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The International Space Station ISS was briefly thrown out of orbit in connection with the new Russian module Nauka calling at the space station on Thursday, according to the US space agency Nasa.
This is the first time in eleven years that Russia has docked a module for the ISS. At first, the maneuver seemed to have succeeded without incident, but three hours after docking, Nauka’s launchers suddenly launched. The sudden force caused the ISS to move 45 degrees, before personnel on the ground after three quarters could turn the station right again by launching fine-tuning rockets from another of the ISS modules.
– The crew was never in any immediate danger, he says Joel Montalbano, head of NASA’s space program at a news conference.
20 tons heavy
Eventually, Nauka’s engines were shut down and the ISS returned to normal. Why the Russian module’s engines were suddenly switched on is unclear and will be investigated, says Nasa.
The 20-tonne Nauka will be one of the largest modules on the ISS and will be used primarily for research and storage of laboratory equipment, but it will also bring new water and air systems and will improve living conditions on the Russian part of the ISS.
Many delays
Nauka should first have been sent out already in 2007, but the project has been fraught with delays. The launch took place last week from Kazakhstan – and it will take several more months and a number of space walks to fully integrate the module with the rest of the space station.
Following the incident, Nasa has suspended the second unmanned test flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which would have begun its journey to the ISS on Friday. That launch has now been postponed to August 3, while the events on the ISS are being investigated.
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