NASA simulation of Mir de-orbit program:
And a quick shout out for an independent documentary film, Orphans of Apollo: the MirCorp story.
Orphans of Apollo is an independent film that tells the Mir Corp story. A more detailed review of the documentary movie shall follow as a sequel to this post however here are a few tidbits:
Background on MirCorp (via Wikipedia)
MirCorp was a commercial space company created in 1999 by space entrepreneurs and involving the Russian space program that successfully undertook a number of firsts in the business of space exploration by utilizing the aging Russian space station Mir as a commercial platform. Its actions were highly controversial and angered many as it created a roadblock to the planned International Space Station in creating a viable, low cost alternative.
As also noted by Wikipedia:
The neutrality of this passage is disputed.
About the movie
The movie is a documentary that largely consists of interviews with participants and commentators concerning the Mir Corp episode. A passage from a review by Jeff Foust in Space Review:
Producer Michael Potter was able to interview most of the principal people involved with MirCorp, including company president Jeff Manber, Rick Tumlinson, Gus Gardellini, Chirinjeev Kathuria, as well as Yuri Semonov, the head of RSC Energia at the time and a major shareholder in MirCorp. They tell how Anderson, hearing that Energia might be interested in selling the station, assembled a team, flew to Russia, and won over the Russians with his straightforward negotiating style—and checkbook. What followed, of course, was—briefly—the first commercial space station, temporarily occupied by two Russian cosmonauts as MirCorp worked to line up customers and additional financing, as well as struggled to win approval to export from the US a tether that would be used to reboost the station.
MirCorp business plan
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, MirCorp was created to purchase the Mir space station, move the station to a higher orbit and thereafter figure out how to make money from owning a space station.
Again, from the Wikipedia article:
The company was formed as an idea by telecommunications and space investor Walt Anderson and space advocate Rick Tumlinson. Russia lacked the funds to upgrade and save the space station, and had concluded it had no choice but to deorbit the station. Several ideas were floated, some absurd and some interesting, including one to hand over the Mir to the United Nations. The idea proposed by Anderson and Tumlinson was to save the Mir space station by raising it to a higher orbit to gain time and developing a "space tether" to supply power to keep the space station in orbit while further funds were raised. This plan was never implemented by the MirCorp team, as the United States government barred the export of the space tether technology until after the deorbit of the space station was announced. It was just one of many obstacles placed in front of the venture by the American government.
What the movie makes clear (at least to me) is the rather naive belief by the MirCorp team that NASA, the State Department and others in the US government would simply look the other way as this deal went forward.
An electromagnetic re-boost tether was to be used to stabilize Mir's orbit and park the station until future viable business cases could be developed however State Department approval of an export license for that tether was delayed until after the Russians had committed to the destruction of the facility. Without that tether, it was financially infeasible to save Mir.
Revenue streams
What is of great interest to me is the fact that MirCorp was looking at entertainment, branding, tourism and similar revenue streams to generate revenue. Likewise, it also strikes me that the drug companies and materials companies (such as crystal makers and "perfect" ball bearing makers) did not seem interested in funding Mir Corp.
Anyway, a sequel diary shall look at the implications of the MirCorp story for shaping progressive space policy going forward.