Mir splashdown date pushed back to March 22

(CNN) -- The aging Mir space station will return to Earth two days later than previously announced, a NASA orbital debris expert told CNN.

Russians will bring Mir down at 1:25 a.m. EST on March 22. All of the deorbit engine firings will occur that day -- beginning about five hours before the splashdown, allowing the Russians to save fuel and keep better control of the station as it falls.

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Most of the 135-ton station is expected to burn up during its fatal dive through Earth's atmosphere, but Russian authorities expect more than 1,000 fragments to survive, including some the size of a small automobile.

The heaviest object orbiting our planet other than the moon, Mir will become the largest spacecraft ever to return to Earth.

Mir, once the crowning achievement of the Russian space program, has deteriorated in recent years and the Russian government finally agreed to abandon it.

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NASA
Mir Home Page
Russian Space Agency

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