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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

ISS Orbit-Raising Attempt Fails

ITAR-TASS reports that the Progress cargo ship
currently docked at the ISS attempted an orbit raising burn this morning
but the engine failed three minutes into the firing. Further burns are
cancelled until they figure out the problem and meanwhile, the station
continues to lose approximately a kilometer of altitude every week, with
the rate increasing as the orbit decays. At present, the schedule says
the next Progress, 20P, will be launched on December 21st, nearly 9 weeks
from now. Normally the shuttle would also raise the orbit of ISS but it
is not scheduled to launch until May 3rd at the earliest. Nominally the
ISS orbits at 358km but if it drops to 300km, it may decay in a matter
of days. It was down to 340km already on [4]October 13th."

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Skylab revisited?

[Rocketman]

Simply, no...

I asked my friend Mike if ISS was in trouble, and he replied,"Not this year. Solar activity and drag are very low."

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

International Space Station Orbit Corrected

Moscow (SPX) Nov 11, 2005
Russia's Mission Control Center said Thursday it had successfully completed the correction of the International Space Station's orbit, raising it eight kilometers (4.97 miles), reports RIA Novosti.
An expert with Mission Control said the corrective maneuvers, involving two engines from the Progress M-54 cargo vehicle, which is docked with the ISS, had raised the ISS's average orbit to about 353 kilometers (219.35 miles).

The October 19 attempt to correct the ISS' orbit failed after a system engine shutoff in the Progress M-54.

The next cargo vehicle, the Progress M-55, is set to be launched from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan December 8.

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[Maddad]

340 Kilometers up and still there's enough atmosphere to make a difference. That's amazing!