The future of the Mir space station is likely to be cleared up on Thursday afternoon, Sergei Gorbunov, spokesman for the head of the Russian aerospace agency Rosaviacosmos, has told Interfax.
Whether or not Mir will operate in the future is on the agenda of the session of the agency's senior officials that started at 2 p.m. Moscow time on Thursday, he said.
However, it is preparedness for the first long-term mission to the International Space Station (ISS), whose launch is set for October 31 upon the recommendations of ballistics experts, will be given priority at the session, he said.
The names of Russian members of the international crew to be sent to the ISS from the fourth through the eighth expeditions will also be approved on Thursday, Gorbunov said. Thus, the timetable of flights to the ISS will be drawn up for the next few years, he said.
Copyright 2000
