DROWNING ACCIDENT CLAIMS MEMBER OF VISITING RUSSIAN FLIGHT CONTROL TEAM
August 4, 2000
Rob Navias
Johnson Space Center, Houston
Phone: 281/483-5111
Release: J00-47
Drowning Accident Claims Member of
Visiting Russian Flight Control Team
The Harris County Coroner's post mortem exam regarding the death of
Russian national Evgeny Mironov last Wednesday has listed accidental
drowning as the cause of death. There was no evidence that alcohol or
drug usage was in any way connected with Mr. Mironov’s death
nor was there any evidence of foul play or injury connected with this
accident.
Mironov, a single 37 year-old male, was a computer systems specialist.
He had reported to JSC for a 50-day assignment on Monday, July 24,
just two days before the accident. He was an employee of the
TsNIIMASH company, which provides ground segment support for flight
control operations at TsUP, the Russian Mission Control Center,
located in Korolev, just outside of Moscow.
According to Russian officials, Mironov was known as a high-level
systems specialist, a mild mannered person, always ready to come to
his colleague’s help.
Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) officials in Houston
are coordinating with their counterparts in Moscow. Mironov’s
next of kin, his father, mother, and brother, have been notified.
Management at the TsNIIMASH company has also been made aware of the
accident. Mironov will be flown back to Moscow during this week.
“This is a very sad and tragic accident,” said Randy
Stone, Director of Mission Operations at JSC. “For many years
now, American and Russian space employees have worked hard to make
the vision of the International Space Station an orbiting reality.
The close knit working relationship between Americans and Russians
that has grown over the last several years has created a feeling of
family, so the whole space flight community feels this loss. I know I
speak for everyone here at JSC in extending our prayers and
sympathies to the Mironov family.”
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