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ISS orbit to be adjusted July 24 - mission control

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MOSCOW, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - The International Space Station's orbit will be adjusted July 24 to prepare for the docking of the U.S. space shuttle Endeavor, due to be launched August 7, Russia's Mission Control Center said Wednesday.

Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo ships and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings.

The correction is due to start at 2:21 a.m. Moscow time with the help of the Progress M-60 cargo ship, which is already docked with the ISS.

"Its boosters will be activated for 1,176 seconds (about 20 minutes), while the orbit is to be raised 10 kilometers," a Mission Control spokesman said, adding that the ISS is currently at an altitude of 330 kilometers over earth's surface.

"The correction will be made without the crew's participation," he said.

The next launch of the Soyuz manned spacecraft to the ISS is tentatively scheduled for October 10, and is aligned with U.S. efforts for the Endeavor mission on August 8 at 3.07 a.m. Moscow time (August 7, 11.07 p.m. GMT), Russia's space agency said earlier .

The Endeavor is already being prepared for its rollout to a launch pad.

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