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ISS orbit adjusted to avoid collision with US rocket debris

The avoidance maneuver will not affect the plans of launching the Soyuz MS-20 manned spacecraft on December 8

International Space Station NASA

International Space Station

MOSCOW, December 3. /TASS/. The orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) has been adjusted to avoid a collision with a piece of the US Pegasus rocket debris, Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday.

"Five minutes ago, the ISS avoided a conjunction with the US space debris, the Pegasus carrier rocket remnants," the Roscosmos head said at the Space Integration forum.

The Roscosmos chief announced earlier on Friday that the ISS orbital maneuver to avoid a collision with a piece of the US Pegasus rocket debris was tentatively planned for 10:58 Moscow time on December 3. As the Roscosmos press office specified, the orbit would be adjusted by the thrusters of the docked Progress MS-18 space freighter that would be activated for 161 seconds with a braking impulse of 0.3 m/s.

Roscosmos told reporters on December 1 that a fragment of a US Pegasus rocket would fly at a distance of 5.4 km from the International Space Station on Friday afternoon. The object was expected to approach the ISS at 13:33 Moscow time on Friday.

The Roscosmos press office specified to TASS that the avoidance maneuver would not affect the plans of launching the Soyuz MS-20 manned spacecraft on December 8.

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