KOROLYOV,
Moscow Region (Interfax) - The Mission Control Center in Korolyov near Moscow
has almost completed its analysis of the sudden halt in the firing of the
Progress M-54's engines during correction of the International Space Station's orbit,
Energia corporation Vice President and Russian commander of the ISS flight
Vladimir Solovyov told Interfax on Monday.
"Our
experts have generally understood the reasons for the situation. We think it
was an unstable indicator in one of the eight Progress engines," he said.
It was
planned to correct the ISS's orbit with the help of Progress's engines on
October 19. The engines were due to fire for 700 seconds, but they
automatically shut
down 77 seconds after they were switched on. The ISS's orbit was raised by
100-150 meters, instead of the planned 10 kilometers.
A test
correction of the station's orbit is scheduled for October 26 to confirm the
experts' theory, Solovyov said. "We will briefly turn on the engines for
raising the ISS by approximately one meter per second and see how it
goes," he said.
If the
experts' theory is right, another orbit correction will be considered, he said.
"We can do that on November 9, 16 or later," he added.
The ISS
orbit will have to be raised for the December docking with the Progress
freighter, which will be launched from Baikonur on December 21.
The ISS is
orbiting at a safe altitude, Solovyov said. "The Sun is passing through a
period of minor activity, and the orbit daily drops by approximately 50 meters.
The current height of orbit is about 350 kilometers, so the orbit will remain
safe without correction for 1.5 years," he said.
Russia does
not want to lift the ISS orbit to 390-400 kilometers, which would require no
further corrections, Solovyov said. "The thing is that 340-350 kilometers
is best for docking with U.S. Space Shuttles. We are thus meeting the interests
of our American partners," he said.
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