CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN, Colo., March 11 — When the Russian space station Mir — once the pride of the Soviet space program but now a 15-year-old, accident-prone orbiter — hurtles to Earth later this month, will debris fall on thatched roofs somewhere on a South Pacific island?
WILL PEOPLE in New Zealand see chunks the size of a car crash down, or will commuters in Japan look up in horror to see tons of metal careening down from the largest human-made object in space?
Probably not, but as the expected date for Mir’s re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere approaches, space enthusiasts around the world will be keeping an eye on the skies.
Among those watching Mir will be the U.S. Space Command, deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, home to NORAD, the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command that keeps watch on the skies to spot missiles approaching North America.
The U.S. government, with its array of radars and optical telescopes, has agreed to provide Russia with tracking and trajectory data as well as scientific data on atmosphere conditions.
NOT AN EASY TASK
Russian officials have said the station’s engines will be switched off over Russia before Mir is directed to plunge into the South Pacific, 1,850 miles (3,000 km) east of New Zealand’s southern tip. Re-entry is expected around March 20, give or take a few days.
Mir is now less than 155 miles (250 kilometers) above Earth, taking about 90 minutes to circle the globe. It has served five times its intended life span, Russian officials say. But it’s had a fire on board, its orbit is losing more than a mile (about 2 kilometers) a day, and some of its parts no longer work.
Predicting the path of an object that is expected to start breaking up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere is not a snap.
“We track to the point where it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere. It’s not an exact science. Actually it’s pretty difficult,” said Maj. Scott Edwards, the crew commander on duty at the Space Command.
After Mir’s engines are turned off, Russian scientists will then direct the space station to enter the Earth’s atmosphere at a steep angle in order to limit the land or footprint over where it will drop its pieces.
Upon re-entry, Mir’s speed is expected to fall from 17,000 miles (27,000 kilometers) an hour to about 400 miles (640 kilometers) an hour, or the space version of a walk in the park.
“You have to consider the relative velocities here. The atmosphere acts as a huge brake with all the pressures and the winds. That’s going to slow it down,” said Lt. Cmdr. Carl Sohn, a NASA support officer at the U.S. Space Command and a member of the Canadian Navy.
Want to learn more? http://www.msnbc.com/news/542879.asp
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"I'd like an order of fries, a quarter pounder with cheese, I love the light in your eyes, would you go out with me please? I am in love with a McDonald's Girl, she has a smile of innocence so tender and warm, she is an angel in a polyester uniform." - Barenaked Ladies
WILL PEOPLE in New Zealand see chunks the size of a car crash down, or will commuters in Japan look up in horror to see tons of metal careening down from the largest human-made object in space?
Probably not, but as the expected date for Mir’s re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere approaches, space enthusiasts around the world will be keeping an eye on the skies.
Among those watching Mir will be the U.S. Space Command, deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, home to NORAD, the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command that keeps watch on the skies to spot missiles approaching North America.
The U.S. government, with its array of radars and optical telescopes, has agreed to provide Russia with tracking and trajectory data as well as scientific data on atmosphere conditions.
NOT AN EASY TASK
Russian officials have said the station’s engines will be switched off over Russia before Mir is directed to plunge into the South Pacific, 1,850 miles (3,000 km) east of New Zealand’s southern tip. Re-entry is expected around March 20, give or take a few days.
Mir is now less than 155 miles (250 kilometers) above Earth, taking about 90 minutes to circle the globe. It has served five times its intended life span, Russian officials say. But it’s had a fire on board, its orbit is losing more than a mile (about 2 kilometers) a day, and some of its parts no longer work.
Predicting the path of an object that is expected to start breaking up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere is not a snap.
“We track to the point where it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere. It’s not an exact science. Actually it’s pretty difficult,” said Maj. Scott Edwards, the crew commander on duty at the Space Command.
After Mir’s engines are turned off, Russian scientists will then direct the space station to enter the Earth’s atmosphere at a steep angle in order to limit the land or footprint over where it will drop its pieces.
Upon re-entry, Mir’s speed is expected to fall from 17,000 miles (27,000 kilometers) an hour to about 400 miles (640 kilometers) an hour, or the space version of a walk in the park.
“You have to consider the relative velocities here. The atmosphere acts as a huge brake with all the pressures and the winds. That’s going to slow it down,” said Lt. Cmdr. Carl Sohn, a NASA support officer at the U.S. Space Command and a member of the Canadian Navy.
Want to learn more? http://www.msnbc.com/news/542879.asp
------------------
"I'd like an order of fries, a quarter pounder with cheese, I love the light in your eyes, would you go out with me please? I am in love with a McDonald's Girl, she has a smile of innocence so tender and warm, she is an angel in a polyester uniform." - Barenaked Ladies
