spacetoday.net: ISS maneuver cut short

Posted: Wed, Oct 19, 2005, 7:14 AM ET (1114 GMT)
An engine burn designed to raise the orbit of the International Space Station was cut short early Wednesday because of an unspecified problem, Russian media reported. The engines on the Progress M-54 spacecraft, docked to the station, fired at 5:10 pm EDT Tuesday (2110 GMT Tuesday, 1:10 am Wednesday Moscow time) but shut down after only three minutes, about a quarter the intended length of the maneuver. The maneuver was designed to increase the station's orbit by about 10 kilometers, to counteract the effects of atmospheric drag and to prepare for the arrival of another Progress spacecraft in late December. Russian officials said they would make a decision later Wednesday on rescheduling the maneuver.