| |
 |
Mir's death to be webcast
|
THE planned farewell fall to earth of the fabled Russian space station Mir next week will be filmed and broadcast about four hours afterward over the Internet for all the world to see, a Los Angeles space aficionado said on Friday.
Sponsors ranging from RadioShack to AOL and Internet auction site eBay pulled together by attorney Richard Citron and his space industry businessman brother Bob Citron will track the splashdown ending 15 years of circling the globe on http://www.mirreentry.com.
The site, which offers a countdown to the big day, currently target's Mir's “latest probable deorbit date” as March 22.
The Citrons announced last month plans to charter a plane so that a small group of space enthusiasts can witness the fiery death of Mir as it hurtles into the Pacific Ocean.
The expedition will take some 120 researchers and paying members of the public 30,000 feet (9,144 metres) up into the skies south of Tahiti. Seats range from US$5,000 to US$10,000 depending on the view.
Website sponsors originally planned a live broadcast, but now say the aircraft which will track the spacecraft's final descent will not have enough bandwidth to stream the footage as it occurs, a spokeswoman for Citron said.
“The aircraft will be trying to fly parallel to Mir as it reenters — but at a distance of 400 miles (644 kilometres) — so it is out of danger from debris,” spokeswoman Helen Schneider said.
The film will be broadcast within about two hours of the plane's landing and the landing will be about two hours after Mir's fall to earth, she said.(Agencies via Xinhua)
|
|
|
|
