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International Space Station’s orbital altitude adjusted for Soyuz launch

According to preliminary data, the average altitude of the ISS is 420,91 kilometers

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. The orbital altitude of the International Space Station (ISS) has been adjusted for the launch of the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft whose crew will comprise cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, as well as actress Yulia Peresild and film director Klim Shipenko expected to shoot the first ever movie in space, Russia’s Roscosmos state space agency said in a statement.

"The altitude of the International Space Station’s was adjusted to create ballistic conditions for the launch of the Soyuz MS-19 crewed transport spacecraft and the landing of the Soyuz MS-18 spaceship’s capsule," the statement reads.

According to the Flight Control Center’s Ballistic and Navigational Service of TsNIImash (part of Roscosmos), the Zvezda module’s engines were ignited at 07:04 am Moscow time and operated for 50 seconds. According to preliminary data, the average altitude of the ISS is 420,91 kilometers.

The adjustment was initially scheduled for August 19 but had to be postponed due to the technical unpreparedness of the US segment.

Seven crewmembers are currently working aboard the orbital outpost, including Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

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