Crew Lifts Off on Mir Anniversary
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan — On the 13th anniversary of the Mir’s launch, a new three-man crew lifted off today for a rendezvous with the Russian space station in what may be the Mir’s last manned mission.
Russian Viktor Afanasyev, French astronaut Jean-Pierre Heignere and Slovak Ivan Bella blasted off successfully from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakstan and will link up with the Mir on Monday.
Mir’s fate has not yet been sealed, but the trio could be the last of more than 100 people who have lived and worked on the station since its Feb. 20, 1986, launch.
The Mir’s fate has not yet been sealed, but the trio could be the last of more than 100 men and women who have lived and worked on the space station since it was launched Feb. 20, 1986.
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