- Title: RUSSIA/IN SPACE: COMMUNISTS PROTEST DUMPING OF MIR SPACE STATION.
- Date: 22nd March 2001
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MARCH 19, 2001) (REUTERS) GV/MV: SPEAKER OF RUSSIAN STATE DUMA, GENNADY SELEZNYOV, WALKS INTO OFFICE/ REPORTERS AND AIDES TO SELEZNYOV (2 SHOTS) CU: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SPEAKER OF RUSSIAN STATE DUMA, GENNADY SELEZNYOV, SAYING: "We tried to find ways and proposals to save Mir space station, at least to salvage the high-quality equipment on board Mir to
- Embargoed: 6th April 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: KOROLYOV, MOSCOW, RUSSIA / IN SPACE
- City:
- Country: Russian Federation In Space
- Topics: Politics,Science
- Reuters ID: LVADZEKTVFTLJN3E2T213BTOQ4BU
- Story Text: Russia's decision to sink it's 15-year-old space station Mir, once the pride of the Soviet space programme, has met with fierce resistance among many Russians.
But space officials say that Mir has served its time, and must be dumped to end its long service.
"Save Mir!" has been the rallying cry for many Russians in the weeks leading up to the space station's demise, now set for March 23.
Protesters have been gathering in the past weeks to sign petitions and demand that their government keep the station in orbit.
Russians are used to thinking of their nation as a space super-power and the protesters reject the government's explanation that it must concentrate resources on its obligations to help build the International Space Station.
For many, the destruction of Mir is the loss of international prestige gained during the Soviet years, when Russians led space exploration.
One young protester, Alexander, said: "This will leave us without space [exploration], without scientific knowledge, because we have practically sold away our rights to the International Space Station to pay off our debts."
But it is now too late to save Mir. The space station has moved into a crash trajectory and cannot be placed back into orbit according to Russian space officials.
Bowing to the inevitable, opposition lawmakers have made an appeal to at least salvage equipment aboard Mir and begin efforts to construct a new space station, Mir-2.
Gennady Seleznyov, speaker of the State Duma, has written a personal plea to President Vladimir Putin.
A recent Russian opinion poll showed that there is little public support for downing Mir.
Polling group monitoring.ru found that only 27% of Russians supported Mir's downing.
But the same poll found that only 39 per cent of Russians were against the action.
A sampling of Muscovites on the streets showed that most of them had accepted Mir's end.
"I believe that, if [Mir] is worn out from a technical standpoint, it's risky. What if something were to fall on our heads?" said Raisa Fyodorovna.
"Well, we were the first nation in space, and we will always be that," said Mikhail.
"Well, I think that in the future we can build an even better station. We'll be able to be proud again," said Lena.
Cosmonauts who have flown on Mir are equally divided.
But nearly all express regret about the demise of their space home.
Dramatically, Mir's first commander, Vladimir Solovyov, will be the man who gives the commands to bring down the station, fulfilling his role as Mission Control Flight Commander.
Solovyov said that it has been obvious for about a year that Mir was becoming unsalvageable.
And he has little patience for those who argue that it can still be saved.
" We can argue about anything, but the other side needs to approach things logically. You can explain to these people that such and such has broken and, if they were experts, they would understand that these things cannot be repaired.
Unfortunately, we are having to argue with the deaf and the dumb," he said.
If all goes according to plan, Solovyov and his team dump Mir into the Pacific Ocean around 0700gmt on March 23, but the controversy of the decision and debate over whether Russia should go alone in building a new Mir will still continue. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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