Europe’s ATV-3 space freighter to raise ISS space station orbitMay 26, 2012 - 12:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Two main engines of European Space Agency’s ATV-3 space freighter will be switched on early on Saturday to readjust the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS), Russian Mission Control said, according to RIA Novosti. The engines of the Edoardo Amaldi spacecraft, which is docked at Russia’s Zvezda module on the ISS, will fire at 04.10 a.m. (00:10 GMT) and remain turned on for 377.4 seconds. “As a result, the average height of the ISS orbit will be raised by 1.5 kilometers, to 399.3 km,” the Mission Control said in a statement. The maneuver will be carried out to ensure the best conditions for the landing of Russia’s Soyuz TMA-3M manned spacecraft and the docking of the Soyuz TMA-05M manned spacecraft with the ISS. Soyuz TMA-3M is scheduled to bring back to Earth Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit on July 1. Soyuz TMA-05M will be launched on July 15 to transport three members of the Expedition 32 crew – Russia’s Yuri Malenchenko, NASA’s Sunita Williams, and Japan’s AkihikoHoshide - to the ISS. Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically to compensate for the Earth's gravity and to safeguard successful docking and undocking of spacecraft. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children Moscow slams EU mission in Armenia for “provocative activity” The EU mission is doing more and more against Armenia’s neighbors Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, Mikhail Galuzin said. Yerevan Mayor to travel to Paris on May 15-19 The official delegation headed by Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan will travel to Paris from May 15 to 19. Armenia, India hold first defense consultations The meeting was attended by Indian Ambassador Nilakshi Saha Sinha and Defense Attaché Brigadier General Naveen Nijhawan. |