To Fall, or not to Fall, Mir is the Question

By Azad October 25, 2000 10:43 AM

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov told the official Interfax news agency that the Russian government would more than likely allow the Mir space station to fall out of orbit and crash into the Pacific Ocean sometime in February.

And according to the Hollywood Reporter, having that rusting piece of space junk fall from the sky would complicate NBC's plans for a new reality game show, Destination Mir. Just last month, NBC a $40 million deal with Survivor producer Mark Burnett for the fall 2001 series, in which ultimately, one would-be cosmonaut will be rocketing up to Mir.

Fortunately for NBC, the space station may have a savior to keep it in orbit for a little bit longer. MirCorp., a group of private investors that has acquired the rights to operate the station, was quick to note that Klebanov left open the possibility that Mir would remain in orbit if enough private funding is raised to stabilize the facility.

Currently, NBC said in a statement that the network remains "excited and supportive of Destination Mir, and our development of the series will continue as planned. We have every faith in Mark Burnett as a producer, and as far as we are concerned, the countdown has begun for the series liftoff next fall."

But the final question is, who the hell would want to fly to space and live in a crappy space station that's about to disintegrate into pieces at any given moment? Aren't all those horror stories from astronauts aboard the Mir enough to scare people? Oh well, I guess it'll be entertaining to watch the winner of the show rocket up there, get into the station, and be televised as it all falls out of orbit and burns in the atmosphere after being hit by stray space garbage...