February 3, 1999. Copyright 1999. Graphic News. All rights 
reserved.

SPACE MIRROR LETS THERE BE LIGHT

LONDON, February 3, Graphic News: THE CREW of RussiaÕs Mir space 
station plan to unfold a large space mirror on Thursday (February 
4) to reflect light from the sun to parts of Central Asia, Europe 
and North America.
	The Znamya (banner) 2.5 experiment envisages unfolding a space 
mirror made of a membrane covered by a metal layer. 
The 82-feet (25-metre) Mylar mirror is a prototype for even 
larger models that may be used to illuminate sun-starved northern 
cities. In the distant future, such devices may act as Òsolar 
sailsÓ, allowing spaceships to glide through space using solar 
wind.
ÒIf the sky is clear, the space mirror will resemble a shooting 
star racing quickly across the sky,Ó said Valery Lyndin, 
spokesman for Mission Control outside Moscow.
The folded Znamya reflector was launched last October aboard a 
Progress M40 cargo ship. Mir cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and 
Sergei Avdeyev will jettison the Progress ship, guide it about 
400 yards (360 metres) away from the station, then send a signal 
to unfold the mirror.
Once the mirror is fully open, the crew will steer the Progress 
by remote control to hold the spot of light steady and see how 
the mirror performs. The experiment will last for up to 24 hours Ð 
18 of MirÕs 90-minute orbits around the Earth.
From Earth the reflective mirror will resemble a star five to ten 
times as bright as the moon Ð provided there is no cloud cover. 
People living in Kazakhstan, southern Russia, Ukraine, the Czech 
Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, and  parts of the 
U.S.-Canadian border may be able to see the reflection.
Eventually, the cargo ship Ð which is filled with garbage Ð will 
be allowed to burn up in the atmosphere as usual.
In 1993, Russia ran a similar experiment but the crew didn't try 
to manoeuvre the mirror and it was barely visible only to those 
who knew its position, Lyndin said.
/ENDS

Sources: RSC Energia, Associated Press, Reuters