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(28 Aug 1997) English/Nat

As the ageing Russian space station Mir lurches from one crisis to another - many on Earth are wondering if it can survive in space for much longer.

The station has already been in space for twice as long as its designers intended.

But now the work horse of the Russian space programme is really beginning to show its age.

Since the beginning of the year public attention has been caught by one mishap after another on Russia's ailing Mir Space Station.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
" Well obviously the core module, the one that has been up there for 11 years, over twice it's design life is the one that's showing the greatest signs of age. You have systems that have been operating far longer than they were intended, they're beginning to corrode, they're beginning to come unravelled, basically the way a car would be if it had been driven that long and that hard"
SUPER CAPTION:John Pike, Director, Space Policy Project, Federation of American Scientists

The serious trouble began when the ageing station collided with the Spektr module on June 25, causing a severe loss of power.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Well, the collision with the Spektr module several months ago was probably the most serious accident that ever occurred in space that didn't kill anyone. The space station has had a lot of problems since then - and most of those are attributable directly or indirectly to that collision they had a couple of months ago."
SUPER CAPTION: John Pike, Director, Space Policy Project, Federation of American Scientists

The power supply to the entire space station was disrupted in the collision and the power generating solar panels have not been fully engaged since.

So Mir has been running on about half-power, which scientists say is not sufficient to ensure safety.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Well the solar arrays from Spektr were basically providing about half of the solar power for the entire station, that's almost enough to run the station, but it's not enough to do anything else and it's really not enough to run the station safely."
SUPER CAPTION: John Pike, Director, Space Policy Project, Federation of American Scientists

Spektr's solar panels must also be linked to the station's orientation system, which automatically adjusts them to the best possible angle to the sun.

But although the space station might not compare in looks to those seen in the movies - John Pike says the Russian technology has proved itself to be tougher than some systems.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Well as far as the technology you see in the station - you know it looks cramped, it may not look as high tech as a science fiction movie, that this system has been operating in space twice as long as it has been designed for. It has survived some major accidents and it has clearly proved to be a much more robust technology than some of the other fragile systems that countries have launched in the past."
SUPER CAPTION: John Pike, Director, Space Policy Project, Federation of American Scientists

Russian space officials say that the space station could run for another two years, although John Pike says a decision to close Mir will probably be made in 1998.

Both Russian and American mission controls are concerned by the constant flow of unexpected events on the station.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Well. one of the concerns is that they are just one more accident away from having to abandon the station. That's why they want to get the power levels up to reduce the odds of that. But I think that everybody is watching very closely because they might have to abandon ship at any minute."

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