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Final Countdown: Mir to Deorbit at 9:30 a.m. Moscow Time on March 23
By Interfax
posted: 08:10 am ET
20 March 2001
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mir_final_countdown_010320 MOSCOW, March 20 (Interfax) -- The Mir space station will be sunk in the Pacific Ocean on March 23 at around 1:30 a.m. EST (06:30 GMT; 9.30 a.m. Moscow time), the Russian Aviation and Space Agency told Interfax, citing a decision made by the government commission headed by agency director Yuri Koptev. The space agency press service said that a one-day, three-impulse maneuvering sequence has been approved for the Mir deorbiting and splashdown in a designated part of the Pacific. During the first revolution on March 22 at 7:33 p.m. EST (March 23 at 00:33 GMT; 3.33 a.m. Moscow time), the first braking impulse will be initiated. At 9 p.m. EST (March 23, 02:00 GMT; 5.02 a.m. Moscow time), there will be a second firing. Mir's orientation engines will serve as brakes. The first two impulses should force Mir to enter an orbit with an apogee of 137 miles (220 kilometers) and a perigee of 102 miles (165 kilometers). In this orbit, the station will be at its lowest altitude above the south Pacific sinking area. Then, during two revolutions, Mission Control will measure the new orbital parameters and calculate the final braking impulse for the splashdown. The command for the final braking impulse is expected to be sent on March 23 at 12 a.m. EST (05:00 GMT; 8 a.m. Moscow time), when the station will be flying over Africa. The commission involving representatives of the Ministries of Defense, Emergency Situations and Foreign Affairs have defined the no-entry zone for vessels in the Mir sinking area. This information will be reported to corresponding diplomatic circles in the countries located in the deorbiting trajectory zone, the press service said. Mir was launched in February 1986 and has been functioning for more than 15 years. Its current weight is 137 tons.
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