The orbital altitude of the International Space Station (ISS) will be increased by 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) on Thursday using the engines of Russia's Progress MS-14 cargo spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of a Soyuz spacecraft this upcoming spring, a spokesperson of Russian space agency Roscosmos told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2020) The orbital altitude of the International Space Station (ISS) will be increased by 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) on Thursday using the engines of Russia's Progress MS-14 cargo spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of a Soyuz spacecraft this upcoming spring, a spokesperson of Russian space agency Roscosmos told Sputnik.
"For the purpose of the initial creation of ballistic conditions ahead of the launch and docking of the Soyuz MS-18 manned transport spacecraft, which are scheduled for the spring of 2021, the next correction of the ISS orbit is scheduled for November 12, 2020 at 22.50 Moscow time [19:50 GMT]," the spokesperson said.
He added that the correction will be made using the engines of Russia's Progress MS-14 cargo spacecraft that will be attached to the Russian Zvezda module of the ISS. The maneuver is expected to increase the space station's orbital altitude by 1.2 kilometers, up to 419.4 kilometers (260.6 miles) above the Earth's surface.
The previous orbital correction was made on October 7, when the altitude was lowered by 1.3 kilometers. The ISS maintains an orbit with an average altitude of 400 kilometers (248 miles).
A Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft is expected to carry the first ever all-Russian mission to the ISS in April, 2021. Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky, Petr Dubrov, and Sergei Korsakov will make up the Primary crew.
