ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.
Nov. 12, 2020
In accordance with the flight program of the International Space Station, on November 12, 2020, specialists from the Mission Control Center of TsNIIMash (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) carried out a planned correction of its orbit. For this purpose, the engines of the Progress MS-14 transport cargo vehicle docked to the Zvezda module assembly compartment were automatically switched on at 22:50 Moscow time.
ISS reboost by Progress spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA
The orbit was corrected in full accordance with the calculated data. The engines of the cargo ship worked for 363.5 s, as a result of which the average altitude of the station's orbit increased by 1.1 km and amounted to approximately 419.35 km above the Earth's surface. According to the ballistic and navigation support service of the TsNIIMash MCC, at the moment the parameters of the ISS orbit are:
Orbital period: 92.90 min;
Orbital inclination: 51.66 degrees;
Minimum height above the Earth's surface: 418.42 km;
Maximum height above the Earth's surface: 437.95 km.
This maneuver is necessary for the initial formation of ballistic conditions before the launch and docking of the Soyuz MS-18 manned transport vehicle, scheduled for April next year. Currently, there are three crew members on board the International Space Station - Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov (commander of the long-term expedition ISS-64) and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov (flight engineer ISS-64), as well as NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins (flight engineer ISS-64).
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
The previous orbit correction of the International Space Station took place on October 7, 2020. Then the engines of the Progress MS-14 cargo vehicle operated for 412.9 s, and the average altitude of the ISS orbit decreased by 1.3 km and amounted to approximately 418.6 km above the Earth's surface. The spacecraft Progress MS-14 has been in near-earth orbit since April 25 this year. During this time, he carried out 7 corrections of the station's orbit, including an unplanned maneuver to avoid a possible collision with "space debris".
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/29556/
Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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