Moscow. October 15th. INTERFAX-AVN - Specialists of the Mission Control Center (MCC) promptly eliminated the loss of orientation of the International Space Station (ISS), which occurred during the testing of the engines of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, the rocket and Space Corporation Energia reported.
"When testing the engines of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, the operation of the engines affected the orientation of the station. As a result, there was a temporary change in the orientation of the ISS," the corporation reported.
"The orientation of the station was promptly restored thanks to the actions of the personnel of the Main Operational Control Group of the ISS RS. The station and the crew are not in danger," the report says.
The previous time the ISS lost its orientation in space on July 30.
Then, after docking to the station of the module "Science", an abnormal activation of the module's engines occurred, due to which the station was turned 45 degrees. To compensate for the impulse, the engines of the Zvezda module and the Progress cargo ship had to be used. Roscosmos explained the incident by working with fuel residues in the Nauka module.
The Soyuz MS-18 manned spacecraft is due to return to Earth on October 17 a crew consisting of director Klim Shipenko, actress Yulia Peresild and cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, the commander of the spacecraft.
Peresild and Shipenko, who arrived at the ISS on October 5, are filming a film there with the working title "Challenge" - about a girl doctor who, due to dramatic circumstances, will have to prepare for a flight in a month and go to the ISS to rescue an astronaut.
According to preliminary data from the ballistic and navigation support service of the TsNIIMash Mission Control Center, the closure of the transition hatches between the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft and the Nauka module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station is scheduled for October 17 in the period from 00:45 to 01:05 Moscow Time. The undocking of the spacecraft and the ISS is expected at 04:14 Moscow time, and at 07:36 Moscow time - the landing of the lander 146 km south-east of the city of Zhezkazgan (Kazakhstan).
