Mir’s Crew is Coming Home
According to MirCorp, the crew of Mir, Cosmonauts Sergei Zalyotin and Alexander Kalery, will depart Mir on the evening of 15 June and will land in Kazakhstan early in the morning of 16 June. Unlike all previous missions to Mir (or any other Space Station for that matter), this mission was wholly commercial. During their 73 days aboard Mir, Zalyotin and Kalery performed a number of repair and maintenance tasks designed to make Mir operational for an extended period of time. This included replacing batteries and sealing an air leak.
According to ITAR-TASS, cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Salizhan Sharipov are scheduled to visit Mir on 30 November 2000. However, Russia has also said that if money is not found to pay for this trip, or for continued Mir operations, that they will deorbit Mir some time in August 2000. Meanwhile, MirCorp has expressed confidence in its ability to raise additional capital for future trips to Mir.
Related links
° Soyuz TM-30 Return-to-Earth Timeline, MirCorp
° Preparing Mir for the next crew, MirCorp
° Mir cosmonauts prepare for return to Earth tonight, MirCorp
° MirCorp
° Mir Cosmonauts Make First Commercial Space Walk, SpaceRef
Background Information
° The Prospect of a Commercial Mir: Are we going to have TWO space stations?, SpaceRef
° National Research Council Supports Non-NASA Operator for Space Station Research, SpaceRef
° NASA Releases Space Station Commercial Price List, SpaceRef
° Spacehab and Energiya Announce Commercial Module for ISS, SpaceRef
