The International Space Station's orbit will be adjusted March 16 to prepare for the docking of a Russian spacecraft, Russia's mission control said Wednesday.
Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo ships and U.S. shuttles to compensate for the Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings.
"On Friday, March 16, the station's orbit is planned to be adjusted with the help of the docking and guidance system of a Progress M-58 cargo ship," the mission control's spokesman said.
The maneuver is required to create optimal conditions for a Soyuz TMA-10 piloted spacecraft scheduled to be launched April 7 and provide for the landing of a Soyuz TMA-9 spaceship in the designated area planned for April 20, the spokesman said.
Crew Busy Preparing Station for Upcoming Activities
Expedition 14 is readying the station for a reboost, the relocation of a Soyuz spacecraft and the arrival of its replacement crew.
On Thursday, a docked Progress 23 cargo craft will fire its engines to lift the station into a higher orbit. The reboost is necessary to put the station into the correct altitude for the upcoming docking of a Soyuz spacecraft carrying the Expedition 15 crew.
Two weeks later Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams will enter their Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft to undock from the station and redock moments later to another port. The relocation allows Expedition 15 to dock to the station when it arrives on a Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft.
The Expedition 15 crew launches from Russia on April 7 and will dock to the International Space Station on April 9. Expedition 14 will leave the station and return home in its Soyuz TMA-9 on April 20.
