DEORBITING MIR


NEWS UPDATES

  • CNN: Mir destroyed in fiery descent
  • SpaceflightNow: Space Station Mir - Mission Status Center
  • SPACE.com: Mir's Fiery Finale
  • Universe Today Coverage of the Mir Reentry
  • ESA: Farewell to Mir
  • ESA Nederland: Mir bestaat niet meer (Dutch)
  • MirReentry.com

    WHAT HAPPENED TO MIR?

  • CNN.com: Mir falls to earth
  • SPACE.com: How will Mir reenter?

    HISTORICAL FACTS

  • BBC: Mir space station 1986-2001
  • ESA: Mir FAQs - Facts and history
  • ESA Nederland: Meer over Mir: feiten en geschiedenis (Dutch)


    ESA Nederland

    23 maart 2001

    Mir bestaat niet meer

    Het Russische ruimtestation Mir is vergaan. Nadat het grootste deel van het station vanochtend rond 06.30 u. in de dampkring verbrandde, stortten de resten ongeveer een half uur later in de Stille Oceaan.

    De terugkeer van de Mir verliep geheel volgens plan. Door de wrijving met de aardatmosfeer viel het ruimtestation al steeds verder terug naar de aarde. Met de raketmotor van het in januari dit jaar aangekoppelde Progress M1-5 vrachtschip werden vannacht drie vuurstoten gegeven. Daardoor remde de Mir nog verder af in zijn baan en dook uiteindelijk in de dampkring.

    De Russische vluchtleiding had de hele procedure perfect in de hand. De brokstukken die na de verbrandingsfase in de dampkring overbleven, kwamen precies in het van tevoren voorspelde gebied in de Stille Oceaan terecht.

    De Mir is ruim 15 jaar lang in de ruimte geweest en heeft in die tijd een afstand van ruim 3 milard km om de aarde afgelegd.


    CNN

    March 23, 2001 -- Updated 01:50 a.m. EST, 0650 GMT

    Mir destroyed in fiery descent

    After 15 years in space, Russia's space station Mir re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and plunged into the South Pacific early today. CNN's Hugh Williams in Fiji reported seeing Mir streaking across the sky in several pieces. "This is the most unbelievable, incredible show," Williams said.

  • Full story.


    CNN, March 22, 2001 (2101 GMT)

    Mir nears fiery finish

    MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian mission controllers early Thursday successfully regained control of the space station Mir and powered up its thrusters to stabilize the spinning spacecraft in preparation for its suicidal descent to Earth.

  • Full story.


    CNN, March 22, 2001

    Mir positioned for fiery descent

    Russian mission controllers early today successfully regained control of the space station Mir and powered up its thrusters to stabilize the spinning spacecraft in preparation for its suicidal descent to Earth.

  • Full story.


    the
    U N I V E R S E 
      T O D A Y 
    

    Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
    March 21, 2001 - Issue #407

    MIR GETS READY WITH FINAL MANEUVER

    Now at an altitude of only 220km, the Mir spacestation has an important maneuver to make before Russian mission control brings it down on Friday. Currently tumbling slowly in orbit, they need to stabilize the station on Thursday so that it stops rolling. This is necessary so that the descent thrusters will be at the right angle when they fire to drop the station out of orbit. This maneuver carries some risk; however, because if it fails, the station will continue to tumble, and controllers will have no way to decide where it will crash.

    Special Report:

  • Universe Today Coverage of the Mir Reentry

    Internet Coverage:

  • AviationNow
  • CNN

    Related Products:

  • Countdown Creations - Commemorate the long-lived Mir station with your own shirt, flight jacket, or patch.


    the
    U N I V E R S E 
      T O D A Y 
    

    Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
    March 20, 2001 - Issue #406

    THE COMPLEXITIES OF BRINGING DOWN MIR

    Although the Russian Space Agency believes they'll be bringing the Mir spacestation down on Friday morning, the day isn't carved in stone. It all depends of the Sun, and the effect it has on the Earth's atmosphere, causing it to shrink or inflate. Changes in the atmosphere will affect the trajectory and thus the final impact location of Mir when it hits. This is also complicating the task of a group of tourists who have paid $6,500 US to fly out along the trajectory of the falling station to watch it crash.

    Internet Coverage:

  • AviationNow
  • BBC
  • CNN
  • Discovery


    the
    U N I V E R S E 
      T O D A Y 
    

    Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
    March 20, 2001

    MIR REENTRY DELAYED BRIEFLY

    By all accounts, nothing is going to stop the reentry of Mir, but that doesn't stop Russian space officials from throwing a few more delays in. Originally scheduled to reenter on Thursday, March 22nd, the crash has been pushed back to Friday at 0600 GMT (1:00am EST), depending on weather conditions. The station has been gradually losing altitude and once it reaches 220 km, the Russians will fire the decent thrusters to bring it down into the South Pacific Ocean.

    Internet Coverage:

  • CNN
  • MSNBC
  • SPACE.COM


    NEWSALERT: Thursday, March 15, 2001 @ 1700 GMT

    The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

    RUSSIANS REFINE PLAN FOR REENTRY OF SPACE STATION MIR

    After weeks of uncertainty, Russian space officials have set the early hours of March 22 as the definitive target for the Mir's fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

    Read more.


  • Chris van den Berg: Mir news 17-03-2001
  • Chris van den Berg: Mir-nieuws 15-03-2001 (Dutch)
  • Universe Today: Mir Reentry, March 23, 2001
  • Spaceflight Now, March 14, 2001: Russians refine plan for reentry of space station Mir
  • CNN, March 14, 2001: Mir death sentence delayed
  • SPACE.COM, March 14, 2001: Mir Deorbit Date Moves to March 22
  • Chris van den Berg: Mir news 10-03-2001
  • Chris van den Berg: Mir-nieuws 8-03-2001 (Dutch)
  • SPACE.com, February 15, 2001: Russia Puts Off Dumping Mir
  • SpaceDaily, February 15, 2001: Russia to delay destroying Mir until mid-March: official
  • MIRNIEUWS, 13 februari 2001: Geleidelijke daling (Dutch)
  • Space Daily, February 14, 2001: Russians Communists rail against death of Mir as a US plot
  • Space Daily, February 13, 2001: Small chance Mir could crash to Earth out of control: official
  • Space Daily, February 3, 2001: Mir Sample Reveals Mysterious Uranium Contamination
  • CNN, January 29, 2001: Mir cargo vessel abandoned


    Earlier news on Mir


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