MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The average orbital altitude of the International Space Station (ISS) will be increased on Wednesday by 400 meters (1,312 feet) with the help of the Progress MS-08 spacecraft’s engines for docking with Soyuz spacecraft in June, Russia’s Roscosmos space corporation said in a press release.
“According to the ISS flight plan, the ISS orbit trim is scheduled for March 14, 2018. To carry out the maneuver the engines of the Progress MS-08 spacecraft, docked with the ISS, will be turned on for 108 seconds at 00:25 a.m. Moscow Time [21:25 GMT on March 13],” the press release said on Monday.
As a result of the orbital trim maneuvers the average orbital altitude will increase to 404.5 kilometers (251.34 miles), the Mission Control Center of the Russian Federal Space Agency in Moscow Region’s Korolyov told Sputnik.
The orbit adjustment will be conducted to create ballistic conditions for Soyuz MS-07 manned transport spacecraft’s landing, which is scheduled for June 3, and the launch of Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, set for June 6.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
