by Playfuls Staff |
30th November 2006
Moscow (dpa) - After an operation to raise the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) failed Thursday, Russian space officials said the trajectory may not need to be altered after [more] all.
"In theory, the additional correction of the ISS's orbit isn't necessary for the upcoming docking with the shuttle," Igor Panarin, spokesman for Russian space agency Roskosmos, told Interfax.
The modification was to come ahead of a December 7-21 launch window for the US space shuttle Discovery, which is to dock with the ISS to connect to the station's electricity-generation system.
After the engines of the Progress spacecraft were prematurely killed, however, the ISS was raised by 1.5 kilometres instead of 7 kilometres early Thursday, a Russian mission control spokesman was quoted as saying by Interfax.
Following the failed mission, Roskosmos had initially said a second attempt to raise the ISS orbit would occur December 2.
Panarin's remarks, however, cast doubt into whether that would happen.
"The height the ISS is at today is enough for the shuttle docking. If, after agreement with the American side, (that) option is chosen, the orbit correction could (instead) come after the docking."
Panarin added that Roskosmos was already in talks with NASA about how to resolve the issue.
The ISS currently circles the Earth at an altitude of around 400 kilometres. NASA had on Wednesday given the green light for a December 7-21 launch window for the Discovery mission.
© 2006 DPA
