ISS orbit to be adjusted twice before May
MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The International Space Station (ISS) will be lifted twice within the next few days, a source in the rocket and space industry told Interfax-AVN.
"The Progress M-23M resupply ship will adjust the ISS orbit at 2:24 p.m. Moscow time on April 26. A burn of 5 minutes and 44 seconds will give the station a boost of about 0.5 meters per second, and its average altitude will grow by 900 meters," he said. The ballisticians expect the ISS to have an average orbit altitude of 416 kilometers.
The source said the maneuver would be conducted under the standard debris avoidance protocol coordinated with the U.S. side. The standard maneuver has been put into the ISS computer and all the ground control stations have to do is to set the engine timer.
The second maneuver will be conducted on April 29. It will involve the Progress M-21M resupply ship, which will latch on to the ISS on April 25.
