Published: Aug. 22, 2012 at 5:28 PM<\/p>\n
MOSCOW, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Europe's ATV-3 unmanned supply spacecraft has raised the International Space Station's orbit to about 261 miles, a mission control spokesman said Wednesday. <\/p>\n
The successful orbital readjustment follows a failed attempt Aug. 15 when the ATV-3's engines shut down prematurely because of an increase in temperature on one of the units, leaving the ISS short of its intended orbital height, RIA Novosti reported. <\/p>\n
The orbit adjustment Wednesday was done in two stages, with the ATV-3 engines firing for 348 seconds to lift the orbit to 257 miles followed by another burn four hours later that brought the space station to its final altitude. <\/p>\n
The maneuver was to prepare for the return to earth of Russia's Soyuz TMA-04M manned spacecraft on Sept. 17 and the docking of the Soyuz TMA-06M manned spacecraft with the ISS on Oct. 15. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Space station orbit successfully adjusted<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Published: Aug. 22, 2012 at 5:28 PM MOSCOW, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Europe's ATV-3 unmanned supply spacecraft has raised the International Space Station's orbit to about 261 miles, a mission control spokesman said Wednesday. Continue reading