MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A planned change of the orbital altitude at the International Space Station (ISS) will take place on Wednesday as a preparation to an upcoming Soyuz spaceflight, the Russian mission control center said.
"The maneuver is to increase the ISS orbital altitude is scheduled for August 24… In accordance with the ballistics' estimates, the average altitude will increase by approximately 2.3 kilometers [1.4 miles] and will amount to around 404 kilometers [251 miles]," a source in the control center told RIA Novosti.
According to him, the maneuver will be carried out in order to provide for optimal conditions for the launch and docking of the the new series of the Soyuz MS-02 manned transport spacecraft with crew aboard.
The Soyuz MS-02 mission is scheduled for September 2016. The crew will consist of a Russian commander and flight engineer, as well as an US flight engineer.
