investors and customers in the coming months. "We showed the world a new path into space," said Manber, "now it is time to build on our success."
Speaking on behalf of MirCorp's investors, Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria said preparations already have begun for follow-on flights to Mir, with the next manned mission scheduled for the fall of this year and the third manned mission targeted for first quarter of 2001.
"After demonstrating Mir's viability and completing essential renovations, we are convinced more than ever of the station's long-term usefulness as a commercial space platform," said Dr. Kathuria, who is one of the major investors in MirCorp. "The cosmonauts inspected Mir in detail and confirmed the station is in good shape. With minor continuing renovation, the station will be operational for the long term".
The Holland-based MirCorp was formed earlier this year to operate as a direct link between commercial users of Mir and the space station's Russian operators.
MirCorp acts as a facilitator, beginning with the establishment of business conditions for Mir's use, and continuing through successful completion of a user's activity on board the station.
The company signed a first-of-its kind commercial lease agreement for Mir in February with RSC Energia, the Russian space systems manufacturer that built and operates the space station. MirCorp is 60% owned by RSC Energia, while the remaining 40% held by its investors.
MirCorp
Mr. Vibert was with the European Space Agency, and already has experience with Mir training.
"We are delighted to be exploring this historic mission with Itali-Mir," Manber said. "Bringing together a wide range of Italian industry, media, banks and consumer companies to support a serious mission to Mir is exactly one of our primary goals. We believe this is a good commercial model for all nations with experienced space talent."
The Holland-based MirCorp was formed earlier this year to operate as a direct link between commercial users of Mir and the space station's Russian operators.
MirCorp acts as a facilitator, beginning with the establishment of business conditions for Mir's use, and continuing through successful completion of a user's activity on board the station.
The company signed a first-of-its kind commercial lease agreement for Mir in February with RSC Energia, the Russian space systems manufacturer that built and operates the space station. MirCorp is 60% owned by RSC Energia, while the remaining 40% held by its investors.
SPACEMAIL
But things may not be that simple.
"At present, there are no funds, not only for continuing the manned flight on the orbital station Mir, but also for carrying out its guided descent into a designated area of the ocean," top Russian space experts in charge of the Mir said in a statement Tuesday.
The document, which was signed by 31 leading space designers and engineers, was faxed to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Controlling the descent would require several trips by Progress cargo ships, which would park on the Mir and fire their engines to lower the station's orbit.
The American space agency NASA, which wants Russia to concentrate its meager resources on the International Space Station, can't wait to see the Mir go. Because of Russia's failure to build its segments on time, the first permanent crew isn't expected to be able to move in until next March, almost two years behind schedule.
But the Russians have been calling attention to the disturbing possibility of the Mir going out of control on its way down.
There is a precedent. In February, 1991, ground controllers lost control of the 40-ton Salyut-7 space station, and it came crashing down.
The Salyut fell on a sparsely populated area in Argentina's Andes mountains near the Chilean border, and caused no injuries or damage. But the experts warn there is no telling where the Mir, if unguided, might land.
Russia has struggled to keep the Mir - a symbol of their space glory and national pride - aloft as long as possible.
But dire financial troubles forced space officials to decide Tuesday that the Mir's current three-man crew should depart in August, and that the station be left to circle the Earth unmanned until early next year.
Then, it would most likely be discarded - unless the Russians can come up with more money to send a new crew up.
Although the chances of that are negligible, space officials seem to be playing for time and hoping for a miracle.
"Abandoning the station right now would be an irreversible decision," said Sergei Krikalyov, a cosmonaut who twice stayed on the Mir and who will be among the first crew to live the International Space Station when it begins operating in March.
"Even if later we become wiser, richer, and review our priorities somewhat, it will already be too late to correct anything," he told the Echo of Moscow radio.
Krikalyov predicted that Russia's space agency would try to keep the Mir up and put off a decision for as long as possible.
"As long as there is any hope, I think they're going to try with the last bit of their power to scrape together some money," Krikalyov said.
SPACEMAIL
PLEASE JOIN US FOR MISSION STS-96
A panel of top Russian space officials decided today that the only option would be for the three-man crew to leave in August, said Vyacheslav Mikhailichenko, a spokesman for the Russian Space Agency.
Prior to the crew's departure, they will install a new computer allowing ground controllers to command the station without a crew on board, Russian news reports said.
Mir's orbit, currently about 240 miles above Earth, will gradually diminish. At about 125 miles above the Earth, ground controllers will send a final command that will cause the station to burn up in the atmosphere.
That will probably happen in February or March, officials said.
The Mir was plagued by several serious accidents in 1997, but has been running relatively smoothly since then.
Russian space officials have said the Mir could safely remain in space for several more years, but the government has refused to put up any additional cash.
SPACEMAIL
At issue is the Russian government's self-imposed April 30 deadline to find a private company to keep Mir operating. If that doesn't happen, the station could be abandoned as early as September.
Russia is to launch a supply ship to the outpost Friday, and the crew that enjoys the fresh food and needed equipment packed aboard may be the last to live on the outpost.
So far, efforts have failed to raise the $250 million a year needed to keep crews on Mir. Meanwhile, NASA is urging the cash-starved Russians to close Mir and devote its scarce resources to the new International Space Station.
However, some observers don't think Mir will be sent on a crash-dive to burn in Earth's atmosphere as now planned.
"(Mir) is the last thing they have to be proud of in Russia, and if it's gone, there's nothing left," said James Oberg, a Houston-based engineer and Russian space expert.
In orbit since 1986, Mir is the last vestige of the former Soviet Union's glory days in space. In contrast, the new international station is a NASA-led project that doesn't inspire much enthusiasm in Russia.
That's why some think Russia will find a way to keep Mir open. For instance, a group of space enthusiasts is trumpeting the station's potential as a research facility and foothold for human explorers.
"Closing Mir would be like the early settlers building a fort or a cabin and then tearing it down so the next group of people couldn't use it," said Rick Tumlinson, a founder of the private Space Frontier Foundation, which started a "Keep Mir Alive" campaign last year.
Instead of sending Mir to its death, Mir supporters hope it will be boosted to a higher orbit where it could remain in storage until Russia or some private investors raise the cash to use it.
"There's a whole range in what you can do with it," said Kathleen Woody of United Societies in Space, a space advocacy group that has studied options for Mir.
"Far less funds would be required, for example, to turn on the lights a couple months a year and keep the station mothballed the rest of the time."
SPACEMAIL
February 12, 1999
Their main task likely will be to bury it.
Senior Russian space officials said Thursday that efforts to find private investors to keep Mir aloft are failing, and the station might be dumped into a watery grave in the Pacific Ocean by late summer.
Spearheaded by RSC Energia - the aerospace company that operates Mir for the government - the bid to save Mir "was just wishful thinking," Russian Space Agency director Yuri Koptev said in Moscow.
"They have indeed carried out serious work with an investor who had the money. But the investor has some problems. If no investor is found, we will be forced to make the tough decision to discard Mir in August or September."
The comments came after what may have been the last hope for Mir, which will celebrate its 13th anniversary in orbit Feb. 20.
Last month, Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov gave conditional approval to keep the station in orbit through 2002.
In a decree signed Jan. 21, he granted RSC Energia the right to run Mir on a commercial basis after the Russian government stops paying for station operations in June.
But the decree also had several caveats, including an April 30 deadline to find private investors to pay the $250 million a year it takes to keep Mir flying.
RSC Energia officials as recently as Monday had been in negotiations with an unnamed foreign firm, but Koptev said the deal had fallen through.
He also denied Russian media reports that Mir's mysterious benefactor was the Chinese government.
"China has been energetically developing its own space program and promised to put its first astronaut in orbit by Oct. 1 this year," Koptev said. "If they had been interested in flying on our station, they would have done it a long time ago."
Two Chinese pilots trained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City outside Moscow, but the cooperation ended there.
"We haven't heard from them since," Koptev said.
With Mir's fate bleak, Russian cosmonaut Viktor Afanasyev and two crewmates - Jean-Pierre Heignere of France and Ivan Bella of Slovakia - are to rocket there Feb. 20 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan.
Bella, the first Slovakian to fly in space, is to return to Earth in early March with Mir's current commander, Gennady Padalka.
Cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev, the station's current flight engineer, is to remain onboard with Afanasyev and Heignere until August.
Those three could find themselves on Mir's burial detail. Here's how they would do it.
First, a pair of Progress space freighters would be used to gradually lower the station from its current orbit 250 miles above Earth to one about 100 miles above the planet.
Second, a new, advanced Progress freighter that can carry twice the fuel of earlier models would be launched to Mir.
Once the new ship docked at Mir, the crew would shut down most station systems before returning to Earth aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.
Ground controllers then would fire the new Progress's powerful engines, sending Mir on a destructive plunge through the atmosphere.
Most the 130-ton outpost would burn up in the atmosphere. Any remaining pieces would fall harmlessly into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.
"The plan is in place," said Mikhail Sinelschikov, RSA's chief of piloted space programs.
"The crew would be onboard the station all the way through the docking of the new Progress. The final (deorbit) burn would take place when the Mir station is unmanned."
Mir's death would be a hard blow to the Russians.
Considered the sole remaining jewel of the former Soviet Union's space program, it is a source of deep national pride and a symbol of Russian achievements in space.
A T-shaped cluster of cylindrical labs, the station has been staffed almost continuously since its core module was launched Feb. 20, 1986.
Sixty cosmonauts and astronauts from around the world have conducted research there, including seven Americans that visited the station between 1995 and 1998.
Nine U.S. shuttle flights also were flown to Mir as a precursor to construction of NASA's new International Space Station, the first two pieces of which were launched late last year.
Independent aerospace analysts say the push to keep Mir flying could have jeopardized an intricate series of flights still required to raise the new $50 billion international station.
The reason: Russia would have to triple its production rate and build 32 rockets, cargo ships and crew transport vehicles to keep Mir aloft and build the new station - a feat many consider impossible.
"Even if the Russians are able to find money from private investors, they don't have the manufacturing capability to support both the Mir and the international station," said James Oberg, a Russian space program expert.
"If Mir lives on for even another year, it will just sink NASA's station construction plans."
Russian officials, however, clearly don't want to abandon Mir before the new station's first fulltime crew arrives at the outpost in February 2000.
"You never get rid of an old pair of shoes before you buy a new pair of shoes, especially in the winter time," said veteran cosmonaut Valery Ryumin, who now heads RSC Energia's International Space Station program office.
"So why get rid of an old space station when we don't have a new one."
Throughout the Mir debate, NASA and its other partners in the international station - Europe, Canada, Japan and Brazil - have been saying little about the station's fate.
"Russia is a sovereign nation, and Russia makes decisions about its own assets," said NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. "We in the United States, and our partners, ask only that Russia live within its commitments to the International Space Station."
But if Mir's days indeed are numbered, one thing is certain. Those who toiled aboard the outpost during its 74,000 spins around Earth soon may be in mourning.
"I spent more than a year on Mir," said veteran cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. "And of course it would be a kind of a sad feeling to see your old home destroyed."
SPACEMAIL
December 23, 1998
Russian officials have responded with a promise to keep the Mir in orbit after mid-1999 only if they can find new funding.
Officials didn't identify today the new private investor or say how much money they hoped to secure.
However, Yuri Semyonov, the chief of Russia's Energia space company, said the government is drafting a document that would provide guarantees for the Mir investment and that a funding agreement would be signed once the document is completed.
"We have an investor who is ready to provide funding under the government's guarantees," Semyonov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Energia built the Mir and is pushing to extend the space station's stay in orbit in spite of international demands that Russia spend all of its limited resources earmarked for space on the international station.
Mir's operation requires about $250 million each year. Russia will need to spend $270 million next year on the international station.
Russia's draft 1999 budget, under review in parliament, earmarks a meager $143 million for space research, Russian Space Agency director Yuri Koptev has said.
Mir now houses two Russian cosmonauts. A joint crew of Russian, French and Slovak astronauts is expected to be sent to Mir in February.
Two Russians are then expected to stay on the Mir to gradually lower its orbit to prepare for sinking the 120-ton station in the ocean.
SPACEMAIL
November 19, 1999
"In the opinion of many leaders of the Russian space sector, the only real possibility of preserving Russia's position in the manned space program is the continuation of the Mir until the initial use of the international station, which is until mid-2000," Reuters quoted the unnamed official as saying.
"The head of the Russian Space Agency Yuri Koptev has recently expressed support of this position, and the Russian president's aide on aviation and space, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, who shares this position, is now preparing a concrete proposal on this score," the official, who did not want to be indentified, told Reuters.
The extension is justified because the earlier decision to bring Mir down next summer was based on projections that the new station's crew of two Russians and one American would arrive before then, the source told Reuters.
The first crew for the new station is expected to arrive in January 2000, a year and a half late, because of Russian delays in building the living quarters.
Extending Mir's life for another year will cost about $250 million and U.S. space officials are concerned that Moscow is not financially healthy enough to support Mir and meet its new station commitments.
NASA spokesman Kyle Herring said on Wednesday the U.S. space agency had not been told officially of any plan to extend Mir's life in orbit. "We have not seen any proposal such as that in a formal way," he told Reuters.
Russia will launch the $238 million Zarya module for the International Space Station on Friday, to be followed in the coming years by nearly 50 launches to create the most ambitious space complex ever assembled. The $60-billion project brings together Russia, the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada and 11 other nations.
Some Russian cosmonauts and space officials say the United States wants to bring down Mir for political reasons and argue that in an era of economic hardship the Russian station is among the few unique objects of national pride.
"To just bring it down like that is a dream of some contemporary politicans across the ocean (in the United States)," Alexander Serebrov, a former cosmonaut who now works as an adviser on space issues in the Kremlin, said in an interview with Reuters on Saturday. "It's a purely political move."
Some critics in the U.S. Congress have sought to drop Russia from the new station for failing to meet its commitments but NASA Administrator Dan Goldin has continued to back cooperation.
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