Medium altitude of the ISS orbit was increased by about 2 km with the help of docked with the ISS Progress M-221M cargo vehicle thrusters, – Roscosmos representative reported.
ISS reboost maneuver first scheduled for January 16 was delayed since the ISS has entered dangerous space debris proximity zone and shifted to January 18.
Progress thrusters were ignited at 04:09 Moscow time on Saturday . After 519,8 seconds of work (more than 8 minutes) with velocity increment of 1,18 seconds the thrusters increased ISS medium altitude by 1,94 km. Thus the ISS raised from about 415 km to 417,2 km above the Earth, – the spokesman reported.
Station reboost maneuver was aimed at creating optimal ballistic conditions for Progress M-22M cargo vehicle docking with the ISS. Progress M-22M will be launched from Baikonur spaceport at 20.23 Moscow time, February 5 and will dock with the ISS at 02.24 Moscow time, February 6. In its turn Progress M-20M cargo vehicle is to be undocked from the ISS at 20.18 Moscow time, February 3 and perform controlled flight to conduct “the Curve” experiment and will be sank in the Pacific ocean on February 11.
Image credit – Roscosmos
