MIR

MIR Reentry

March 23, 2001 -- Follow the reentry of the Russian space station Mir on this
page with updates on the latest news. http://spaceflightnow.com/mir/status.html

05:59 GMT (12:59 a.m. EST)
The era of space station Mir is over, ending a 2.2 billion mile odyssey of the
orbiting complex that was visited by 104 astronauts over its 15-year voyage.
Reports indicate the remnants of the station -- the 1,500 fragments expected to
survive reentry -- should have splashed down into the South Pacific Ocean by this time.

Today's controlled reentry appears to have gone without any significant trouble
as the Russians successfully deorbited the largest spacecraft in history. This is
obviously a time of mixed emotions as the historic space station is now gone but
the reentry went occurring to plan.

05:56 GMT (12:56 a.m. EST)
Estimates put the debris of Mir to be at altitude of 10 miles.

05:55 GMT (12:55 a.m. EST)
Reports continue of a massive fireball of the sky as Mir falls back to the planet
after its 15-year flight.

05:51 GMT (12:51 a.m. EST)
News reports from Fiji indicate that spectators have spotted the streaking destruction
of Mir as several large pieces could be seen plummeting to Earth. The station appears
to be on the proper course for impact into a remote area of the South Pacific.

05:50 GMT (12:50 a.m. EST)
At this point the space station Mir should begin breaking apart as it nears about
45 miles in altitude. Experts say the delicate solar arrays and communications antennas
of the station will rip away first, then the modules will disconnect and rupture.

05:45 GMT (12:45 a.m. EST)
The altitude dipping below 50 miles. Mir weighs about 140 tons. It's school bus-sized
modules are arranged in a T-shaped structure, 86 feet by 96 feet by 99 feet.
The core module was launched on February 20, 1986.

05:41 GMT (12:41 a.m. EST)
The station is now estimated below 60 miles in altitude as heat begins to build around Mir.

05:34 GMT (12:34 a.m. EST)
Mir is currently at altitude of about 80 miles as it remains on the planned trajectory
for reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean within a 3,700-mile and 125-mile strip
around a center geographically positioned at 44.2 degrees latitude and 150 degrees longitude.

05:28 GMT (12:28 a.m. EST)
The final braking burn has been completed, officials report. Mir is now on its death
plunge toward the atmosphere. The Russians expect the station to begin breaking apart
in a matter of minutes.

05:19 GMT (12:19 a.m. EST)
The final live television has been received at Russian Mission Control outside Moscow
from the abandoned space station Mir as the deorbit burn continues.

05:11 GMT (12:11 a.m. EST)
The main engine will burn until it's fuel supply is expended while the thrusters
continue for a total duration of about 20 minutes.

05:08 GMT (12:08 a.m. EST)
The Russian space station Mir is heading to destruction, ending a 15-year odyssey in
low-Earth orbit. The final braking maneuver has begun to slow the 140-ton spacecraft
for its reentry into Earth's atmosphere and impact into the remote South Pacific Ocean.
This burn is using the attitude control thrusters and main engine of the Progress M1-5
cargo ship docked to Mir.

05:00 GMT (12:00 a.m. EST)
All still reported well aboard Mir over the past two hours as it prepares for the
deorbiting burn. Officials now say the firing should start at 05:07:36 GMT (12:07:36 a.m. EST),
slightly earlier than previously announced.

03:00 GMT (10:00 p.m. EST)
Flight controllers report tonight's efforts to deorbit the 15-year old Russian
space station Mir is progressing by the book with no troubles. The station has
completed two braking maneuvers thus far with one final engine firing upcoming
about two hours from now to drop the 140-ton craft from orbit.

02:32 GMT (9:32 p.m. EST)
Confirmation now being received that the second of three maneuvers to guide the
space station Mir to a safe reentry has been performed successfully.

The station has been placed into an elliptical orbit in preparation for the final
braking maneuver expected to begin at 05:09 GMT (12:09 a.m. EST).

02:26 GMT (9:26 p.m. EST)
There has not been any futher update on the status of this second braking burn.

Earlier, Nikolai Ivanov, deputy Mission Control chief of ballistics, told Reuters
following the first burn that: "Everything is going on its schedule. The engines
worked as designated. The parameters of orbit correspond to our estimates. The orbit
has been formed so that its lowest point is positioned over the dumping area."

02:01 GMT (9:01 p.m. EST)

The second in the series of maneuvers to send the Russian space station Mir on
a controlled but fiery trek to a watery grave in the South Pacific Ocean should
now be underway. The attitude control thrusters of the Progress cargo ship will
be used again in this firing that is scheduled from 02:01:11 GMT (9:01:11 p.m. EST)
to 02:24:25 GMT (9:24:25 p.m. EST).

01:08 GMT (8:08 p.m. EST)
Russian space officials are saying the first braking burn was "flawless" as it began
the final descent of Mir. The next firing is scheduled to begin at 02:01 GMT (9:02 p.m. EST).

00:54 GMT (7:54 p.m. EST)
The first of three rocket firings to drop Mir from orbit should be completed at
this point. However, it will take Russian flight controllers a bit of time to verify
the burn went as planned and Mir is in the lowered orbit as expected.

00:33 GMT (7:33 p.m. EST)
Russian space officials report the first braking maneuver is underway aboard Mir.
This near 22-minute firing of attitude control thrusters on the Progress M1-5 freighter
docked to Mir will slow the station by about 9 meters per second (30 feet per second).

March 22, 2001
23:45 GMT (6:45 p.m. EST)
The latest word from Russian mission control indicates the reentry strategy for
space station Mir remains in place with no problems reported. The first deorbiting
burn by the Progress craft is upcoming. The firing is scheduled to start at 00:32:47 GMT
(7:32:47 p.m. EST) and last until 00:53:38 GMT (7:53:38 p.m. EST) with an impulse of 8.96 m/s.

Two later maneuvers are planned to send the station crashing into the South Pacific Ocean.
There have been some conflicting times for splashdown, but the latest from Moscow is
to expect the entry into the atmosphere at 05:43 GMT (12:42 a.m. EST) and impact at 05:59 GMT
(12:59 a.m. EST) near 47 degrees South/140 degrees West.

16:30 GMT (11:30 a.m. EST)
The space station Mir -- a relic of the once grand Soviet space program that later
served as a stepping stone to today's world cooperation in orbit -- is making its
final laps around Earth.

In a matter of hours, the 143-ton station will begin a series of braking maneuvers
to drop the 15-year old complex out of orbit for a suicidal plunge into Earth's atmosphere.

A Progress cargo freighter docked to Mir will perform the engine firings so the
deorbiting occurs in a controlled fashion, allowing the station's debris to land
in a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean.

The deorbiting will begin with a 21-minute burn starting at 00:33 GMT (7:33 p.m. EST)
tonight, changing the station's velocity by 9.0 meters per second and decreasing the
orbital altitude.

The next burn is planned at 02:02 GMT (9:02 p.m. EST) and should last 23 minutes,
further slowing the station by 9.6 meters per second and lowering the orbit.

A final 23-minute engine firing beginning at 05:09 GMT (12:09 a.m. EST) should put
Mir into a dive toward the South Pacific Ocean by slowing its velocity by 25.0 meters per second.

Impact is expected around 06:30 GMT (1:30 a.m. EST).