Russia's 15-year-old Mir space station will be ditched in the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean between February 26-28 next year, Russian space agency chief Yury Koptev confirmed Saturday, news agencies said.
Last month, Koptev announced that Russia was finally pulling the plug on the decrepit Soviet-era space station, most of which will burn up on re-entering the Earth atmosphere, the rest plunging into the sea.
Koptev confirmed Saturday that preparations for Mir's descent into the Pacific, scheduled for late February, 2001, were proceeding according to plan, Interfax reported.
Russian space chiefs would commence the operation to bring Mir back to earth at the start of next month, when a Progress cargo ship would be dispatched to the station to give it two last boosts Earthwards, he said.
"In the first half of January we are planning to carry out tests and in case of unforeseen problems two teams of cosmonauts are ready to fly out to the station," the RIA-Novosti news agency cited Koptev saying.
He was speaking to reporters at the Korolev headquarters of the Russian Energiya space corporation and flight centre, near Moscow – MOSCOW (AFP)
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