The State Corporation Roscosmos announces that in a week, on March 19, the International Space Station (ISS) orbit will be corrected as part of the launch program of the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft.
It is reported that the Soyuz MS-16 manned spacecraft will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 9, 2020 at 11:05 Moscow time. The ship will deliver another long-term expedition into orbit, consisting of Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy.
Correction of the station's orbit is required to provide a four-orbit scheme for rendezvous between the spacecraft and the ISS. This procedure is planned to be performed using the engines of the Progress MS-13 cargo spacecraft, which is part of the ISS. The power plant will be turned on on March 19 at 20:14 Moscow time and will work for 534 s.
As a result, the orbital complex will receive an increase in speed by 0,6 m/s. After the operation, the average flight altitude will increase by 1,1 km and will be about 419 km.
It is also noted that on April 17, the descent module of the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft will land: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir will return to Earth.
Source: 3dnews.ru