The hard-used Russian space station Mir has often been portrayed as a sort of dilapidated aeronautical RV, patched with duct tape and rusty wire, that long since should have been up on blocks in the backyard for the chickens to live in.
And the Mir did seem to be trouble-plagued, no more so than in 1997 when, in outer space's first fender-bender, it was rammed by its own supply ship.

In truth, Mir has been a remarkable workhorse. It was launched in 1986 and was expected to last five years, but cosmonauts are working in it even now. The 120-ton Mir normally has a crew of two or three but it has housed as many as six. Seven U.S. astronauts have served aboard.

The Russian space agency is to decide next Tuesday whether to keep Mir aloft. Citing the expense and the demands of the new international space station, the agency says Mir will continue only if outside financing can be found. It does not look good for Mir.

If the decision is made to pull the plug, the cosmonauts will be brought back in August and, flying empty and abandoned, it will be allowed to sink over the course of six months to a lower altitude. Mir will then enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up. The remains _ a few charred shards _ will fall into the Pacific.

The end is sad and perhaps inevitable. The pioneering spacecraft deserves better, like pride of place in an air and space museum.

© 2004 Scripps Howard News Service.

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Publication date: 2005-06-17