Russian Cargo Ship Boosts ISS Into Higher Orbit

The International Space Station (ISS) is in a higher orbit after a weekend boost from one of two unmanned cargo ships docked at the orbital platform.

A Russian-built Progress spacecraft fired its engines for eight minutes and 42 seconds to raise the space station's orbit up to about 215 statute miles, an increase of about one statute mile, NASA officials said. The maneuver will help place the ISS in position for the arrival of ISS Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov, flight engineer Jeffrey Williams and Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes in late March, they added.

Russian ISS flight controllers said the reboost maneuver, which occurred at 5:20 p.m. EST (2020 GMT) on Feb. 11, also allowed them to test techniques to dodge space debris in orbit, according to the Interfax News Agency.

"Experts from flight control have analyzed data collected Saturday night when engines of a Progress resupply ship docked with ISS were test fired. The experiment was conducted to check a technique for dodging space junk," Yevgeny Melnikov, head of the team responsible for the movements of the Russian segment of ISS told Interfax.

Two Progress vehicles are currently docked at the ISS, with Progress 19 berthed at the aft end of the station's Zvezda service module while Progress 20 sits at the Pirs docking components. The resupply ships carried fresh food, clothes and equipment to the station, which is currently home to ISS Expedition 12 commander Bill McArthur and flight engineer Valery Tokarev.

Progress 19 is slated to be jettisoned from the station in early March, NASA officials said, adding that the Expedition 12 crew and Pontes will return to Earth in early April.

• Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 12
• Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 13