Russian space officials are still in disagreement on when, if ever, cosmonauts will visit Mir space station again. According to Sergei Gorbunov, the RSA spokesman, a fresh Russian crew is finishing training for another one-month trip to Mir in December, despite the predictions that the current crew scheduled to depart Mir space station on August 28 will be its last. At the same time, Uriy Grigoriev, the Deputy to the Designer General of the RKK Energia, Mir's manufacturer and operator, was more cautious, saying that any manned mission to Mir might take place no earlier than February or March 2000 and only if the necessary funds are raised.
The new trip to Mir has been planned in the effort to prevent an uncontrolled plunge of the station in the Earth atmosphere and the fall of its debris over populated areas. During Mir's unmanned flight in the following months, the mission control in Korolev, Russia, will control the station using its micro-jets, sending radio commands from the ground to Mir's new analog system. It was delivered on board by the latest Progress cargo ship and installed by the current crew. The analog system allows no more than 10 degrees accuracy in orientation. Mir's more accurate autonomous digital control system and its complex gyrodines will be shut down during the unmanned flight along with many other Mir's systems to save precious energy on board.
Russian officials hope that thanks to atmospheric drag during dormant flight,
Mir's altitude will reduce by more than 100 km, saving amount of fuel necessary to push the station off the orbit. According to Grigoriev, at least one new Progress cargo ship will have to be launched to Mir to deliver the fuel necessary to deorbit the station. Previously, two or three unmanned tankers would be needed to drop Mir from its regular 350-km orbit.
For a controlled reentry, however, Mir's main computer and gyrodines will have to be activated again. Russian officials hope to accomplish that with the help of the next crew. Grigoriev said that the mission plan has not been finalized. However, according to Gorbunov, the crew might spend up to one month onboard, preparing the station for its final descent.
Gorbunov said the decision to deorbit Mir is irreversible and the efforts by the members of the Russian parliament to raise private funds to finance Mir were largely fruitless. He estimated the amount of money available to the fund run by the former cosmonaut and parliament member Vitaly Sevastianov as 10 thousand dollars. "These are copeks, compared to Mir's operational cost," Gorbunov added.
Yet, another commercial project hopes to capitalize on Mir's legacy. If another crew of two career cosmonauts will ever take off for Mir, it might also include a passenger. According to Gorbunov, a professional actor might be sent up with crew to shoot scenes for a movie based on the novel by the popular Russian writer Chingiz Aitmatov. Reportedly, 20 people auditioned, before actor Vladimir Steklov started actual training for the mission. According to Gorbunov, the project might cost up to $15 million and is financed by the Geopolitics Committee, the parliamentary group associated with Liberal Democratic Party and its leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Gorbunov said that RSA formally agreed to the plan, since it is financed from non-government sources.
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