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ISS communication cable with MCC restored — Roskosmos

Control system operates in the normal mode

MOSCOW, November 15 (Itar-Tass) — The cable through which the Mission Control Centre (MCC) outside Moscow maintained communication with the International Space Station (ISS) has been repaired, spokesman for the Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) Alexei Kuznetsov told reporters.

“The cable that was broken yesterday has been repaired,” he said. “The communication line has been restored, the control system operates in the normal mode.”

The lack of communication on the International Space Station (ISS) is not a contingency, head of the Cosmonaut Training Centre (CTC) Sergei Krikalev said.

According to him, the crew was trained for various emergency situations, including the lack of communication with the Earth. “The crew is specially trained for this and this is a normal mode when the crew is working without communication,” he explained.

In addition, Krikalev noted, there are many alternate communication channels. “The communication system is duplicated through the relay satellite, through ground stations, it is also possible to contact the Russian crew through the US communications facility, and vice versa,” the CTC chief said.

He also stressed that this abnormal situation will not affect the landing of the ISS crew that is scheduled for November 19. “Today, a meeting of the landing commission will be held at which the full range of issues will be considered – the communication, the weather conditions and the onboard situation,” Krikalev said. According to him, in any case, the station always has a communications link.

The undocking of the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft from the ISS is scheduled for November 19 at 02:23, Moscow time. The manned spacecraft at this point is to leave the docking unit of the MIM-1 Rassvet module of the station’s Russian segment. The landing of the crew comprising Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (Commander, ISS Expeditions 32 and 33), NASA astronaut Sunita Williams (onboard engineer, ISS Expedition 32 flight engineer, Commander of ISS Expedition 33) and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide (onboard engineer, flight engineer of ISS Expeditions 32 and 33) is expected on the same day at 05:54, Moscow time.