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Friday, 23 March, 2001, 09:24 GMT
Europe applauds textbook procedure
Darmstadt is used to track all European space missions
By the BBC's Matt McGrath at Esa's tracking station in Darmstadt, Germany
European space agency (Esa) officials were quietly congratulating themselves on a job well done after their radar stations tracked Mir to its watery grave in the South Pacific.
Instead of the 23.5 metres per second deceleration that had been expected when the engines were fired, Mir achieved 40 metres per second, due in part to the atmosphere being thicker than expected. This increased braking and ensured that Mir went down and broke up more quickly and more thoroughly. Good relationship One official joked when he saw the early data from the final burn that at the very least Germany was safe. Within minutes, others were stating categorically that Mir was in pieces and in the water, bang on target. Esa has been a long-standing ally of the Russians in the exploration of space and particularly in utilising the Mir space station. Twelve Esa cosmonauts have flown on Mir and dozens of European science experiments have been carried out on the platform.
One official told me he was glad that Mir ended in such a text book and spectacular fashion. "It deserved a good ending," he said. And speaking from Moscow mission control, Frank Longhurst, of Esa's manned spaceflight directorate, said: "Mir's safe return to Earth has been executed safely and accurately - a fitting end to its impressive record. "We expected no less from our efficient Russian colleagues and look forward to the new era, working together on the International Space Station."
Durable pieces Through the night, two Esa radar stations tracked the final movements of the platform as the Russians narrowed the footprint in which the debris would land to an area some 100 kilometres wide by 2,500 long.
Professor Walter Flury, who led the Esa monitoring team, told BBC News Online that as well as the more durable pieces of the orbiting platform that were expected to hit the water, he felt there was a chance the station's solar panels might have survived. "If they came through the heat of the atmosphere, they could float down like wings," he said.
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