MOSCOW, March 12 (Interfax) -- Mission Control in Korolyev started up Mir's main computer on Monday morning.
The computer is ready for Mir's descent and fall into the Pacific Ocean, a source in the Mission Control press service told Interfax. Command files are being downloaded into the main computer. After that, Mir's propulsion control system will be turned on.
The system will transmit data about its technical status to Earth until the descent trajectory begins. Meanwhile, Mir is drifting to save fuel and to preserve the correct orientation of its solar batteries.
The station is expected to descend to a height of 137 miles (220 kilometers), the altitude where its descent will start, by March 19 (with a margin of plus or minus two or three days). The descent will take 45 minutes. Telemetric information from Mir shows that its technical condition is satisfactory.
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