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383927 20: FILE PHOTO: Mir is backdropped over a storm near Heard Island in the south Indian Ocean. This photograph is one of four 70mm frames (along with fifteen 35mm frames) of still photography documenting the activities of NASAs STS-79 mission, which began with a September 16, 1996 liftoff from Launch Pad 39A the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and ended with a landing at KSC September 26, 1996. Mir is nearing the end of its existence as Russia plans to steer the craft out of orbit in late February 2001 in a controlled crash to dump the space station safely into the Pacific Ocean. (Photo by NASA/Newsmakers)