Technology / Science
International Space Station orbit adjusted for cargo ship docking
29 Feb 2012 at 22:41hrs | Views
The International Space Station's (ISS) orbit had been raised 2.1 kilometers for the docking of Russia's Progress cargo spaceship in April, Mission Control said Wednesday.
It said the main engines of the Russian Zvezda module were turned on for one minute to conduct the re-adjustment.
The current orbital altitude of the station was 391.3 kms.
The launch of the Progress M-15M cargo ship from the Baikonur space center is scheduled for April 20.
This was ISS's first orbit correction this year. The maneuver is conducted periodically before spacecraft launches to compensate for Earth's gravity.
It said the main engines of the Russian Zvezda module were turned on for one minute to conduct the re-adjustment.
The launch of the Progress M-15M cargo ship from the Baikonur space center is scheduled for April 20.
This was ISS's first orbit correction this year. The maneuver is conducted periodically before spacecraft launches to compensate for Earth's gravity.
Source - Xinhua
