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IW4DKA > SAT 19.03.01 17:59l 69 Lines 3253 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 22901_IK4VFK
Read: GUEST OE7FMI
Subj: Mir Reentry
Path: DB0AAB<DB0KFB<DB0CZ<DB0GV<DB0BOX<DB0MRW<DB0RGB<DB0SL<DB0FSG<I4UKI<
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Sent: 010319/1451Z @:IK4VFK.#RN.IEMR.ITA.EU #:22901 [Rimini] $:22901_IK4VFK
From: IW4DKA@IK4VFK.#RN.IEMR.ITA.EU
To : SAT@WW
The Mir reentry event will be quite spectacular. It will be the single
largest celestial event on earth since the Tunguska meteorite struck
the earth in Siberia in 1908. It is likely to be the single largest
celestial event on earth until the International Space Station is
deorbited in 2020 or 2030. The Mir Space Station weighs 140
metric tons and 40 tons are expected to survive reentry and impact
the ocean at near sonic speed. The 100 tons of man made materials
that will burn up in the earth's atmosphere will provide a quite
extraordinary, once in a lifetime, celestial display. The reentry
phenomena include the disintegration of the huge solar arrays, the
breaking apart of the Mir Space Station into hundreds, perhaps
thousands of pieces, the rupture of the major pressurized modules
which may result in a series of large celestial explosions, and the
streaming trails of incandescent debris as it passes through the earths
atmosphere.
What will we see?
Mir Reentry Simulation Movie
If we are lucky, and Russian Mission Control guides us to the best
location to observe the event, it will look something like this:
1. A single meteor streak, with a bright, incandescent head and a
long tail, coming over the northwest horizon, brightening as it
approaches its culmination (the highest point it reaches above the
horizon as seen from the aircraft).
2. After about thirty seconds to one minute, and about 25% into the
event, the head of the incandescent streak will get white hot, enlarge
in size, and break into a series of incandescent streaks of different
sizes, colors, and magnitudes. If we are in the right location we will
see the superstructure of Mir come apart. This part of the event
might last for 5 to 15 seconds and it will result in a series of dozens,
perhaps hundreds of meteor like streaks with heads and tails (like a
comet only much brighter) that will careen across the sky. We will
see long smoke trails of varying colors that might range from white
to black, with many being a grayish color.
3. If we are lucky, we will see the five major pressurized modules
explode, creating a series of bright meteor-like streaks and smoke
trails with bright heads and tails of varying length. With the rupture
of the modules from the core and their following "explosions", we
will see strong cross track motions of the fragments. This will be the
most spectacular part of the event and might last for 5 to 10
seconds.
4. After the fragments pass the viewing area we will probably see
persistent smoke trails for several minutes. Their visibility depends
from the brightness of the sky background. As the incandescent
streaks descend to the southeast we will see the trails dissipating as
they get lower on the horizon and disappear below the horizon. We
might see incandescent fragments during the very last moments of
their reentry. This part of the event might last for one to two minutes.
The entire event will last about four to five minutes from horizon to
horizon. If we are in the right location we will witness one of the
most spectacular events any of us will see in our lifetimes.
Description Cont. >>
See http://www.mirreentry.com
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