spacetoday.net: The aftermath of Mir

Posted: Sat, Mar 24, 2001, 12:04 PM ET (1704 GMT)
Mir reentry illustration by AGI

Although it has been more than a day since the Russian space station met its fate in a fiery reentry, news about the station continues to trickle in. A SPACE.com article notes that the demise of the station has met with mixed reactions in Russia, with three members of lower house of the Duma, including two former cosmonauts, demanding that Russian president Vladimir Putin fire Rosaviakosmos chief Yuri Koptev. A foundation for the support of Mir called on Russians to observe a moment of silence Friday to mark the station's passing, a request that the article said was largely ignored. Meanwhile, some of the early claims of Mir debris being auctioned on the Internet have turned out to be false: collectSPACE said that several auctions of debris, including one the started less than a half-hour after remnants of the station hit the ocean, have been shut down. And what about those free tacos American fast food chain Taco Bell promised if a piece of debris hit a 40x40-foot target? Sorry, the company said, but the station missed the target, which apparently was thousands of kilometers from the predicted impact point. The company claims it "captured the imagination of people around the globe and re-focused attention on one of the most miraculous events in space travel," and while they may offer no free tacos, they're happy to sell you two "crunchy" tacos for 99 cents...