Row continues between Russia and Kazakhstan following the Proton crash

Published: 7/13/1999

A new twist in the long running saga of the Mir space station has emerged in UK news reports of the recent Proton crash (Concise 7/8/99). As Kazakhstan remains firm on its suspension of all launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome, Russia has apparently warned that the cancellation of next month's flight to Mir would mean that the latest navigational equipment could not be despatched to the space station, prior to its demise. Russia is claiming that the lack of this equipment could mean that Mir poses a "danger to the world" by crashing, following its shutdown in August 1999. Concise considers this to be somewhat far fetched. Mir is expected to burn up on re-entry in about a year. Whether this new ploy persuades Kazakhstan to back down seems equally unlikely, given the financial stakes involved.

Article ID: 678