Mir may crash-land on populated areas

MOSCOW, June 28: The dilapidated Mir space station is due to be buried at sea in the last days of the millennium. But the planned graceful, controlled dive into the Pacific Ocean could turn into a rain of fiery debris on populated areas if the Russian Government does not find money urgently for more manned flights, scientists warned. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sergei Kiriyenko, 20 leading Russian space engineers said there was not enough cash to supply the next crew, which is due to be sent into orbit on August 3. The letter was signed after a meeting at the Energiya corporation, the main contractor for Mir.

The present crew is due to return to Earth on August 16. If the space station is left unmanned, the regular computer breakdowns on board will not be repaired. “The 140-tonne giant may crash to earth in the most unexpected place,” one Energiya source told Interfax news agency. "If no response is forthcoming, another meeting will be held on Thursday at which “the designers are prepared toannounce that they do not take responsibility for the effects of an unsanctioned descent of Mir”.

Russia lost Mir’s biggest sponsor three weeks ago when the last US astronaut to work there, Andy Thomas, shipped out on the final US space shuttle mission to Mir. As long as NASA personnel were living on the space station, or due to travel there, the space station had a guaranteed source of funds and a powerful US lobby pressuring the Kremlin to keep the craft safe.

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But now, with harsh spending cuts due to bring pain to earthbound Russians, Kiriyenko must be wondering whether the country can afford the dubious luxury of a punctured, battered space motel prone to fires and breakdowns.

The trouble is that without cosmonauts on board, Mir may break down so radically that ground control will no longer be able to ensure it hits the planet where and when it’s supposed to.