Russia Plans to Give Up on Mir
In the strongest sign yet that Russia’s era of space glory may be ending, the Russian Space Agency plans to have cosmonauts abandon the Mir space station in August and then to let it eventually burn up in the atmosphere unless new funding is found, officials said Tuesday.
The decision must still be approved by President Boris N. Yeltsin.
The 13-year-old Mir saw a series of accidents in 1997, including a fire and a near-fatal space collision. But its biggest obstacle lately has been financial: The government can no longer come up with the $250 million needed each year to keep it running.
Meanwhile Tuesday, the space shuttle Discovery’s seven astronauts carried bag after bag of supplies into the new international space station. They have until Thursday, when the hatches will be closed and the shuttle will undock, to finish the job.
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