MOSCOW, Jan. 12 The International Space Station's orbit has been altered for the docking of a U.S. space shuttle and a Russian cargo craft, Russian Mission Control said.
Gravity from the Earth caused engineers to adjust the orbit of the station before the launch of the U.S. and Russian spacecrafts, the RIA Novosti reported Saturday.
The correction, which reportedly began at 3:42 a.m., raised the orbit of the space station 3.26 miles (5.25 kilometers).
Officials said the change brought the space station to an altitude level of approximately 211 miles (340 kilometers) above the surface of the Earth.
Space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian Progress M-63 spacecraft are planned for launch at the beginning of February.
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