Russian mission control successfully adjusted the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday using thrusters of the unmanned European spacecraft ATV-4 “Albert Einstein” docked with the station.
The perigee height of the ISS is now 412 kilometers (256 miles) and apogee height 418 kilometers (260 miles), a mission control spokesman said.
The orbit adjustment was to make easier the upcoming docking of a Soyuz spacecraft that is to bring a new crew to the ISS next month, the spokesman said.
The crew comprises Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins. Their spacecraft will blast off for the ISS on September 25.
