MISSION CONTROL CENTER, Korolyov -- The engines of the Progress cargo ship fired to give the Mir space station the first of the three deorbiting impulses that will send the aged outpost plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
Obeying commands uploaded into the ship's control system by Mission Control Center (MCC) in Korolyov earlier today, the engines fired at 7:31.59 p.m. EST (March 23 at 00:31:59 GMT; 3:31:59 a.m. Moscow time) against the station's direction of flight. They slowed Mir from its cruising speed of about 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second, which lowered its altitude.
The burn, which lasted 1,244 seconds, lowered the station's orbit to one with an apogee of 135 miles (218 kilometers) and a perigee of (187 kilometers), according to MCC officials.
The deorbiting shift, dressed in gray and black suits, remained glued to their Soviet-era displays as a large screen projected the final countdown for what has been the primary workload of this center for the past 15 years.
Time to move on
The shift's controller and chief of the center, Vladimir Lobachev -- who shuttled back and forth between his study and the Mir control hall -- seemed emotionless and concentrated as a male voice flatly listed the planned procedures through loudspeakers.
Only when bugged by journalists would Lobachev admit that he "feels sad" to see the station that took "quite a part of our lives" go.
"However, life goes on," he said before running away to monitor the burn. "We now have the International Space Station."
Yuri Koptev, director general of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviacosmos) also said it was "time to move on."
Koptev told reporters less than an hour after the first burn had been successfully completed that the station has become so accident prone that "it wouldn't have been worth it to keep it in orbit only to be busy with fixing breakdowns."
Second brake
The flight control system of the Progress, which was docked to Mir in January, will order the second burn around 9:00 p.m. EST (March 23 at 02:00 GMT; 5:00 a.m. Moscow time), which should lower the orbit of the 15-year-old station to an apogee of 134 miles (215 kilometers) and a perigee of 99 miles (159 kilometers). This burn will last 22 minutes 8 seconds, according to officials.
The third and final impulse is scheduled to begin at after midnight at 12:07 a.m. EST (05:07 GMT; 8:07.36 a.m. Moscow time) and last some 22 minutes 15 seconds. Upon completion of this impulse, the station will begin its fiery plunge with burning debris expected to hit in a designated area of the Pacific Ocean at 1:30 a.m. EST (06:30 GMT; 8:30 a.m. Moscow time).
None of these deorbiting impulses could have been executed if MCC had failed to stabilize the 134-ton station on March 22 by firing Mir's own stabilization thrusters.
Obeying commands uploaded by MCC in the early hours of March 22, Mir's main computer fired off the station's engines to stabilize the station and orient it so that engines of the Progress could fire against the direction of the station's flight.
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