Mir update

The crazy on-again, off-again spectacle that is the Mir de-orbit has been pushed back by another two days. We can now expect tonnes of burning orbital debris to drop into our backyards sometime around March 22nd Eastern Standard Time. Rosaviakosmos,

The crazy on-again, off-again spectacle that is the Mir de-orbit has been pushed back by another two days. We can now expect tonnes of burning orbital debris to drop into our backyards sometime around March 22nd Eastern Standard Time. Rosaviakosmos, the Russian space agency, is planning for the 135tonne spacestation to splashdown in about 1,500 pieces somewhere in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile. Most of the craft should burn up during re-entry, but some of the bits that make it this far could be up to the size of a car.

Rosaviakosmos is confident that it's gotten everything right, and that the Progress cargo ship attached to Mir has enough fuel for a controlled burn into the atmosphere. But the Russian space agency has made mistakes before, and it has taken out a multi-million dollar insurance policy - just in case. Pacific nations, including Australia, have also made it known that they will not be impressed by any mir-misses. The chance of any piece actually falling on Australian soil is about 1 in 1,500.

Keep watching the skies.