Ground controllers in Korolev, Russia, stabilized the Mir Space Station's sinking orbit last week and conducted a series of maneuvers and tests.

This was the first test of Mir's systems after the station's last crew departed in August. Regular checks were planned every three months, while the orbital lab is flying without a crew.

Mir's flight control system was activated on December 7, stabilizing the spacecraft's position in space. This allowed for two orbital correction maneuvers to take place over the next two days, using engines on board the Progress cargo ship, docked at the rear docking port of the station.

The first burn on December 8 lasted for 328.7 seconds, adding 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) per second of orbital velocity to the orbital complex, said mission control representative Vladimir Agapov. Two days later Progress fired its engine again for 49 seconds adding another 5.6 feet (1.7 meters) per second in orbital velocity.

The maneuver raised Mir's orbit, thus extending the station's lifetime in space. According to an estimate by Daniel Deak, a space analyst in Drummondville, Quebec, this will allow Mir to maintain safe orbit until at least April 2000.

Ground controllers also checked most of the crucial systems on board the orbital facility, according to Mission Control head Valeri Blagov. They also activated the television system on board Mir and received images from the station. The "Kurs" system, allowing automated docking of the space station with a transport ship, was also activated and tested.

Mission Control could not test Mir's life support system because this requires cosmonauts to be on board, Blagov said.

Mir will celebrate its 14th year in orbit in February. The Russian Aerospace Agency (RASA), under pressure from NASA to concentrate its scarce resources on the International Space Station (ISS), has all but withdrawn its support for Mir. Nevertheless, RKK Energia, Mir's principal operator, is struggling to fund the Russian space station.

On November 29, the Russian parliament approved the government's fourth attempt at a draft for a 2000 budget, allocating 1.5 billion rubles for Mir. This brings Russia's total space budget to 4.8 billion rubles. RASA criticized the move, saying that the money would be better spent on space projects other than Mir.

In another move, RKK Energia struck a deal with Washington-based Spacehab Corp. to build a privately operated, habitable module for the ISS. It is unclear how this project will affect Energia's Mir plans. It will, however, improve the company's overall financial standing.