ESA TV Service – Mir de-orbit

The de-orbiting of the Russian space station Mir, after 15 years in orbit, is now planned for the month of March. To support your reporting of this event, the ESA TV Service will provide the following support:

-) On Monday 26 February 2001, the ESA TV Service will transmit a Mir de-orbit B-roll. This image compiation is now being co-produced by the French Space Agency CNES, and ESA and will include new 3-D graphics of the re-entry of Mir into the atmosphere, and a new selection of images on the main milestones in the history of Mir. The construction of Mir will be visualised with new 3-D graphics.

-) ESA offers experts to be interviewed in the TV studio, either via satellite or recorded on video tape. This includes Mr Frank Longhurst, Senior Advisor, who heads ESA’s Mir de-orbit monitoring group, and who is in regular contact with the Russian authorities. For other experts, please contact the ESA TV Service.

-) If and when additional footage will become available, the ESA TV Service will transmit it. In the week 26 February, the ESA TV Service will also transmit general archive footage on Mir and the missions of European astronauts to it.

For further information and a daily update of the transmission schedule, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For all enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail chabfast@hq.esa.fr.