ad info

 
CNN.com
  spacecorner
    Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 
SPACE
TOP STORIES

Mir cargo vessel abandoned

John Zarrella: Lessons learned from Challenger

Last rendezvous for Mir

Beginning of the end for Mir

(MORE)

TOP STORIES

Bush signs order opening 'faith-based' charity office for business

Rescues continue 4 days after devastating India earthquake

DaimlerChrysler employees join rapidly swelling ranks of laid-off U.S. workers

Disney's GO.com is a goner

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT

HEALTH

TRAVEL

FOOD

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
*
 
CNN Websites
Networks image

New mission planned for Mir as current one wraps up

Mir  

June 12, 2000
Web posted at: 1:13 p.m. EDT (1713 GMT)

(CNN) -- Russia and a private corporation plan to send two cosmonauts on yet another mission to the aging Mir space station later this year, according to Russian news reports. Meanwhile, two crewmen aboard the orbiter are expected to return to Earth at the end of the week.

Russians Pavel Vinogradov and Salizhan Sharipov are tentatively scheduled to arrive at Mir on November 30, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported. The pair trained as the backup crew for two cosmonauts now stationed on the Russian outpost.

A final decision on the launch date has not been set, said the president of MirCorp, a group of international investors seeking to keep the station in orbit for commercial ventures.

#  INTERACTIVE
Cult 3-D Models of Mir and Soyuz
 
@  MESSAGE BOARD

Cosmonauts Sergei Zalyotin and Alexander Kaleri are expected to return to Earth on Friday at 4:40 a.m. Moscow time (8:40 p.m. EDT Thursday), following a two-month stay during which they prepared Mir for an extended hibernation.

On the first privately funded manned mission to space, the two replaced batteries, sealed a lingering air leak and conducted scientific experiments, according to MirCorp.

Russian space officials have said they were considering spinning the accident-prone station out of orbit and into the ocean in August if no new money was made available.

But MirCorp president Jeff Manber remained confident that his company would raise enough private funds to keep Mir in orbit into 2001.

"We'll have future launches. We're in a round of financing now and it looks pretty good," he said Monday. The company is seeking funding from investors, sponsors and space tourists, who for roughly $20 million can take a trip to Mir for up to 10 days, according to MirCorp.

Manber said he expects two to three manned missions in 2001, some of which could include "citizen explorers." Currently the company is negotiating with three candidates.

"It's not the price. It's the months they have to spend preparing that's holding them back," he said.

Mir was initially designed to stay in orbit for five years but has outlived its life span nearly three times. Russia has refused to retire the last vestige of its ambitious Soviet-era space program despite chronic cash shortages.

U.S. officials fear Russia will siphon resources meant for the $60 billion International Space Station (ISS) to keep Mir aloft.

Russian space officials insist that the Mir program is funded by MirCorp investors and has no impact on the ISS, which is running far behind schedule in part because of Russian delays.



RELATED STORIES:
Cosmonauts back on board Mir
April 6, 2000
First privately funded manned space mission blasts off for Mir
April 4, 2000
Crew poised for return to Mir on Tuesday
April 3, 2000
Mir to stay aloft with International Space Station hardware
January 20, 2000
Kazakhstan may allow Russian Mir-supply launch Friday
July 13, 1999

RELATED SITES:
Where is Mir?
Office of Space Flight - Mir
MirCorp

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 Search   

Back to the top   © 2000 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.