The New Zealand Coast Guard issued a warning to ships in the area regarding the Mir space station's crash into the Pacific Ocean.
During the week, the Coast Guard broadcast a warning to ships. "They have already dealt with typhoons, let's hope it will be okay this time as well," says the head of the shipowners' association. Mir entered its orbit at an altitude of 220 km above the Earth. Tomorrow it is expected to crash into the Pacific Ocean. Residents of the countries in the region are preparing for the possibility that Mir will deviate from its course, and that pieces of metal will fall on their heads.
As the Mir space station orbits the Earth and prepares for its expected crash tomorrow (Friday) into the Pacific Ocean, the New Zealand authorities warn that over 30 commercial ships and fishing vessels are in the expected crash path and are in danger. The New Zealand Coast Guard continues to broadcast warning messages to ships that are only about 200 km from the intended crash site.
According to the head of the Association of Fishing Vessel Owners, all vessels in the area received the warnings throughout the week. "This is just one more danger they face, ship crew members have already faced typhoons, let's hope everything will be fine now too."
The spacecraft is currently circling the Earth at an altitude of 220 km, above New Zealand. The crash will occur tomorrow, after engines in one of the shuttle's sections are activated and cause Mir to be pushed into the atmosphere, where it will disintegrate and catch fire on its way to the ocean. Metal fragments from the ferry, about the size of an average car, are expected to survive the explosion and fall into the ocean between New Zealand and Chile. If the attempts to stabilize Mir fail, it may enter the atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner and miss the area where it is intended to hit. Countries in the Pacific region have warned their residents to be ready to take shelter in case something goes wrong.
