Elevate the international space station about 5km higher

On January 24, the Space Flight Control Center in the outskirts of Moscow, Russia successfully adjusted the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS), raising the height of the station by about 5km.

The center said that the improvement of ISS is to facilitate the connection between ISS and Russian cargo spacecraft as well as US shuttle spacecraft in the near future. The flight trajectory adjustment for ISS was carried out automatically in about 150 seconds.

The ISS flight trajectory is often adjusted periodically to compensate for the diminished height due to the gravity of the Earth and to ensure successful pairing with spacecraft.

Earlier this month, ISS's trajectory adjusted, with an additional elevation of 1.7km.

Under the plan, Russia's M-04M Progress cargo ship and US Endeavor space shuttle will be launched into space in early February to assemble with ISS./.