Russia Will Drop Mir Spacecraft Into Pacific Ocean in February

Russia will use an unmanned cargo spacecraft to safely drop the aging Mir into the Pacific in February, a top space official said Wednesday, seeking to allay fears that the space station will make an uncontrolled plunge that could rain tons of flaming debris on populated areas.

Russian Aerospace Agency chief Yuri Koptev said that a 20-hour loss of radio contact with Mir this week was a final warning that its time is up. Space officials lost contact with the unmanned station on Monday evening and regained it, after frantic efforts, on Tuesday afternoon. They blamed the mishap on a sudden and still unexplained power loss. Officials say the craft will be aimed into the Pacific Ocean 900 to 1,200 miles east of Australia on Feb. 27-28.

--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II