In order to form ballistic conditions before the launch of the Soyuz MS-17 manned transport spacecraft, the next correction of the International Space Station orbit is planned for September 10, 2020.
According to preliminary data from the ballistic and navigation support service of the TsNIIMash Flight Control Center (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation), the engines of the Progress MS-14 cargo spacecraft docked to the Zvezda module assembly compartment will be turned on at 23:32 Moscow time and will work 225.1 s. After carrying out the corrective maneuver, the average height of the station’s orbit will increase by 800 meters and will be about 419.6 km above the Earth’s surface.
The launch of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Soyuz MS-17 manned spacecraft is scheduled for October 14, 2020 from site No. 31 of the Baikonur cosmodrome. The crew of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft includes Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, as well as NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins. The backup crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky, Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hai.
