The Progress M-43 cargo spacecraft that had been docked to Mir since February 3, 2000 was deorbited on Jan. 28, at 9:58 p.m. EST (Jan. 29 at 02:58 GMT; 5:58 a.m. Moscow time). The spacecraft was undocked from the outpost on Jan. 24, three days before the Progress M1-5 docking, and left drifting near the station.
The reason the M-43 craft had been kept close at hand was so that its cargo of crew supplies would be available if an emergency crew had been required to prepare the station for deorbiting.
The Progress M-43 had originally delivered 1,172 pounds (532 kilograms) of equipment -- which included such items as food, clothes, office supplies, videotape and personal items -- intended for a future space station crew.
An official of RSC Energia, the company that developed and operates the Mir station, as well as Progress and Soyuz-type spacecraft said, "with the deorbiting of the Progress M-43 spacecraft, Russia has virtually passed a point of no return with the Mirs automatic deorbiting."
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