ISS to be transferred to different orbit to avoid collision with space debris

09:57, 03.10.2012 1 min read

The Russian space mission control has decided to transfer the International Space Station (ISS) to a different orbit to avoid its collision with space debris, the mission control told Interfax.

"The ISS's orbit adjustment is planned for 0722 Moscow time Thursday. The engines of the Russian Zvezda module will be used for carrying out the maneuver," it said.

The mission control had told Interfax-AVN earlier that a piece of a Japanese spacecraft would pass dangerously close to the ISS in about 30 hours, and therefore it was decided to carry out the evasion maneuver.

The crew currently aboard the ISS includes NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams, Roscosmos Cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko, and JAXA Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.