Posted: Fri, Aug 17, 2012, 11:03 AM ET (1503 GMT)
A reboost of the International Space Station's orbit by Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) ended earlier than planned Wednesday. Thrusters on the ATV-3 vehicle, also called Edoardo Amaldi, currently docked to the ISS were scheduled to fire for a little over a half-hour Wednesday to raise the station's orbit by 7.7 kilometers. However, software on the ISS shut down the thrusters before completing the planned burn. ESA reported that a temperature alarm was triggered in one of the ATV's thrusters not being used for the reboost, but instead of continuing the burn, the station's software shut down the thrusters. The cause of the both the alarm and the shutdown remain under investigation. The remainder of the originally planned reboost is now scheduled for August 22.

Related Links:

•  RIA Novosti article
•  ESA statement