U WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government is
coordinating federal agencies to prepare for the fall of the Russian Mir space station. In the event that an out-of-control Mir crashes in the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ready to respond to the calamity.The Defense Department is expected to announce this week a linking of government organizations that will form a network to monitor the deorbiting of the huge station, approaching its last days in orbit.
Mir's crash dive to Earth is projected to occur between March 13 and 18, according to officials at the U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Russian roulette
Because of the immense size of the Russian space complex, space debris experts expect as much as 50 tons (45 metric tons) of the 130-ton Mir (117 metric tons) to survive the atmospheric plunge and strike the surface. It will be the largest space structure ever dropped from orbit.
Russian space engineers will attempt targeting the Mir into a remote south Pacific impact zone, some 1,850 miles (3,000 kilometers) east of New Zealand's southern tip. But due to the immense size of the outpost, there are no guarantees that Mir leftovers might not fall outside the predicted splashdown zone.
Moreover, if control over Mir is lost, then the situation turns into a true game of Russian roulette. When and exactly where the station bullets its way to Earth becomes far less predictable.
FEMA at the ready
As part of a government Mir watching network, a FEMA operations center is to receive updates on the demise of the complex.
"It's basically a matter of contingency planning," Marc Wolfson, spokesperson for FEMA told SPACE.com. "FEMA has an operations center that we staff 24 hours a day. We'll be monitoring the situation with NASA and the rest of the federal government," he said.
As it does for natural disasters
, Wolfson said FEMA will be in monitoring mode during the hours Mir tumbles to Earth."If for some reason things don't go as planned, and Mir ends up hitting somewhere in the U.S., then FEMA may be called upon to activate the Federal response plan to provide Federal assistance to whatever area would be impacted," Wolfson said.
In the event of Mir crashing into the United States, Wolfson said any initial response is likely to be handled by local fire departments and emergency rescue teams. "We would be their backup. If they needed additional federal resources to help with the situation -- or whatever special technical expertise they would need -- we would bring in our troops to help them out," he said.
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