THE FATE of the Russian space station, Mir, hung in the balance yesterday as officials ordered urgent repairs to the ageing vessel before deciding whether to abandon it following a dramatic collision with an unmanned cargo vessel.
A Russian-US committee of space experts said it would send a cargo craft to Mir with repair supplies. It was expected to be launched in 11 days' time. The scientific laboratory, Spektr, was damaged.
The deputy mission chief, Mr Sergei Krikalyov, told reporters the 25 to 30 per cent loss of electric power caused by the accident was an emergency which rated five on a seven-point scale.
Wednesday's accident was the worst in the life of the 11-year-old orbiting space station. One of four solar panels was knocked out when a Progress cargo craft struck the station during docking.
"We will continue with all measures aimed at restoring Mir's functions Mr Yuri Koptev, director-general of the Russian Space Agency, told reporters.
"There will be no change in Mir's flight programme for the time being. No decision of that kind can be taken for about two weeks because at the moment we do not have enough information, he said.
The US space agency, NASA, appears willing to let Russia try to repair Mir Ms Catherine Watson, NASA's spokeswoman in Moscow, said it was too early to talk about evacuating the station and that the US still planned to send a replacement for its astronaut, Michael Foale, in mid-September. "We'll see what they can do. They've done amazing things in the past. They've done very well at keeping it alive.
The three-man crew has turned Mir toward the sun to trap extra energy and Mr Koptev said they now had 60 to 70 per cent of the necessary current.
The crew had to seal off the Spektr module immediately after the collision because it was punctured and lost air pressure. In the process, Foale's personal and scientific bear was lost.
The collision has put in doubt future US co-operation aboard the Russian craft, with specialists questioning the safety and usefulness of such projects.
In the face of repeated incidents in the last few months which could have threatened the lives of US astronauts aboard Mir, pressure has been building in Washington for an end to NASA's involvement in the missions.
"There have now been 10 major crises relative to the Mir space station functioning the way it is supposed to, two of which were life-threatening," declared Mr James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House of Representatives science committee.