Officials from the Russian federal agency Roscosmos announced on Tuesday that a glitch in the International Space Station (ISS) has caused the orbital facility to change its position in space. The incident did not place any of the space station's crew in danger.
The space agency said that a Soyuz spacecraft was docked at the ISS when the vehicle's engines unexpectedly started while testing its radio system. This system is responsible for the docking sequence on the ISS.
The crew of the ISS undertook steps in order to stabilize the space station and, according to Roscosmos, specialists have begun investigating what could have potentially caused the engines on the Soyuz to start.
There are two Soyuz spacecraft currently docked at the ISS. One of these vehicles is set to transport three of the six ISS crew members back to Earth this week.
Roscosmos did not specify which of the two spacecraft caused the mishap on the ISS, but the Russian space agency said the scheduled landing will proceed as planned.
The recent accident involved a malfunction of a booster rocket on the Soyuz. This same type of rocket is also used to launch the Progress cargo ships that resupply the International Space Station.
In April, the Roscosmos suddenly lost contact with one of its Progress resupply ships after it had reached space. The space vehicle was scheduled to dock when the disaster happened. Fragments of the Progress' rockets eventually crashed on Earth in early May.
A special accident commission was formed to examine the cause of the incident, forcing a temporary suspension of all space missions to the ISS. The commission concluded its investigation last week.
The commission has since released a new schedule for space missions to the ISS for the remainder of 2015. Roscosmos said the next resupply mission is slated for a July 3 launch, while the latest manned Soyuz mission is now set for a possible July 23 to 25 launch date.
The planned return trip of the three ISS crew was originally scheduled for last month, but it has been moved to Thursday.
Photo: Bruce Irving | Flickr