This image shows MIR's position as of 12:03 p.m. EST on March 19, 2001. MIR was above Canada at an altitude of 227 kilometers.
Courtesy of NASA

Round and Round Mir Goes...
News story originally written on March 19, 2001

Where it falls nobody knows? Well, nobody knows the exact location! It looks like MIR will fall into the Earth's atmosphere on March 22, 2001. MIR will be the largest man-made object re-enter the atmosphere. Much of the 135-ton space station will burn up, but up to 20 tons could fall to Earth!

Russian mission control is trying to control the reentry of MIR so that MIR falls through the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The Russians are reassuring everyone that MIR will not fall over land where people live. But, people in Japan, Australia and New Zealand are concerned! "There's no way to put the brakes on at over 17,000 miles per hour," says U.S. Space Command spokesman Perry Nouis. "Re-entry is more of an art than a science." Since re-entry is more of an art than a science, only time will tell exactly where this 15-year-old station will fall.

Last modified March 19, 2001 by Jennifer Bergman.

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