ATV-2 adjusts ISS orbit; ext TMA

Russia's Mission Control raised the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) by 3.74 km (2.3 miles), to 346,4 km (215.2 miles), a Mission Control spokesman said on Friday.

"The adjustment was carried out with the help of thrusters of Europe's ATV-2 Johannes Kepler space freighter," the spokesman said.

The operation lasted 897 seconds, or almost 15 minutes.

European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-2), which docked with the ISS on February 24, is scheduled to conduct two more similar operations before undocking from the station on June 21. The adjustments are tentatively scheduled for June 12 and 15.

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.