Emergency Management Australia update on re-entry of Russian Mir space station

Emergency Management Australia (EMA)

Dickson, Australian Capital Territory

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Brian Flanagan

EMA Media Liaison

Mobile: 0409 489 344

EMA Media Release: 15 March 2001

EMA POSITION PAPER

Emergency Management Australia (EMA) has received advice from the Russian
Mission Control Centre outside Moscow that the Mir Space Station is most
likely to de-orbit next Thursday, 22 March.

Mir is currently at an altitude of about 237km. It is continuing in free
flight and losing altitude at an average of around 2.5km per day. While
this rate of descent continues to vary, it will tend to increase as Mir
gets lower.

It is expected that Mir will receive two controlled braking impulses
after the station reaches 220km. The first will be generated at 11.32 am
(ESST) [00:32 UTC], and the second one at 1.22pm (ESST) [02:22 UTC].

During the two subsequent orbits that will take about 90 minutes, Russian
Mission Control will confirm the timing of the final impulse. This is
expected to occur between 4.28pm and 4.48pm (ESST) [05:28 and 05:48 UTC]
and last about 11 minutes.

Fragments of Mir that do not burn up in the atmosphere are expected to
fall into the Pacific Ocean midway between New Zealand and Chile, about
5400km to the east of Australia, at 5.21PM (ESST) [06:21 UTC] on 22 March.

EMA will continue to issue updates on the re-entry process and will
advise arrangements

being put in place for briefings on 22 March
(splashdown day).