DATE=8/30/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / MIR (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253268
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The three-man crew of the Russian space
station Mir say they are in good physical condition
three-days after returning to earth. But the Russian
cosmonauts say it is a mistake to close down the Mir
and contend there is more important research which
should be conducted aboard the aging station.
Correspondent Eve Conant reports from Moscow.
TEXT: Russian cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Sergei
Avdeyev, along with Frenchman Jean-Pierre Heignere,
said at a news conference they were physically
recovering as expected from their descent back to
earth.
But for the Russian cosmonauts, leaving Mir was also
an emotionally draining experience. Barring a
surprise infusion of cash, they will most likely be
Mir's last crew, as Russia's space agency can no
longer afford to keep the aging Mir in orbit.
Visibly exhausted crew commander Viktor Afanasyev told
a news conference it is too early to abandon Mir.
/// ACT AFANASYEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND
FADE UNDER ///
We are destroying this old station before we have
created anything new -- he complained -- we should
preserve what we already have.
He also explained that leaving Mir unmanned could lead
to possible accidents, such as loss of cabin pressure,
which could make it uninhabitable for a clean-up crew.
Commander Afanasyev also warned of possible human
error on the part of mission ground control, which is
responsible for safely guiding the unmanned Mir out of
orbit.
Cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev, who holds the record for the
most time spent in space -- more than two-years --
says he is disappointed because there is important
space research that could be conducted on Mir. For
example, crewmembers say they witnessed atmospheric
phenomena prior to the August 17th earthquake in
Turkey, but that their monitoring equipment was too
new and untested for them to predict an earthquake.
/// ACT AVDEYEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE
UNDER ///
Cosmonaut Avdeyev said -- there is still a lot of
equipment on board which I am prepared to experiment
with, but it has not been put into working condition
yet.
Russia's space agency lacks the money for more
experiments. Instead, mission control will soon
switch off most of Mir's systems, and prepare it for
its final journey back to earth. According to plan,
most of the station will burn up as it re-enters the
earth's atmosphere. Any remaining parts are expected
to drop into the Pacific Ocean.
Commander Afanasyev says he is uncomfortable with the
idea of leaving the station unmanned until its final
descent.
/// ACT AFANASYEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND
FADE UNDER ///
He told the news conference -- it worries me that the
station is flying out there without us.
The 13-year old space station has hosted more than
100-people and survived more than 16-hundred
breakdowns. But the Russian space agency cannot
afford to keep the program running and instead will
focus its attention on a new international space
station.
Russian space experts fear losing the Mir also means
losing their status as leaders in the field of space
technology. (SIGNED)
NEB/EC/GE/RAE
30-Aug-1999 12:52 PM LOC (30-Aug-1999 1652 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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