2001: A Space Irony Analysis/Commentary The Mir was launched on Feb. 19, 1986, when Russia was still part of the Soviet Union. The Baikonour cosmodrome in Kazakhstan played host to most of the Mir-related missile launches, and the space station docked in orbit at a comfortable distance of 225 miles from the earth for 15 years. It went into use roughly three weeks after the Challenger explosion killed seven American astronauts. The station was named "Mir," for peace, as a symbol of its basic peaceful targets -- targets that became even more peaceful after the 1991 coup toppled the "evil empire." Next month, mostly due to lack of funding, Mir heads for fiery death -- like Spacelab before it. The Russians are waiting for their space station to drop out of orbit in March, burn in the atmosphere, and break up in the Pacific Ocean. Goodbye Mir! Russia plans to continue its aerospace efforts with its participation in the International Space Center, currently in orbit. The Mir was only meant to last five years. Instead, it went on and on. In 1995, the U.S. began paying Russia to send astronauts up on tours of duty. And in February 1997, terror struck. A PBS segment of NOVA recalls what went wrong: During astronaut Jerry Linenger's stay aboard the spacecraft, the Mir team was busy partying. Aware that, clustered in a single module, they were using more oxygen than usual, a cosmonaut went to open a new canister. It exploded, producing a cannon-blast of fire. Another cosmonaut ran for the fire extinguisher, and doused the flame with chemical. Nothing happened. In the weightless atmosphere, the foam wouldn't stick. So he sprayed the flame with water, and it eventually went out after 14 hair-raising minutes. Three months later, during American Michael Foale's tour, the Russians attempted to dock a cargo vessel manually. The operation failed, and the "Progress" ship slammed against the Mir. Solar panels were damaged, oxygen leaked, and all power went out. The Mir drifted off course for hours before its alignment with the sun could be restored and power returned. These were not the last of Mir's mishaps, but they were probably the worst. Still, American-Russian cooperation continued aboard the Mir until 1998. Russian authorities have now decided that the time has come to "de-orbit" the craft. With the International Space Station taking over much of Mir's responsibilities and prestige, spending $100 million to $200 million a year to support it just makes no sense. The new space station is the biggest, brightest, and best of the millennium's fledglings. But it isn't exactly Howard Johnson or TWA in space, as Arthur C. Clarke or Stanley Kubrick of 2001: A Space Odyssey fame imagined relay stations. Nor is anyone headed for the outer solar system anytime soon. Maybe in 3001. January 17, 2001