Deorbit of Mir

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Deorbit of Mir

Mir reentry track
Date	23 March 2001 (2001-03-23)
Time	00:32–05:59 (UTC)
Duration	5 hours and 27 minutes
Coordinates	40°S 160°W / 40°S 160°W / -40; -160
Type	Controlled atmospheric entry
Target	Mir
Organised by	Roscosmos
Outcome	Mir burned up in the atmosphere
Footage	Atmospheric entry

The Russian space station Mir ended its mission on 23 March 2001, when it was brought out of its orbit, entered the atmosphere and was destroyed. Major components ranged from about 5 to 15 years in age, and included the Mir Core Module, Kvant-1, Kvant-2, Kristall, Spektr, Priroda, and Docking Module. Although Russia was optimistic about Mir's future, the country's commitments to the International Space Station programme left no funding to support Mir.^[1]

The deorbit was carried out in three stages. The first stage was waiting for atmospheric drag to decay the orbit to an average of 220 kilometres (140 mi). This began with the docking of Progress M1-5. The second stage was the transfer of the station into a 165-by-220-kilometre (103 mi × 137 mi) orbit. This was achieved with two burns of the Progress M1-5's control engines at 00:32 UTC and 02:01 UTC on 23 March 2001. After a two-orbit pause, the third and final stage of Mir's deorbit began with the firing of Progress M1-5's control engines and main engine at 05:08 UTC, lasting a little over 22 minutes. The atmospheric entry at the altitude of 100 kilometres (62 mi) occurred at 05:44 UTC near Nadi, Fiji.^{[citation needed]}