Russian Mission to Extend Life of Mir Runs Into Tall Obstacle

Russian space officials knew that Peter Llewellyn wasn’t the perfect knight in shining armor to rescue their precious--but decrepit--Mir space station. But they were desperate.

So desperate, in fact, that in return for $100 million they agreed to fly the waste-disposal magnate and wannabe cosmonaut to Mir.

Even though he was more than 100 pounds overweight by space agency standards.

Even though his pilot’s license was outdated.

And even though he hadn’t yet come up with the promised cash.

Llewellyn, 51, a British-born U.S. resident who hadn’t piloted a plane in 20 years, showed up for training last month at Russia’s cosmonaut center. He lasted a week before his hosts canceled his mission.

Russian space officials say they made the decision because their first private pay-per-flight cosmonaut was too big to fit into the launch vehicle’s seats.

“His height was the fatal problem,” explained Sergei A. Gorbunov, spokesman for the Russian Space Agency. “We could train him to lose his extra weight, but what could we do with his bone structure? Cut his legs off?”

Besides, he didn’t pay up on time.

“On both those counts, Mr. Llewellyn no longer suited us as a promising client,” Gorbunov said.

Llewellyn’s aborted trip to Mir demonstrates the lengths that Russian space officials are willing to go to keep the 13-year-old complex in orbit.

Since it was launched in February 1986, Mir has been the crown jewel of the Russian space program. No one else has kept a manned spacecraft flying longer.

“With the loss of the Mir, the Russians are going to lose their last great space achievement, a home for humans in space,” said Charles Vick, a senior space researcher with the Federation of American Scientists.

Russian scientists insist that, despite a string of troubles in 1997--including a near-fatal crash with a cargo ship--Mir has plenty of life left.

“Of course we are sorry to lose the Mir,” said Sergei K. Gromov, spokesman for the Energiya firm that built and operates the station. “It is our beloved child, and we are trying hard to keep it in space--but not just out of parental affection.”

Gromov says the station is stacked with expensive and valuable scientific equipment that should be harvested for use on the new international space station. And Mir could even serve as a kind of lifeboat for the new station during an emergency evacuation.

For all these reasons, the Russians keep delaying the decision to scrap the station once and for all. Although government financing runs out in August--when the last crew returns to Earth--the space agency plans to leave Mir in orbit until about February.

“Who knows? Maybe by that time the situation will change, and we won’t have to bring the station down,” Gorbunov said. “Maybe the needed financing will be found, and the invaluable equipment on board can again serve mankind.”

Many U.S. space officials bristle at this kind of talk. As far as they are concerned, Mir is a drain on Russia’s space program and is contributing to delays with the international space station. The Russian portion is already about 1 1/2 years behind schedule.

But Russian space officials say that, beginning in August, Mir will be supported directly by the Energiya company.

“We have said it before, and we will say it again: The Russian side will fulfill all its obligations for the international space station,” Gorbunov said.

When the Russians decide to discard Mir, it will be a complex job. Cargo ships will have to be attached to provide enough thrust to brake the station’s speed and control its descent to Earth. Most of the station will burn up in the atmosphere, but some large pieces will have to be aimed toward remote stretches of ocean.

Despite the trouble with Llewellyn and the $250-million annual operating cost, Russian officials still hope to find a sponsor to keep the ship in orbit a while longer--at least until the international space station is a going concern.

“To save the station, we are ready to deal with anybody,” said Energiya’s Gromov. “By drowning the Mir, we are drowning our future for dozens of years ahead.”

Sergei L. Loiko of The Times’ Moscow Bureau contributed to this report.