On Wednesday the Russian Mission Control Center made the single-impulse correction of the International Space Station orbit and increased the flight altitude of the station approximately to three kilometers.
The American services of tracking fixed the successful completion of the operation on the orbit correction reported the representative of Russian Mission Control Center. He noted that specified data will be finished by 21:50.
The purpose of an increase of the mean height of the International Space Station is the preparation for the receiving of the pilot spacecraft "Soyuz" and the start of which with the crew of the13th expedition and the first cosmonaut of Brazil is outlined on 30 March from the spaceport Baikonur.
Four engines of the cargo ship "Progress M-54", attached now to the axial knot of the propulsion module of "Star", were neglected at 20.50 on 22 February and, according to the preliminary data, they worked out the estimated time - 793 seconds.
However, routine operations on the correction of the orbit of station did not always take place smoothly. For example, one of the attempts to increase the mean height of the International Space Station, undertaken on 19 October 2005, passed off-normal because of involuntary turning off of engines during the first stage of its fulfillment approximately on the170th seconds of work.
To the off-normal situation, when it was intended to increase the mean height to ten kilometers, but as a result increased only to 450 meters, brought the failure in the electronic system of engine control.
Later the Russian Mission Control Center tested four of eight engines attached to the International Space Station of the ship "Progress M-54" and then repeated the correction, completed with success.
The correction of the orbit of the station is conducted regularly for the purpose of preparation for the jointing with the cargo ships "Progress", and also with pilot "Soyuz".
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