MOSCOW Feb 1 (Interfax) -- The Mir station is descending about 1,640 feet (500 meters) a day, sources at the Mission Control Center in Korolyov have said. At present, the station is 182 miles (293 kilometers) above Earth, while the calculated orbit is about 250 miles (400 kilometers).
The station will reach its critical orbit of 150 to 155 miles (240 to 250 kilometers) by the end of February, ballisticians say. Mir's descent trajectory will be set in the first days of March. The fuel-laden Progress M1-5 a cargo spaceship docked with the Mir will fire its engines to slow the station down.
There are a number of different scenarios for Mir's descent, and the final decision will be made by March, depending on atmospheric conditions influenced by solar activity. Experts forecast low solar activity through most of February with an increase at the end of the month or in early March. The sources said that the final braking impulse, which had been planned for March 6, is likely to come on March 8-10.
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