Journal: News & Comment

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Look out below

The Russian Space Agency plans to destroy the 15-year-old, long-suffering Mir space station by steering it into earth's atmosphere to break up -- and to let anything that doesn't burn on re-entry fall into the Indian Ocean.

Few people have been alarmed by the plan, even though the last re-entry of a formerly-occupied space station, NASA's Skylab (in July 1979), sprayed space junk over (fortunately) largely unoccupied swaths of Australia. There was quite a hubbub before Skylab's uncontrolled descent, including worries about the very slim chance of debris hitting a nuclear power plant -- and even an immortal theme song by The Monks (a spoof punk band).

Punk rock not being what it was then, I haven't heard of any plans for a Mir theme song. But if you do, please let me know.

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