Russian specialists will adjust the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) on May 5 and 8 prior to docking of Russia's Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft, a spokesman for Mission Control said on Saturday.
Valery Lyndin said the ISS will be raised on Saturday by 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) and the orbit will be also twice adjusted on Tuesday for the Russian spacecraft, which is scheduled to blast off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on June 16, RIA Novosti reported.
The correction will made without the participation of the space station's crew, using thrusters on the Russian module Zvezda and Progress M-05M freighter, which is currently docked to the ISS.
Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo ships and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to safeguard successful dockings.
This year Russia has planned to launch four manned and six cargo supply missions to the ISS.