Re: [amsat-bb] The Status of MIR?

[Rico Schurig <nh7t@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Murray and list,

Touchdown date is currently predicted to be 27.Mar.2001 (+5/-4 days)
The de-orbiting process is influenced by sun activity (sloar flux).

The following is a (more or less correct) translation from a press
release found at http://www.dlr.de

MIR is currently loosing hight by natural slowdown, abt 1.3 km each day
(increasing).
A turning manouver will be started when MIR is at 250 km hight to point
the progress thruster in the right direction (towards earth). This is
expected to take place Mar 10 +/- 1 day (hight is 257 km today). First
burns will be fired at 230 km hight (expected between Mar 15 - 21), this
will turn MIR to an elliptical orbit with perigee at 150 km. This will
take around 25 hours. As a final manouver, Progress will be fired for
abt. 13 minutes to sink MIR into closer layers of the athmosphere. The
target area is 47° south and 140° west (4000 km S/E of New Zealand). MIR
will break into pieces between 60 to 90 km hight. Most parts of MIR will
burn, those who dont, will hit earth in an unpopulated area of 3000 by
200 km size.

a (I think official) site with (semi-) online orbit information is here:

http://www.mcc.rsa.ru/deorbit/www_eng/MIR/mir_main.htm

The risk of parts coming down over populated area is said to be very
small, so forget about "MIR-scattering"

--
73 - Rico
NH7T/DF2CK


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